Ashlee’s house was robbed last Thanksgiving, and the culprits were never caught. They replaced the stolen items, and life went on. Until her Xbox Live account signed on using another console. The same console that had been stolen, whereabouts now unknown. Maybe the identity or location of the person now using Ashlee’s Xbox could provide valuable insights into who robbed their house five months ago. Microsoft wasn’t interested in helping, and determined that the new owner’s use of her account and attempt to use it to buy points weren’t fraudulent. Well, that’s good to hear! [More]
consoles
Mandatory Xbox 360 Update Breaks Some Consoles, Microsoft Claims 'Coincidence'
By 12.16.11
Last week’s exciting Kinect Dashboard update for Xbox 360 consoles didn’t just ask users to waive their right to sue and make customers pay to be advertised to. It also appears to have caused problems with a number of consoles. Nothing major: it just keeps them from reading any discs…no, wait, that is major. Microsoft representatives say that this is a coincidence, and that customers with freshly broken consoles need to send them in for repair for $100 or so. [More]
Microsoft Has Different Instructions Every Time I Call About My Brand-New Broken Xbox
By 12.2.10
Peter tells Consumerist that in early November, he purchased a new Xbox 360 with Kinect. His new system didn’t waste any time–it started breaking down that very night. Bringing it back to the store wasn’t an option, since he had transferred all of his licenses. His only choice was to contact Microsoft for repairs or a new box. [More]
Crazy Customer Makes Death Threat In GameStop, Gets Hauled Off By Police
By 12.3.09
A man in Michigan grew so angry that GameStop wouldn’t take back his Xbox without a receipt that he threatened to kill someone and went to get something from his vehicle. The GameStop clerk called 911, and “Four Troy police officers, armed with rifles, stormed into [the] Oakland Mall store” and subdued him. He had an illegal stun gun on him but no firearm. [More]
Possible Class-Action Suit Alleges Xbox Bans Result Of Vast Redmond Conspiracy
By 11.21.09
Microsoft has declared that the owners of banned Xbox consoles have no recourse and no choice but to buy new consoles. Some users see this as unfair and a vast Redmond conspiracy, and law firm AbingtonIP is fighting back with a class-action lawsuit. God bless America.
Gamers Accuse Sony, Nintendo Of Breaking Their Consoles From Afar
By 10.2.09
It’s a good week for Microsoft and its fanboys, because both Playstation 3 and Wii gamers are reporting recent system updates are rendering their consoles nothing more than bricks.
GamePro Names Five Best Console Wars
By 8.31.09
The history of video game console competitions reads much like that of New York’s crime families — you see powerful leaders making bold, risky moves to snuff out their rivals and fierce, tribal alliances that breed clashes between vocal factions.
Xbox 360 Failure Rate is 54.2 Percent, Game Informer Finds
By 8.17.09
The Xbox 360 breaks five times as often as its closest failure-prone competitor, the PlayStation 3, a print edition-only Game Informer survey found.
Read Pachter's Lips: No New Consoles Till 2013
By 5.4.09
Bad news for gamers who are dreaming of an Xbox 361, PlayStation 4 or Wiii. You won’t be playing hovercraft Mario Kart or holographic Halo until well into President Palin’s first term.
Sorry, Your XBOX 360 Isn't The Right Kind Of Broken
By 3.9.09
By now, most people know about the dreaded Red Ring of Death issue on the XBOX 360 — and the accompanying 3 year warranty. What many do not know is that that 3 year warranty only covers the “3 red lights” issue. If you get any other error code, you’re out of luck.
VISA Won't Replace Dusty PS3 After All
By 1.8.09
Remember that guy with the PS3 Sony said was too dusty to repair? The saga continues.
Nintendo Repairs Out-Of-Warranty Wii In One Day, For Free
By 9.12.08
I have a first generation Nintendo Wii and I recently bought the game Boom Blox for it. When I put the game in to start playing it would often lock up at the health warning screen and I would have to restart my Wii by unplugging it since no other method would work.
You Can Now Transfer Licenses For Your Xbox 360 Content
By 6.27.08
As suspected, Microsoft has finally addressed the DRM issue with content you’ve purchased on your Xbox 360. In the past, if you bought a new console you couldn’t transfer the licenses—one customer was told by an Xbox 360 CSR to “buy the content again.” Now you can visit this page on xbox.com and transfer your licenses to a new console. Hooray for progress!
Microsoft Accuses Gamer Of Tampering With Xbox, Tamper-Proof Sticker Says Otherwise
By 5.20.08
Reader Jeff writes in with yet another tale of Xbox woe: After sending in his third Xbox 360 for a third Red Ring of Death, he was surprised to receive a package from Microsoft only seven days later. “I figured Microsoft was so efficient and concerned about their loyal customers that the quickly delivered me another 360,” says Jeff. That’s not what happened.
Sony's Email Customer Service Is Extremely Unhelpful
By 5.8.08
Reader Dustin had a question about his PS3, so he emailed Sony. Now he’s starting to suspect that they don’t actually read the emails people send…
Toys"R"Us Pretends To Have Wiis In Stock, Disappoints Customers
By 5.3.08
Toys”R”Us’ website may claim to have Wiis in stock, but as reader Nick discovered yesterday, they don’t. Nick ordered the elusive console first thing yesterday morning, but Toys”R”Us quickly sent an email explaining that the Wii was backordered and unavailable. As of this morning, Toys”R”Us’ website still inexplicably lists the Wiis as “In Stock.”
Let Best Buy 'Professionally Install' Your XBox Games
By 4.20.08
Tipster Michael writes:
Apparently the local Best Buy has an unbeatable service option for you. Looks like they will come to your house and insert your game to your 360 for you. Wonder how much they would charge to turn it on and put the controller in my hand?
Fie on anyone who says these signs are misplaced. This is a revolutionary new service that will do for game installation what Game Genie did for gameplay. Just you wait and see…
Microsoft Keeps Your Repaired XBox For 4 Months, Calls You A Thief For Wanting It Back
By 4.19.08 — Updated: 3.10.13
[protected-iframe id="b8f18f624db3162ddc3edeca28b1ece8-40783744-40309798" info="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.php?u=http://digg.com/xbox/Help_Microsoft_Thinks_I_m_A_Thief_For_Wanting_My_XBox_Back" width="55" height="82" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"]Microsoft hasn’t returned Tiffany’s XBox 360 for four months because they think she is a thief, even though she has her original receipt and a credit card statement proving that she is the console’s rightful owner. Microsoft repaired the XBox back in January and tried to return it via FedEx, but a shipping snafu landed the box back at Microsoft’s service center. Tiffany has called repeatedly. She even sent a letter to Microsoft’s legal department, after sending her receipt and statement, asking how else she could prove ownership. That was 22 days ago. She has yet to receive a response.
