Reports have been circulating since the launch of the Xbox 360 regarding the DVD player’s tendency to scratch and damage game disks if the game machine is moved. The problem was so serious that Gamely, an online game rental store, issued warnings to Xbox 360 owners that any returned, damaged 360 game disks would be cause for a suspension of rental privileges with the company. The problem was also documented on YouTube to demonstrate.
Up until now, Microsoft has maintained that any such damage to game discs were a result of gamers improperly using the 360, but a Dutch television show named Kassa has shown that the problem is not due to user error, but is a result of faulty production runs by Microsoft — DVD stabilizing components were missing. After the show aired, Microsoft replied by acknowledging for the first time that the scratches might not be user-induced after all.
"As we were not involved with the experiment of Kassa and have little insights in the testing methods, we are not able to respond in detail on the results. It is possible that scratches on discs originate from frequent use. However, we have no indication that the results of the tests from Kassa are a large scale problem.
"Of course it is important to us that our customers have the best possible game experience and therefore we take these test results very serious. Xbox owners who think their discs are scratched as reported by Kassa, should contact us. We will investigate the console and when needed repair it so it becomes a full functioning console. We will also inform Xbox owners how they can obtain replacements discs in case they require them."
Kassa reported that Xbox 360s that were produced in December of 2006 seemed to be affected most by the problem.
[via cdfreaks.com]
