Gamer sticks Bungie, Microsoft with Halo 3 lawsuit

by David Hinkle { Sep 10th 2009 at 12:00PM }

Randy Nunez is quite upset with Microsoft and Bungie, as TG Daily reports he's leading the charge on a lawsuit against both companies over bugs and glitches he (and others) found in Halo 3. Forget that the game is enjoyed relatively complaint-free by close to a million people every day, Nunez and company say "Halo 3 consistently causes the Xbox 360 to 'crash,' 'freeze' or 'lock up' while the game is being played." The filing even states that "repeated and mounting consumer complaints and inquiries concerning this operational flaw in Halo 3" have been reported, with Microsoft and Bungie allegedly taking no steps to correct the issue or recall the game.

Our biggest issue with the game, of course, is that it never lets us win online. Do we need to start spamming the lawyer weapon?

Tags: bug, bungie, glitch, glitches, halo, halo-3, lawsuit, sue

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

david @ Sep 10th 2009 12:11PM

what a POS

People like that need to chain a heavy rock to their foot, and jump off a boat.

Curtis @ Sep 10th 2009 12:29PM

Hopefully they throw the rock off the boat first.

docalien @ Sep 10th 2009 12:44PM

@Curtis: But if the rock is still on the boat, we get to watch the mayhem. Drowning is such a passive way to go...

Captain Planet [Planeteer | Power of Captain Planet] @ Sep 10th 2009 1:07PM

I'd rather lock him up in a car with a badger.

protofunc @ Sep 10th 2009 4:12PM

I'd rather lock Jade Raymond up in a car with MY badger!

OH SNAP!

person guy @ Sep 10th 2009 12:05PM

so how long till you guys think this case is thrown out? xD

Danthok @ Sep 10th 2009 12:08PM

3...2...1... Gone!

I can hear the lawyers laughter.

jedimacfan @ Sep 10th 2009 12:53PM

QUICK! Somebody call Jack Thompson!

/sarcasm

Duke @ Sep 10th 2009 1:16PM

Now, when people ask what is meant by tort reform in this country, here is another example of the junk lawsuits that need to be curbed.

Duke @ Sep 10th 2009 1:28PM

Actually, I have to correct myself, this is not premised on torts but implied warranty - but the general idea holds true.

Shagittarius @ Sep 10th 2009 2:01PM

If they actually win this would be really bad for videogames.

Imagine companies having to be sure they don't have any bugs or they will be sued.

Bad new especially for smaller developers.

Swagman @ Sep 10th 2009 3:56PM

@ Shagittarius

Or it could be really, really, really good news.

I'm an old school gamer from back in the day when games (console games at least) did not ship full of bugs, just to get the game out on time. All games used to ship bug free. So suddenly defending the idea that devs/pubs have the right to ship games full of bugs, is lowering your standards by a significant margin.

Not saying this particular lawsuit holds any water - I've never had Halo 3 bug up on me . . . ever. Just saying that if there were some LEGITIMATE way to make developers and publishers accountable for the QA of their products before said product ships, I'm all for it. I think anyone who has ever played The Orange Box, or BioShock or Fallout 3 on the PS3, understands exactly where I am coming from.

As for the fate of the smaller developer should everyone be required to enact better QA procedures before releasing a game title, methinks a single console future is the cards. Instead of a smaller dev having to spread their QA work out across two or three development platforms, they could focus their efforts on a single console. Which strangely enough, works out perfectly for fanboys and the platform holders like Microsoft and Sony, as it would insure larger libraries of exclusives on those platforms, just like in the old days with a buggy game simply was not tolerated by the consumer.

Straximus @ Sep 10th 2009 4:24PM

@Swagman: Baloney. Super Mario Brothers for the NES has some of the most famous bugs of all time, including the infamous 'negative world' glitch. Another favorite of mine is ducking before you swim. The game thinks you are still ducked - you can't shoot fireballs, but the top half of the Mario sprite has no hit box and passes through objects and enemies. Doing this, it was possible to stick yourself into the notch over the exit pipe, get sucked into the wall, and be stuck until time ran out.

And SMB is hardly alone. Other games of that era were plagued with bugs too. But there was no internet for people to share knowledge of them once discovered.

