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Sierra marketing manager flips Homeworld fans the bird

Posted: 2003-09-03 06:12am
by Spyder
Relic Thread

And offers a nice "fuck you" to Relic forum goers. Feel the love! Buy his products!
Alex (Marweas) Rodberg, Sierra Marketing Mananger wrote:*yawn*

Well, I'll be concluding my participation in this forum with this post. Frankly, the effort put into keeping this miniscule community informed is not worth the aggravation or the time.

I just returned from Leipzig, Germany, where Homeworld 2 was demonstrated at a consumer Games Convention larger than ECTS. The game looked fantastic and people responded to it marvelously. Given that trade shows like ECTS are used to hype upcoming products, not products practically in stores, and given that VUG has about a gazillion games to market (most of which have greater earning potential than HW2) we made the decision to focus on other products at ECTS.

Enjoy the game.

I look forward to hearing more complaints about how Sierra ignores the community. I'm sure accusing instead of asking, and bitching instead of learning will accomplish your goals admirably.

Cheers, and goodbye. - Alex

Posted: 2003-09-03 07:17am
by Sir Sirius
After reading that thread I am not surprised in the least by his reaction.

Posted: 2003-09-03 07:56am
by Warspite
Yes, there were too many flames towards Sierra, but he, as a marketing manager, shouldn't alienate potential costumers, his attitude was too arrogant.

This wouldn't stop me from buying HW2 (when I get a decent enough computer), but there will always be that little chip on the shoulder about Sierra's Marketing Department. Besides, we're paying his car and his suits.

Posted: 2003-09-03 08:44am
by Lord of the Farce
Warspite wrote:Yes, there were too many flames towards Sierra, but he, as a marketing manager, shouldn't alienate potential costumers, his attitude was too arrogant.

This wouldn't stop me from buying HW2 (when I get a decent enough computer), but there will always be that little chip on the shoulder about Sierra's Marketing Department. Besides, we're paying his car and his suits.
Is this guy by any chance related to that Nokia N-Gage marketing guy? :lol:

Posted: 2003-09-04 03:03pm
by Spyder
While it should be noted that gamers can be fucking assholes at the best of times it is important to remember that there's certain behaviour expected from random internet forum goers and then there's behaviour that's to be expected from payed professionals, especially Marketing Managers.

The bottom line is if you take a job that involves drving nails through your forehead who are you to complain when you get hurt?

Just as another example, it would be like if a salesman got an especially difficult customer and suddenly stuck his fingers in his ears and said "Look lady, I'm sick of your shit. I'm not listening! LALALALA."

There are ways ordinary people are supposed to handle situations and there are ways a professionals are supposed to handle situations.

Posted: 2003-09-04 03:32pm
by TheFeniX
Spyder wrote:There are ways ordinary people are supposed to handle situations and there are ways a professionals are supposed to handle situations.
Actually, he's completely right. Being both a tech and a quasi-salesman I know that staying professional is the most important thing you can do. I've watched a 35 year-old woman throw (literally) a "temper-tantrum" when I wouldn't install software on her PC that she could not show proof of licensing. She began to throw things around the room while searching and kept saying "Well, I can't fucking find it!"

"What am I supposed to do?"
Me: "Buy new software."
Her: "I don't have the fucking money for that!"
Me: "Ma'm, that's not really my problem. Have a nice day."

Unfortunately, I can gather that no matter what real-life may offer visually, the Internet can be 100 times worse in the shear number of fuck-heads out there. It's got to get harder as time goes on to put up with it. But Hell, if you paid me enough, I could put up with anyone. Granted, I respect this guy because he actually said what I'd like to tell some of my customers: "Fuck off."

Posted: 2003-09-04 03:38pm
by Lagmonster
He's been a bit of an ass, but on the flip side, he has the right to BE an ass in response to, well, the legion of asses spitting in his general direction.

Frankly, I couldn't care less if the developers were all whoremongering alcoholic compulsive assholes. As long as I don't have to deal with them in any way, and they make great games, I'm happy (An opinion which came in handy when I bought Giants: Citizen Kabuto, because I cannot IMAGINE those developers being normal, well-balanced people).

Posted: 2003-09-04 03:47pm
by Spanky The Dolphin
I rather liked Penny Arcade's take on the situation...

Posted: 2003-09-04 10:11pm
by RedImperator
He shouldn't have done that. It was unprofessional as hell. All that said, those little fucks deserved it. I'd be pissed too if I had some little asshat who couldn't be bothered to spell correctly or use something approximating standard English grammar tell me how to do my job.

