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Microsoft hit with $5 million lawsuit over Halo 3, Xbox 360 problems

arstechnica.com — A new class-action lawsuit alleges that the combination of the Xbox 360 and Halo 3 produces nearly insurmountable glitches.

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  • dweeb79, on 11/29/2007, -15/+74"The plaintiff, Randy Nunez, is seeking seeking class-action status along with $5 million in damages plus costs and attorneys' fees."

    I'm thinking 60 for the game + 400 for the console + attorney fees only. I don't see people suing movie studios or music companies for when they release a ***** movie or album. This is why people suck ass its not like the Ford/Firestone issue that actually had an impact on peoples lives.
    • santasing, on 11/29/2007, -7/+22Its a class action lawsuit. Multiply that 460+costs and attorney fees by a bunch of people.
      • dweeb79, on 11/29/2007, -2/+3"A lawsuit filed by one or more people on behalf of themselves and a larger group of people "who are similarly situated".

        http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/
      • dweeb79, on 11/29/2007, -1/+3I god I hate this comment system.....

        Basically.....I thought the lawsuit could be singular and not always plural. My mistake.
      • DarkSamus, on 11/29/2007, -1/+1damn, i knew i should've invested in a 360!@#$
    • maabus, on 11/29/2007, -1/+8This is a fairly insignificant lawsuit. 5 million dollars is not very much here. And. when you think about it, it suggests that the problem is not all that widespread.

      Think about it: damages (xbox console + halo game) are about $500 with tax. Then, averaged across all members of the class action suit, let's say that attorney fees are $100 per person. 5 million / $600 dollars per person is about 8,000 people. This is out of several MILLION games sold.

      Yes, the xbox can be unreliable, but this particular case doesn't seem like a big deal to me
      • fallenone05, on 11/29/2007, -2/+1good, now you can sleep better at night...I mean, seriously, why should you or anyone give a ***** about this? Do you own stock in microsoft?
    • offwhite, on 11/29/2007, -4/+1230% of their consoles are failing. I bought a new one a couple of months back and right from the start it would freeze up in multiple games. There is no reason they cannot simply test their consoles more thoroughly or fix the design flaw. Clearly it will take a class action lawsuit to force them to take the problem seriously.
      More here...
      http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gaming/xbox-360-failure ...
    • g2g079, on 11/29/2007, -4/+9I'm waiting for a box to return mine in. Halo 3 got it good. Microsoft should at least give us a card with so many xbox points on it. But how it has gone so far, I will never by another M$ product.
      • iamaelephant, on 11/29/2007, -6/+8Yes you will.
      • DeadlyCouncil, on 11/29/2007, -4/+6okie dokie, have fun with that
      • kilmer, on 11/29/2007, -0/+2Hey me too. They said 2-3 days for the box to get to me then 3-4 weeks for my console to come back, but the crazy lady on the phone told me she would give me one month free access to Xbox live gold!!! I already paid for my year of Xbox Live, but if I didn't how would I use this without my console? Oh and I got the ring of death while loading up Halo 3.
    • MrFisty, on 11/29/2007, -4/+12Call me proud, but I couldn't think of anything more embarrassing than instigating a law suit over "lost game time". While you're at it, why not sue for spilled milk and all those Xmas presents you asked for but never received?
    • NiteMayr, on 11/29/2007, -0/+2Your point about movies is well founded; let me expand it a bit.

      If every time I went to a movie by a certain studio the theater became hot or the movie just failed to play or stuttered in the middle I think I might have cause to avoid said studio. If, for example they were the only studio and certain movies were available only in one format and one theater, then we may have cause for action, that is to say, they have made available an item for purchase or display, but do not deliver on said purchase.

