beaker

18. filterpunk.

If you were to buy a Dodge Truck, say, and replace the stock tires with something else such as Goodyears (same size and specifications) and then the engine broke while the truck was still under warranty, can you imagine that Chrysler would not honor its warranty because you put different tires on the truck?

Putting different A/V cables on your console other than the manufacturer's supplied-in-the-box is analogous to my truck example. The A/V cables cannot cause mechanical failure in the console (specifically disc-read errors and locking up, which was what happened to me).

Sony has institutionalized a broad "not-my-fault" filter to screw the customer over with their warranty. Sony also realizes that nobody is going to pursue them legally over an issue that involves a relatively cheap piece of consumer electronics.

I can imagine David Spade at the Sony customer service center screaming "NO!" into his headset and laughing maniacally every time a customer calls. I was, and still am, dumfounded at Sony's cupidity.

13. Steve,

The beauty of it is that I bought a LICENSED third party brand (Monster Cable) S-Video cable because Sony did not provide or manufacture that particular item at the time I bought the PS2. Sony set the specifications and licensed the product (and received a cut of the money!) but disclaimed responsibility for the console because I used another brand of A/V cable other than the composite that came in the box.

The irritating thing to me was (and is) that there was no earthly way the audio-video cable could have caused the console to lock up. I replied honestly to the customer support questions, and I got hosed.

Particularly irksome to me was the fact that the customer representative would not refer me to a higher-up or supervisor--and that loathesome being cut me off without recourse to mediation.

I had never to that point dealt with such cavalier, pugnacious disregard to customer satisfaction. I had only had to deal with one other faulty console till that time (an Atari Jaguar); and that had been speedily replaced without question from the manufacturer. I expected the same from Sony.

Word of mouth is that Microsoft deals honestly and promptly with their inevitable repairs, and Nintendo doesn't manufacture defective merchandise to start with. I have no confidence in either Sony's products or their customer service.

Sony did not honor the warranty on my launch-day PS2 when the unit broke within the warranty period. I called customer service with my problem, and was told that because the cables were Monster brand (a third party licensed manufacturer) Sony would not honor its warranty.

Sony turned me off as a customer that day. I've not purchased a Sony product since. The idea that third party licensed cabling can somehow damage a component is ABSURD.

My wife was incredulous. I was livid.

I guess the best thing to do is LIE about your hookups in case your crappy system breaks. Which it will. Because we're talking Sony here. Sony is not at all the premier consumer electronics maker that it once was. Akio Morita failed to pass on a legacy of quality, and as a consumer who has lost all confidence in the company's products, I wish the company a speedy recovery from its hubris--in other words, may Sony crash and burn for its errors; and then, hopefully, to rise phoenix with a renewed commitment to customer service and with quality products that I can take pride in purchasing.

I've been complaining about the third party cabling issue for the past five years. I'm glad the Internet finally caught up with this scam.

Viva Pinata is sitting under our tree. I bought it for my son. MS hasn't put out many games for the 360 that are appealing to kids (Lego Star Wars comes to mind, but not much else).

I've been reading that Viva is crack in a game box, and now I'm dying with anticipation. I really would buy this game for myself, and it's killing me to have to wait for my kid to unwrap it.

My son specifically asked mom for this one (along with that 360 force feedback steering wheel, heh heh!) so it's likely to be a good Christmas around my house. I'm glad he's old enough now that I can double dip on the Christmas presents. And, oh yeah, he asked Santa for the Wii. (Which I'm absolutely sure Santa is bringing, if you know what I mean.)

It's a great idea. Too bad that GamerDad got there first and is doing an OUTSTANDING job with it. I go to Gamerdad to find out which kid's games don't suck (for my 9-year-old son.) GamerDad has never steered me wrong and they [GamerDad] don't moralize.

Amos, it all depends on the Burger King restaurant. I'm not an elitist--I love Burger King burgers. I just don't like them at the one Burger King in my very small town. It all comes down to quality control, and my BK has NONE.

On the other hand, I did score some free games. Truly, our BK is staffed by idiots.

I bought one hamburger (no value meal) and got the three games for free, two days ago. I'm not sure what was going on back of the counter. I even asked, "Hey! Aren't you supposed to charge me for these?" The girl in back of the cash register just looked really confused.

Today we had friends over and played nothing but the bumper car game. Awesome.

The achievements are surprisingly difficult to get. I think the most I have is 4 on the Sneak King game.

All in all, it's well worth the crappy hamburger I ate. These games are a lot more solid than I would have expected. They are definitely comparable to Live Arcade games, and quite fun.

Unimental has a good point.

With the 360 there is considerable peer pressure to buy the (multiplayer-capable) games that your friends have. Everytime I sign on to my 360 I can see what everybody else is currently playing. If half of the people on my friends list are playing Gears Of War, I feel like I'm missing out on something and NEED TO GET THAT GAME. The community aspect of Live cannot be discounted. I honestly think this is the reason for the high attach rate for the 360.

If I were 3D Realms, I'd make sure that when Duke Nuke Em was finally released, the first level of the new game used the same engine and assets from the last game. That'd generate a serious WTF moment from gamers all over the world.

It'd be even better if they just released the game without shipping review units so as not to spoil the fun.

"...this was a very tasteless comment, and shows the immiturity/indiscretion of the writer." --vicente

Vicente's right. I'd say he's young and stupid and that, although those two characteristics aren't neccessarily synonomous, they are frequently interchangeable; and in his case, he's made enough posts on this blog to establish his credentials as a sophomoric dipshit.

"Tycho Brahe" of Penny Arcade called him correct.