Microsoft 'enhances' Xbox 360 support

Cost-free shipping my ass.

I had to pay to ship my RoD'd 360 to them last month.
No prepaid labels for me.

>> So why does Microsoft label this a "limited
>> time offer"?

It creates a sense of urgency. Someone would be less likely to consider alternatives to the $20 replacement disc if they think this offer is going to expire soon. (i.e. buying a used copy, living with the scratched disc etc) Since Microsoft is in control of the offer they're free to offer it again in the future.

Um...I don't know where you guys are buying 360 games, but I'm paying $59.99 for most of them (plus the xtra $20 for this service)

"You'd think they'd be psyched to reap another $20 for the same software you already spent $50 on and weren't allowed to back up. (Thanks so much, DMCA!)"

Pssht! That's never stopped me, before.
..especially with DVDs.

Netflix+Handbrake=Win!

It's not enough,
consoles just going out of warranty the world over are flashing with 3 red lights , and MS wants 1/3 of the price you paid for the system to repair it .
MY launch machine was faulty when i got back from the shop on launch day , exchanged it with MS within a week , 1 month after the warranty runs out (on the replacement machine) the console fails again and MS wont budge on repair fee.
this isnt customer service , its probably there only department making money

Why are they spinning this as a bad thing? $20 to replace a game disc that doesnt work is alot better than spending another $60 'cause your little brother decides to play floor hockey with your copy of oblivion.

For a while, I've wondered why all movie and game companies don't offer a cheap disc replacement plan. Movie and game makers don't want you to be able to legally or even physically back up your software, and they are taking more and more measures to make that a reality. But, they give you no backup option themselves. If your stuff scratches, they expect you to pay full price to repurchase it, then freak out when people illegally back up their stuff.

While $20 is too high, imo, for a disc replacement, it at least shows a large publisher/console maker is taking a step towards offering a viable backup. I'd rather pay $20 for a brand new disc if I accidentally scratch mine beyond replacement than to pay $40-50 for a used one or another $60 for brand new.

I mean, seriously, what is the big deal? the disc is cheap. The box and manual cost more than the disc and they aren't replacing that. The cost of creating the software and marketing it are the highest drivers of software price, and the company has already gotten you to pay for that. All they have to do is replace a physical disc; they've already sold the other things. They should be able to offer disc replacement and profit at $10 per disc or lower.

Zero2dash, this is a new upgrade in service that wasn't available a month ago. Read more carefully.

I've seen many CD&DVD based games over the years that had a replacement clause in the fine print at the back of the manual. The prices I've seen for replacement media ranged from $5 to $25. It makes sense, after all, you're not paying for the media, you're paying for the license.

I do wonder why all companies aren't required to do this though. I mean, you can't say I'm paying for the license, and then charge me full price for replacement media that includes a second license! I don't want a second license, I want a second copy of the media, and I'll use the license I've already paid for. Back in the day, when I lost my Starcraft CD, I just copied a friends, used my CD key, and went on my way.

Oh well, I understand why they have copy protection, but they should always replace discs for the cost of the disc itself+S&H.

I let a friend borrow NFS Most Wanted after I finished it and returned it scratched (from rotating the console). I didn't play it for months because it didn't work until I tried this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/EAPIE0IPAUEP286T9M/

The game was playable again. I recommend you save those $20 and buy some brasso instead :)

um veto I guess you didnt get the memo they extended everyones warranty to year a lllllong time ago buddy i boght one last april and even mine was extented.

@ #6
"" I'd rather pay $20 for a brand new disc if I accidentally scratch mine beyond replacement than to pay $40-50 for a used one or another $60 for brand new.""

Uhmm, do we know for sure that this program will replace your M$ games with BRAND NEW discs, as opposed to used, but working game discs? This article makes no mention that they are brand new, and meanwhile, I can't access the Xbox site.

gregory

im in the uk , i already get a one year warranty, it was on the 13th month after i bought my system i got the second fault .
its a launch batch machine also , but im told by EU customer support that reports of free repairs on this batch of systems in the US is a lie , and there is no such policy .
ive spoke with customer support several times now , even had my case handed up a department , the best they would offer is 25% discount and a 3 month warranty .
id rather pay the extra , grab a core with some free games and get myself another year warranty .

or you can check out http://www.skippydisc.com/pgs/Home.html

i've sent a few PS2 discs to get resurfaced after buying them used, including mgs2:substance and firefighter fd18. both games were riddled with light/minor scratches (though obvious) and after i got them back they basically looked like new.

