You may know Jonathan Blow as the developer behind the incredibly complex and imaginative title Braid that is available on the Xbox 360, PS3 and via Steam. Or you may know him as the whiny indie who seems to have a chip on his shoulder about Microsoft.
Well he’s emerged from his cafe latte mocca something or other to again complain about Microsoft. This time it’s the fact that Microsoft dropped the price of Braid on the Xbox Live Marketplace without consulting him first that has him enraged.
Unfortunately the original tweet has now been deleted but not before Neogaf got them all down as images.
He then went on to threaten to pull the game from the Xbox Live Marketplace
So there are a few things wrong here. Firstly Braid was published by Microsoft on the Xbox 360 and as a publisher they have full say on the price a game gets marketed at. Jonathan signed that contract and has now accidently misplaced it.
But when people started nosing around it was pointed out that the price was actually dropped way back in 2010. This was quickly pointed out and then JB tweeted
Whoops.. so he was consulted and he did agree to drop the price way back when but then subsequently forgot and starts bashing Microsoft for it.
Now I get that he has a testy working relationship with them but he really should remember that Microsoft marketed the hell out of his little game and while the game is great it could have easily been missed if the marketing wasn’t so widespread. So show a little class.
Also if you haven’t played Braid make sure you do that, it’s an excellent game.
Last Updated: March 31, 2014
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 31, 2014 at 14:38
I probably shouldn’t find it very funny that the currency is called “MSP”, but I do.
Dutch Matrix
March 31, 2014 at 14:41
Ons dommes vang dit nie?
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 31, 2014 at 14:41
Ma se… let’s say… pannekoek.
Sk3tz0
March 31, 2014 at 14:42
LOL.. Us Innocent ppl never got it 😛
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 31, 2014 at 14:43
That’s what she said?
Sk3tz0
March 31, 2014 at 14:39
Is that a Case of Foot in Mouth Disease.. LOL.. Cheap it is more it will sell more it sell the more u get in ur %..
Rince
March 31, 2014 at 14:40
BWAHAHAH! Oh man, what an epic self-fail rant.
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 31, 2014 at 14:45
What a blowhard. tee hee.
Rince
March 31, 2014 at 14:47
Well blow me down with a feather?
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 31, 2014 at 14:48
I would, but I’d hate to be tarred with the same brush.
FoxOneZA
March 31, 2014 at 14:40
He should make his mind up properly about what he is ranting about other than ranting, retracting, ranting.
I hereby retract my comment.
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 31, 2014 at 14:41
This is actually rather funny.
“bwaaaaaaaa M$ evol!”
“But you agreed.”
“Oops, okay. But I’ll be sarcastic to you for pointing it out!”
lol.
Rince
March 31, 2014 at 14:42
I know, tehehehe.
VampyreSquirrel
March 31, 2014 at 14:44
Looks like he has “Blow” (read bugger) all for a brain… freaking retard.
Hammersteyn
March 31, 2014 at 14:45
Seems like he doesn’t plan on doing business with MS again.
Umar hearts Grandia
March 31, 2014 at 14:45
well he said my bad….
Kromas
March 31, 2014 at 14:47
“It makes a lot more on Steam anyways” …. Master race playing Braid it seems.
VampyreSquirrel
March 31, 2014 at 14:47
Oh and on a side note… MSP doesn’t exist anymore… does this dude even know what is going on in the gaming world?
iAmWeasel
March 31, 2014 at 14:47
A surprised and sarcastic “Thanks MS” is not exactly what I would calling bashing them. Besides that, he did admit he may be wrong and did also delete the tweet, so I don’t really see whats the big deal.
Umar hearts Grandia
March 31, 2014 at 14:48
Exactly this, I don’t see the need to condemn Johnathan like that….
Eric
March 31, 2014 at 15:04
LG has been doing quite a lot of that lately. I really love coming here, but sometimes I just shake my head.
ToshZA
March 31, 2014 at 15:30
Ok, so I want to ask something here. I see this as simple reporting on the news. This is something that happened with a gaming dev. People are talking about it. As a news site, this seems appropriate content. They’re not bashing him just to bash him, they’re responding to his behaviour with a reminder that MS is the company that helped skyrocket his game into success. I don’t see this as bashing or condemning him. What Gavin says is true – he shouldn’t have just ranted like that, he should’ve contacted MS directly, sorted the issue out, like an adult – instead of running to the internet with a temper tantrum. It doesn’t reflect well on him, even if his concerns were legit. There’s a better way to handle this sort of thing. By no means does that make Jonathan a terrible person, but it does mean he needs to check himself next time. The internet is filled with people who do rage and condemn for really much less than something like this.
