William BagleyGamer Sues Microsoft
November 29th 2007 11:35
Only in America. A Halo 3 owner has sued Microsoft and Bungie because, according to him, his copy of the 360 game caused constant crashes and errors on his system. Now that's not to suggest other gamers haven't had that problem, but this is taking it to an interesting level.
And it isn't the first time either. Microsoft came under fire not too long ago after it was discovered the 360 caused scratching on game discs. And although they weren't sued over it, the amount of 'three red ring' incidents, causing thousands of systems to be returned and replaced, pushed Microsoft into extending warranty dates for all users.
Now I'm not supporting Microsoft, nor am I against them either, but if one company can have all these problems yet still be selling strongly, it's an indication of how good the console really is ... when it doesn't break down. Who knows, maybe the third time will be the clincher. But for now, the 360 is a strong retail seller, and it should be around for some time to come too.
And it isn't the first time either. Microsoft came under fire not too long ago after it was discovered the 360 caused scratching on game discs. And although they weren't sued over it, the amount of 'three red ring' incidents, causing thousands of systems to be returned and replaced, pushed Microsoft into extending warranty dates for all users.
Now I'm not supporting Microsoft, nor am I against them either, but if one company can have all these problems yet still be selling strongly, it's an indication of how good the console really is ... when it doesn't break down. Who knows, maybe the third time will be the clincher. But for now, the 360 is a strong retail seller, and it should be around for some time to come too.
It's not a toaster
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Comment by Techno
Geeky Blog
Comment by Mark Isaacson
FIBA Live
Well he has a right to his opinion, for sure. Whether he's right to sue is another matter. If it were over the matter of his console, not the game, then he would have a lot more grounds for compensation, perhaps, since we all know (as I mentioned) how many problems there have been. But in terms of Halo 3, there doesn't seem to be that many cases raised with Microsoft ... at least from what I know.
I doubt he'd win either. Although warranty claims on hardware are fair, software is another matter. If I were to sue, I'd be doing it under the legal grounds of purchasing an item that doesn't conform to what the product was advertised to do.
From a legal standpoint, it would be a landmark verdict if the case were to go in his favour. It would mean that any future issues regarding a simple bug or code error could be grounds to sue a developer and/or publisher of a game. But since all games don't come with guarantees, and many are updated frequently to fix said problems (if any), those grounds probably won't last within a court case. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on this one, though.