View Full Version : Bungie to the Rescue!
Remember (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45659) that super smart kid who sent in his priceless Xbox 360 to Microsoft repair? Well much like they kid who had his Xbox X-mas saved by Engadget comes a story from Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/04/bungie-to-bring-justice-to-xbox-360-repair-mishap/)about Bungie mending this kid's broken heart :)
After Nathaniel's nostalgic Xbox 360 was quite literally wiped clean when sent in for repair, we had a sneaking suspicion the powers that be would make sure things were rectified. Thankfully, the bigwigs at Bungie are already conjuring up a solution that it hopes will "come very close" to acting as a replacement. According to Bungie community director Brian Jarrard, his team is "rallying to help fix this unfortunate situation," and while no details beyond that have been divulged, we can't help but suspect that the resolution to all of this will be more than satisfactory.
Original story found at Next-gen (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9389&Itemid=2)
UPDATE:
So Bungie came throught just like we knew they would. Looks like Microsoft will aslo be bearing gifts to the kid. Here is a list of what he got from Bungie:
Legendary Edition Helmet signed by most–if not all–of the studio staff
Halo 3 Soundtrack (two disc) signed by Marty O’Donnel (with “DO NOT ERASE!” written under his name)
Bungie Jacket
Bungie T-Shirt
Halo 3 Messenger Bag
Two Halo 3 Limited Edition Wireless Controllers (one covenant, one human)
Halo 3 Faceplate and Skins for Xbox 360
Four McFarlane Action Figures (MC, EVA Spartan, Brute Chieftan, Jackal Sniper)
Halo Actionclix Preview pack (Target exclusive sticker on the front)
Halo Actionclix Game Pack 4
Halo 3 Wall Graffix
Halo 3: Ghosts of Onyx Novel
Halo Graphic Novel
Halo 3 Wristband
Halo 3 Hackeysack
Source (http://hawtymcbloggy.com/2008/03/07/bungie-unscrews-previously-screwed-gamer/) and Xbox360Fanboy (http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/03/08/bungie-makes-good-with-erased-360-owner/)
Wow. Bungie doesn't even make 360's and their gunna remedy this. awesome.
Gorvi
03-05-2008, 05:11 AM
That is really cool of Bungie to do. :)
Digital Outlaw
03-05-2008, 05:14 AM
Thats the real reason Bungie left MS because they wanted to fix things and we all know MS does not do that.
Mdot23
03-05-2008, 05:21 AM
Bungie rules. Very cool of them to do whatever they're doing.
Purple Santa
03-05-2008, 05:28 AM
Very classy act for Bungie to do.
Johan
03-05-2008, 05:29 AM
I think the entire thing was a set-up.
Shadowstorm
03-05-2008, 05:34 AM
Thats the real reason Bungie left MS because they wanted to fix things and we all know MS does not do that.
No ...
I think a more valid reason to state why Bungie became an independent developer again is because they did not want to make anything Halo - related for Microsoft.
I believe Bungie wants to explore the creation of other IPs. Halo is Bungie's flagship title, and has been since the development of the first Halo (1998 from memory). So that's ten years. It's about time for them to do something other than Halo-related.
TrackZero
03-05-2008, 05:36 AM
Oh look, it happened EXACTLY as I said it would.
Yay for Bungie for taking the easy PR point to do this, they're the heroes of the day.....
I still don't think the kid should get jack. IMHO it was a stupid, stupid move he made with an object he claimed was valuable to him, he took a chance and lost, he should not be rewarded for it.
PathMaster
03-05-2008, 05:42 AM
Oh look, it happened EXACTLY as I said it would.
Yay for Bungie for taking the easy PR point to do this, they're the heroes of the day.....
I still don't think the kid should get jack. IMHO it was a stupid, stupid move he made with an object he claimed was valuable to him, he took a chance and lost, he should not be rewarded for it.
Agreed. Thank god for the internet and his willingness to complain about his own stupidity. He was even rewarded for his actions.
JamieSI
03-05-2008, 05:46 AM
nice of Bungie! :)
H.Bogard
03-05-2008, 05:50 AM
Good on Bungie. MS should be fucking ashamed that their game development studios are doing the bloody customer support for them. Dicks.
GunnyMo
03-05-2008, 05:52 AM
Oh look, it happened EXACTLY as I said it would.
Yay for Bungie for taking the easy PR point to do this, they're the heroes of the day.....
I still don't think the kid should get jack. IMHO it was a stupid, stupid move he made with an object he claimed was valuable to him, he took a chance and lost, he should not be rewarded for it.
haha so true. Yay for the culture of victimhood and rewarding stupidity!
Ancalagon
03-05-2008, 06:01 AM
If Microsoft hadnt made the 360 unreliable, I might have bought one by now.
Please MS, send me a 360, because it was your fault that I now dont have one, so its only fair that you send me one or risk bad press for failing your customers.
Johan
03-05-2008, 06:07 AM
If Microsoft hadnt made the 360 unreliable, I might have bought one by now.
You're missing out on a helluva lot of fun.
