B learned the hard way that Xbox 360s like to eat games when you flip the machine from vertical to horizontal orientation while playing. He sought out the publisher for a replacement and has been stuck without the game for several weeks while the company spins its wheels. Note: the disc pictured is not B’s.

He writes:

I purchased Fallout New Vegas within days of it being released in early November.

During a play session my Xbox was changed from vertical to horizontal orientation. This resulted in the disc in the drive (Fallout New Vegas) being damaged and rendered unreadable.

On November 8 I called Bethsoft to ask how to pay for a replacement (the retailer refused to return it even though it was well within the 30-day warranty window saying I was on my own) they responded very quickly with an email explaining that I would need to respond with my address and some other information and that they got that, that I would be able to return the disc to be replaced. I had to call back on November 15 to ask about my RMA number, which took 24 hours to receive. I sent back the disc on November 19th and they got it the following week.

After waiting a good 10 days or so I called again the week ending December 3rd only to be told that there were no discs available. So I waited another week and called again to be told “no discs available”. At this point it is becoming a farce as they tell me things like “we have to order them from the distributor” and other plausible yet totally weak excuses.

At this point it has been 7 weeks since I first started on this odyssey and I am perturbed that I have yet to be able to actually play this game, even given the glitches that I have heard of.

I would just like them to send me a replacement disk so I can get to playing.

It’s tough to find an example of anyone talking to a game manufacturer and getting a replacement disc in a timely manner, but seven weeks seems ridiculous. On the other hand, B is sort of lucky that Bethesda is processing his warranty request because the disc was mangled as the result of his own actions.

If you’ve ever accidentally ruined a new game disc, what did you do to replace it?

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