Microsoft Fires Xbox Employee Who Talked About Hardware Failures

A little over a week ago, we posted a story pointing to Dean Takahashi's fascinating report on the absurdly high hardware failures occurring with the Xbox 360. Microsoft apparently knew about these problems as the units were coming off the production line but decided to launch the console anyway. Most of Takahashi's sources were deliberately anonymous, but one person did not mind putting his name out there, despite the high risk involved.

Robert Delaware, who was a contract employee that served as a game tester, has indeed been let go, and his manager told him it was because he spoke on the record without permission to Takahashi. Furthermore, Delaware could be facing civil charges from his former employer. "I don't regret it," he told VentureBeat. "I'll fight it. If they want to come after me, bring it on."

Takahashi called the firing by Microsoft a "witch hunt mentality" even though the company is within its rights to let Delaware go. "People like Delaware are more useful hunting down bugs and fixing problems. I think the company really should apply their energy in different directions, like making sure that consumers are treated right. The firing disappoints me, and I wish Delaware well," Takahashi added.