Suicidal ShiZuru
03-05-2008, 06:14 AM
How is it the owners fault that his piece of shit broke and he wanted it fixed?
Gorvi
03-05-2008, 06:20 AM
Oh look, it happened EXACTLY as I said it would.
Yay for Bungie for taking the easy PR point to do this, they're the heroes of the day.....
I still don't think the kid should get jack. IMHO it was a stupid, stupid move he made with an object he claimed was valuable to him, he took a chance and lost, he should not be rewarded for it.
So instead he was just supposed to eat the cost of buying a new one since his 360 red ringed? That's asinine. Why is it so bad for him to expect to get his console back without having what was obviously some meaningful signatures wiped clean by some asshat in MS repair?
GunnyMo
03-05-2008, 06:26 AM
Why is it so bad for him to expect to get his console back without having what was obviously some meaningful signatures wiped clean by some asshat in MS repair?
I put the answer to your question in bold. It's stupidity in itself to think that "some asshat in MS repair" making $10 an hour is going to give two shits about some squiggles on a case. Is it bad what happened? Sure. But the kid sending it in is just as much at fault.
bryan
03-05-2008, 06:30 AM
So instead he was just supposed to eat the cost of buying a new one since his 360 red ringed? That's asinine. Why is it so bad for him to expect to get his console back without having what was obviously some meaningful signatures wiped clean by some asshat in MS repair?
I don't get it either, even after reading Track's post four times. The original vendor is supposed to be the best place to have your stuff repaired, plus he did all the due diligence of enclosing a letter, and calling them about it. He did all he could.
What's with the anti-corporate sentiment anyway? The 'easy PR point'? At this stage, do Bungie even need PR points? They have legion of fans worshipping them, and even before Halo they were well liked and well respected. Seems to me like a case of misplaced cynicism.
bryan
03-05-2008, 06:33 AM
I put the answer to your question in bold. It's stupidity in itself to think that "some asshat in MS repair" making $10 an hour is going to give two shits about some squiggles on a case. Is it bad what happened? Sure. But the kid sending it in is just as much at fault.
If it just been a case of the signatures getting smeared due to handling by the techs, fine. But this was a deliberate act of malice. Perhaps you are right in expecting incompetence, but surely malicious acts are not to be expected.
GunnyMo
03-05-2008, 06:42 AM
If it just been a case of the signatures getting smeared due to handling by the techs, fine. But this was a deliberate act of malice. Perhaps you are right in expecting incompetence, but surely malicious acts are not to be expected.
Ok, look at it from the repairman's possible point of view: a system comes in with marks all over it. You have no idea what it is and you know if you send out a system with a "dirty case" you're going to get yelled at. So what do you do? You clean it. As someone else mentioned in the original thread on this, these repairmen are almost certainly paid by the unit repaired and have a certain number to get done every day. They aren't going to be reading notes in the box or anything else. They are going to be running the assembly line.
Remember, not everyone who works at the 360 repair site is a gamer and would instantly know what those marks were.
But, as I said, this doesn't excuse what happened at all. I'm simply agreeing with the fact that if the kid knew how valuable these signatures were he shouldn't have sent it in with that case. If something is very valuable to you, do you honestly take the chance with someone else handling it? No, you do what you have to to keep it safe. Saying he doesn't hold some blame for stupidity is just silly.
Do you think the owners of the original Mona Lisa would drop it off at Hobby Lobby for re-framing?
Suicidal ShiZuru
03-05-2008, 06:59 AM
Its fucking obvious what it is!!!!
GunnyMo
03-05-2008, 07:09 AM
Its fucking obvious what it is!!!!
Sure, to us it is but not everyone in the world is a gamer or knows who Master Chief is. I'm not defending what happened but presenting a possible scenario. I would be just as pissed off if it happened to me but, on the other hand, I wouldn't have sent in such a valuable case to be handled by people who might possibly not know it's worth.
I guess I'm getting off track here. Again, my point is not that it was cleaned but the fact that it was sent in the first place. Should he have simply bought another 360 and put this one on a shelf to be looked at if it was that valuable to him? I say yes.
I've got a shirt signed by all the guys from Red Vs. Blue. If I send that out to be cleaned, with a note explaining what's on the shirt, and it comes back with the signatures faded, smeared or gone who's really to blame? The minimum wage dry cleaner in the back of the store or the owner (me) who passed it off trusting a note to preserve it's value.
bryan
03-05-2008, 07:21 AM
Dude repairs 360s man. And with all the mass marketing that Halo has, and for you to be involved in somehow with the gaming industry... that's a rather long stretch.
And he's a kid, right? How old is he? Is it mentioned?
Schnoogs
03-05-2008, 07:36 AM
How is it the owners fault that his piece of shit broke and he wanted it fixed?
Next time read the article before you contribute to a thread. It's the kids fault he sent in his case that had custom art on it. MS like so many other companies sends their refurbished or repaired products through a cleaning process. The kids artwork was washed clean off.
The kid should have known better.