Can you explain your side of this? I can’t see where you’re coming from here, which is why I ask.
Edit: I need to clarify – this question is specific to bringing LG into the bashing/condemning thing. They’re merely reporting and adding a legitimate concern and opinion into the mix. The others on the net who do condemn and bash for no reason get no sympathy or defence from me.
iAmWeasel
March 31, 2014 at 15:52
Reporting the news = “Jonathon Blow said this.” LG’s take on reporting the news = “Jonathon Blow said this… but read carefully between the lines and there is all this underlying hatred and, sheesh this guy has no class.. scandal!”
ToshZA
March 31, 2014 at 16:43
And yet ending with “Go buy his game because it’s great.” Oh yeah, you missed that part. What I was looking for in an answer you couldn’t provide because you are not the person I asked. Please avoid answering on behalf of someone else – who is most certainly capable of providing his own answer. One which makes a hell of a lot more sense than this garbage of yours.
iAmWeasel
March 31, 2014 at 16:45
Holy crap.. someone is feeling sensitive today. This is a discussion thread, I was under the impression that people discuss things with each other here. Shall I next time ask permission before I voice my opinion?
Eric
March 31, 2014 at 15:55
When it comes to reporting, then sure, you can hide behind the fact that you’re just reporting. But as soon as you start putting your own opinions into your reporting, then it really isn’t reporting anymore. Then you’re opening yourself up to people who don’t agree with you.
Saying something like “Or you may know him as the whiny indie who seems to have a chip on his shoulder about Microsoft.”, at the very start of your article does kind of set the tone for the rest of it.
Jonathan Blow might have been all over the internet on every forum trying to explain exactly what Braid was about when people got it wrong, but it hardly makes him a whiny indie. Most indies are seen as “whiny”, but the games they produce are really an extension of themselves. A LOT of indie developers have issues with MS.
Lets be honest. A couple of tweets 5mins out from each other where a guy makes an accusation, and actually apologizing after he sees he made a mistake isn’t really that newsworthy. This is just something I’d rather expect from the women24 “journalists”, Like I said. I love coming to LG. I read almost every article posted every day, but these kinds of articles just irks me.
ToshZA
March 31, 2014 at 16:41
Ok, that’s valid. Fair enough, thank you.
CAE9872
March 31, 2014 at 16:02
Yeah I agree – yes he gets a little upset at first and then admits to a possible mistake. Don’t see why that makes him a whiney indie. And hell the rest of the world is at MS throats so why can’t he if he so wishes. We all entitled to an opinion sometimes – right or wrong!
He obviously isn’t that enamoured with MS at moment and am sure there are behind the scenes things we don’t know (and shouldn’t necessarily know/care for).
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
March 31, 2014 at 14:48
This dude just irritates me really… Braid was okay.
Maxiviper117
March 31, 2014 at 14:55
In other news, the Lazygamer Minecraft server is looking schweet, especially with a shaders mod.
VampyreSquirrel
March 31, 2014 at 15:03
freaky mod… *rubs hands together*
Maxiviper117
March 31, 2014 at 16:29
Its called the Sonic Ethers Unbelievable shaders mod, for Minecraft 1.7.2
VampyreSquirrel
March 31, 2014 at 16:31
found it already lol… will consider installing it for myself
Maxiviper117
March 31, 2014 at 16:32
I recommend using it with Optifine, cuz it is GPU intensive.
Ottokie
March 31, 2014 at 15:08
LoL my rugby stadium in the back looks lonely…probably because of last weeks horrible superbru score
ZumaIsPoes
March 31, 2014 at 15:17
where is the Anc spokesperson ( mac what what )
“it was taken out of context guys”
ToshZA
March 31, 2014 at 15:17
Who was it that was saying he doesn’t like the attitudes of self-entitled indie devs? I see his point.
Michael Matusowsky
March 31, 2014 at 15:40
What a greedy little cunt.
El Capitan del Blade
March 31, 2014 at 15:43
Are We sure he wasn’t one of the Team RiZe drafts 😛
B4d R0b0t
April 1, 2014 at 08:23
In his defense he is a) a coder b) has dealings with Microsoft. Not a good mix for a stable mind.