Seeing the Red Ring of Death, nowadays, is as common as seeing clouds in the sky. However, one Xbox 360 user got less than he bargained for, so to speak.
Over the course of two years, "Nathaniel" was able to get key personnel from Halo and Microsoft to sign his Xbox 360; a highly prized possession, indeed. But one dark and dreary day, his Xbox 360 succumbed to the dreaded RRoD.
And as many of us have experienced, he had to send in his 360 for repairs. But before doing so he wanted to make sure that his Xbox case would not be altered in any way after repairs, for obvious reasons. He took care to call the Microsoft repair center to explain how important it was that his case be intact upon return and how valuable this console was to him.
In addition he included a letter along with his Xbox 360 explaining how critical it was to return the case to him in the same condition in which he sent it.
Anyone ever hear of the phrase, "Falling on deaf ears?"
Of course you are way ahead of the story by now. Nathaniel’s prized possession was returned to him repaired, but someone at the Microsoft repair center took it upon themselves to clean the case of all dirt and debris — and that included all of the signatures on the Xbox 360’s case. There were only a few black smudges that were still left behind– apparently because the technician was unable to wipe the marks clean.
Bungie heard about the debacle and immediately set in motion a plan to help out the unfortunate Xbox 360 owner. Brian Jarrard, community director at Bungie said:
"Something is already ‘afoot’ within Bungie to help our community member in need. Our team and the community as a whole is rallying to help fix this unfortunate situation. It’s been awesome to see such an outpouring of sympathy and support from our community. We can’t replace the exact item that was lost but, but we should come very close.
Bungie has always had a close relationship with its community and the fact that the company has gone out of its way to help one of its loyal followers is a great example for other game companies to follow.
Jarrard continued, "I think when it’s all said and done, justice will prevail."
[via next-gen]
