Get To Know Our Staff
Andrew
Buyer Expertise Supervisor
Hello, everybody! Wynn right here once more. Welcome again to a different Xbox Insider Staff interview. At present’s chat is with Andrew—a Buyer Expertise Supervisor on the staff who positively has extra Xbox 360 video games than you do.
How’s it going, Andrew?
Ha. Going nicely, Wynn. You didn’t need to name me out like that proper from the highest.
If there’s one factor I would like Xbox Insiders to know from this interview, it’s that you’re Xbox 360’s #1 fan and supporter. It’s like that meme. If there aren’t any extra Xbox 360 followers, then we are able to know you’ve shed your mortal coil.
I can get behind that.
However earlier than we dive into your 7th gen obsessions, let’s take all of it the best way again. Give us the backstory. What began your curiosity in video games?
I’ve been enjoying video games my total life, at the same time as a really small youngster. I’m relationship myself somewhat right here, however my first console was an Atari Pong dwelling console.
That’s about as OG as you may get.
Yup! And I’ve been enjoying ever since. All the best way from Mario to Halo, which is de facto what bought me closely into the Xbox ecosystem.
Did you discover your love for the 360 earlier than or after you began right here?
Earlier than. I used to be on that prepare instantly. You keep in mind the Xbox Stay Arcade when it first launched? I used to be sitting on my console each Wednesday getting nearly each single recreation because it got here out. It’s actually my love for the 360 that made me wish to begin working at Xbox. I grew up in rural Ohio, so it wasn’t actually an enormous tech hub.
So how way back did you get employed?
I believe round 13 years in the past or so. Proper in the beginning of the 2010s I bought employed to do Twitter Help for Xbox. I used to be a kind of outdated brokers the place we’d reply to tweets or DMs with our initials.
Oh wow! I truly did one thing related once I was within the retail shops. In the event you clicked “Help” on Outlook Cellular in like 2015-2017, you could have talked to me. It’s a harder job than individuals may assume.
Yeah, you discuss individuals by means of so many alternative points on daily basis. You turn into a really well-oiled assist machine after some time.
Completely. If I attempted onerous sufficient, I might most likely keep in mind among the error codes.
Identical right here. I keep in mind many.
So, how lengthy did you probably did work on Help?
Effectively, I did the Twitter stuff for about six years. Labored my manner up the ladder earlier than I moved over to a program administration place on the Help Staff. Then, I did that for a number of years earlier than shifting to the Insider staff the place I nonetheless kinda do lots of assist. So, actually in some methods, I’m nonetheless Help, however I left the official “Help” group again in 2021.
Is there something you’re presently engaged on that you may inform the Xbox Insider group about?
I’m not engaged on an excessive amount of for Xbox Insider particularly proper now, although I’m all the time attempting to enhance the options we flight by means of this system. I suppose essentially the most attention-grabbing stuff I’m doing—that might even be attention-grabbing to this viewers—is that I’m engaged on all of our legacy Xbox 360 providers.
Okay, that’s sick.
Yeah, I’ve been on that staff for some time now and it’s one thing I’m extraordinarily obsessed with. I imagine we’ve got to do all the things we are able to to greatest protect and recognize our historical past earlier than we are able to actually transfer into the longer term.
I’m totally with you there on that man. I do know I joked about it earlier than, however I wish to let our readers know that you simply do have nearly each bodily Xbox 360 disc.
Effectively, each North American disc. I don’t have a PAL or JPN 360 but, so I don’t purposefully accumulate these for the time being.
My JPN 360 is amassing mud, however I’ve a bunch of Visible Novels that I ought to play someday on it. Since we’re speaking about your favourite system, do you have got a favourite second in time from engaged on it because you’ve been right here?
Man, I’ve completed so many issues truly for the Xbox 360, however I can’t actually discuss most of them; even on reflection. However I do have one among my most cherished recreation collections gadgets from working right here.
Let’s hear it.
