Microsoft has been sued by a Chicago man who bought the company's new Xbox 360 game console over alleged overheating and lockup issues. The suit, which asks for class-action status, accuses Microsoft of rushing to market a flawed system to ensure it beat competitors Sony and Nintendo to the punch.
According to Reuters, the suit seeks damages and litigation related expenses, as well as a replacement or recall of Xbox 360 consoles.
To its defense, Microsoft said the issues with the new console affect less than three percent of all units sold, which is lower than the average rate of defects for newly released electronics, according to analysts.
However, within days of the console's launch, complaints surfaced across the Web citing the problems listed in the lawsuit. According to Robert Byers, the man responsible for filing the suit, the power supply and CPU are prone to overheating, thus causing the lockup problems.
Posts on gaming sites indicate the problems occur during regular use and also while logged into the Xbox Live online gaming service. The errors appear on a black screen listing several error messages, affected gamers have reported.
"It's my understanding that Microsoft hasn't acknowledged a major problem, and I would say that it's just too early to tell if there really is one," explained Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox. "Not that it matters. The perception of a problem is serious enough for Microsoft to swiftly act to mollify early Xbox 360 users."
According to Wilcox, Microsoft "confirmed a liberal repair policy, for which the company will pay overnight shipping both ways."
According to Reuters, the suit seeks damages and litigation related expenses, as well as a replacement or recall of Xbox 360 consoles.
To its defense, Microsoft said the issues with the new console affect less than three percent of all units sold, which is lower than the average rate of defects for newly released electronics, according to analysts.
However, within days of the console's launch, complaints surfaced across the Web citing the problems listed in the lawsuit. According to Robert Byers, the man responsible for filing the suit, the power supply and CPU are prone to overheating, thus causing the lockup problems.
Posts on gaming sites indicate the problems occur during regular use and also while logged into the Xbox Live online gaming service. The errors appear on a black screen listing several error messages, affected gamers have reported.
"It's my understanding that Microsoft hasn't acknowledged a major problem, and I would say that it's just too early to tell if there really is one," explained Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox. "Not that it matters. The perception of a problem is serious enough for Microsoft to swiftly act to mollify early Xbox 360 users."
According to Wilcox, Microsoft "confirmed a liberal repair policy, for which the company will pay overnight shipping both ways."
i bet sony wont have overheating problems because they dont need to compete...looking at this microsoft will lose alot of costomers to sony now 
