Another Gamer Screwed by Microsoft

Once upon a time there was a boy who loved video games. This boy bought an Xbox 360. Two years later it broke. The boy had no choice but to send it in for repairs. It was then that Microsoft decided to screw him over. A very big bend on over so we can give you the royal treatment sort of screwing. This is his story.

[JVIDICAN]

ouch, thats gotta suck for the kid

[sonarus]

awww poor guy. Thats gotta suck. I don't think i can blame msoft for this one. If they had said something like they wnt fix it cus the art work voids warranty that would have been BS. That was simply plain ignorance on the guy that worked on the unit or just some hater jealous he didnt have as nice a 360 lol.

Anyway the moral of the story is try not to build too much attachment to one particular 360 you never know when your going to have to send it to MS and they will wipe it down clean lol

[Mr Seinfeld]

Now I'm not a man known for reading palms and predicting the future, but something tells me it wont be long until a PS3’s in this mans arms.

[Daishi]

Why would he get a PS3 when so many in the 360 community have been so nice to him? But then again he could be the reason Bungie left...

[ravinash]

The poor guy, thats really heart breaking.
What the hell must have been going through the engineers head when he thought it was a good idea to clean all this stuff off???

[sonarus]

yea seems to be really close to the 360 community. doubt i'll see him trading in his 360 but how do we knw he dosent already have a ps3

[gaffyh]

Sucks for him, but this isn't really Microsoft's fault, it's one of the retards working at the repairs center. Seriously those guys are stuypid, I'm pretty sure they don't check what you want fixed, they just always replace the motherboard.

When I sent my 360 for DVD Drive related problems, they sent it (after ~10 days) back and had replaced the motherboard. So I sent it back to them gain and they said they would do a "rapid repair", but it's been almost 3 weeks and I don't have my 360 back yet, so I don't know what "rapid" means in their dictionary.

[Mr Seinfeld]

Well, if it turns out to be like me and my buddies you still have about 2 months to go... Sorry.

[godofthunder10]

this isn't microsoft fault.it's the worker whos job it was to clean the consoles and the people that blame microsoft for this is pathetic because they are just fanboys who blames every thing on microsoft,hell i'm waiting to read a sony fanboy post blameing microsoft for the attack on the twin towers.it's a time when you can't blame some one for something that happened no mater how much you hate them and this is one of them.
i never read a post where the same people that blame microsoft for everything,say or blame sony for their computers blowing up in people faces when they had bad batteries in it.they also blame micro for the defect rate in the 360 and call it trash because of it and i admit that it's high but it went way down and they are still talking about,but they don't remember or just don't want to talk about the ps 1 and 2 when they had high defected rate,hell the ps had a defected rate all most at %30 because it had abad drive in it and it would read can't read disc,hell some peopole ps drive posted can't read disc when they first bought it.unlike micro,sony tryed to deny it at first but they admitted it later on and they never gave extra warrinties out,the people that bought one and it went out 3 months after they had it had to buy another one,hell i went through 5 of then in less then a year and a half.i'm not saying that every one had a problem with their ps only about 30 out of a 100 did,i know it's wasn't as high as the 360 was a one time but it's high.
i'll admit that the ps3 is the most dependable game system every made because i'm not some childish fanboy but it took sony 3 generation of consoles to finaly get it right and they really did a good job on the ps3 because the few people that had problems with it is to few to mention.
what i'm trying to say is like it or not the ps3 and 360 are both damn good systems and they will both be around as long as people play video games.they both have good games and games that sux.i know that every one would like a certain game that's only on the other system to be on theirs but they are to childish to admit it,hell i wish that killzone 2 was on the 360 because it look like it would be a great game and i know a lot of ps3 fans would like gears of war on the ps3 because it's a great game.
fanboys want admit it but game developers already said that the ps3 does something beter then the 360 and vice versa.people should play and enjoy the system they have and stop acting childish and stop worring about the other system because it doesn't concern them.

[Bubble Buddy]

This kid needs to do something about this. Make a big commotion or something.

[EZCheez]

That really hits below the belt, and this is definitely the fault of a single, specific a-hole that wanted to be a prick.

I just hope this guy gets some sort of reconciliation because having a 360 signed by some creators of Halo has to be worth something.

This guy deserves a 360 signed by the likes of Bill Gates himself.

[Siesser]

Well said, I feel nothing horrible for this guy for having gone through all the avenues he thought possible and having this happen. I may not be a 360 owner, but even I jumped at getting the Rooster Teeth crew's siggies on CDs and a shirt when I was at Otakon, and treasure those items; I couldn't imagine having that awesome artwork, and on my console no less. I have no doubt that it was a hard decision for him to send it in, and can't imagine the dread as he sent it in, and the disappointment when his fears were validated.

I'd like to just be able to say someone was following procedures, yadda, yadda, but I can't. I don't care where I worked, how much I got paid, whatever, if I saw that kind of artistic effort come across my path and was told to clean the box, I'd at least try to confirm whether the original owner wanted it done. And my apologies ahead of time for any slanderous comments from the mouths of fellow PS3 owners and fans; we're not all like that.

[Siesser]

nothing "BUT" horrible

[Black_Jack]

man i wouldn't want an xbox signed by bill gates, rather some developers at bungie again, that speaks much more for me. rather have bill gates blood on it. but then id have vampires at my window worshipping my 360 as the devil.

[ravinash]

MS should give him a new Elite Halo console that has been passed round Bungie Studios and sign by the same people before sending it back to him.
What they did took actual value off of the machine.

[Hapimeses]

That's really harsh. Poor chap. It seems Bungie are possibly sorting something for him, though; so that's something at least. Nevertheless, Microsoft deserve all the bad attention this story should bring.

If it were me, I'd be utterly gutted. Putting your trust, and your valuables, in a company's hands, only to have it spit in your face and gind your trust beneath its heel.

Not cool.

[ATLRoAcH]

I don't know why someone would do that.I don't think it was a mistake.

[Ri0tSquad]

Yes, it sucks but he shouldn't of trusted them.

Either way.....it's a loss.

actas123

Quit spamming

[brocool]

Yeah.. he definitely shouldve bought a new one..
Sue them kid.. I've got your back

[Storm23]

Not everyone can just buy ANOTHER video game system.

[Tarmgar]

Doesn't seem like a mistake to me. Someone at that plant apparently was going to be fired soon. So, they made sure they could "help" to the best of their last days.

[IamTheStorm81]

Wow, just, wow.

Microsoft may not be able to ever make it up to that poor guy, but they damn sure better try. That's just f'd up beyond words.

Not only should he be compensated, but Microsoft should issue that young man an apology.

