Eric Neustadter
Encyclopedia
Eric Alan Neustadter, also known by his Xbox Live Gamertag e, is the Operations Manager for the Microsoft
gaming network Xbox Live
. Neustadter is frequently a co-host of Larry Hryb's "Major Nelson Radio" Xbox-related podcast. Neustadter has been with Xbox Live since 2002. He attended the University of Oregon.
According to Microsoft, "e" is the first Gamertag ever created on Xbox Live, having been created on August 13, 2002. Neustadter picked the Gamertag in the early stages of Xbox Live as an abbreviation for his first name.
viral marketing
campaign OurColony
. In his role as Director of Xbox Operations for Xbox Live, Neustadter appeared in a video which was included with all consoles of the Xbox 360
when it was originally released.
Neustadter is also credited as contributing to Halo 3
in the role of "Platform & Xbox Live: Microsoft Xbox".
He has also appeared on the Rooster Teeth podcast.
The text messages included
Police initially responded with a SWAT
team, only to discover the threat was a hoax. No one was injured in the incident. As a result, the King County Sheriff Department sent a memo to other agencies alerting them to the hoax.
Disgruntled members of Xbox Live
apparently are pranking Microsoft Employees who are tasked with enforcing rules on that on-line service. The Deputy report read, in part,
“He [Neustadter] informed me that he is XXX for Xbox Live Operations and one of his primary duties is to head up teams whose job it is to find and shut down hackers who hack the system to locate cheats for Xbox and try and sell them. The hackers become extremely upset when this occurs and have been known to retaliate for it."
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
gaming network Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
. Neustadter is frequently a co-host of Larry Hryb's "Major Nelson Radio" Xbox-related podcast. Neustadter has been with Xbox Live since 2002. He attended the University of Oregon.
According to Microsoft, "e" is the first Gamertag ever created on Xbox Live, having been created on August 13, 2002. Neustadter picked the Gamertag in the early stages of Xbox Live as an abbreviation for his first name.
Other media
Identifying himself only by his Xbox Live gamertag "first", Neustadter briefly appeared in the video at the end of the Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
campaign OurColony
OurColony
OurColony is a search opera type alternate reality game and a viral marketing campaign for the marketing of a successor to the Microsoft Xbox. The game asks players to form colonies and earn points by completing various tasks...
. In his role as Director of Xbox Operations for Xbox Live, Neustadter appeared in a video which was included with all consoles of the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
when it was originally released.
Neustadter is also credited as contributing to Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
in the role of "Platform & Xbox Live: Microsoft Xbox".
He has also appeared on the Rooster Teeth podcast.
"Swatting" Hoax
On August 29, 2011, the King County Sheriff Department responded to a 911 call in response to a text message received by AT&T's emergency cell phone service. The text message, apparently from Neustadter, indicated that several armed "Russian" gunmen were invading his home.The text messages included
- “2 armed Russian males broke in and they shot my son”
- “They have claymores outside... my door is barricaded...pls hurry!”
- “They are coming upstairs...pls hurry.”
- “Kicked the door in.”
- “Now they are trying to break into my room.”
Police initially responded with a SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
team, only to discover the threat was a hoax. No one was injured in the incident. As a result, the King County Sheriff Department sent a memo to other agencies alerting them to the hoax.
Disgruntled members of Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
apparently are pranking Microsoft Employees who are tasked with enforcing rules on that on-line service. The Deputy report read, in part,
“He [Neustadter] informed me that he is XXX for Xbox Live Operations and one of his primary duties is to head up teams whose job it is to find and shut down hackers who hack the system to locate cheats for Xbox and try and sell them. The hackers become extremely upset when this occurs and have been known to retaliate for it."