Dustin @ Sep 10th 2009 4:37PM

@Straximus

Not to mention the incredibly simple gameplay of that era. You really cant compare the bugs in Halo 3 to the bugs in Super Mario Bro's. The levels in Halo 3 require much more testing than SMB did. Just about every game ever made shipped with some unknown glitches. Im just happy technology has evolved enough to where I can download instant updates for those buggy games online mostly for free.

Cj @ Sep 10th 2009 12:05PM

So they lie and try to get money? Or maybe they are just blaming the companies for their broken console.

Longhorn Slim @ Sep 10th 2009 12:05PM

Why not just move on to another game?

Nytemare @ Sep 10th 2009 12:31PM

Their gamertag's career lies in the balance.

rabbler78 @ Sep 10th 2009 12:07PM

cousins shouldn't breed, or else we get these people.

marauder30 @ Sep 10th 2009 1:12PM

You have NO idea.....

waves @ Sep 10th 2009 12:07PM

I play Halo 3 all the time and my 360 has never crashed. Wait, no... It's had a broken drive and a red ring/E74 and consequently had to be repaired twice. Still, this sounds like a silly lawsuit. I've experienced far more crashes in other games than I ever have playing Halo 3. And I play a lot of Halo 3.

waves @ Sep 10th 2009 5:02PM

To be clear, I've had other games crash before. Fallout 3, GTA IV, and Far Cry 2 especially come to mind... I've had PS3 games crash as well.

The only time I've ever had Halo 3 crash were the times when my 360 itself was dying. The first time I was in the middle of a match and my machine started making a noise like a fork in a disposal. Turned out the DVD drive died and it wouldn't read discs anymore. The second time I thought it was really bad lag, but it was more like the frame rate dropped to like 5 fps, and got slower and slower until it just froze. When I restarted the xbox I had the red ring. Restarted again and got the E74. Luckily I was covered under warrantee both times so I'm still playing Halo 3, waiting for ODST.

aristokrat @ Sep 10th 2009 6:10PM

@waves:
Agreed. If anything, Halo 3 is one of the most stable games on the 360.

juangrande386 @ Sep 10th 2009 12:08PM

is he sueing or is his mommy sueing cause this story makes him sound like the typical 13 year old playing halo

ejm72 @ Sep 10th 2009 12:09PM

Freakin economy!!! See what it is doing to us?!?!?!?!? Try anything to get a buck or two!!

David @ Sep 10th 2009 12:09PM

wow this is frivolous. i've NEVER had the game lock up on me, nor have i ever heard about that from any other source. i think it's safe to say that if halo 3 had problems like the ones described, the blogosphere would be all over it.

ComicShaman @ Sep 10th 2009 12:15PM

And even that is beside the point, really. Even if it had been released with tons of glitches and bugs, that's not grounds for a lawsuit.

DjDATZ @ Sep 10th 2009 12:24PM

@ComicShaman Exactly. Isn't that when people just tell you to "go play another game then."

David @ Sep 10th 2009 1:49PM

i think it could be grounds for a lawsuit. people sue over faulty/defective products all the time. just at the lawsuits involving the 360 RRODs.

umm....hello??? @ Sep 10th 2009 3:04PM

I'm wondering if he's one of those retards that installed the game on the 360 HD, despite Bungie repeatedly stating NOT to because it slows down loading times for multiplayer....either that or he's trying to play it on the original xbox....

Gamer4Life @ Sep 10th 2009 12:09PM

I've payed Halo 3 online for a couple of years now and haven't had it "freeze", "lock up", or "crash", I don't know what this guy's problem is but he sure does sound like a royal douche bag.

Chibi Chaingun - blackhivemedia.com @ Sep 10th 2009 2:00PM

Same here. I have had my share of RRoD, e74, and freezes over the past 4 years but it's never been with Halo 3.

franky @ Sep 10th 2009 5:53PM

I wouln'd blame the game but this what happend to me. I put in Halo 3, the screen when wierd I was still able to see everything but with snowy glitches all over it. took the game out and inserted back in and still doing the same thing. put in a nother game and it works just fine. so I turn my xbox off then back on and bang! E74. lol. so who knows. what the hell happend to me.

captain underpants and the bringdown gang @ Sep 10th 2009 12:12PM

I have logged over two years worth of play time in just six weeks. and I've never had it crash!

robotsaurus rex @ Sep 10th 2009 12:21PM

I'm impressed that you could play with 18 controllers simultaneously for 6 weeks. Did you win?

