Hello, everybody! Wynn right here once more. Welcome again to a different Xbox Insider Workforce interview. At this time’s chat is with Andrew—a Customer Experience Manager on the workforce who positively has extra Xbox 360 video games than you do.

How’s it going, Andrew?

Ha. Going nicely, Wynn. You didn’t must 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 will know you’ve shed your mortal coil.

I can get behind that.

However earlier than we dive into your 7^th gen obsessions, let’s take all of it the way in which again. Give us the backstory. What began your curiosity in video games?

I’ve been taking part in video games my complete life, at the same time as a really small little one. I’m courting myself slightly right here, however my first console was an Atari Pong house console.

That’s about as OG as you may get.

Yup! And I’ve been taking part in ever since. All the way in which from Mario to Halo, which is admittedly what received 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 bear in mind the Xbox Reside 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 need to begin working at Xbox. I grew up in rural Ohio, so it wasn’t actually a giant tech hub.

So how way back did you get employed?

I believe round 13 years in the past or so. Proper initially of the 2010s I received employed to do Twitter Help for Xbox. I used to be a type of outdated brokers the place we’d reply to tweets or DMs with our initials.

Oh wow! I really did one thing comparable after I was within the retail shops. If you happen to clicked “Help” on Outlook Cell in like 2015-2017, you’ll have talked to me. It’s a harder job than individuals would possibly assume.

Yeah, you discuss individuals by so many alternative points each day. You grow to be a really well-oiled assist machine after some time.

Completely. If I attempted onerous sufficient, I might most likely bear in mind a number of the error codes.

Similar right here. I bear 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 Workforce. Then, I did that for a couple of years earlier than shifting to the Insider workforce the place I nonetheless kinda do numerous 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 at present engaged on which you can inform the Xbox Insider neighborhood about?

I’m not engaged on an excessive amount of for Xbox Insider particularly proper now, although I’m at all times making an attempt to enhance the options we flight by this system. I suppose essentially the most attention-grabbing stuff I’m doing—that will even be attention-grabbing to this viewers—is that I’m engaged on all of our legacy Xbox 360 companies.

Okay, that’s sick.

Yeah, I’ve been on that workforce for some time now and it’s one thing I’m extraordinarily obsessed with. I consider we’ve got to do every thing we will to greatest protect and recognize our historical past earlier than we will really transfer into the long run.

I’m absolutely with you there on that man. I do know I joked about it earlier than, however I need to let our readers know that you just 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 gather these in the mean time.

My JPN 360 is gathering 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 may have a favourite second in time from engaged on it because you’ve been right here?

Man, I’ve finished so many issues really for the Xbox 360, however I can’t actually discuss most of them; even on reflection. However I do have considered one of my most cherished recreation collections objects from working right here.

Let’s hear it.

So, after 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 in the event you hear onerous sufficient, that’s a refrain of voices from our neighborhood 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 liked that OS. Quick ahead to round 2017-2018, I had simply transferred over to a brand new CSS function, and I used to be speaking about my love for the blades with my new workforce. Effectively, a long-tenured teammate confirmed up at my workplace a couple of week later. Seems, he labored on the {hardware} workforce, 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 considered one of my favourite issues I personal. A real gem in my assortment which means quite a bit to me personally.

I really like that a lot. I might 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 all the 20-year run.

Okay, let’s transfer on to a number of the extra rapid-fire stuff.

What’s a recreation that’s had the largest influence on you all through the years?

Hmm. I’m unsure I can decide 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 after I knew I used to be going to be taking part in 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 way in which for a lot. Even rising up my favourite recreation, and possibly nonetheless my favourite recreation of all time is Tremendous Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. I might play that recreation time 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 really take pleasure in 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 choosing simply banger after banger. I’m shocked by the Portal decide although. Not as a result of it’s not an important recreation, however I do know you’re what I prefer to name a “mechanical purist” relating to video games.

Oh yeah. I actually can’t stand textual content in my video games. RPGs are my least-favorite style ever. I simply need to play the sport. However the way in which 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 is likely to 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 lounge which might be the very best music ever pressed. However for the sake of brevity, I’ll go together with Illmatic by Nas and The Undisputed Fact by Brother Ali.

I might have by no means in 1,000,000 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 the 2010s.

Actually, I’m unsure what I anticipated, however 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 Struggle the Energy on MTV after I was seven years outdated. It was instant. Flav drew me in, and Chuck taught me classes. From there it was a wrap. Rakim, EPMD, LL, De La Soul; you identify it, I used to be listening to it. I positively received made enjoyable of for liking the 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 slightly extra into it. However even then, I’d attempt to present somebody the brand new Tribe Known as Quest file and so they’d name it wack as a result of it was nonetheless too completely 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 received into my very own music tastes. Plenty of “scene” music. Submit-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 house in Ohio organized by launch date. I knew nearly every thing there was within the hip hop world from the 80s till 2010. However there have been like 10 completely different albums dropping each day and I couldn’t sustain anymore.

5 THOUSAND?!

Yeah man. I spent like all of my cash as a child on CDs. I bear in mind this one time I skipped a college discipline journey to stroll to the file retailer and get the brand new Ghostface album.

That was the period earlier than Spotify and every thing. How did you even discover that a lot music?

Within the mid to late 90s, a rapper named Huge L received me actually into the underground scene and I’d take heed to radio from all over the place. 888hiphop.com, PhillaFlavaDrop.com, Rhymesayers.web, I used to be tremendous into these things. I’d go watch battles and see individuals earlier than they blew up. It was only a world I used to be absolutely immersed in.

Dude, I need 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 may have any TV exhibits that you just at all times have on within the background?

Ha! Okay, you bought me. Sure, I’ve most likely had 4-5 episodes of Associates taking part in on my TV each day for so long as the present has been off-air. Effectively, that and South Park.

Means again after I initially had the concept for these, the explanation this query got here up is we had like three conferences collectively in sooner or later and there was at all times a present on within the background of your digicam. I’m positively not a “can simply take heed to it” type of man, so I assumed it’d be enjoyable to see everybody on the workforce.

Actually, I might most likely recite a couple of of my favourite episodes.

Now that’s leisure. We might possibly cost for that.

Okay, shifting away from media, do you may have any hobbies exterior of the home?

I’m actually into sports activities. I took trip days to look at the start of March Insanity. I watch numerous 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 an important 12 months.

For the primary time in my lifetime, sure. I used to be ecstatic.

Another groups you take pleasure in? 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 satisfaction there.

Oh. I additionally actually take pleasure in MMA. I get a bunch 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 remaining ideas for our Xbox Insiders?

That is going to return to that concept of preserving historical past. If there’s a fundamental level in what I’m doing, it’s that I give attention to historical past over the long run. 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 ultimate dream state. My video games assortment is essentially the most beneficial factor I personal aside from my home, and I do know that lots of people make investments their time, cash, and power into these ecosystems. I need to do every thing I can to make sure we’re respecting that funding and enabling individuals to maintain taking part in 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 at the moment. It’s been nice!

Thanks for setting this up, Wynn. Till subsequent time!

Xbox Insiders, remember to be looking out for extra content material all all through February together with extra interviews from the workforce, 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/