So, once I began again in 2011, I used to be already pounding my drum about a lot I really like the blades on the outdated 360 dashboard.
I believe if you happen to pay attention onerous sufficient, that’s a refrain of voices from our group shouting out in settlement proper now.
Haha. I nonetheless assume it’s the best console working system of all time. However yeah, I used to be actually obsessed with telling everybody I might how a lot I cherished that OS. Quick ahead to round 2017-2018, I had simply transferred over to a brand new CSS position, and I used to be speaking about my love for the blades with my new staff. Effectively, a long-tenured teammate confirmed up at my workplace a few week later. Seems, he labored on the {hardware} staff, and he had an outdated 360 that also had the blades dashboard on it saved in his archives. He gifted it to me and now It’s one among my favourite issues I personal. A real gem in my assortment which means loads to me personally.
I really like that a lot. I’d give a not-insignificant portion of a paycheck to determine what all we’ve got buried in workplaces round campus. So many cool programs hidden away.
Yeah man. Some individuals have held onto some actually cool stuff for the complete 20-year run.
Okay, let’s transfer on to among the extra rapid-fire stuff.
What’s a recreation that’s had the largest affect on you all through the years?
Hmm. I’m undecided I can choose only one. However there’s an evolution in my tastes and my curiosity within the medium over time. Like Pong was my intro to video games and I assumed it was fairly cool, however the first Tremendous Mario Bros. is once I knew I used to be going to be enjoying them for the remainder of my life.
It’s onerous to understate simply how revolutionary it was to have performed that in that point interval.
Precisely. It paved the best way for a lot. Even rising up my favourite recreation, and doubtless nonetheless my favourite recreation of all time is Tremendous Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. I’d play that recreation again and again and over. I by no means get uninterested in it. If I transfer extra into my grownup life, I believe that those that impacted me essentially the most are Portal and Braid. Portal as a result of it taught me to truly get pleasure from tales in video games, and Braid as a result of it was the primary actually difficult puzzle recreation I performed. It unlocked design-language in my thoughts that I simply didn’t have beforehand.
You’re selecting simply banger after banger. I’m shocked by the Portal choose although. Not as a result of it’s not a terrific recreation, however I do know you’re what I wish to name a “mechanical purist” in terms of video games.
Oh yeah. I actually can’t stand textual content in my video games. RPGs are my least-favorite style ever. I simply wish to play the sport. However the best way Portal gave me the mechanical depth, but additionally saved me within the over-arching story from second to second gave me a greater appreciation for narrative in video games.
As somebody who most likely has extra RPGs in my assortment than another style, my knuckles may be altering colours, however I respect your opinion.
Let’s transfer on to music although. Favourite albums of all time?
I’ve twenty-one information framed and held on the wall of my front room which are one of the best music ever pressed. However for the sake of brevity, I’ll go along with Illmatic by Nas and The Undisputed Fact by Brother Ali.
I might have by no means in one million years have guessed these solutions.
Haha. You anticipate the everyday like Aerosmith or Nirvana? Nah, most of what I take heed to is rap and hip-hop from the 80s by means of the 2010s.
Actually, I’m undecided what I anticipated, nevertheless it wasn’t these.
So, now I’m curious. How does a white man from rural Ohio get into this fashion of music?
I noticed the video for Battle the Energy on MTV once I was seven years outdated. It was rapid. Flav drew me in, and Chuck taught me classes. From there it was a wrap. Rakim, EPMD, LL, De La Soul; you title it, I used to be listening to it. I positively bought made enjoyable of for liking this sort of music rising up within the space the place I got here from. It wasn’t actually till 2Pac blew up that folks began getting somewhat extra into it. However even then, I’d attempt to present somebody the brand new Tribe Referred to as Quest document they usually’d name it wack as a result of it was nonetheless too totally different from the hip-hop that was discovering wider success on the time.
I really like when individuals go actually deep into their musical leanings. I principally listened to no matter my dad was listening to rising up. It wasn’t till highschool that I bought into my very own music tastes. Plenty of “scene” music. Put up-hardcore, metalcore, and so forth. Something on Rise or Victory or Sumerian. I’ve a lot of that period of music.
