1P Start

We all know about the Red Ring of Death by now, a problem suffered by many Xbox 360 owners over the past two years. It’s a hardware failure which kills your beloved console stone dead, and forces you to send it off to Microsoft for a repair. So you’d hope that while being repaired, Microsoft would take the utmost care of said console, and treat it with the respect it deserves. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, as avid video gamer Nathaniel found out to his cost.

Nathaniel had owned an Xbox 360 from launch, and two years after buying it saw it succumb to the Red Ring of Death. He then had to make the difficult choice of fixing the console himself or sending it in to Microsoft for repair. He seriously contemplated the former as his Xbox was like no other, having unique artwork and signatures from members of the gaming community on it.

As can be seen from the before picture above left, this included custom artwork by Rooster Teeth Comics artist and Halo fan artist Luke McKay, as well as signatures from several members of the Rooster Teeth Productions staff, and members of the Xbox 360 team and Bungie Studios. These were all acquired while travelling around with his trusty Xbox 360 as his faithful companion.

Not wanting to void the warranty, and wreck his Xbox forever, Nathaniel sent the console off for repair after a lot of soul searching. To make sure his console would remain the same and not be tampered with, in any way apart from fixing the problem, he rang Xbox support and duly received assurances that his console would be fixed and sent back to him in exactly the state it had been previous.

He then sent it off, with a lengthy note attached, which read:

To whom it may concern:

Enclosed in this package you will find one Xbox 360 console, serial number 610537654806. I pre-ordered this machine months before the Xbox 360 launched, and I’ve been a proud owner ever since it arrived. Although the original warranty for my machine has expired some time ago, I still keep the sales receipt and original retail box.

I have taken this unit along with me on some of my travels over the past two years, and during that time I have acquired a number of signatures from notable members of the gaming community.

Among those signatures are several members of the Rooster Teeth Productions staff, certain members of the Xbox 360 team, and some of the staff from Bungie Studios. Those signatures are also joined by custom artwork by Rooster Teeth Comics artist and Halo fan artist Luke McKay. This console represents some special memories—of which I am quite fond—from the past two years of my life. As you can imagine, this particular unit has a great deal of sentimental value to me and is quite possibly of reasonable monetary value as well.

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.

Please take care in handling the case, as despite the fact that the ink is permanent and has had plenty of time to set, the possibility yet remains that it may be smudged.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Then the waiting game began, but Nathaniel was confident in Microsoft, and the assurances they had given him prior to dispatch.

Eventually, the console was returned to him, and guess what? Someone at the repair centre had completely wiped away all traces of artwork and signatures from the case. They had actually taken time out to give his Xbox 360 a good scrub, even though the necessary repair was a purely internal job.

It was the same console, as the serial numbers match, but now all that is left is some smudges, and the occasional purple hint of some diluted pen ink, seen in the picture, above left.

Why oh why did this happen? If it’s not bad enough to have your console blow up on you, and then suffer the rigmarole of having to send it back, you have an over zealous Microsoft worker who decides that signatures and unique artwork are messy and need to wiped off!

Let’s hope Nathaniel gets some compensation, or at least an apology for the upset. Unfortunately, with Microsoft’s track record, neither seems likely.

[Source: Hawty McBloggy]