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Microsoft Giving Xbox Live Users a Free Game
Earlier this week we covered the Xbox Live outages over the holidays. Several users have pointed out that Microsoft has acknowledged its lack of performance, and is now offering a free game to compensate its users. Unfortunately for Microsoft, disgruntled patrons have already filed a class action lawsuit over the recent difficulties. Quoting the PC World article:
"Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten said that the problems with Xbox Live downtime were caused by an influx of new users who had gotten an Xbox 360 over the holidays. It's been a record-setting season for Xbox Live. 'This included our largest sign-up of new members to Xbox LIVE in our 5 year history and just yesterday you broke the record for the single biggest day of concurrent members ever on the service,' said Whitten."
I'm guessing the free game is going to Pong Advanced.
God, schmod. I want my monkey man!
will it be a game of dodge the flying chair?
don't flame me please, it was just a thought!
living the dream
Last night was another terrible night of XBOX Live gaming. COD4 was unplayable online. At one point, while designated as host, my XBOX froze, unfroze, froze, unfroze and so on for 10 minutes. I couldn't even back out being host. The only way i would have been able to get control over my system was to turn it off. I didn't just to see how long XBOX Live was going to keep my XBOX 360 hostage to its poor performance while surfed for prices for SONY's PS3 gaming system. Now that nearly every major motion picture company has abandoned HD-DVD for BluRay and it appears Apple is going BluRay, the PS3 is looking to be a more desirable platform. I am really not satisfied with the response that Microsoft has put out and giving me a P.O.S. XBLA game I will never play for losing two weeks of paid service that still doesn't appear to be fixed isn't convincing me to stay with Microsoft -- not to mention the three times I have sent my XBOX 360 in because of the Red Ring of Death.
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
Okay - I realise it's annoying when a service doesn't work, but only a little bit. Considering every single user of the service likes to play games, a free game seems a perfectly good level of compensation.
Years ago I used to play Asheron's Call. In those days, Microsoft owned the game, and instead of logging directly onto the servers you had to pass through Microsoft's "Gaming Zone." This was later extended to requiring Internet Explorer to access a Microsoft Passport account to log in to the Gaming Zone so you could get to Asheron's Call. Thanks to this convoluted system, there were a LOT of connection problems that weren't addressed until Microsoft finally sold the game back to Turbine, and you could log directly onto the Turbine servers.
Good luck XBOX Live customers, and don't hold your breath...
9.09999% Five nines, as promised. ;-)
-- Support a free market in the field of government
Given the results of the class action law suit against Sony, due to the unlawful/undisclosed root-kitting of consumers' computers, I can imagine that the free game, already offered by Microsoft, is probably going to exceed any class action payout. Unless, of course, you happen to be a lawyer.
In which case it's probably a worth-while pursuit.
I aren't a member of X-Box Live though, so your level of frustration may make it worth the time, though if you were frustrated by poor service over the holidays I can't imagine that a law suit will be any less frustrating...
...then why is it still happening, now?
I don't know if it's lawsuit-worthy, but the notion that they were unprepared for an influx of new users during the holiday season is pretty much inexcusable. Besides, let's say they make the free game available tonight; we still can't sign in our profiles to get it.
Microsoft really just had to maintain its velocity in order to handily beat the PS3. Screw-ups like this are going to send their potential customer base over to their rivals in droves. Granted, the online experience on the PS3 and Wii is fairly primitive compared to XBL, but there haven't been any of these sensationalist reports to indicate that they don't work.
Blech.
It's not like this was a SURPRISE to them. They SELL the units, the have absolute control over how many units are sold. If your netgame people say the current network can support 80,000 users, you DON'T SELL 200,000 UNITS until you have upgraded your network. (numbers fabricated but you get the idea)
This was entirely their responsibility, and I cannot believe they did not see this coming. What it came down to is they wanted to do a money grab for the holidays so they made as many units as they possibly could, to hell with the network until we get past christmas then we'll divert resources from production to upgrade the net so they can USE the product.
Not saying it's unexpected, just shameful is all. Nothing new there in business.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
The basic idea of money is that one dollar is just as good as another. If the customers paid for something they didn't get, it doesn't matter what was being bought, they have the right to be compensated.
TFA says that Microsoft 'was "disappointed" with Xbox Live's performance'
... oh it's Microsoft.
Well it should blame the server software vendor for the lack of concurrency
My little Linux and tech blog
Maybe now people will see why having all your online PC games tied to a MS Live service is a terrible idea.
