PS3 developer fired for talking

Written by Tim Smalley

February 2, 2006 | 16:00

Tags: #3 #3d #artist #console #developer #fired #interview #ps3

Companies: #sony

There is an interesting interview with the former Sony 3D artist, Josh Robinson, over on PS3Week. The man is famous for getting fired from Sony after sharing his opinion on the current state of the eagerly awaited PlayStation 3 console.

The ex-Sony 3D artist ran the review past two Sony employees, including a producer at the company, before publishing it in order to check that it wasn't breaking non-disclosure agreements. However, he didn't expect things to escalate in the way that they did.

Robinson's rant started with the obvious question: "... my immediate impression of the PS3 is…where is it? Seriously, where is it?" and then went on to state: "They have a case, a controller and a dev kit. But the system still doesn’t even exist. So what is there to say? We received one of 5 PS3 dev kits in the United States..."

As could be expected, comments like those made by Robinson ruffled the feathers in the Sony mothership. The company executives were left with no option other than to remove Robinson from his position with immediate effect.

However, when questioned about the expected reaction from Sony bosses when they found out about his 'review', Robinson seemed pretty surprised when he found out his fate, as he responded: "Absolutely not! I was pretty floored actually..."

He went on to say that he's learnt about non-disclosure agreements the hard way: "Did I knowingly break NDA? I absolutely did not. I would never do that and I would never want to hurt Sony Online. Did I dance in the grey area by even opening my mouth? Yes I did and I was fired for it. So I guess the new rule for me is, don’t ever say anything at all about anything. Ever...ever."

What do you think about PlayStation 3 and Sony's decision to sack Robinson for the statements he made in his article on Down In Front?

You can read his original words removed from Down In Front over in Beyond3D forums and don't forget to give the full interview a read and let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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