I’ve a ton of CDs. Like, most likely over 5 thousand of them again dwelling in Ohio organized by launch date. I knew nearly all the things there was within the hip hop world from the 80s till 2010. However there have been like 10 totally different albums dropping on daily basis and I couldn’t sustain anymore.
5 THOUSAND?!
Yeah man. I spent like all of my cash as a child on CDs. I keep in mind this one time I skipped a college subject journey to stroll to the document retailer and get the brand new Ghostface album.
That was the period earlier than Spotify and all the things. How did you even discover that a lot music?
Within the mid to late 90s, a rapper named Large L bought me actually into the underground scene and I’d take heed to radio from in every single place. 888hiphop.com, PhillaFlavaDrop.com, Rhymesayers.web, I used to be tremendous into these items. I’d go watch battles and see individuals earlier than they blew up. It was only a world I used to be totally immersed in.
Dude, I wish to spend one other hour speaking about all of this, however we gotta wrap up quickly. Particularly since this subsequent query I tailor made for you.
Do you have got any TV reveals that you simply all the time have on within the background?
Ha! Okay, you bought me. Sure, I’ve most likely had 4-5 episodes of Mates enjoying on my TV on daily basis for so long as the present has been off-air. Effectively, that and South Park.
Manner again once I initially had the thought for these, the explanation this query got here up is we had like three conferences collectively in at some point and there was all the time a present on within the background of your digicam. I’m positively not a “can simply take heed to it” form of man, so I assumed it’d be enjoyable to see everybody on the staff.
Actually, I might most likely recite a number of of my favourite episodes.
Now that’s leisure. We might perhaps cost for that.
Okay, shifting away from media, do you have got any hobbies outdoors of the home?
I’m actually into sports activities. I took trip days to look at the start of March Insanity. I watch lots of faculty soccer as nicely.
Wait. I do know this one. O-H!
I’m Ohio State’s worst enemy.
Whelp! That backfired. Haha.
Yeah, I’m a Michigan fan.
Even higher! You had a terrific yr.
For the primary time in my lifetime, sure. I used to be ecstatic.
Another groups you get pleasure from? I gained’t danger guessing the Bengals, the Reds, or another Oihio-based sports activities entity.
Good! As a result of I’m all about groups not from my state. Payments, Tar Heels, Penguins, Celts, Pirates. Can’t say I’ve an excessive amount of hometown pleasure there.
Oh. I additionally actually get pleasure from MMA. I get a gaggle of buddies collectively and we watch all of the PPVs.
As an Atlanta sports activities fan, I generally want I hadn’t grown up with my hometown groups.
All proper, nicely we’re out of time. Any ultimate ideas for our Xbox Insiders?
That is going to return to that concept of preserving historical past. If there’s a essential level in what I’m doing, it’s that I concentrate on historical past over the longer term. I would like in 60 years individuals to nonetheless be capable to entry their video games library, and like hand down their Gamertag to their grandkids or no matter. That’s my superb dream state. My video games assortment is essentially the most beneficial factor I personal apart from my home, and I do know that lots of people make investments their time, cash, and vitality into these ecosystems. I wish to do all the things I can to make sure we’re respecting that funding and enabling individuals to maintain enjoying lengthy after we’ve turned to mud.
That’s highly effective stuff man. Extremely acknowledged.
Andrew, thanks a lot for taking the time to speak with everybody right now. It’s been nice!
Thanks for setting this up, Wynn. Till subsequent time!
Xbox Insiders, make sure you be looking out for extra content material all all through February together with extra interviews from the staff, a visit down reminiscence lane, and a lot extra. All of our tenth Anniversary content material could be discovered on our Hub Web page.
Till subsequent time! Wynn/
The submit Get To Know Our Staff: Andrew – Buyer Expertise Supervisor appeared first on Xbox Wire.