http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/microsoft-faces-new-xbox-360-reliability-accusations/1274293

Microsoft faces new Xbox 360 reliability accusations

Fix would have cost 50c per machine, suit claims

By Mike Smith

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Remember last week's story about Jason Johnson, the Illinois man who sued Microsoft over his Xbox 360's alleged habit of scratching his game DVDs?

Documents unsealed in his court case revealed Microsoft discovered its Xbox 360 could scratch discs before it went on sale in 2005, and even got as far as considering three possible solutions to the problem, the Seattle Tech Report revealed today.

The characteristic circular scratches can occur whenever the orientation of the console -- which is designed to be used in either a horizontal or vertical position -- is changed while the drive is spinning. Johnson filed his suit after his console scratched three store-bought game discs, and is seeking $50,000 in punitive damages.

Testimony obtained from a Microsoft program manager indicates that Microsoft became aware of the problem months before the 360's launch when retail demonstration consoles malfunctioned. The company examined three solutions: strengthening the magnets that hold the discs in place, slowing the rotational speed of the discs, and installing rubber bumpers to cushion the discs, but rejected them all. Installing the bumpers could have cost as little as $0.50 per console, the suit claims.

It's not the first time Microsoft has come under fire for alleged foreknowledge of Xbox 360 hardware issues, either. Back in September, an expose penned by VentureBeat writer Dean Takahashi claimed systemic failures in Microsoft's design and quality assurance processes lead to the Xbox 360's now-infamous overheating "Red Ring of Death" failures.

What do u guys think about this?

They did know

Anyway, I think this is a dupe thread

not to mention no one really cares anymore except people who want to get rich

http://vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=53382 Yeah dupe

Uh, of course they knew.

They knew about the RROD as well.  They decided to push the costs of their mistakes to the consumers.  That's just a business decision.  It isn't that Microsoft hates you (they don't care about you, of course), it's that they thought they could save themselves more money by pretending those problems didn't exist.

Is this the 4th thread on this today? Or 5th?

Xbox 360 is not a portable system. It's a console. And much like your TV and DVD player, it's meant to be placed somewhere safe, and for it's orientation to remain unchanged during use. I don't blame microsoft for this.

When using a blender, if you just pick it up and tip it over, the top is likely to come off spilling it's contents. This is not the appliance maker's mistake.

They didn't push the costs of their mistakes to consumers, they pushed the cost to careless people that treat their consoles with less care/respect than any other similarly priced item in their living room.

You really think RROD is caused by the consumer? The post you quoted is all about RROD, this scratch disc thing can be debatable as a big problem but RROD is a clear fault on MS part. They wanted an early release date and they weren't going to stop with just a problem they could throw money at.

I wonder if any of the other consoles have this problem, I would think not since they use a better system for loading and running their discs. Just bad for gamers having to deal with this crap even with the richest company in the world.

It's a video game system that supports wired controllers.  During an average life span, it is likely to be knocked over at least once during use if it is used in the upright position.  Microsoft supports the upright position.  I kicked my Wii over during use, but never my 360 (so far).

Thank God Nintendo isn't so cheap they would gladly have their customers pay $20 or $60 to save themselves 50 cents.  Of course, they probably wouldn't ship a broken console in the first place.

dude this is like the 10th thread haha =P