      If the movie sticks in the middle all the time, you get an immediate refund at the front desk; if your game won't work because your system is defective (AND THE MANUFACTURER KNOWS AND ACKNOWLEDGES THIS FAILURE) then you have an actionable position. Thus a possible legal basis for a class action lawsuit, plaintiffs have paid for access to a service that cannot be delivered and refunds are not forthcoming. There was no shrink-wrap contract on the purchase and the plaintiff believes that the Manufacturer must provide reasonable recompense for those customers who are burning subscription time on a service they can't use due to hardware failure/flaws.

  • truspector, on 11/29/2007, -27/+35I'd love to hear the prosecution argue how the inability to play a game is worth $5 million in damages. Methinks this loser is too lazy to get a job and is looking for a quick payday.
    • CarzorStelatis, on 11/29/2007, -6/+32RTFA: seeking class action status. Obviously his own problems aren't worth $5 million, but _every_ Halo 3 problem combined as a class action might be.
    • DarkSamus, on 11/29/2007, -2/+1your honor, these bastards are way too rich to make a ***** product like this, my clients need to play beyond these mental frustrations, i rest my case
  • Ajajadude, on 11/29/2007, -6/+37They're reaching a bit here. Yeah, the 360 has hardware problems, but as the article pointed out, Microsoft has been trying to rectify the problem(s). Of course, whether or not Microsoft has done or said enough is debatable.
    • dsmx, on 11/29/2007, -0/+5Microsoft have had over 2 years to fix the problems and the thing that needed fixing, the GPU they still haven't. Instead they chose to extend the warranty rather than fix the problem.

      The problem won't be solved until well into next year when they finally release the 65nm GPU.
  • charlief, on 11/29/2007, -1/+25Wow.. if it actually settles, they might offer my share of $1.10 for a piece of the pie.
  • hermizzle, on 11/29/2007, -4/+115This is stupid. If this goes through, I'm suing Duke Nukem Forever for the emotional stress it has caused me by not being released on time.
    • shawnanigans, on 11/29/2007, -0/+2But if you do that it might never come out... Which I guess isn't much different from now.
  • Fizban140, on 11/29/2007, -8/+62What a stupid lawsuit, Microsoft extended the warranty on the 360 and has a disc replacement warranty for Halo 3 what more can they do?
    • mrfreeziexp, on 11/29/2007, -7/+6Give 'em money. LOTS of money.
    • Sairgem, on 11/29/2007, -10/+8They could extend the warranty for more problems than just the red ring. I recently got screwed over because my 360 died, but it wasn't a red ring problem. I called microsoft and they basically told me to go ***** myself because my warranty was up.
      • merwin, on 11/29/2007, -1/+11Sucks to be you, but unless you can figure out the cause and blame it on their negligence, there's nothing you can do. Your warranty expired. Warranties are there for a reason. If you wanted some kind of unconditional guarantee, you should have bought a product service plan from Best Buy or something that would cover everything for a longer time period.
      • Fizban140, on 11/29/2007, -0/+6I wonder if you can make it red ring and say that is it.
      • radda, on 11/29/2007, -7/+2The warranty is for three years now, which means your box IS under warranty (the damn thing's only been out for two).

        You're forgetting to mention that you probably broke it yourself.
        • jacksons98, on 11/29/2007, -0/+6Three years is a limited warranty that only covers the RROD issue, everything else is still only 1 year. Unfortunately RROD isn't the only X360 issue.
    • MadEnvoy, on 11/29/2007, -4/+2Free blowjobs?
    • Renton, on 11/29/2007, -1/+6Admit there is a defect and Issue a recall?
  • xXMetalJesusXx, on 11/29/2007, -1/+84Halo 3 is the only game that hasn't froze on my 360...lol
    • NSMike, on 11/29/2007, -2/+3The only game that has frozen on me is Assassin's Creed, moments before a minor assassination. Hasn't happened before. Hasn't happened since. I had been playing for several hours, so I just let the console rest for a few hours after that happened and it was fine. *Shrugs*
  • Axfire, on 11/29/2007, -13/+105 million? Who's the plaintiff? Dr. Evil? Bill Gates probably has more than that under the cushions of his couch.
  • mrfreeziexp, on 11/29/2007, -4/+42"routinely, consistently, and systematically 'froze,' 'crashed,' or 'locked up.'"