Thank thebigboxproject !!!

I may buy a 360 now, but I'm still thinking about waiting for them to put 65nm CPUs in them.

One question: if you RMA your 360, do you still keep your old hard drive/data?

Steve was right in the sense of urgency thing

like when those 1-800# TV ads say "call in the next 20 minutes to get X" they hope consumers feed that little sense of panic that wells up in them and buy on impulse

And there's another thing i missed in my list of things that are mis-represented on Online forums

If you pooled Online statistics, the 360 would have a 40% failure rate, when it's down in the single digits in reality...

@ Mr. Khan

Do you have a link to the actual failure rate of 360's? I'm not trying to play dumb here; I honestly want to get an idea of how reliable 360s are.

People on the good ol' internet always talk about their 360s breaking, but everyone I know hasn't had theirs break even once.

I've never seen any real proof of it, but i've heard numbers in the 3% range, which would amount to approx 300,000 units which is a LOT of units, but nothing crippling

300k sounds about right

Yes, when you return the 360 for repair, all you send in is the console itself. You keep the drive.

Also, I just got my refund check from MS for my repair. That was a nice touch in addition to extending the warranty in the US.

You know, problems happen, I understand this. However, you are rated as a company on how well you handle the problem. I give MS a so-so rating. Not great, but not bad. They didn't have a good clear policy to begin with and they seem to be wandering through the best possible path as it happens. It would have been nice to :

1. Have a year warranty from the get-go
2. Free shipping from the get-go
3. More consistent policy for consoles that have failed multiple times (or, rather, when a console or it's replacement fails for the same person through no fault of their own).

They are in a better position now, but for those of us who had the rOd problem there were months of uncertainty and the feeling of betrayal when the 360 broke just past its warranty (mine just 13 days past the original 90 day warranty).

Anyway, if you want to endear yourself to gamers, you should follow in the way of Nintendo, MS. My DS developed the crack-o-death on the hinge. I went to the Nintendo website, punched in the sn and my shipping address and had a shipping label in 3 days. Sent it in, got it repaired, and it cost me exactly ZERO. Bravo Nintendo.

MS, you are on the right track but you are still and adolescent when it comes to consoles. Keep trying, though, it's slowly starting to get better.

Disc Replacement plans would be awesome.....but there would HAVE to be a timetable for replacement......

Then again.....I would love to replace my scratched up copy of POY POY for PS One. Such a good game....I'm gonna cry.

got my 360 christmas after release...
noover had a problem! most people dont go out of their way to post the positive.

If MS would just simply speak to TDK or whomever makes that scratch resistant protective coating for BluRay and HD-DVD then we'd all have no problem with that.

I'm sorry for you guys, really.:(

I"m glad I'll never have to go through that. If you think about it, alot of 2 year warranties will be up soon. I know MS does 1 year and some stores charge extra for that extra year or so, but time is coming close. You are sitting on a time bomb. :)

When that time has come, sell off your 360 library and join the future on the PS3. :)

We'll be waiting for you.

Almost every other publisher of games already has a replacement plan, and had for about a decade.

Well, my launch day 360 finally gave up the ghost today. It's still early in the customer service process, I know, but they already offered to send me a prepaid 1-month Xbox Live Gold membership card to compensate me for the online gaming I'm missing while they replace my console. I think this might be a new thing, as they haven't offered this to anyone else I know who's had to send in their console. I don't know if this was offered to me b/c I bought the two-year service plan back when I bought my machine or if this is being offered to everyone now.

And to this guy,

"consoles just going out of warranty the world over are flashing with 3 red lights , and MS wants 1/3 of the price you paid for the system to repair it .
MY launch machine was faulty when i got back from the shop on launch day , exchanged it with MS within a week , 1 month after the warranty runs out (on the replacement machine) the console fails again and MS wont budge on repair fee.
this isnt customer service , its probably there only department making money"

Isn't the warranty on the replacement 360 supposed to be another year? That's what it looked like when I was looking at Xbox.com today after my machine went belly-up.

Also, you're a lot more convincing when you know the difference between its/it's and there/their.

Sounds like you might be eligible for a refund on your repair costs. You should call them and ask them about it.

I just got a pc with windows xp 2005 with media center. I linked my xbox 360 to media center with no problem. Is there a way I can play a game and listen to my music at the same time throw the media center like i could throw zune?