Obviously this kid went to great lengths to assure that his was properly cared for, and some jerk actually took the time to purposefully ruin his console, and in effect, some of his memories.

F'd up guys, big-time.

[avacadosnorkel]

should have bought a new 360 and just switched the case. But since he didn't now I'm sure in a few weeks I'll be reading some story about how Microsoft really cares, and everybody who signed it is taken by MS to meet the kid and takes pictures with him and gives him free stuff.

[Mu5afir]

People aren't made of money, I am guessing repairing a console is cheaper then buying a new one. And OPENING the case would VOID the warranty for his NEW CONSOLE.. have you thought about that Einstein?

[avacadosnorkel]

I thought all you 360 owners were. You guys buy every sh!t game made, and then go bragging about how games sell for 360. I know some of you bought the HD-DVD add-on which was a total waste of money. Actually, you bought the 360. You should have known it was going to break. Whoever says they have their 360 since launch and never any problems is a compulsive liar.

But switching the case if possible and done right should not be something anyone could even figure out because only thing changed is the case

[Snukadaman]

lol dude is under the impression that his ps3 is the do all end all of all consoles....

[Seraphim]

If my console breaks I'm not going out and buying a new one. I didn't pay $300-600 for something I'll use for 1-3 years then replace because it broke due to poor quality. I could certainly afford to but it's the principal of the matter. When I buy any piece of electronics I buy quality and expect them to last a good 5-10 years. Which most do.

My original NES is still kicking. Working like new now that it has a new card reader in it. My original PS is still working great. My PS2, same thing, working great. Everything else is also working great or I've sold over the years. If my 360 or PS3 breaks then it's off to be fixed. I'm not going to give up my 60 GB [actually 160 GB but it's the backwards compatibility I'm talking about] for a 80 GB. I don't know what I'm trying to say, Lol. I'm tired and rather out of it tonight...

sucks for the kid though. But I'm sure he'll be compensated somehow for it. He's probably better off this happened because now he'll probably get a custom pain job from Bungie w/ Auto's from the whole team or something....

[The Closing]

You forgot to mention buy a new system every 4 years.

[tehReaper]

@avacadosnorkel

Okay, for one, I DO own a launch 360, and it has NOT gave me any trouble. That's not to say that it won't eventually give me problems. But to call everyone who says they have a launch 360 a liar, then you base your knowledge off non-fact. There is a 16% failure rate broseph, not 100%.

Lets also talk about games. You're telling me, that even though 2007 had some of the best games released in a while, most of them on the 360, that they are crap? You probably don't have a 360, so you just automatically assume that the games are bad. That's what many call a fanboy. And congrats, you just proved yourself to be one.

I on the other hand, am a GAMER. Not a fanboy. I own all three consoles because I enjoy games as a whole and games deserve to be given a chance. If you're too stubborn to give other console games a chance, I really don't think you should be playing Video Games.

As for this article, it's very sad to know how worthless Microsoft Support are about following directions. Even if it's in Mexico, they still should have KNOWN that the things on the case were there for a reason. *sigh*

Good luck Nathan. I really do hope you get compensated somehow.

[jaja1434]

I wouldn't really blame MS for this, more so the *insert long string of very bad words* who took it upon himself to well you know...

[BloodySinner]

I'm guessing it was more of an accident than anything else. The person who fixed his console was most likely not informed.

Either way, that really blows for this dude.

[IamTheStorm81]

Sorry, but you think it was an accident that someone looked at his console, and thought to himself...

"gee, even though there's art and autographs on here, I'm sure this kid doesn't want it here, so let me take the time and effort to wipe it all away"....?

Come on man, that's just, NO.

To get all of that ink off of there, someone had to put in quite a bit of effort. Just looking at pictures of that console, it's quite obvious that console had autographs and art on it, which obviously means it had quite a value to the owner.

No way could it have been looked at as dirt, or grim. No way.

If it was that obvious in a picture, how obvious do you think it would have been in person?

Quite obvious.

[xplosneer]

He was informed, the guy sent a letter saying "Keep the same case"

Yet someone diliberately put real work into erasing permaent marker.

[Evil_K_666]

While I believe that it is complete bull sh!t that whoever it was whipped that stuff off of that boys xbox but it really isn't that hard to take permanent marker off. All it takes is rubbing alcohol and virtually no elbow grease at all. Chances are that all 360's go through a cleaning process where they are sprayed down with an alcohol based substance and buffed dry after repairs to make the poor b@stard that had a broken console feel like his referb is new. all in all though this still dosen't justify what happened seeing as how the guy even included a very detailed note.

[Statix]

Dude, you do know that rubbing alcohol would erode the finish of the 360 paint job too, right?

[THWIP]

The 360 isn't painted...it's made from injection-molded plastic, which is pigmented an off-white. You can clean on the case all day long, and it will still be white.

[Black_Jack]

sinner that just sounds like some lame excuse or well it wasn't really our fault response that microsoft are likely to send in a letter to him. don't defend MS by saying it was an accident, look at the facts. Its poor customer services plus it was enough that his console broke in the first place, which it shouldn't!!! we should start a petition and get this kid an elite with white signatures from the team that made xbox live or something.

[BloodySinner]

I'm not trying to come up with lame excuses. I'm just pointing out that things like this happen.

[Black_Jack]

it doesn't mean its meant to happen though, MS has the power to take the software business almost in its entirety yet they can't atleast read 1 kids letter and satisfy what seems to be a very very simple request. sounds like vista to me!

if any other company was to do the same i'd be just as rattled, i dont hate on ms it just makes me angry when companies sh!t on people. i mean first his console breaks and then they rub away every mark of centement which it had. *sniff* its just not fair *sniff*

[SacredENA]

What part of his letter didn't you understand? Oh that's right, YOU DIDN'T READ THE ARTICLE!

LoL @ the disagrees. What are you disagreeing about?

[InYourMom]

A lot of people send their consoles in with information written on it (Cust #, RMA #, whatever) and they clean it off as part of the refurb procedure.

This is not MS who screwed this kid over but someone at the repair center. MS does not own these repair centers so this "Another Gamer Screwed By Microsoft" is a bunch of poo.

I still feel bad for the poor kid and it sucked that his console died in the first place. Especially that he tried his best to convey the message that the console was "special". I bet the signers would gladly do it again after reading this story. I do have a problem with the nobody blog person who made the stupid headline however.

EDIT: @ Disgrees.. Is that just a reflex or what? Give a reason if you disagree.

[tweaker]

Nobody's at fault on this. It was a procedural duty in the repair department. Probably the workers in the department can't even read or even talk in English so maybe the letter was disregarded. Remember repairs are cheaper outside of the US.