    That never happened to me... Aren't those just glitches? I never thought about suing someone over some video game glitches.. That's like suing whoever made my toilet because it didn't flush the first time I pressed the handle.
  • badqat, on 11/29/2007, -7/+9I think punks like this who file these specious lawsuits ought to have to put up a minimum bond in the amount they are seeking. If they lose, they pay...that would put a stop the biggest amount of these wastes of time, money and the judicial system.
    • DarkSamus, on 11/29/2007, -2/+2funny i didn't hear ***** from you when apple was sued
      • NSMike, on 11/29/2007, -2/+2A lot of us have the Apple section of Digg blocked because of trolling, flame-war inspiring comments.

        Now head on back over there. Thanks.
  • badave, on 11/29/2007, -6/+16This won't work. Just look at how many people don't have problems and play on Xbox Live everyday.
    • badqat, on 11/29/2007, -1/+17I haven't had a single problem with Halo 3 on my Xbox, and neither has my son. That being said, both have succumbed to the red ring of death, but Microsoft paid shipping both ways and replaced both consoles...
  • SideShowMel0329, on 11/29/2007, -6/+3Are you kidding? $5 million dollars is below pocket change status for the Microsoft corporation. How is this even in the news?
  • Psythik, on 11/29/2007, -5/+30I call *****. I've played Halo 3 since launch and not once has it crashed on me.
    • Ajajadude, on 11/29/2007, -15/+9Oh, well, if it's never happened to you, it must be a myth!

      I guess sex is a myth since you've obviously never experienced it.
    • rabs, on 11/29/2007, -10/+3This is probably the most retarded comment I've ever read
    • logandurand, on 11/29/2007, -4/+3Well, I played it and couldn't get through the first level without the game crashing. Just because yours works fine doesn't mean ours do.
    • xdeliriumx, on 11/29/2007, -6/+3I concur. I have an older 360 and it's fine. People need to stop blaming Microsoft because they spill soda on the system and don't take care of it. Bunch of pussies.
  • Nikonian, on 08/17/2008, -3/+14This is just another person jealous of the big dog. I'd hate to see my Xbox360 get the RROD, but this lawsuit is ridiculous(like alot out there).
  • gatorsrule21, on 11/29/2007, -3/+5I personally have not had very many problems - it froze once a few weeks ago, but that's it...
  • abyss478, on 11/29/2007, -12/+4I bought a "Microsoft Refurbished" 360 from TigerDirect not too long ago. Plugged it in, fired up GOW and 5 mins into it the sucker froze. Turned it off, turned it back on and hey presto--an Xbox 360 with the RED RING OF DEATH!! Pissed me off how they can sell "broken *****" as "refurbished."
    • badqat, on 11/29/2007, -1/+6Was it not under warranty? If things are as you describe, I'd have claimed DOA with Tiger.