Look Ma I made the news :D
But in all honesty I don't think it was a kid at all. The article never mentions that his parents sent it in, it was someone who had the knowledge to 1. call MS about his artifact and 2. write a letter to send in the box. It was a dumb thing to do. I don't think someone at MS cleaned it off, but I'm willing to think that the systems go through a machine that cleans them off once repair is complete. Either way it doesn't matter anymore cause Bungie is gonna pimp his 360 :) Which means he is actually gonna end up with one that he can put on the shelf now.
http://t4.images.live.com/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1545437383171&id=193cc83b1bdcee104bd86373271a3e7d
WaltJay
03-05-2008, 10:51 AM
If I had a 360 that unique, I don't think I'd send it in for repairs. Heck, I probably wouldn't even use it. That's like getting an autographed baseball bat, and using it at the batting cages.
Still, it's nice to see Bungie step up.
Mantooth
03-05-2008, 10:53 AM
So was he collecting autographs from industry types as well as 13 year old PS3 fanboys?
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/boysofsheahem/blog%20graphics%202/360Topbig.jpg
Sl1pstream
03-05-2008, 11:14 AM
So was he collecting autographs from industry types as well as 13 year old PS3 fanboys?
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/boysofsheahem/blog%20graphics%202/360Topbig.jpg
Those are Red vs Blue signatures, as well as signatures from PMS clan members. If you don't recognize them for anything other than "PS3 fanboys", why would person X who's just repairing them recognize these?
Food Nipple
03-05-2008, 12:53 PM
Next time read the article before you contribute to a thread. It's the kids fault he sent in his case that had custom art on it. MS like so many other companies sends their refurbished or repaired products through a cleaning process. The kids artwork was washed clean off.
The kid should have known better.
I am well aware that in many cases new replacement units have been returned to those who have sent their consoles for repairs. I would be displeased if this were to happen to me. When I put in the service request for my unit, the agent that took my call assured me that the same unit I have sent to you would be shipped back to me. If you must send a different unit back, please put my original case on the replacement unit. Having put the above information forward, it is logical to conclude that I would be most disappointed should I receive a different console with a plain white case in return.
Right, how silly of him to expect his console to be returned to him in the same condition he sent it out, especially since xbox support assured him it wouldn't be a problem and he included a detailed letter explaining the importance of artwork, as well an account of the support representative's promise. :rolleyes:
Wedge
03-06-2008, 01:01 AM
That is awfully nice of them.
Updated the main post, looks like Bungie came through... he didn't get another Xbox, but he got a bunch of other cool stuff.
Sl1pstream
03-09-2008, 08:16 AM
That's bullshit. All that because he's stupid?
I guess being dumb has its rewards. In the main post about it, they said Microsoft stated there is a cleaning system that scrubs the repaired Xboxes. They stated that someone should have not put his through.
aries100
03-09-2008, 02:14 PM
As I understand it, the young man of 22 (he's a registered nurse, btw) did speal with a MS representative, stressing the importance of the art on the xbox, and asking and getting assured that he would get his precious Xbox 360 back e.g. the same console that he sent in for repairs to Microsoft's Repair Centre.
On the very lengthy response thread
at http://hawtymcbloggy.com/2008/02/28/another-gamer-screwed-by-microsoft/
several people did mention that the consoles probably ships to either Texas, Mexico or maybe even India? to be repaired and that this could be the cause of the problem. Maybe it could. However, I also fear that there could be a lack of communication here. And by that I mean that while Nathaniel might have thought that the MS representative had understood what he wanted, the MS representative only might have gotten that Nathaniel wanted the same console back as he send in for repair. Now, this is in no way, shape or form excuses MS, I think, as they could have asked Nathaniel what he wanted done to his Xbox 360. Sadly :( - they didn't...
On the next gen blog Nathaniel's younger brother made the comment that they were raised better than to just take the case of the Xbox 360, thus voiding the warranty. I just wish there were a lot more people these out there...
Here's the link:
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9389&Itemid=2
Anyway, I'm glad that Bungie pulled through for Nathaniel and that Nathaniel at least has a picture of how the case used to look like on his (old) Xbox 360
edit:
I once remember reading online that the first batch of the 360 consoles actually were made in Hong Kong without much supervision from MS. This means that something inside each 360 was not soldered properly and that this is the real reason behind how so many Xbox 360 consoles get the Red Ring of Death. I can't remember right now where I saw it, but still it makes me pause --- and think about this: Have outsourcing gone too far - just so we can get our Xbox 360 consoles maybe 50-100 US dollars cheaper than normal.
Dag-Sabot
03-09-2008, 06:21 PM
That kid was so lucky that those signatures didn't void the warranty!
Looks like Microsoft (http://hawtymcbloggy.com/2008/03/21/microsoft-finally-makes-things-right/) upped the ante with a gift box of their own.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/boysofsheahem/blog%20graphics%202/Microsoft-Care-Package-013.jpghttp://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/boysofsheahem/blog%20graphics%202/Microsoft-Care-Package-011.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/boysofsheahem/blog%20graphics%202/Microsoft-Care-Package-006.jpg
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