I don't think Mr. Smith was trying to come off as a douche. He seemed like he was excited and made some poor word choices. I know I've done that plenty of times, just not before an audience of thousands of legitimately upset consumers. Unfortunately, the overwhelmingly negative response to a fellow who was attempting to be a human being is why we, as consumers, usually receive rounded-off-edges heavily-PR'ed information from companies. In fairness, the print medium leaves a bit to be desired in fully communicating thoughts and feelings, plus it's an issue people were already upset about, so it was a 'thin-ice' situation not tactfully handled. It is also worth noting that he, most likely, has no input into the financial decisions. I certainly don't think Mr. Smith deserves to lose his job, let alone be subjected to any of the other demeaning suggestions on the forums. That said, the community has a totally legitimate complaint regarding TTK's release and the perceived flippant treatment of the player base. People are usually rather adept at knowing a trite money-grab when they see one, and (especially given Activision's history) it is difficult to see this situation as anything else.