While Xbox One fans are speculating that Sony has made shady deals with online gaming media about their PlayStation 4, it turns out that Microsoft is paying YouTubers to feature their next-gen console in their videos.
The promotion, recently launched by the company offered partners of Machinima to earn additional revenue from their videos, if they feature the Xbox One.
First reported by ArsTechnica, the offer gave chance to video uploaders to gain extra credit, if they feature at least 30 seconds of Xbox One game footage that mentioned the console by name and included the tag “XB1M13.” Although about 6,870 results can be found in a YouTube search for the unique term, most of them seem to be videos featuring anti-campaign comments and negative opinions from YouTubers about the partnership between Machinima and Xbox One.
A leaked document on Pastebin reveals the supposed official agreement of the deal. In order to be eligible for the campaign, videos have to show the Xbox One in a positive light. Advertisement of the campaign can also be found on Machinima’s Popten account, where additional details about a similar offer to video partners can be found surrounding the release of the next-gen console back in November, 2013.
Currently Microsoft hasn’t made any comment regarding the issue. As suggested by ArsTechnica, if the leaked agreement of the stealth deal is real it might go against the official FTC Guidelines for use of endorsements in advertising.
UPDATE: Microsoft and Machinima have issued a joint statement regarding the promotion.
Source: ArsTechnica, Machinima Poptent
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