[Silellak]

Yes, it's just a reflex. You dared imply Microsoft was NOT responsible for something evil, and thus incurred the wrath of the Sony Fanboy hordes here at N4G. Saying positive, or even just non-negative things about the 360 and/or Microsoft isn't welcome here. Fun, huh?

And the sad thing is, you're right. It's not like Bill Gates himself came down, wiped the permanent marker off the case, then kicked this guy's puppy while burning down a rainbow. It was a mistake by someone who works at Microsoft, but it wasn't some company-wide conspiracy to screw the poor guy.

[power of Green]

LOL, makes me wan't to buy a PS3 so I don't get as irritated with the smear campaigns on this site from Kids, teenagers and pathetic adults when all I wan't to do is read 360 news thats useful.

Everyday all I see is kids trying to prove their toy is better than my toy spending ab-normal amounts of time trying to dig up fud and or to jump on every negative toned MSFT thread folks can find posting anti MSFT rhetoric.

[wAtdaFck]

"Everyday all I see is kids trying to prove their toy is better than my toy spending ab-normal amounts of time trying to dig up fud and or to jump on every negative toned MSFT thread folks can find posting anti MSFT rhetoric."

Or maybe...its the other way around o_O

[power of Green]

Are you accusing me of going out of my way posting anti PS3 news 24/7 or trolling every single PS3 thread all friggin day saying bassically that I hate Sony over and over again in every PS3 thread I can troll/find?. Get a clue. o_O

Who's digging up PS3 consumer service issues and posting it as news? so fanboys can spew propaganda driven drivel 24/7, not me. lol

"Another Gamer Screwed by Microsoft"

Isn't news, its an account of one person in consumer service, people suggesting MSFT indorses this behavior are being ridiculous.

o_O D D D D D D D Dee...

[mikeslemonade]

That's because there's overwhelmingly more negative 360 news than PS3 news in the wild. And if N4G was pro 360 it wouldn't be far from the truth that you'd start posting in negative PS3 articles to bash it. It's a lot easier to bash a system if the article is already negative where as trying to spin postive news to negative news is harder which is why you don't post in PS3 news.

[pwnsause]

well thats microsoft for ya. he learned his lesson,son buy yourself a PS3.

[InYourMom]

but do you think MS owns these repair centers? Maybe you don't know this but you don't send your broken 360 back to MS HQ in Redmond. You send it off to a seperate repair facility.

To say this is MS's fault is a stretch. Judging by the signatures he has, Bungie, Rooster Teeth, etc he sounds like he wouldn't want to play a PS3.

[avacadosnorkel]

after all the signatures this kid creams over Microsoft. He probably got second duplicate signatures on his nipples and never washes.

That's how they do it at those MS parties!

[EZCheez]

Unless Bill Gates himself wiped off those signatures, it's hard to blame the company.

Of course, here on submarines we have a saying that fits this story.

One ship, one screw (propeller). Figure it out.

Even though one person f's up, everyone pays for it, and Microsoft will pay for this because of one person.

[eagle21]

It's time for either tough love or just wait till you go through it yourself. They will make it burn when it's your turn.

[DJ]

There actually is no compensation for this. Poor guy. =[

[TwissT]

Wow, thats sad no matter what console you own, having a sentimental gaming memento like the kid's signatures erased like that is truly unacceptable.

[Bonsai1214]

haha. that REALLY sucks. he should have bought another 360. i would never send something with that much sedimental and potentially monetary value through the mail to anyone, let alone microsoft..

i really hope they compensate somehow. but what can you do to replace 2 years of memories?

[DJ]

Put it in a glass case or something. You do NOT send something that sentimental into the hands of an unknown factory worker; in fact, I'm sure he actually got a Different case back, with just some smudges on it to trick him into thinking it was.

Then again, consoles are expensive, and the replacement would have been free. I'm money-conscious, so I would have definitely been tempted to take advantage of the warranty. This really just serves as a reminder for us not to trust Microsoft's repair service. I've heard of them sending back consoles with erased hard drives, no hard drives, and even missing power supply units. The worst was the stories of people receiving their 'fixed' 360s only to have them die within 15 minutes.

[Covenant]

So someone DELIBERATELY decided to wipe clean signatures and artwork that were obviously of significant value...

DOUCHE

BAG.

I'd say more, but I'd violate many of this site's rules about foul language.

[Denges]

it could be company policy to do this before sending out refurbished products to make them as new

oh well poor guy

[Premonition]

I think he should contact microsoft, and ask who took his console and worked on it, maybe an employee name is written down or something when they do a console, so maybe he can ask who did his console the the serial number etc etc, because what that guy did was just wrong, and should be fired.

[SacredENA]

Meh @ the disagrees...

[Covenant]

Is he wearing a suit of cooling fans...?!?

And there's that one wire...the one that seems to run "below the equator." Where is that connected...?

[BoondockFan24]

I've been a fan of Microsoft and the Xbox brand for quite some time and even defending it to my Sony fanboy friends, but this... this is the straw that broke the camel's back. What complete jerk offs. I feel so bad for the kid... that sucks so much.

[Silellak]

As others have said, this isn't like Microsoft as a company conspired to screw this kid over.

Some f*cking idiot at a repair center somewhere screwed up bigtime. It sucks, and it shouldnt've happened, but to blame Microsoft *as a company* for it is a little overkill.

That being said, they should offer *something* in return.

[uxo22]

Okay, keeping it real, I agree some jerk did this to the guy's console just to be a jerk-wod. But, let be real here, how could the any sensible person title this article "Another Gamer Screwed by Microsoft"?

If you call tech support at Sony or Nintendo, and get a jerk on the phone that wants to treat you like an A$$ for no apparent reason, should we say SONY/NINTENDO treats people like jerks, they don't care about their customers? NO, we should not! Anyone that has left the mom's basement would know that there are always going to be A$$ munchers like the person that erase this console. (He was probably jealous). But, you can't blame an entire company and start to post public news, blogs, and other propaganda just because of one person.

There has been times when someone has a problem with their 360 and MS has included free stuff. Yet, I see no articles titles, "Microsoft, shows that they care once again!" You know why, because although it's not suppose to be the case; it's easier for some people to simply HATE!

Articles like this serves not real purpose, except to put out anti-Microsoft sentiments, therefore should not be approved. Nor should the be approved against Sony or Nintendo either.

[InYourMom]

well said and you seem to have a firm grasp on reality. You are now starting to understand N4G and its bias, keep looking you will find more.

hint: look at the contributers comment history by clicking on his name. You will find the true intent of the submission. Further, look at the comment history of those that approved it for even more.