      Yeah, I'm sure it upset you, but it's not that big of a deal.
    • grimstar, on 11/29/2007, -3/+7Serves you right for shopping at TigerDirect.
      • DarkSamus, on 11/29/2007, -2/+1td is far more reliable than most online stores
    • Nikonian, on 08/17/2008, -0/+2Refurbished game systems are always CRAP. I purchased an original Xbox from EB a long time ago and I could'nt believe that a system so scratched up could be resold. It had problems reading alot of the discs also. I got fed up after a few days and returned it and got a brand new one for about $50 extra. For $50 - $100 extra it will save you alot of headaches.
  • tacklebox, on 11/29/2007, -2/+39I'm suing nintendo for having to blow on the games to get them to work.
  • XThunderStormX, on 11/29/2007, -5/+6Doesn't matter whether it's pocket change or not, $5million is 5 million. Just another fraud trying to scam his way into stealing money from a corporation that earned it.
    Granted, Microsoft has a ***** support policy, but if anything, this lawsuit should try and force Microsoft to replace/refund ***** it breaks. Case closed. You don't deserve anything over $400 you lousy POS.
    • badqat, on 11/29/2007, -2/+5Every Xbox is covered by a three year (36 month) warranty. MS pays shipping both ways. MS has no issues replacing and/or fixing them.
      • Ajajadude, on 11/29/2007, -3/+3No. The 3 year warranty only covers ONE thing: the RRoD. After the original warranty is up and something happens to your 360 that's not RRoD related, you're paying out of your pocket.
        • ShugNinx21, on 11/29/2007, -2/+5The other somethings that may happen have a very low rate of failure and thus don't need to be covered for 3 years. The RRoD was caused by faulty manufacturing on their part, so it was in their best interest to extend that part of the warranty.

    • xTRUMANx, on 11/29/2007, -2/+2RTFA. it's a class action lawsuit and thus the high expected settlement amount. One guy isn't going to receive the $5 million.
  • MrBeamish, on 11/29/2007, -2/+125 million! For what? Emotional damage? As far as I know, all 360's can be repaired now under the new guarantee - it hasn't cost me anything to do this, is it different in the US?

    Every new 360 game that is released seems to be shortly followed by forum posts of 'oh noes, #### broke my 360'. A particular game might push the CPU a bit harder than others but the fault lies with the hardware, not software. If you were taking a picture of a duck and your digital camera broke, was it the duck that made your camera fail? If so, I might have a suit to file myself. Damn duck.
  • EXreaction, on 11/29/2007, -1/+1If only they would include something in there along the lines of requiring them to build a custom games browser (which they said would be included), and to fix Forge so it has no restrictions. :(
    • sevenalive, on 11/29/2007, -0/+1i know the money thing does blow, and a server list would be sweet, like dedicated servers on h1 and h2 on pc
  • CraigCarlyle, on 11/29/2007, -4/+6I find it funny that people always blame the games for the hardware failure, as if the RROD is due to a syntax error or something.
    • NSMike, on 11/29/2007, -0/+1Yeah, who would've thought that playing the game for 17 hours straight would cause a problem. Must be the game!
  • likeabluespider, on 11/29/2007, -5/+3My 360's drive wont even spin, but that's what 2 months after halo 3? and c'mon..It's an Xbox 360, Microsoft (as much as i love the system) they are bound to ***** up like that last generation. Just Call, send it in, get it back. Simple!..I'm getting mine back tomorrow!!! W007!
  • myranttoyou, on 11/29/2007, -4/+4Yet another stupid lawsuit against MSFT, just because of the deep pockets. Notice how it wasn't a game with by a developer with less money? This is yet another Eolas lawsuit (saying they have the copyright as to how items can be embedded in web pages). That's why you now have to click Flash/ActiveX controls to interact with them.
  • iceman35, on 11/29/2007, -1/+1ive been hearing many people getting the ring of death. ive had my xbox for probably 2 years with only 1 time seeing the ring of death about 5 months ago. maybe im just lucky. but between me and my father the xbox is played like 4+ hours a day and still no problems. I think it might be getting near death as it hums real loud and makes a weird noise everytime i change a game.
  • DeFex, on 11/29/2007, -0/+5good thing these people and lawyers have such important things to worry about.
  • saltmiser, on 11/29/2007, -4/+1yeah how is this even news; microsoft probably ***** out 5 million each day beating off or something.
  • Zachari, on 11/29/2007, -2/+3I think I'm going to sue because I can't run Crysis. This angers me that it'd skip with a 10 FPS frame rate. lolsuit.
  • flux1, on 11/29/2007, -1/+3Even if they would lose this, they have made a hell of a lot more than $5 million on this game.
  • itsthebrod, on 11/29/2007, -1/+7Huh? What Halo 3 problems? Sure the original 360s had issues, but I've encountered 0 with Halo 3 and I've yet to meet anyone else who has. Me thinks someone just discovered that Microsoft has fat pockets and they're behind on rent (since the plaintiff is obviously an unemployed loser).
  • simpsonzfan99, on 11/29/2007, -1/+4I wanna punch that guy because he's an idiot.
  • scfcats, on 11/29/2007, -1/+3The suit alleges that Halo 3 "routinely, consistently, and systematically 'froze,' 'crashed,' or 'locked up.'"

