Microsoft Apologizes for Issues, Extends Halo 3 Beta

Yesterday, despite assurances that Crackdown owners would be able to participate in the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta, Xbox 360 users were tied up in knots by unknown technical issues. Though a fix was eventually released, Microsoft is now apologizing for their mistake. They have extended the Beta period to June 10th to compensate the folks who may have taken off of work to play, and for general annoyance. "It's been a long day for a lot of people but we're happy to announce that effective immediately, a title update for Crackdown is available on Xbox Live that will fix the issue that previously prevented you from downloading the beta. The Microsoft team just deployed this fix and when you launch Crackdown you should receive a prompt to download the update. Please note that it could take up to four hours for your console to receive this update based on various factors. However, the good news is that we're in the clear and Halo 3 gameplay is just over the horizon."

Comments

Re:The real news

[Cap'nPedro]

You don't have to buy Halo, but you're pretty much forced into buying their OS. It's best for them to keep people happy about Halo.

What mistake?

[Crasty]

There was no mistake, there was a glitch, and nobody had any right to complain about it, as the Halo 3 beta is a BETA. It is not a free preview. Part of the beta process is hammering out bugs. I think Microsoft is foolish to extend the beta to appease people. In doing so, they are admitting that it is actually a free preview. I'm sure they need to test for server stress, but come on.. What right does anyone have to bitch about a product that is incomplete and they have agreed to test for free?

This is precisely why most companies have you fill out a questionaire before you can participate in a beta. So they can weed out the people that just want to take a look at the game before it's released.

Re:Taken off work?

[xXBondsXx]

WOW! How do you go from people taking time off of work to do something the enjoy to the utter economic, political, and moral downfall of America? Look plenty of other countries (France, the UK, etc) are doing MUCH better than Americans are and they work LESS. Enjoying something that you do should not be basis for criticism.