Al Roker discovers Xbox 'recall' on Today Show
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 28th 2007 at 1:00AM }
Microsoft gave the same song and dance to the Today Show that they've given everyone, saying that there is something wrong, but they won't say what. On the bright side for Microsoft, the Today tech guy does say the Xbox 360 is the one to own. He says the PS3 is the most "high-tech" because of the Blu-ray player and calls it the "Trojan horse," which has Roker asking if people will jump out of it and kill everyone. Yes, he does actually say that.
They then show off the Wii and awkwardly state that it's the #2 "player" and the Xbox 360 is #1 ... um, well in context of those three systems that is true, but please let us not bury the PS2 yet, which according to Nielson and overall sales is definitely #1. Oh well, it was just another video game piece by the mainstream, they flubbed a nice bit and in the end Roker was actually most bothered by the idea that Nintendo's Miis don't have arms. And here we thought the little Greeks popping out of the PS3 killing everyone would have been far more frightening.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
blooh @ Jul 28th 2007 1:11AM
roker forgot his meds again
Dragod @ Jul 28th 2007 1:21AM
The playstation 3 has the highest resolution? What the hell? both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 play at 1080i.
Rare Hare @ Jul 28th 2007 1:23AM
I saw Al Roker's colonoscopy on TV once.
pixelate @ Jul 28th 2007 2:27AM
Both consoles will play games at up to 1080p, and he also kept saying that Blu-ray was the highest resolution player available, or something to that effect (when it's at best equal to HD DVD purely in terms of video fidelity and resolution). Completely false, that was really pissing me off. Naturally they will never issue a retraction and I'm sure plenty of dimwit housewives have already made up their minds based on a few minutes of misinformation.
You saw the colonoscopy in 1080i? Oh wrong reply, heh.
Michael @ Aug 1st 2007 10:46AM
ps3 does 1080p numbnuts
Rare Hare @ Jul 28th 2007 1:23AM
Wow. Didn't mean to make that in reply to Dragod's comment.
Mike @ Jul 28th 2007 1:24AM
Al Rocker is right! That shit is a recall. 3 year warranty is just a nice way to put it. Good interview, love how he kept on saying how the wii characters didn't have any arms and legs. That's the exact things my older brother's kids usually say.
will @ Jul 28th 2007 1:30AM
Do us all a favor and shut up.
Mike @ Jul 28th 2007 1:25AM
Roker*
Arturo @ Jul 28th 2007 1:31AM
*shakes head at the nonsense from "tech guy"*
D. Gray @ Jul 28th 2007 1:33AM
Haha! I saw this interview on TV this morning and was bouncing off the fucking wall because it was so terribly lame and misinformed. The host (not Rocker) kept calling the systems "games." I generally don't get worked up when such a fuckhead is on TV discussing video games (sorry, Adam Sessler), but my wife was wondering what the fuck was wront with me.
This interview was worse than anything at E3...
Marasai @ Jul 28th 2007 1:37AM
Obviously Sony is paying off MSNBC.
Anyone who doesn't get the joe doesn't deserve to own a computer.
dsub @ Jul 28th 2007 3:25AM
Except for the fact that MSNBC is a partnership between Microsoft and NBC. Duh. Hence the name "MSNBC".
royce @ Jul 28th 2007 3:27AM
Yeah, I get the joe, Morning Joe. Watch that on msnbc instead of the Today Show on NBC. Al Roker is an idiot, Scarborough rules.
KeVil @ Jul 28th 2007 8:23AM
dsub you don't deserve a computer. Who says Duh in this day and age, thats so 1995. Marasai was making a joke. The fact you got voted up scares the crap out of me.
harrison_schaerr @ Jul 28th 2007 1:51AM
if 30% of microsoft's consoles are faulty, there still shouldn't be a recall...
first, when one breaks it doesn't kill or injure you, it costs you time. you have to mail it in and wait for it to come back...
if you issue a recall, EVERYONE has to mail it in EVERYONE has to wait for it to come back 'fixed'
how is a recall beneficial to the consumer?
Mike @ Jul 28th 2007 2:37AM
You're right. I have to admit that fact! The product is not harmful to anyone so in reality a recall might not be a factor. It's truly annoying to have to deal with such an issue after purchasing a $480 product. That just pisses me off!
gonzo @ Jul 28th 2007 1:54AM
The 300 on blu ray!!! Party at Al Roker's house on tuesdayyyyy girlfriendsss!!!!