    You don't need Halo 3 to do that, I know from experience. In fact, I've never locked up playing Halo. EA on the other hand...
  • encognito, on 11/29/2007, -1/+3Man, I must be walking with angels or something because I have never seen the dreaded RROD from my year old 360 that I got off eBay. And it is in the vertical position next to a 10 year old monitor.
  • Evolutuon, on 11/29/2007, -4/+3If these guys weren't running their machines for 12-15 hours a day, ever day, they might just work properly.
    • BlackMask, on 11/29/2007, -2/+4my ps3 is running games, blue-ray movies and games 24/7 non-stop and when it's not doing absolutely anything, it's folding@home. it's been 9 months already and she is still tight and good in bed :-)
      • sevenalive, on 11/29/2007, -5/+2STOP SPAMMING ***** SONY FANBOY, thats the 3rd comment i seen of yours.
        • NSMike, on 11/29/2007, -1/+5Augh, grow up. He's allowed to like his console and relate a good experience.
  • medicineman24, on 11/29/2007, -2/+2Since I first inserted Halo 3 into my 360 my 360 periodically is unable to read my games, including Oblivion, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4. This gets really annoying despite the fact that a restart/(open and close) fixes the problem.
    • ShugNinx21, on 11/29/2007, -0/+2So what you're saying is that it is more likely that the Halo 3 software somehow ***** up your drive rather than the possibility that dust has gathered on the optical sensor of the drive thus causing read errors, or the even more simplistic reason that perhaps the drive is just going bad.
    • ChildeRoland420, on 11/29/2007, -0/+1This happened to my 360. Actually, when I bought the 360 it was already doing that. I called MS and they covered it under the one year warranty. If I were out of that one year, however, I'm sure I could cause a RROD and get it replaced under the 3 year warranty. ;-)
  • rabs, on 11/29/2007, -2/+2I don't know if Halo 3 is the culprit or not, but in the last month, my 360 has been freezing periodically and occasionally gives me RROD. I'd like to think that I should have some peace of mind because of the 3 year warranty, but I don't know if I can trust it because I know someone who is waiting to send his 360 back for repairs for the FIFTH TIME. Ridiculous.
  • pnmoore, on 11/29/2007, -1/+5I have never had any issues with my 360 (I've had it for over a year) or Halo 3 and I play it a pretty good bit (more than I should).
    And, BTW, what the heck kind of damages could they be suing for?
  • OldJames, on 11/29/2007, -0/+2Could we see the same for Activision for the (Wii) Guitar Hero III mono sound issue?
  • jimmyJMs, on 11/29/2007, -2/+2This is actually a serious problem. When I popped my Halo 3 disc into my 360 the day it was released, I was only able to watch the intro cutscene before my 360 froze, and then went "red ring of death" on me. 3 new 360's later and I have one it isn't happening to. And I know I'm not the only one this happened to.
    • doctordbx, on 11/29/2007, -1/+0"I was only able to watch the intro cutscene before my 360 froze, and then went "red ring of death" on me. 3 new 360's later and I have one it isn't happening to." - I sometimes have to ask... what the ***** are you guys doing? Either my friends and I have been lucky (touch wood), but out of about 50 of us that play online and meet regularly only 3 have had RROD, and we all had Halo 3 on launch day. Not saying it's your fault... but it's jut bizarre how some people are still on their first console, and some people are on their 5th.
  • Mpwns, on 11/29/2007, -0/+2if this guy wins can we start suing blizzard for class nerfs in WoW? every time they try to blance things out they always start over when its done, since someone finds a way to make class X uber.