To answer your question: They would never post "MS Shows it cares once again" because it would not fit the agenda.

PS: Expect lots of disagree's

[wil4hire]

Sony/Nintendo dont have a 15-30% Failure rate. Feel free to visit sony/nintnedo boards to see praises about customer service. Sure there are a few with real gripes. But *few* is the keyword. Sony/Nintendo aren't perfect as far as hardware/customer service, But they sure are a hell of a lot closer than MS is.

[power of Green]

Thats not his point. stop trolling.

[uxo22]

He definitely missed my point, but then again, that doesn't surprise me a single bit.

I also agree with the guy that said, MS should check their repair logs and find out who did this and terminate them. Support people are suppose to provide a service, not a dis-service.

[THUNDERMARE]

The kid just sad man, that's why.

I get your point totally, but the thing is with 360 reliability rate fare relative lower than the wii or ps3, so it ought to get more of this kind of news.

[Sssamba]

However, isn't it ultimately Microsoft's fault in the first place for allowing such a shoddy piece of hardware to be released in the first place? If they were manufactured well like the Wii and Playstation 3, the guy wouldn't have had to send in his 360 in the first place. Therefore, MS ultimately screwed him (and 33% of all 360 console owners, apparently) over. I'm just saying this since it looks like you want to get technical. Devil's Advocate is a fun game to play =).

[MolotovMan1263]

I think Microsoft should send him a brand new 360 with signatures from Major Nelson himself, along with plenty of people from the Microsoft Game Studios, as well as the guys from Bungie and Rooster Teeth. I can't comprehend how this thing could have happened....

[marcdz1]

happened if Microsoft would of made a more reliable console to begin with.

[chewjya]

poor kid.... he had some pretty sick artwork on his case..

[funkysolo]

I had a 360 and so did alot of my friends. I never had any problem with mines but there were 360's dropping like flies all around me. Each one of my friends 360 has had the RROD and they all have gotten fix and sold it on ebay to buy a PS3. I just dont get the logic from these 360 fans that feel the need to defend the hardware. I'm sorry but the 360 is a total peice of crap, and only an idiot would go out an buy one knowing damn well that there really is a problem. THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE 360 BECAUSE THE NEW ONEs GET THE RROD. My friend refuse to get a PS3 until his new 360 that he just got replace scratch 4 of his games. As long as you keep supporting that peice of crap M$ will not do anything about it....grow up people it's time for M$ to recall the 360, you would expect it from any other product why would you exclude a game console seriously...COME ON!!!!

[SacredENA]

I endorse this comment. All who disagree are...

[Adamalicious]

I don't think I would have sent it in in the first place, but that still sucks.

[Skerj]

That's freaking harsh, I wonder if word of this will get back to MS and they'll send him a new autographed machine. Stranger things have happened. ..

[princejb134]

lol, wow i find the story pretty funny
ms really sucks for doing that, that kid must be so mad when that happened and frustrated he didnt even wanna play the 360 they send him
MS are jerks for doing that

[ArcAngel_07]

Until MS takes responsibility for all the blunders they've made, and they are too many to list here, no one should defend them. They are a company that cater to PAYING CUSTOMERS! So please, let's not defend those who don't need, or deserve it. MS has messed up. They should be accountable for the actions they've taken. No matter how "down the ladder" the actions took place.

[KingME]

So using your same thought process, anything STUPID thing that you do or say, your parents or other family members should be held responsible right.

When you go to work tommorrow, should you get in an argument with someone, ot perhaps get a traffic ticket. Your employer should be held accountable and therefore people should stop using their services. Yeah, you know I agree with you....NOT!

[darkside]

poor kid, think about it like finishing WOW character with the highest epic stuff then losing the character or PS2 memory card got fcuk up and you can play your old games.....damn there is a personal value in everything!! even for games! there's only one person to blame i'm look at you M$!!! it all start because of the crappy fcuken hardware M$ put out just to beat PS3 early. The kid should now play beyond.

[eyeDEVOUR]

ive been thinking about airbrushing the top of my ps3,since its easy to take off the cover.it only has 1 hidden screw in it slides right off.so you dont have to really disassemble anything to do so.but if it ever screwed up i damn sure wouldnt send the cover.i got mine used from gamestop,and they refurbish them..but they do a very poor job being carefull with them.because mine and everyone else's ps3 that ive seen come from gamestop is scracthed the hell up or just plain jakked up.im sure SONY would be more careful but i wouldnt take my chances on a custom paint job...

[Harry190]

was not cool at all

[MailMan]

IF the console was signed by the GREAT Ken Kutaragi,IMMORTAL Kaz Hirai,or the INGENIUS Jack Tretton.

Jump OUT and Play B3YOND

[TruthBTold]

I honestly dont trust service people anywhere because there is usually a high chance they dont understand what you want. Kind of like getting a new car mechanic or a new barber, you have to be so carefull otherwise they usually screw up your car more or cut your hair in a way you didnt want it. I feel sorry for the kid. I have been attached to a couple of things in teh past and when they broke or just stopped working it was kinda sad. But they didnt have any special signatures or designs that actually couldnt be remade. That has got to feel even worse. Hopefully something can be done for him. It wont be the same but something to make him feel his loss wasnt that big. Whoever the customer service rep was they didnt really go out the way to make sure this special case was handled properly.

[victorMaje]

We all feel for you kid, i say sue them!

[Nodoze]

This incident is simply rotten. I feel for this kid, and wish him well in his pursuit of an apology. For those of you so galantly defending Microsoft, let's examine the facts a bit closer:

Fact: MS in an effort to gain market share, knowingly released an untested console
Fact: MS denied that there was widespread failures of their hardware
Fact: MS admitted the issues only when stores threatened to pull the units from shelves due to the failures and returns
Fact: MS farmed repair to 3rd world countries to cut down on cost
Fact: MS IS responsible for this incident in that they hired the repair facility to deal with their sh1t hardware
Fact: you people for some unknown reason choose not to accept reality, or the fact that MS does not care about you. I am sure you will be first in line to get the untested Xbox 720 after MS abandons the 360 entirely (just like they did with the Xbox 1).

I wish all of you would get some common sense and realize that you are the problem. You continue to support and pay for a sub par experience. Why would MS need to change anything at all since you keep BUYING from them? Short answer is they wont.

[wowsauce]

Fact checking facts before saying they are facts is usually better than spouting bull.

[PSWe60]

that's a shame,
yet ANOTHER 360 dies...aren't you fan boys sick of this?