There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.
...a great promotion is to fail and blame it on popularity abundance.
Do we have any examples of high user load being successfully maintained?
"Our network works just fine... please somebody use it"
These problems started two weeks before the Christmas holidays. In my case on the first reboot after the winter software update was installed.
They're making excuses. It has nothing to do with Christmas gifts.
WEAK MINDED FOOLS JOIN IN CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT Jan 6, 2008. A bunch of simpering idiots caught unaware by overloaded servers were today taken by ambulance to local hospitals in various locations around the U.S. The idiots were all suffering from mental breakdowns brought on by online game server failures and overloading at various Microsoft data centers around the country. "I was just playing my game and, um, it just suddenly locked up on me!" ranted Mike Hunt of Birdflip, Arkansas, "and those Microsoft bastards wouldn't even answer the phone when I called! I was, like, FREAKING OUT and they wouldn't answer the phone! It was horrible and I pee'd my pants because I was on the phone for so long. They deliberately WOULDN'T ANSWER!" After being sedated, a Microsoft Xbox 360 controller was pried from his left hand. Mr. Hunt is recovering slowly at Rapeme Medical Center outside of Little Rock where he was airlifted after the local medical clinic facilities in his hometown of Birdflip proved inadequate to the task. It is unclear whether Mr. Hunt's medical insurance will cover the cost of the air ambulance service. Quoting Mr. Hunt's attorney, Don I. Cheatem, "We'll sue Microsoft for the air ambulance costs too. The devils in Redmond won't get away with this. It's just a simple computer game and now my client is in the hospital. Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves. I've seen these kinds of products before. Remember the Erector Set? All those little kids who skinned their knuckles when their screwdrivers slipped during kit assembly? Right! We got those A.C. Gilbert bastards too! Imagine the nerve of those people suggesting in court that fun science, physics and chemistry education could ever take precedence over the preservation of perfect 9 year old knuckles." When pressed further, both Mr. Cheatem and fellow attorney Ramy Olbutt engaged in the class action law suit being assembled in Little Rock, stated for the record that online gamers are "very delicate beings and after long sessions at the computer when they should actually be outside getting fresh air or at least focusing their eyes on objects more than 18" away for a few minutes, things can get kind of tense. Microsoft knows this and must be forced to take steps to protect itself from all of the simpering weak-minded idiots and all of the scheming, calculating con artists. The best way to do that is to make every product perfect. We just don't understand why Microsoft refuses to do that." Microsoft lawyers were unavailable for comment. However, a long-time receptionist at Microsoft's central administration stated confidentially that, "These dizzy morons are all on crack if they think they're going to get a quick settlement and get paid off to shut up. Our lawyers will wrap these jack-offs up with briefs, warrants, affidavits, hearings, examinations for discovery and every piece of legal paperwork imaginable for the next ten years. If I was one of those morons I might just consider dropping this whole thing and stop buying or playing Microsoft products. It will take money out of Microsoft's pockets, keep money in the morons' pockets, and they can try their luck with other games and servers offered by other companies. GEEZ, what's the big deal? Those morons have just bought into a world of stress and aggravation. It's just not worth it." -33-
On Christmas day a friend of mine had invited me over to play Bubble Bobble on his Wii, he was going to buy and download it on VC. He spent forever getting thrown out again and again trying to buy some Wii points, and then again trying to access the game library. It finally worked but it was not a very fun experience. Bubble bobble was though, but nothing beats the old version we knew on C64. At any rate this seems more serious but I think everyone's servers take a hit at Christmas. It's the console version of slashdotting, all the kids who got their console for Christmas coming online all at once.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I am tracking each day(every 10 minutes) the status of xbox live, and creating statisical images, this shows the biig picture on how "live" xbox-live actually is :)
http://www.acddv.com/
Also these statistics are available for the public as-well
Cem Aykan
When you buy a XBOX and sign up for XBOX Live, is there a SLA (Service Level Agreement) that guarantees uptime/accessibility? So under what grounds would you be able to file a class action lawsuit?
Games like Frogger have extraordinary longevity and appeal. Talk to anyone who has sponsored a computer museum or video game expo. Its the "cheap and nasty" classics that draw the crowds.
1. microsoft is apparently doing something about it on their own EVEN THOUGH SOME DOUCHE is trying to get free money from them because their game didn't work for a couple days. Waah waah waah.
