Microsoft's bad history disrespecting classic video games (a firsthand account)
(lunduke.substack.com)https://lunduke.substack.com/p/microsofts-bad-history-disrespecting?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0NTc4MzQ5MywicG9zdF9pZCI6NDczNDc3ODEsIl8iOiIvYkl6TyIsImlhdCI6MTY0MjYxNDkwNSwiZXhwIjoxNjQyNjE4NTA1LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItNDYyNDY2Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.lmuhtb5OjjD3Rp8WjW8tFMpSLJJjLIhvGgDiL7rXHdo The Redmond giant just purchased some of the most historically significant video games... but will they respect them?
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So. Question: You’re in a company filled to the brim with nerds. You have some big, impressive looking skybridges that are empty and not being used for anything in particular?
What do you do?
You fill them with classic arcade video games. Obviously. Or at least you line the sides with arcades (so there’s still plenty of room to use them as hallways).
That’s exactly what folks did.
We’re talking… maybe two dozen arcade games were in these hallways at any given time. All set to free-play, naturally.
Each game was brought in by employees who had their own personal collections. Often times because they spent more time at work (Microsoft was famous for 80 hour work weeks back then)… so bringing in some arcade games helped boost morale. Made the place feel that much more like a nerdy home.
It was this way… for years and years. The arcades graced the hallways of these buildings (and others on Microsoft Main Campus) long before my time.
To be sure, these skybridges weren’t the only places that arcades could be found around Microsoft Main Campus. Many other buildings were known to have little clusters of arcades here and there. In this corner or that. But the skybridges filled with arcades were visually interesting. Simply… super cool.
Most of the arcades were in good working order. Some were project machines that needed a little TLC (and often got tinkered on, after hours, by some of the fellow nerds).
It was, honestly, pretty awesome. Very nerdy. A great morale booster.
Then, one day, Microsoft decided it was fed up with arcade games. An email was sent out to every building that was known to have them… that if they were not removed from Microsoft Main Campus promptly… they would be tossed out. Into the garbage….
Why do I bring this up?
Well. Microsoft just bought Activision. And, with it, Microsoft now owns some of the most important classic games in human history. Zork. Kings Quest. Space Quest. Pitfall! And so many others.
Games that are important not just to the history of gaming in general… but to those of us who were there as the video game industry grew up.
And… based on personal experience, when it comes to the preservation of classic video games… I don’t trust Microsoft as far as I can throw ‘em.
Maybe Microsoft has changed since those days. I sure hope so. But, honestly, there’s no reason to believe they have.
Full article cane be found here: https://lunduke.substack.com/p/microsofts-bad-history-disrespecting?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0NTc4MzQ5MywicG9zdF9pZCI6NDczNDc3ODEsIl8iOiIvYkl6TyIsImlhdCI6MTY0MjYxNDkwNSwiZXhwIjoxNjQyNjE4NTA1LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItNDYyNDY2Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.lmuhtb5OjjD3Rp8WjW8tFMpSLJJjLIhvGgDiL7rXHdo