  • guruboyguru, on 11/29/2007, -1/+2Yeah I diss the 360 all the time and I hate 360 fanboys...but this is a pile of *****.
  • doctordbx, on 11/29/2007, -0/+4I'm suing Digg for the amount of ***** that makes the front page, like the 3 am Apple store. This is a consistent and unresolved interruption to my day.
  • iamaelephant, on 11/29/2007, -1/+2***** Americans and their lawsuits.
  • DarthBrady, on 11/29/2007, -2/+1This one is a bit ridiculous. I mean, your Xbox360 was going to die and freeze anyway. whether you are playing Halo 3 or not.
    I know this is true, it happened to me to. 360's just die. But All you have to do is make a call and in a few weeks you get another one. Every time. I'm on my 2nd 360 in 6 months.
  • BlackMask, on 11/29/2007, -4/+2my ps3 is running games, blue-ray movies and games 24/7 non-stop and when it's not doing absolutely anything, it's folding@home. it's been 9 months already and she is still tight and good in bed :-)
    • Kinser, on 11/29/2007, -2/+3Who cares about your ps3.
      • sevenalive, on 11/29/2007, -5/+1i second that, who gives a ***** about your PoS 3 (piece of ***** 3) damn fanboys. Let me guess u bought 5 ps2 because version 1 drive ***** up, version 2 overheated twice, and now version 3 is out.
  • oDGuardian, on 11/29/2007, -0/+4I've played this on 5-6 different 360's almost as long as my own and seen no problems when it come to what this dumbass claims.
  • TDR25, on 11/29/2007, -1/+1I can't say I really agree with the lawsuit, but damn I can't believe it actually took this long for someone to file one. M$ will probably settle for a new 360, Halo 3, a few accessories, a few apologies, and maybe, just maybe a few hundred dollars or so. At least that's what should happen.
  • smek2, on 11/29/2007, -4/+2"the Xbox 360 and Halo 3 produces nearly insurmountable glitches" -- what did they expect? It's Microsoft, after all.
  • sevenalive, on 11/29/2007, -2/+2what a bunch of *****, i never had a problem with my 360 yet. Hell i even overheated it once because i forgot to open the cabinet door, 1.3 hours later on halo 3, i heard the fan really loud and i was like holy ***** *****. Me and my roommate both have 360's, i got mine 12 months ago, no RRoD. I don't know if i got a good system, if i am lucky, or a lot of people are ***** and overheating the system a lot. Damages? What damages, he did not get to play halo? I never had a problem, this is total *****.
  • jinxsed, on 11/29/2007, -0/+1...So wait;
    He's SUING MICROSOFT?
    Awh, now THAT'S cute.
  • kclyons, on 11/29/2007, -1/+1Halo 3 actually ruined my hard drive, but only when I play Halo 3. Even after I formatted it wouldn't fix the problem. I can play all the other games I have fine with the hard drive in, but I have to take it out for halo 3 because of some bug.

    I'm glad to see someone is doing something about this.
    • CollapseControl, on 11/29/2007, -0/+0I had the same problem, I got the error E68 when trying to load up Halo 3 one day and it turned out to be a HDD failure. So I sold back 19 games to get the 120GB HDD and didn't bother doing the transfer. After I used 2 memory units to remove game saves and got rid of the Halo 3 content the 20GB HDD started working again! Oh yeah, I also dissected the 20GB and cleaned it up, that helped as well. So now I got a empty 20GB. The strangest ***** happens to me and my electronics.
      But dispite all the horrible problems I still stand by the 360 being the best console ever (or at least getting to be the best) Although there may be Hardware problems the Software (Games & LIVE) make it the best experience for gaming ever.
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