- SmashBro1337
- |
- Honorable Member
I just wanted to share my experience on the phone with Microsoft support which brought into light some very pertinent and interesting information.
So I just got off the phone. I spoke with a nice guy at the support line who gave me the official response of, "you're going to have to send in your xbox. I can take care of the order if it's within warranty or I will forward you to the engineers who will process the order if out of warranty, both free of charge.: I told him I was not interested in sending away my box for potentially 4 weeks as it plays all other games just fine and would like more clarification on what would actually be done to the box if I actually would send it in. He forwarded me to the engineers.
I then spoke to an engineer named Chuck. After a lengthy conversation of him explaining that my console was not 'supported' by Halo Reach [if I'm not mistaken, the Halo: Reach box says its a game for Xbox 360...] I quickly delved into more questions. I asked what exactly was not supported. He said the box needed to come in to be 'updated.' Aha, now we're getting somewhere. So first, I asked, "So after sending in the box and you guys 'update' it, the boxes are confirmed to be playing Halo: Reach without any issues?" He told me to hold to confirm that he wasn't giving me any incorrect information. He then came back and said, "Yes it seems to have resolved issues in the boxes that have come back." OK, baby steps, I said to myself. I then asked what they would literally physically be doing to the box upon receiving it to fix this issue; would they be soldering on a new component? Would they be replacing a board or an electronic? He replied, "No, we would be issuing an update which would allow compatibility." !! I said, "So am I to understand, then, that this update is a firmware or software update and not any hardware alteration?" To which he replied, "Correct, it is a firmware update, I believe." A FIRMWARE UPDATE.... SOO, I asked, "So if it is a piece of firmware/software and NOT HARDWARE, it is entirely possible for this update to become publicly available in the days/weeks to come?" He said he could not comment on a if it was or a time-frame.
So in short, after understanding that there is nothing they are physically doing to the hardware upon receiving the xbox's to fix the Halo: Reach issues I have decided (and told him) to wait to see if the update becomes publicly available over xbox live.
Examining everything that has happened, I now believe I understand the current state of affairs and can make an educated guess as to what will happen; Upon receiving alarming amounts of reports of issues with Halo: Reach, Microsoft quickly decided to allow people to send in their boxes, whether in warranty or not, while they figure out the best way to fix the issue on a larger public scale. THEY NEEDED a response for those people who are demanding a fix immediately before they have tested and can issue the update for everyone. Halo (and Bungie) is not only a money making machine but also Xbox's flagship intellectual property and I cannot believe they won't be putting this fix on xbox live in the days/weeks to come. As to why it is not there already but simultaneously being successfully utilized by engineers internally on boxes sent in, I cannot speculate.
Thus, I will not send my Xbox in and will see if we hear something shortly. There is clearly a disconnect between Bungie and Microsoft, which on a certain level, is to be expected as they are two different companies. Furthermore, I'm sure that Microsoft owning the IP for Halo while Bungie is the developer only further fogs the issues and bureaucratic chain of command which holds the deciding power of when and how to fix this. My love for all things Bungie has not ended, despite how horribly disappointed I am for being unable to play the game at this time. I have been a Halo fan since launch of Combat Evolved (and even enjoyed ONI back in the day) and I won't resign my love and dedication just yet. After all, it's Halo. End.
[Edited on 09.16.2010 8:09 AM PDT]