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Microsoft 'knew all about' Xbox 360 disc scratching

Posted by Al Warmington on Tue 16 Dec 2008

Short term savings lead to long term suings

 

Documents emerging from one of a number of lawsuits against Microsoft over the Xbox 360 and its (alleged) propensity to transform perfectly good game discs into expensive drinks coasters, have suggested that Microsoft may have known about the problem before the console even launched.

 

The phenomenon, while not as widely known as the Red Ring of Death issue, is not an uncommon complaint. The most severe disc gouging usually occurs when you try to move the console while a disc is spinning in the drive (note: don’t try it at home; it WILL work and you’ll feel very silly). It is characterised by a stomach-turning grinding noise and leaves a tell-tale circular scratch on the disc’s surface caused by it colliding with the drive's optical pickup unit.

 

A 2007 lawsuit is seeking class-action status on behalf of all Xbox 360 owners over the disc scratching issue. Most of the declarations from Microsoft employees are sealed, but one has been unsealed and contains a very interesting quote from Hiroo Umeno, a Microsoft program manager, who said "This is ... information that we as a team, optical disc drive team, knew about. When we first discovered the problem in September or October (2005), when we got a first report of disc movement, we knew this is what's causing the problem."

 

According to the court documents submitted by the plaintiffs,  Microsoft found a variety of solutions to the problem, but eventually rejected them due to concerns over loading times and, ironically, cost.

 

One idea was to increase the magnetic field of the disc holder, but that was rejected because it may have messed with the tray opening and closing mechanism. The disc rotation speed could also have been slowed, but that was dismissed because it would have increased loading times. Finally, Microsoft could have opted to install small rubber bumpers, estimated at a cost of $35 to $75 million, but that was deemed too expensive.

 

Instead, Microsoft opted for a small warning inside the console instruction manual and a sticker on the drive itself. While it hardly seems sensible to start wafting your console around in the air while it’s running, an engineering consultant who made a statement in the case revealed that Sony and Nintendo design their products with exactly this possibility in mind. Maybe this is why...  

 

Link: Xbox 360 (via seattlepi)

 

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