It was not a couple days, it was a couple weeks. A couple days it's fine, some people may have gotten an XBOX for XMas, as far as they knew, that's how it was always going to be...
2. you accept an agreement that says if the service doesn't work all the time, you give up responsibility.
XBOX 360 users have no choice but to accept the agreement, there's no other way for them to play online.
3. Xbox live is one of the few services that actually has a customer service line. IN THE US. Your dell, dude, doesn't even have that.
The issue is not customer service, it's reliability... having "Steve" read lines off a script with a fake Boston accent won't bring the servers back online.
4. go outside and play.
But... but... I just spent hundreds of dollars on this shiny games console.... besides, it's cold and I lost my legs on a bizarre cooking accident.
5. They don't have to do a DAMN thing about it and most people would still accept it.
Actually they do, a good chunck of their users pay monthly fees, also, their LIVE service is going to be added for Windows as well, where they have to compete aganist services like Steam.
6. Lemme guess, if Google had a game console, it would always work perfectly.
The best thing about Google: You can always go somewhere else, which is why it's always up.
7. Did you notice that nintendo shipped thousands of wiis with faulty video cards? I have one, it sucks, i'm sending it back, but thems the breaks. Are you telling me that you have never bought a new complex electronic item and had it not work properly and had to replace it? is that unique to microsoft?
This is so off the mark... but ok: If you purchase a faulty item, you can take it back to the shop and get another one. XBOX Live is the only way for XBOX users to get online.
8. I think that it's obvious that they realize that they need to serve their customers to keep them, and that xbox and live are a big part of that. if it wasn't they wouldn't even bother.
That's the thing isn't it... just imagine what kind of service you'd get if they weren't trying hard... now, some people purchase DRM'ed music, and depend on Microsoft's servers to license their tracks, or when using Windows Update, a false positive could cause Windows Vista to cripple your PC.... I think it's not a bad idea to be ready to snap at Microsoft the second they screw up, because if you don't, then they'll screw up a lot more often.
Psst.... Yes they do. well, not in the US. But in Canada. All XPS technical support for North America is done out of a call center in Ottawa, Ontario. That's for the US and Canada, in both English and French, Spanish is done out of Panama. Likewise, for the business line of products... that is Optiplex, some Dimension, Vostro, and Latitude systems, it's all done in NA.
Otherwise, I agree with you fully. Quite aside from that... a free video game is probably worth a lot more to the end user than any settlement they'd see out of a class action suit. And the fact that MS has already offered the video game of their own volition probably means that any class action would get thrown out of court. It's pretty hard to prove damages when you've already been offered a freebie that's worth more than the cost of a month's subscription, let alone the 5 days that it was actually out.
Obligatory disclaimer... I have an @dell.com e-mail address.
If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb
I am far from amused with a service that I pay for. It's been over a week now and I am not able to recover my gamer tag. What does that mean? Well not being able to recover my gamer tag means I cannot play any of my saved games or any have any achievements count (yeah big deal). Basically my XBox is rendered useless (I only play games on it). The worst part is that Microsoft has made no attempt to fully explain to its customers why and when Live is going to be working properly again. The support page says that it's "up and running", yet when recovering my gamer tag I get "signup to not available". I guess my biggest question is how can something be so damn broken that it takes over 3 weeks to fix??? Someone really screwed something up really badly over there. I don't give a rats ass about a free arcade game, I just want my gamer tag back! If Sony can make their online experience more compelling I'd actually start playing my PS3 (got it for free as a gift). XBox gaming is nothing without XBox Live.
Yeah! Enrich some more lawyers who, in a more sane society with fewer whiny bitches, would be sweeping streets. Instead, they find enough rubes to sign up for a class action suit. The company gets a tiny slap. The rubes get a $1 coupon. The lawyers get to snort coke off hooker's breasts in the back seat of their 7-series. That solves what, exactly? It's a scam created by the legal industry and enabled by their buddy lawyers in government.
Can we maybe start reserving the whole class action thing for, oh, I dunno, toxic waste dumping, or something like that?
Honestly, the author took this posting over at the official xbox site, and then snipped together almost every single sentence with 'Whitten said'. Although, to be fair, I think about 15% of the middle of the article has some original thought. (The part where they explain what xbox live is). Of course, they could've just linked to the pages describing membership, instead.
The author then failed to cite the original article. What a piece of journalistic crap. PCWorld, MacWorld and Peter Cohen should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for writing and publishing this drivel.
I currently have no clever signature witicism to add here.