Posted: 2003-09-04 10:21pm
by Howedar
Christ, what a bunch of shitstains. Not a good thing for the marketing dude to do, by any means, but I'd have flipped far earlier.

Posted: 2003-09-04 10:33pm
by Alyeska
I say good of the man. He was vicously attacked by fucking idiots. Maybe this will shock the people into submission. Hopefuly the guy will realize those idiots do not make up the majority.

Posted: 2003-09-05 01:48am
by Companion Cube
When Marketing Managers Attack! Part One.

I feel pretty sympathetic towards the guy...

Posted: 2003-09-05 04:03am
by Vympel
The man's a fucking idiot. I feel no sympathy for him. He should be fired.

Posted: 2003-09-05 06:07am
by Crazy_Vasey
What a knob. I could see nothing in that thread to proboke such a horribly unprofessional reply (well there was some stuff in reply to that post which was a bit hair raising I guess, but that's no surprise).

Re: Sierra marketing manager flips Homeworld fans the bird

Posted: 2003-09-05 07:22am
by Eleas
I look forward to hearing more complaints about how Sierra ignores the community. I'm sure accusing instead of asking, and bitching instead of learning will accomplish your goals admirably.
This is just fucking whiny. Not to mention the teensy fact that Sierra are trying to sell a product. Should they be thanked or praised for informing their customers about said product, or checking for what the community wants? I think not.

The customers have no obligation to be nice, or indeed even care about, Rodberg's hurt feelings; the most he can hope for is that they - *gasp* - buy the game.

Posted: 2003-09-05 10:33am
by phongn
Alex got treated like shit, but that does not excuse his behaviour. He should have acted in a professional manner.

Posted: 2003-09-05 04:27pm
by Vertigo1
Considering what Sierra has done to the fans in the past, I say the shitstain deserves more than what he got in that thread. Assholes cancelled ALOT of games that would've brought in quite a bit of money back in '99. Including B5: ITF. Though given who pulls their strings (Vivendi), I'm not suprised. Damn french fucks. :evil:

Posted: 2003-09-05 05:00pm
by Howedar
Jesus Christ, you morons are as bad as the dipshits at the Relic board.

Posted: 2003-09-05 06:33pm
by Alyeska
Vertigo1 wrote:Considering what Sierra has done to the fans in the past, I say the shitstain deserves more than what he got in that thread. Assholes cancelled ALOT of games that would've brought in quite a bit of money back in '99. Including B5: ITF. Though given who pulls their strings (Vivendi), I'm not suprised. Damn french fucks. :evil:
Did you wake up stupid today Vert? This man had NOTHING to do with those incidents and you advocate how people treated him. He had every fucking right to treat those fucking idiots like shit.

Posted: 2003-09-05 06:39pm
by MKSheppard
Vertigo1 wrote:Considering what Sierra has done to the fans in the past
They cancelled what made them great, the Space Quest series, among
others, and the Aces series.

Posted: 2003-09-05 09:21pm
by phongn
MKSheppard wrote:
Vertigo1 wrote:Considering what Sierra has done to the fans in the past
They cancelled what made them great, the Space Quest series, among
others, and the Aces series.
I'm still annoyed at Sierra for killing their Dynamix office. I have fond memories of those games. That, and that closing probably killed a town whose main industry was Sierra.

Posted: 2003-09-05 10:02pm
by weemadando
Yes, now the time is right to deploy the games police special spetznaz division to liquidate the Sierra scumbags and liberate Babylon-5 Into the Fire from their vault...

Encyclopedia Galacticus (2012 edition)

Sierra [Software Company - Earth] - First against the wall when the revolution came. [See Microsoft, WizKids and Steve Jackson]

Posted: 2003-09-06 09:26am
by Spyder
You know, I remember starting SQ5, seeing the Sierra logo slide onto the screen and knowing that something good was coming.

Now these guys don't even do marketing right.

Posted: 2003-09-06 11:25am
by Vympel
Alyeska wrote: This man had NOTHING to do with those incidents and you advocate how people treated him. He had every fucking right to treat those fucking idiots like shit.
Doesn't matter. He can't do his fucking job properly and loses his temper, going off at customers- fuck him. That's the point. Penny Arcade put it quite well actually. The gaming community also has other issues with him. His post was also, full of shit.

Posted: 2003-09-06 11:48am
by phongn
Spyder wrote:You know, I remember starting SQ5, seeing the Sierra logo slide onto the screen and knowing that something good was coming.
I remember the old 640x480 VGA Sierra logo complete with MIDI sound :D

Ahh, those were the days.