[Snukadaman]

Its ok...3 years warranty against the rrod and sony has you hypnotized that nothings wrong with the ps3...but there has been plenty of people on the forums stating that after then 90 days have ended they have too fork over 150 bucks too have sony even diagnose whats wrong with it...that goes towards fixing it thought...face it..both consoles are terrible...hardware wise its all xbox...but when it comes too online..multi platform games being worst...its all ps3. On topic...sony and nintendo do the exact same thing....send you a refurbished ps3 or wii or even a ds....its alot faster on customer service too just put your broken console to the side and send you one thats been fixed.

[Seraphim]

actually Sony has a 1 year warranty with all their electronics. At least any I've ever bought including receivers, tv's, dvd, Playstations, etc. So anyone claiming Sony is trying to charge them for a diagnostic after 90 days is lying or not disclosing the entire truth. Like perhaps they used an intercooler or game shark. Used another unlicensed product. The idiot threw away their receipt. Or it's their own damn fault the console broke to begin with and they were to dumb to lie about it...

and just to prove my point of a 1 year warranty:
http://www.us.playstation.c...

The MS warranty only covers the RRoD for 3 years. I've read time and time again about people having an issue with their video on the 360. So much so that I think it's a reasonably serious/large problem that should also be covered. My friend paid $100 to have his video fixed on his 360. That same week I thought mine went out. Luckily enough I jiggled the cable a little, turned off the console, and it worked but I always fear that at some point my video will go out. Perhaps this problem is in the acceptable range for failure rates, idk, but it exists on top of RRoD and other technical problems the 360 is known for...

The fact of the matter is that ALL electronics have a defect rate. A normal [acceptable] defect rate is 3-5% with 6% being borderline and 7-10%+ being high-unacceptable. What is that saying? Sh!t Happens. And it certainly does. The PS3 so far seems to be in the acceptable range. Sony Electronics normally fall in the 3-5% range. Obviously it's still to early to honestly tell. At the end of the day though the PS3 seems to be a solid unit. But we all know the 360 has a High Failure rate. And at the end of the day if there's a wide scale problem or a manufacturing defect you can best bet the company is going to offer an extended warranty to avoid a law suite...

Anyway, not to take sides, just making a statement. I loved my 360 and PS3 and both have helped me get through this Winter with something to play. If there's not a PS3 game I want to play there's been something on the 360 to play; and vice versa...

[GETPWNED]

10 dollar a year RROD warranty from M$ FTW.

[avacadosnorkel]

for the same warranty they give everybody free now.

they never gave me back my 50 bucks.

[killax3563]

OFF-TOPIC

Dude, IMO, your avatar is borderline kiddy-porn. That girl looks like she's 12 and she's s*cking on a banana like she's s*cking on a c*ck. I'm sorry, that's just creepy. Hopefully you'll change your avatar.

[KinGJeFF]

@ Killax

Despite being off topic, important thing is that you didn't waste any time getting straight to the point. And you said it how it should've been said. Excellent. Bubbles

[GETPWNED]

Thanks for your concern, Killax. I hadn't thought of it like that until now.

[light]

I disagree with title !!!
Well, It is sad thing that happened to a gamer. It is not all Microsoft's fault but Microsoft should be responsible for it and reimburse the kid in somewhat fair manner.

[PimpHandHappy]

one more consumer screwed over by the company that gave us the Fre3Fixme

what a joke

[tordavis]

I would have removed the case before shipping. In fact, I would have put a custom Halo case or something on it for the shipment.

[fopums]

thats utterly fukced, I dont see any reasonable person being so carless as too wipe all that off, stupid people make me sick.

Would you burn somebodys yearbook for kicks? that stuff is very important to folks. careless asshat.

[wowsauce]

The kid never should have sent it in. It's a collectible, you don't send collectibles to get repaired under the warantee. That was just stupid on his part. Once it's a collectible, there's no going back.

Someone already said this, but it's likely that the repair center cleans all it's cases regardless of what is on them. It's probably policy, and the guy that did it probably wasn't doing it to be a d1ck. If you think that writing a letter to someone in India is actually going to affect your console repair in whatever country you're in, you're stupid.

[Whoooop]

MS is really a decease...

[cartman313]

Ouch! Poor Kid. I really hope the douche bag who cleaned it gets fired. What a prick. It may be SOP to clean the consoles up before they send them back out, but c'mon....

[grilledgorlupa8]

:O

[ScottEFresh]

I don't feel sorry for him because he was dumb enough to buy one in the first place. Not only that but he trusted M$. # 1 no no right there.

[timmyrulz]

It could be worse, at least we didnt fall for the "come buy our super duper superman 3 console, 120 fps, the true next gen blah blah blah"
Now YOU guys got screwed, again

[KinGJeFF]

It could be worse, we could be dumb enough to buy a 360 despite hearing all this news (yes even on television) about the RRoD. Happy Gaming to you timmy, or whenever you get yours back from the repair shop.

[Spydr07]

Why do people find it necessary to jack off over a console? How did this ever start (fanboism)? This is as dumb as gang wars. "Man, I'm from 123rd St, you gone die 'cause you from 126th!"

[The Closing]

I'm not into the whole whoaomg look at me I got an autograph!?!, and certainly not on a console I dished out 400 big ones for as it looks better clean to me, but point is it's not mine, and whoever went out of their way to wipe it off knew that too, and definitely had the intent of being complete ass, and shouldn't have done it. If you ask me it would be a bigger issue if they didn't fix it at all because of the artwork so it could have been a lot worse imo.

[Jon Wonder]

Why the hell they needed to wipe the OUTside of the 360? Like would that help FIX the 360, which was what it was sent for? It's sh!t for brains employees like this that ruin MS, why we still can't get a fullproof 360, and this unfortunately results in the loss of great memorabilia for the guy. A shame.

[timmyrulz]

His 360 fixed........ ;)

[Spydr07]

Complain here about PS3 trolls and don't even stop to think that for every PS3 troll out there there's a 360 troll polluting PS3 forums. Yet most of the people here will condone trolling so long as the negative light isn't shining on their console. Last year when PS3 was getting all of the negative publicity where were the "stop trolling" comments to 360 trolls from 360 fanboys? I couldn't care less about the console war dispute, get the one you like the most games on.

Either way, that's pretty crappy what happened to the kid. I would probably bet it was the result of procedure with no ill-intent. However, the rep from MS he spoke with should have informed him it would be cleaned. No matter how you look at it, MS has some fault in this. If it was procedure, he should have been informed. If it wasn't, then he was truly screwed over by a prick.

[FirstknighT]

What kind of idiot takes his 360 all over the place and gets it signed by random people??? It's idiots like these that make the whole RROD issue worse than it should be.

