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Microsoft Sued Over Scratched Xbox 360 Discs
Xbm360 writes "Microsoft has been sued by Jorge Brouwer from the US who claims that Xbox 360s scratched his game discs, making them unusable. 'Some gamers speculate that moving the console between vertical and horizontal positions while a disc is spinning inside could cause the scratching. Microsoft warns against such actions with a sticker placed on new consoles, and Brouwer said in the lawsuit that Microsoft's customer service representatives asked him if he had tilted the console. He said he had not. The lawsuit also cites investigations of similar consumer complaints conducted by a Dutch television program, which found that one of nine consoles tested scratched a disc after five hours of play.'"
Microsoft does exchange scratched discs for games published by Microsoft. Some other companies has similar schemes.6 0/gameplay/discreplacement-program.htm
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox3
When can we get this through to people?
You are allowed to break encryption to make a backup. You can even get help from somebody else. Of course, that somebody else will ahve to go to jail, because helping someone else break the encryption is illegal - but being helped is not. Think of it as making abortion legal, but wording the law so that anybody who performs them for someone else, or sells the supplies and instruments necessary to do so, or provides instruction in such a procedure goes to jail. You can always use a coathanger, a flashlight, and guess - so that preserves your rights, doesn't it?
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Here is a pretty simple fix in case anyone is brave enough to try. Also there is a movie link that shows the degree of the scratches. Be aware, the page is a visual disaster on the eyes. You have been warned.
Yeah, I agree. I have bumped the hell out of my laptop on occasion while burning a DVD and not only did the disc not scratch but the burn completed successfully. Thanks to missing bumper pads, it seems even the slightest of bumps or a game disc that is the tiniest bit out of tolerance could cause a devastating scratch. Hell, the bumper pads can't cost more than a fraction of a penny so I don't see a significant savings here for the drive manufacturer. It just doesn't make sense why the drives are manufactured this way.
After watching Sycko now I am very afraid to live in the USA. How can you live there?
Because real life and Michael Moore's documentary aren't really the same thing.
Obligatory "praise Nintendo" post follows:
... Ok, your new copy will be shipped tomorrow."
I had a similar situation with my copy of Wii Sports. The machine itself didn't damage the disc, but that silly flimsy cardboard holder they package it in (hello, jewel cases are how much in bulk?) took it's toll. My conversation with Nintendo customer service went something like this:
"My copy of Wii Sports is scratched, will no longer play."
"Are any of your other games scratched or not playing correctly?"
"No, only Wii Sports, scratched by the cardboard holder."
"Ok, let me pull up your My Nintendo profile
They probably spent a buck or two with UPS to ship it, and pennies to make the disc. The new copy is in an old jewel case that was lying around, and they gained one customer impressed by their service. Why Microsoft can't do the same is beyond me.