YoRone22 @ Jul 28th 2007 1:58AM
I always love seeing these interviews. They always make me laugh.
Mike @ Jul 28th 2007 2:11AM
They used "recall" for lack of a better term. I don't think it was quite right or quite wrong. The trojan horse thing is kinda on the mark, but blu-ray as being the most high tech is a little retarded. I think 360 has 1080p games right? So the resolution issue was retarded as well. Techwise the ps3 is the most advanced, but unfortunately the hardware isn't quite dedicated like the 360's low-tech (current gen), but equally effective system is.
But yeah, realistically Wii is easily #1, regardless of total units sold. It will blaze past 360 soon.
Miles @ Jul 28th 2007 2:19AM
Al Roker stinks. This is the same scumbag who made a joke about people with seizures and called for the firing of Don Imus for being , "mean spirited". Whether you like/dislike Xbox 360, just realize assholes like this work in the media and don't care.I guarantee there won't be a correction on the air about this, because he's a tool who doesn't take responsibility for the mistakes he makes. Very typical behavior for the media.
Mike @ Jul 28th 2007 2:44AM
The comments that Don Imus made were in appropriate to all woman. That man has very poor taste in humor. Maybe that's how he views his own wife? LOL
Kyouryuu @ Jul 28th 2007 1:45PM
You know, given what comes out of Coulter, Imus is rather quaint.
Not to say that he shouldn't have been dismissed (it was the right decision), but it is a shame that other networks and media channels refuse to demonstrate the same responsibility.
Miles @ Jul 28th 2007 2:09PM
I didn't even listen to Imus, but that's not what I'm talking about ( I hate it when people go off on tangents...). This non self controlling creep (Roker got his gut stapled) says that someone should lose their job for insensitive remarks , and then makes a fucking joke about seizures on the Today show. The difference is, Imus was a known comedian for over 30 years. The Today show is supposed to be a news outlet. And this dummy can't even understand the difference between recall and extending a warranty.
So keep your biases about Imus to yourself and realize that a lying , two faced jerk like Roker is giving you your "news".
Thrawn @ Jul 29th 2007 5:14PM
Please...Al Roker is part of the problem of mainstream "group think." What Don Imus said was a non-controversy, an off the cuff, fleeting comment that merely reflects current cultural norms. That is it was that until Reverend Allllllllllllllll and morons like Roker stirred it up into something "offensive." If you're offended by Imus calling the Rutger's basketball team 'nappy headed ho's,' it's because you've been told to be offended. Either that or you've been stewing in your own vitriolic juices while black culture in America developed self-referential, satirical misogyny over the last 30+ years and only were able to let off some steam about it just this past April by demanding the public lynching of an aging white radio jock.
CBS and MSNBC also fired him while he was in the middle of his yearly on-air children's cancer fundraising drive, but as long as the short lived, thoughtless demands of the self righteous public mob were satisfied it doesn't really matter.
Come to think of it I'm glad he was fired for making a comment that would have actually been offensive if it weren't for having lived through years of blaxploitation movies, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Sanford & Son, gangsta rap, 'In Living Color,' the 'Kings' of Comedy, Dave Chappelle, and on and on and on.....
And no I've never listened to his radio show other than a few minutes here and there over the years. From what I've heard and understand, Don Imus' morning radio show was a news show taken in the direction of political/cultural satire.
I suppose Jon Stewart and any cultural satirist should be fired as well, right? Now that I think about it, that whole free press and freedom of speech thing is kind of bunk.
I wouldn't want anybody to be offended by what I write or say.
oldhat @ Jul 28th 2007 2:30AM
BBQ, Al! Stick to BBQ on FoodTV. Video games just aint your thing.
Every network needs its liquored up, off their meds TV guy. NBC has Al, FOX News has Shep Smith.
mateo @ Jul 28th 2007 2:40AM
TV by idiots, for idiots.
OuroborosATX @ Jul 28th 2007 2:41AM
Hmm. Being a fan of all the consoles, I watched that and cringed at everything they said.
Well at least they were basically equally damaging with misinformation to all so it was probably a wash.