[ben806]

so some guy read his letter and thought it would be funny to wipe of all the artwork and signatures, microsoft should be able to find out who worked on this machine and sack him.. its obvious it was done to devalue this kids console theres no other excuse.

[Sovannah Phum]

this story is too funny, you just can't make this stuff up about microsoft's customer service!

[-EvoAnubis-]

This is messed up. For real.

[cputeq]

the guys Microsoft hires at the Texas repair center problably know about 10 words in English, and certainly can't read it, so the letter was futile.

/cheer illegal immigrants!

[Kaz Hirai]

Yet ANOTHER disappointed Xbox 360 owner! There's so many of them.......

MWAH-HA-HA-HA!!!

[kalel333]

If I were American I'd say SUE lol.

Yeah that seriously sucks, your machine was worth much more then just the regular priced 360 ! Fight for our right !

[Ravenator529]

If I had a console with those signatures on the case, I would never have sent the console in for repair.

It sucks that it "red ringed" on him but at that point I would have just "retired" the 360 and purchased a new one. No way in hell would I have sent that in to M$.

Sure I would have been out a couple of hundred bucks but keeping that console case "intact" would have been more important to me.

The situation sucks but a little "web" research would show this guy the horror stories of dealing with M$ repair support. I wouldn't have taken the chance.

[Bolts]

Any 360 will eventually RROD. He really should've know better.

[SKullDugger]

Don't blame the kid, remember this was a launch console and he trusted MS and what they told him. MS and MS only is at fault for this!! For removing the sigs. and art work and for hardware that suffers from so many issues.

[ilkercruiser]

To praise Sony, Only way you know is bashing other systems?

[The Closing]

I heard you the first time.

[BeaArthur]

I feel bad for him, I know I would be pissed and he has every right to be but at the same time I'm also not shocked that this happened. He obviously failed to realize that the people at Microsoft don't give a crap about him or his console. How many consoles do you think break everyday; and they still haven't done anything to really resolve the issue. They are not going to care about one xbox with some art work on it. Not to mention...how intelligent do you think the people are at the repair shop? Lets face it if they were reasonable intelligent they probably wouldn't be working in Microsoft's repair shop. However I hope that he can get some kind of compensation, I'm sure if the story gets big enough and makes Microsoft look like a bunch of @ss holes then I'm sure they will create some PR spectacle and give this guy some new xbox with a bunch of signatures and some other stuff. But like I said that will only happen if the story circulates enough to make Microsoft look bad outside of the hardcore gamer community.

[jeenyus]

Any dude hoping a company actually cares of ONE customer in particular deserves this.
What dumbass sends his custom case to "repairs" ? He had it coming.This isn't a car you know.It's not like it's the only XBOX360 unit that had to be repaired and everybody should have treat it with love and care,hug it all around.

[light]

sell your sentiment value in 350 !! dumb ass

[EaziG]

I REALLY felt sorry for this guy.
That artwork on it alone looked really cool.
How on earth could anyone think its a good idea to clean it all off?
did they even read his letter?

I am totally shocked. Poor Guy.

[Saint Sony]

..and what comes to ridiculous sentence:

"Permanent marker does not rub off that easily. Someone put a lot of work into making sure they erased all of the rich history that was built up on that console."

Anyone knows permanent marker is really easy to remove from the plastic surface. Does not require work at all.

[texism]

yeah, I was surprised at that too. Permanent marker on plastic doesn't require that much effort. Get some rubbing alcohol or some acetate.

[Ali_The_Brit]

the guy who cleaned it off was either really stupid or really mean

[Vip3r]

The person responsible for this should be made to pay a heafty fine.

For the people saying it isn't MS's fault, come on. Usually a company takes responsibility over its employees and their actions and so should be held responsible for it. Like if your car was in a garage getting a m.o.t. or whatever and the mechanic put a huge scratch along the door would you just walk away saying nothing because the company had nothing to do with it or would you sue the company?

Well?

[LiquifiedArt]

"Join us in Destroying your Dreams"

~Microsoft Hater

[sabbath420]

Why do you sony fans think we are hurting? Dude I have played so many freaking great games on my xbox in the last 3 years. I don't feel screwed at all. Why are you sony fans worried about us xbox gamers anyway? We are all obviously enjoying the games we play and the great online service or we would not buy the console and pay the $50 a year for live. Think about it.

[VTKC]

this is sad that things have come to this. Why wont Microsoft get their act together and treat their consumers with respect. Surely without the comsumer, Microsoft would not be what it is today. Hope my 360 doesnt retire as I surely wont even attempt to ring microsoft for help. I'll just have to buy a new one instead.

[kewlkat007]

I got a feeling the "REAL CASE" will show up after a couple of weeks after that A-hole has to answer some questions from MS.

[scarlett_rg]

Something just seems very fishy about this.

Did anyone else notice that in the original ("marked up") picture of the console, that there was no ink in the place that they found a "smudge" on the returned unit?

So either a) this story is complete BS. Or b) the repair team just made it "look" like they'd erased everything, but really... one of them is actually enjoying the cool case on their home Xbox right now!

Either way, something is fishy.

[texism]

Actually I don't think so. He got the exact console back, with the same serial numbers and everything.

Unless MS went through the trouble of making just ONE case with exactly the same serial number as his and then removing the mobo and all from the old one and putting it back on the new one, then adding a bunch of fake smudges. As low as MS can be, I don't think they can be THAT low.

[Citizen Cook]

I'v ehad 5 premiums and i'm on my 2nd elite. Thats 7 consoles in 2 years. And you know what? I'd buy 7 more!

You know why? M$ have the best games, ALL the games, and a kick ass online service.

HA HA HA HA!

[leon76]

Ahahahahahahahahahahah..... you just prove ourselves that you are an BIG idiot!!!!!

[PimpHandHappy]

are you telling everyone you spent well over 2 grand on one gaming system

wow you must be great fun to play cards with. Your stupid and you have a butt load of cash

[Sony sucks balls]

How do you know he doesn't have the best buy warranty or something similar from another store ? Think before you type.

[Fresh_A]

MAn I feel bad for the dude........... :(

[Jowlah]

I have linked this story to Gamefaqs.com and created a thread on the site.

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/...

I hope this story gets as much exposure as possible and a fellow gamer get things straightened out. My Heart goes out to him, man.

[SIX]

What a d!ck move by a d!ck employee. MS should really screen there workers more carefully.

[texism]

I think this is another tragic case of lack of communication between the repairers and the customer service guys. The customer service guys just tells you what you want to hear and he goes home. You guys need to understand that all hardware companies, even Sony, do not repair their stuff themselves. They send it to another company for repairs, same as they have other companies build parts of their consoles. So what probably happened was just miscommunication during the transition.