F1: Basu Gasu Bakuhatsu @ Sep 10th 2009 12:55PM

I didn't know Cthulu gamed.

arrrgh @ Sep 10th 2009 2:52PM

I smell burning pants :|

captain underpants and the bringdown gang @ Sep 11th 2009 8:29PM

BLAST YOU CAUGHT ME! I AM INDEED VISHNU THE HINDU GOD OF DESTRUCTION NOW WITNESS ME DANCE!

commonperson @ Sep 10th 2009 12:42PM

I have to admit I have had it lock up and crash on me but that was all resolved by installing it on the hard drive. That's more an issue of the XBox then the game in my case. Frivilous lawsuits are ever so entertaining.

Cash @ Sep 10th 2009 12:13PM

Really Randy? Really?

I used to play the crap out of that game, and it didn't lock up or glitch on me once. GoW2, on the other hand, is a whole nother story.

Bane @ Sep 10th 2009 12:13PM

No U Can Notz Haz Reconz

Ian @ Sep 10th 2009 12:15PM

To be fair, people do pay for online play on the 360 and should expect a certain level of quality because of that very reason.

james @ Sep 10th 2009 12:25PM

then its microsofts problem. he probably has a faulty 360.

Nick @ Sep 10th 2009 1:44PM

A faulty 360???

NO, lies. That system is built like a rock. It could never crash or break down.

EVER.

360 = 6 9s of reliability! Fact.

Joseph Kramer @ Sep 10th 2009 12:15PM

actually, if i ever play halo 3, my xbox does experience this crashing phenomenon every week or so. but as far as i can remember, i don't know a game that HASN'T been susceptible to crashing in the past 3 decades. Seriously, that's one of the three occupational hazards of being a "gamer." You know, besides the probable reclusiveness to society and increased risk of morbid obesity.

[Tre,back and NOT LEAVING no matter how much you want me to] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Sep 10th 2009 12:16PM

Upvoted for telling it like it is.

Snakku @ Sep 10th 2009 1:28PM

A SNES or Genesis RARELY had any of that problem and in my lifetime have never seen it happen to a SNES, Genesis, or Gamecube. The xbox is a pile of engineering failure and people eat it like it's gold. Now, I'm telling it how it is.

JW @ Sep 10th 2009 1:15PM

I'll gladly support any lawsuit against Bungie for destroying the Halo franchise with Galo 3.

Seriously though, Halo 3 was a complete let down from a cheating, story, and performance standpoint.

Disgustingly, Bungie is charging $60 for a 4 hour campaign, a horde-wannabe mode, and maps that most of us already have.

Thanks, Bungie, for showing me that greed and arrogance knows no bounds.

I hope the lawsuit turns into a class-action lawsuit and costs Bungie upwards of $1billion to defend. I'd love nothing more than to see Luke and that "bald piece of human waste" Frank sitting on a corner in Seattle asking for food stamps.

Snowblind @ Sep 10th 2009 1:53PM

Ignoring the obvious troll attempt, where are people getting the "four hour campaign" from? When people who have an early/leaked copy of the game have said the campaign is at least as long as Halo 3's, but is improved by the free roaming environment, and secrets to discover, including one entirely optional seperate storyline.

And if you hate the game, why would you own all the maps? I love Halo 3, and haven't bothered with any of the map packs, so getting all of them here for £30 covers the price of ODST alone.

SonicRift @ Sep 10th 2009 12:16PM

Yeah, I've never had a problem with Halo 3. I think I've been through 3 360s since Halo 3's release, and I've never had a problem with Halo and those units. I remember having a lot of trouble with GRAW locking up. Sue Ubi instead.

I have to admit I've never tried, but could this have something to do with running Halo 3 off the HDD?

x4str0m3ch @ Sep 10th 2009 12:20PM

Nope, has nothing to do with the HDD. I just boot mine off the disk and it probably freezes after every 10 hours of play time i'd say, but its pretty random. That's life, though.

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