Hostage Situation At The Weekly Geek
A normal day at video game website The Weekly Geek turned sour this past Thursday, as disgruntled gamer, Micheal Wiegand, is holding positive news articles hostage.
The situation started last Thursday, as Wiegand posted this on the video game news site The Weekly Geek. The article itself was Wiegand's reactions towards the Red Ring of Death, a technical problem that has been plaguing many Xbox 360 units across the country, with Wiegand as the latest victim. What was first perceived as a minor problem blown out of proportion by a vocal minority has gained traction over the months, with more and more consumers experiencing the Red Ring of Death on their consoles. Microsoft has stated that this is an isolated issue that only affects 3-5% of the consoles in circulation. Micheal Wiegand says otherwise.
Wiegand's article shares his frustrations with Microsoft's customer service, and his assumption that the failure rate for 360's is somewhere around 10%, as oppossed to Microsoft's more conservative numbers. But the most shocking part of this article came at the end, when Wiegand made this announcement:
Prove that you can stranglehold the market by backing up your customer service claims. Send me, your dejected disciple, a New 360 and a Free Gold Subscription for a Year and I’ll retract this article and replace it with a flattering one.
Washington authorities responded quickly and closed off the area around Wiegand's house. There has been an uneasy standoff between the authorities and Wiegand ever since.
"As far as we know, no articles have been harmed," said Sherrif Fred Kramer. "We don't know how many "flattering" articles are being held against their will. We're still gathering information. We'll keep you informed."
A spokesman for Microsoft came forward to say, "It is Microsoft's policy not to respond to threats or terrorism. However, we are working closely with law enforcement officials to ensure this ends peacefully."
Wiegand has stated that if Microsoft doesn't respond by 9:00 PM, Monday night, his negative article will remain on the site and he will release another negative article every hour until his demands are met. Wiegand's demands include: a replacement Xbox 360, a yearlong Xbox Live Gold subscription, one bus with a full gas tank, and one jumbo jet with a full gas tank and pilots parked at the runway of JFK International Airport.
Wiegand's family and friends expressed shock at his behavior.
"I've known Mike a long time. He's never acted like this. Sure, he got pretty mad when the 360 kept freezing while we were trying to play some Gears, but I never thought he would react like this," said Nick Nevarro, Wiegand's neighbor. Wiegand's immediate family was unavailable for comment.
As the situation reaches it's fifth day, Microsoft and local authorities remain adamant in continuing negotiations in the hopes of bringing the entire crisis to a peaceful conclusion.