But then again, it had a freakin' Master Chief drawing on the box and even a bunch of signatures. Anybody with half a brain would know not to erase those.

[Science_NERD]

hence the people that work for M$

[Bleucrunch]

Good Ol' M$....(sarcasm)

[j4gs14]

if i was him and cared soo much about the signatures (which i would have) i would have lacquered it! granted it wud looked shiny instead of its matte finish and it would have been a bit difficult to do but if i had my system signed up like that i wouldnt care! taped off the front part and blocked up the vents so it doesn't go inside first ofcorse.

although am not so sure about how hot the 360 gets :s but id doubt it would burn or melt the lacquer right??

[sabbath420]

How does this crud make news? This is not news. It's a freaking cry baby story.

[sabbath420]

I started playin Frontlines fuel of war last night and wow that game is awsome fun. 50 players online with all those vehicles and drones sick! Wonder why ps3 version got scrapped? PLAY B3HIND! on your WAITSTATION3

[heyheyhey]

dude i think so too, playing it on the PC with no lag is great

yet another game that doesn't require a 360 to play- like just about every game on it

PS3/PC combo is really all you need

the 360 is just plaguing the industry

[pwnsause]

well better than the X "RUSH" 360 that got rushed in the market in 2005 just to compete with the "WAITSTATION" hence, this kid just got RROD owned. see what happens when you rush consoles? those who wait get someone very very amazing, AAA quality games, the games that are going to be released starting this may.

[DarkSniper]

Dark Sniper would like to send his personal condolences to the former Microslave who had been treated like a beaten stepchild by Microsoft.

Microsoft Corporation is full of liars, hateful and decietful human beings who wish nothing but the worst out of it's customers and will ensure with their power of the dollar, gamers will always fall on the short end of the stick.

Dark Sniper is glad Sony is around. Sony has always been reliable and even with their delays, each and every PLAYSTATION® 3 owners is guranteed to recieve nothing but top notch games and services.

Sony cares about it's customers, Microsoft wishes the death upon you. Please remember that when making a decision for a console.

$niper

[sabbath420]

I am sure sony loves you so much more than MS loves me. And about your superior products that sony always delivers to you even if late. What are these you speak of? The only good game on ps3 is drake. all the others are better on the box. If you even get them at all due to all the scrapping of ps3 projects. You get second rate stuff. Like sloppy seconds. Sure there has not been as much hardware failures for you, but sony has been making hardware for a long long time now and they should be reliable. But still even they have problems. Not just a ps3 but think about other things sony has done. Laptop batteries for one is on top of my mind. And the lies sony tells are not few and far between. So stop bashing my console of choice. If xbox did not come along sony would have nothing to shoot 4 and no competition. Do you really think you would have any online service if it was not for competition? And the games would be even worse if they had nothing to compare them 2. And just so you know dark sniper it is really strange when people talk in the third person. What planet are you from again freak?

[Spydr07]

Apparenty these forums are full of people like you who have poor grammar, spelling, and diction. Speaking in the third person doesn't make you cool; it makes you look stupid. I'm sure Sony appreciates the defense of an idiot. Opening your mouth not only makes you look bad, but them as well. An old saying comes to mind, "It is better to be thought a fool..."

[Spydr07]

Actually, you can't say all multi-platform games are better on the 360. This is either an opinionated statement and as such, will vary from one individual to the next--or you're basing this on actual reviews. If that's the case, then weren't COD4 and Burnout Paradise both recently announced to run better on the PS3? Epic hasn't even released UTIII on the 360 yet and at this rate, they might not at all. More games may run better on the 360, but not all. Just like most games on the 360 run better on the PC anyway...

[Lord Vader]

Absolutely unacceptable.

Microsoft should give this kid an Elite, 50K M$ ponts, & XBL for life.

[Science_NERD]

So If a company is treating their customers liek absolute garbage, why do people defend M$ with their life and who in their right mind would want to give money to a company that does this? I feel bad for the guy but still cannot begin to comprehend why anyone would support such a garbage company?

[wowsauce]

They don't treat their customers like garbage. Do not mistake dealing with millions of customers efficiently with treating each individual like garbage. I've been treated MUCH worse by MANY companies with many fewer customers than I have by microsoft. It might not be the greatest service, but they're still helpful or at least try to help. Not too long ago, Sony had just as many failures on the PS2, and they wouldn't even extend their warrantee to the customers. Nobody yelled at them for it.

While they may not handle individual requests well for a service that's standardized to millions of people, they do still do an excellent job of support when you know what to expect. You can't honestly expect a company that deals with millions of the exact same issue you have to treat your specific case differently (regardless of how awesome it is).

[Trick Nolte]

Thats easy, they dont want to feel stupid for buying it so they feel the need to argue, defend, and justify their purchase.

Next question.

[sleepbox]

Gotta love when you see the headline "Another Gamer Screwed by Microsoft"...shows such fairness at this site.

[Noodlecup]

If the console worked in the first place this poor guy wouldn't be suffering.

[KozmoOchez]

it looks like someone read his letter and decided to be a jerk and did this out of spite...hmmm, he wrote it on paper, this could be a lawsuit, maybe....

[wowsauce]

M$'s legal team makes their contracts and warantees pretty solid. Of course, in the case of a warantee, it doesn't even have to be that solid to make it not their fault.

[Citizen Cook]

No, i didn't spend over two grand, theres something called 'COVER' where M$ changes my stuff for free... I've spent about £600...

[zPlayer]

i think someone stole his case and replaced it with a new one, then marked the new one with some ink and smudged it so it looked like it was wiped down.

[Trick Nolte]

theres an idea and a good one at that

[HarryEtTubMan]

Xbox 360 wont even sale 40 million this generation, crappiest console ever made. Its a lose/lose situation. buahahahahahahhahahahahahahhah ahahahhahahhahahahahhahaha

[AngryTypingGuy]

What an irrelevant boob you are.

[Rhezin]

the 360 has been the cheaper choice since LAUNCH. Ps3 was wayyy over the top expensive is anyone is made of money it would be you ps3 f@gs.

[OldGamer]

If something is that important to you, don't let someone else be responsible for it. One man's treasure is another man's trash. I learned that lesson a long time ago.

BUT, I feel bad for the kid who lost his custom box. This should never have happened. I have plenty of collectibles, some signed, and I would be PISSED if someone destroyed them for any reason. That's why they are kept in a safe place.

[wowsauce]

read: not M$

lol.

[Trick Nolte]

I feel bad 4 dude. Someone above said that this wasnt MS fault- BULLSh!T! Its these type of attutude that make it easy for MS to fugg over people. I mean whos fault was it- The boogeymans?