Bravo @ Jul 28th 2007 3:33AM
The most ridiculous part of the show was calling the Blue Ray player a "Trojan Horse" as if that was a good thing... do these guys follow history at all???
sectionz @ Jul 28th 2007 4:40AM
your the one that needs a lesson .. IN CONTEXT! get it?
WhackMushroom @ Jul 28th 2007 4:39AM
aren't nbc & universal like the same thing?
sectionz @ Jul 28th 2007 4:39AM
what a truthful and honest mainstream assessment! just the kick in the nuts MS deserves for being so careless and strong-arming their way into gaming with a shit-load of moneys. unlike with windows the media and consumers are too well connected to let a product that crashes 33% of the time or more make its way into their lives permanently.
ever since I lost that essay i have waited for this day to come. who has to REWRITE NOW bill WHO?!
Poisoned Al @ Jul 28th 2007 4:42AM
I'm still reeling from that Fox News segment on "anonymous." In the UK, we go fucking ape-shit if the BBC puts out anything wrong, but it looks from here the US media shits out any old nonsense they like without any kind of quality control. I thought the hyping of the world's most pathetic terrorists was bad, but at least I don't feel my IQ dropping like I do when watching American outlets.
Sidepocket @ Jul 28th 2007 12:17PM
I have watched UK TV and trust me, it is as stupid as American TV. The problem is that UK takes pride in its bullshit...not so much in America.
Poisoned Al @ Jul 28th 2007 3:38PM
Oh I didn't say it wasn't stupid (Watching ITV for more then five minutes causes brain damage), but like you said, US TV has stopped even pretending to care.
Dan @ Jul 28th 2007 6:19AM
I can tell just by his face that he's a retard.
Rask @ Jul 28th 2007 8:21AM
Man, there was a lot is mis-information in that piece..
scott @ Jul 28th 2007 8:26AM
The Trojan Horse comment in the show made no sense. The expression means something that looks good but actually turns out to be pretty bad. Not good. Maybe they meant "dark horse" as in someone who is losing the race, but will likely come out ahead in the end.
I don't think they can faulted for leaving out the PS2 as #1 system. They're talking about newer consoles.
faceless coward @ Jul 28th 2007 10:14AM
I think the Trojan Horse thing means that Sony is using a videogame console to push their proprietary technology (like Blu-Ray) into our homes.
Corey B. @ Jul 28th 2007 8:40AM
"Ollie Williams now will give commentary on the current videogame console "war" and which console you should buy..."
"XBOX 360 ALWAYS BROKE BUT PS3 RELEASES PEOPLE WHO KILL YOU!"
"Thank you, Ollie"
James @ Jul 28th 2007 10:10AM
+47 for the clever Family Guy reference. Nice.
And I agree, not news -- "Mainstream press has no idea what video games are; also, water still wet, sun still hot."
Phranctoast @ Jul 28th 2007 8:58AM
Maybe Al can see into the future.
Poisoned Al @ Jul 28th 2007 11:56AM
How did you know?
PS: We're all going to die!
Kyouryuu @ Jul 28th 2007 1:45PM
Of course. You remember Men in Black, right? Al Roker is an alien.
zwarrior @ Jul 28th 2007 9:20AM
If everything I learned from the industry was based on that interview alone; I would avoid 360 at all costs, Wii is a gimmick, and PS3 is, though expensive, the best system to own.
And did anyone notice how the mother admitted she knew nothing of videogames and just bought whatever game her kid pointed at? They are the ones handing M rated games to kids, not the retailers. I'm not bashing the milf, just showing how bad ignorance can sometimes be.
JonnyBoy2U @ Jul 28th 2007 9:45AM
That was a funny segment...
Curmeo @ Jul 28th 2007 10:05AM
11.6 million 360 units shipped. 33% defect rate = 3.83 million defective units.
the 3 year warranty is another way of having a recall, without looking as bad.
Aaron @ Jul 28th 2007 11:06AM
Yep.
mike @ Jul 28th 2007 1:42PM
No its not. So what if I purchase an xbox today? Its manufactured no differently then the one 6 months ago. Does this mean there is a recall on the xbox that I just bought?
AlexP @ Jul 28th 2007 11:17AM
I HAVE NO ARMS