Kotaku: Defective

Halo 3 Disc Read Errors Rampant

Mike Fahey — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:30:19 MDT

A storm is brewing in both the Xbox and Bungie forums, where over a hundred posters have now verified that their copies of Halo 3 are causing disc read errors. lockups, and even the dreaded RRoD on their Xbox 360 consoles. From what I can glean from skimming through the 22 pages of replies to the original poster's problem, most of the people affected purchased the standard edition, though a few are reporting having the problem on both the standard and the LE version of the game. Some believe the discs are corrupting the data on the hard disc itself, as some have had their game discs replaced twice or more now with similar results, and removing the hard disc seems to keep the error from occurring with some posters. Some can load the game fine and play it for short bursts before the problem occurs, while others are finding the issue limited to certain game modes. Check out the forum threads for more info on the problems had, and hopefully some official response will be given about the issue soon.

Post here if u having the Disc Read Error [Xbox Forums]
"Cannot read Disk" [Bungie Forums - Thanks Corey]

Microsoft Replacing Scratched Halo 3 Discs

Mike Fahey — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:00:35 MDT

As mentioned earlier over at the Consumerist, reports coming in from all over the country that due to the way they were packaged in the limited edition tin, buyers of the LE and Legendary versions of the game are discovering the game disc inside to be horribly scratched. I picked up the LE this morning, and as you can see above, it's not in the best of shape. I played the game for about a half hour to see if it worked, and things ran fine, so you might want to give it a go before trying to return it. The good news is Microsoft will be offering free replacements of both the game and Essentials discs until December 31st. Of course you'll have to give up the game while you wait, but it's only Halo 3.

Microsoft to replace scratched Halo 3 disks [GamesIndustry.biz]

Broken Bubble Bobble Nets Purchasers Free Game

fdemarco — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 16:00:00 MST

For those of you unlucky enough to have purchased Bubble Bobble revolution for the DS last year are well aware buy now that you bought a defective product. The missing boss on Level 30 prevented players from being able to progress any further in the game and left a bad taste in many gamer's mouths.

But, it seems that Codemasters is trying to make up for this gaffe by not only sending everyone who purchased the truncated version a new game, but they are also throwing in a free copy of the universally panned Rainbow Islands Revolution. I'm not too sure this actually makes up for producing a defective product, but I suppose they had to do something with that warehouse full of Rainbow Island games. I'm so glad they were able to find another way to foist that piece of crap onto a group of poor unsuspecting gamers. Flynn De Marco

Bubble Trouble Results In Free Game [Press The Buttons]

Wii-gurgitating

Mike Fahey — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 13:40:38 MST

Another day, another Wii malfuction, only this one has profound possibilities.

I'm thinking that with a little more power and a custom-made disc loading magazine we could have the most interactive version of Tron Deadly Discs ever, or at the very least a passable dodgeball game. Michael Fahey

defective Wii [YouTube - Thanks Michael!]

Some Non-Retail 360s Defective?

lsmith — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 11:30:56 MST

Some early released Xbox 360's aren't functioning correctly with Xbox Live. That's what an email tip from a reader with the following email from Microsoft had to say. The text of the email is below:

"Today you will receive a replacement Xbox 360 RETAIL unit. We have identified a potential issue with your unit.

The default configuration on the Xbox 360 retail unit we sent you earlier may not have been set correctly, so you may be experiencing problems connecting to Xbox Live.

Please note, this problem may be specific to your unit and does not exist in consoles that are currently being shipped to retailers."

The rest of the email concerns the FedEx shipping policy, but the above is the meat and potatoes. Microsoft is tracking down the plagued 360s so don't sound the alarms just yet. Can you imagine the disaster if an issue like this found its way into retail? Shudder.

Be Part of a Class Action Suit for Your PS2

lsmith — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 13:00:00 MST

Did your PlayStation 2 bite back at your CDs and DVDs when you used it? Were you inundated with "disc read error" messages? If so, you may qualify for the settlement benefits from a Class Action Suit against Sony. So how do you know if you're entitled to the benefits from the suit? The answer and benefits list are after the jump.

Who is entitled to benefits?
"You are a Class Member and part of the settlement if you purchased in the United States or Canada from a retailer a new, unused PS2 Console Model Number 30001, 30001R, 35001, 39001, 39010, 50001, or 50010. You are also a Class Member if you received a new, unused PS2 Console Model Number 30001, 30001R, 35001, 39001, 39010, 50001, or 50010 as a gift from the original purchaser."

Benefits: "What are the possible benefits of this settlement?
If you are a Class Member who has experienced the alleged problems described above, and you return a completed claim form by the appropriate deadline, you could receive one of the following benefits: A check for $25 U.S. (or $31 Canadian); or one PS2 game from a specified list; or repair or replacement at SCEA s option of a PS2 experiencing the above described alleged problems. That repair may be free for some members of the Recent Purchasers Subclass or may cost $41 ($51 Canada) for other members of that subclass as well as for members of the Repair Fee Subclass and the Loss of Use Subclass. You will need to pay the cost to ship the PS2 to and from SCEA s authorized service provider. This benefit is subject to the service provider confirming that the PS2 has one of the alleged problems described above."

More detailed benefits conditions here.