Sure these arent bigwigs in the repair center but customer service reps and repair techs are representitives of MS just as well. IMO was intentionally done out of frustation from having so many these things come in that it probably overwhelming. Whoever did this probably shares the same kind of disgruntled anger demonstrated by employees who are flippin burgers at a food chain and spits on people food bc they hate their job.

It was clear that those were autographs and special art work and I'm no genius but just looking at the damn thing was obvious that it was special and should have been handled more carefully.

Hopefully 2 or more of the following happens for him:

1. I hope this kids box remains in tact for the duration of him owning it.

2.Hopefully a sh!tload of email to Bungie and Rooster Teeth will touch them enough to where they will have enough empathy to scribble on it again.

3.Says F this and gets a PS3 to PLAY B3YOND

Edit- Looking at all of the pictures enlarged has caused me to believe that some of the comments written by the devs/artist on the box were the reason this was box was cleaned.

Comment #1 says: "360? more like the 3 sh!tsky"

Comment #2 says: "Dont put to much ink on me, I might overheat"

[masterprince101]

yooooooooo thats soooo messed up...what are reference numbers and technitians good for if they dont take into account that every case is different and needs to be checked out before proceeding..thats too make sure you dont break someones stuff and then have to pay out money for faulty repairs....man that means form the moment it entered that repair center people blatantly disregarded any indicator that this was to be taken care of specially...just messed up man messed up

[moneymoneyguy]

retard at microsoft = FAIL!

[ITR]

My question is why the heck would they wash it down like that anyways? I mean really?

[AngryTypingGuy]

The guy who did that should be fired. It was one prick trying to be an a$$hole, and it reflects bad on the whole company.

[Citizen Cook]

And how they gonna catch him/her?
i'm sure he covered the camera and wore a mask and gloves.

HA HA HA HA!

[captainjy]

OMG, you PSFree guys are hard up for some slam. Give me a break and go watch a movie on your so-called gaming box or something.

[Torkith]

I may not own a 360, but I do own a PS3... and yes there's time when flaming goes on, but when you read something like this regardless of what system you have... as a gamer .. it hurts, to think something like that could really happen.. to the lengths the kid went to, it really sucks... I can't imagine how he must've felt after being reassured that his 360 would be fine and then opening it up to see it was all washed off...

Can't really explain much more, he needs to be recompensated someway, I doubt he could sue, maybe, those are gunna be hard memories to replace.

[SKullDugger]

Thumbs up dude great comment. Bubbles for u

[blade402]

Dang that sucks. M$ has crappy service and a crappy console.

[DrakenSilverwing]

I can't believe this happened.. oh but i can.. the guy that prolly did that to this guy is evil.. heh i wouldn't be surprised if someone high up finds out about this , finds out who has, or scrubbed off the stuff , and ends up firing the guy or worse firing many ppl.. this is horrible press for microsoft... not that i really cared before but this just shows one more reason why i never liked MS

[DFresh]

Suckers should of got a PS3 and this would of never happened.
The little nickel and dime scheme Microsoft has going on w/ it's hardware is just sad.
Seriously if MS doesn't have some games to compete w/ the Sony Line up they are going to lose and I don't mean quantity I mean quality.
At this point the only game that's saving the 360 from a quick kill in this console war is Gears of War and that doesn't come out until November.
While their waiting GT5, MGS4, and so forth will be out and then it's too late.
If you ask me I don't think MS really cares about the 360 or Zune they just want the programs because that's where they make 90% of their profit from.
Who knows MS might prove me wrong but the tide is turning fast from 360 as the main platform to the black beast (PS3) being the main console of choice.
MS should just stick to making programs and leave the real hardware to the masters which would be Apple, Sony, and Alienware.

[hamsterfist]

You do realize Alienware was purchased by Dell, and I would never consider Dell a premium hardware manufacturer.

[giososc]

Thats gotta suck. I guess some people are a$$h01es. We've all learned a lesson don't get autographs on your xbox 360, lol

[devilhunterx]

Who made the hardware which breaks down more then Ford cars?

They are the one responsible for his tragic tale of who gives a F...

[Majere]

...but this totally sucks! I love my PS3 , and yes, I do own a 360 Elite also, but I would be crushed. I hope that he gets some kind of compensation from Micro$oft for this screw up. I truly feel bad for the guy.

[wow4u]

I question this story.

See this please:

There are three big problems with this story:

1) If you look at the EXIF metadata on those "before" pictures, they were taken on February 20th. 8 days before this blog was posted.

Repair turn-around takes 2-weeks-ish.

This guy got his machine in only 8 days? Lie #1

2) Also of note, the "before" pics were taken with a Sony DSC-P41. But, in the "after" picture, the EXIF data is not present. Why did that happen? Two reasons; A) it was taken with a different camera or B) Someone edited OUT the EXIF data on the "after" picture, because, after reviewing the DSC-P41 manual, there is no method to turn-off the meta-data embedding feature.

Further, on this point, when using Paint.NET, Photoshop or Paint (to add that red-circle) they do not remove that EXIF data, but adds new data (i tested). Where is the EXIF data in the "after photo"?

Problem #1

3) Look at the location of the smudge (see the pic). There was no ink there to begin with. So, the repair depot took all that effort to use solvent to remove the ink, but then left a ink-solvent smudge in a location where there was NO INK to begin with?

Wouldnt that ink-solvent smudge be the EASIEST thing to remove?

And, if you look closely, the "after" image, it looks like they actually *added* a small ink mark to an otherwise blank case, then smudged it up, took a picture, then circled it.

Lie #2

4) Why is the back cover removed?

Problem #2

5) Why would Rooster Teeth, Bungie or Xbox Team write that fanboy anti-Xbox 360 crap?

Problem #3

6) The overt malise in the whole story. Why would anyone think that it is MS's INTENT to remove something the person holds dear? You're *assuming* that -- if MS did remove it (slight chance, but possible) -- they certainly wouldnt do it to *HURT* the person. That is totally IRRATIONAL.

I understand that the fanboys here and elsewhere are happy-as-pie to find some small anti-MS FUD so they can repeat it over-and-over, but, who would actually think that MS would have cleaned it for any reason OTHER than to restore it to new-condition.

This last point is less clear-cut, but I hope you (reading now) understand my point. Why go to the trouble of removing it?

===

My belief? This is a black-op marketing by either a Professional or a anti-MS fanboy.

I dont believe a word of it.

[wow4u]

oh, here's the picture I meant:

[wow4u]

Ok, someone *else* also did the same analysis of Lie #2

[tk]

MS must get all those signatures and artwork back on the casing, give him the original one, and produce a "signature art" edition of it.