Received a defective Xbox One? Well at least you get a free game!

By Michael Archambault
published

A ton of excitement surrounded the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox One gaming console, but for some, their purchases were met with disappointment. A faulty Blu-ray disc drive had plagued many on launch day and resulted in initially excited, but ultimately disappointed gamers. Luckily for those who are having the issue, Microsoft will be buying you a free launch game!

You heard it correct, if you have been experiencing an issue with your Xbox One’s disc drive, Microsoft is offering one of a few select titles up for digital download. Options include Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome, Dead Rising 3, and Zoo Tycoon.

Any customers who are legitimately having the issue, can submit a support request with Xbox One customer support and will then receive the gift through the company’s Xbox One advance exchange program.

So, you Xbox One owners with a broken disc drive and a broken heart – go get a free game, it's on Microsoft!

Source: CNET

Michael Archambault
Michael Archambault
29 Comments
  • I almost wish I had.
  • Wow this is a good offer. I recently got to play my brothers Xbox one and it really is a fantastic device and system. Hopefully this will appease people.
  • *smashes Xbox with hammer*
    Oops....
  • Haven't even received mine yet from Amazon... My replacement got lost in transit as well as my day one..
  • Ordered mine on Amazon as well.. UPS only started shipping it on Monday and I still don't have it. Very upset.
  • I ordered June 14th, and it got lost in transit, spoke to supervisor yesterday and he overnight shipped to me for delivery tonight and it got lost in transit, now another supervisor one day shipped to late and it will ship tomorrow, but Thursday is thanksgiving so it wont get here till Friday.. ):
  • Two consoles lost in transit? That can't be a coincidence.. Hopefully, you'll have it on Friday, I'm expecting mine tomorrow after extensive waiting and agony.. My Ryse copy with free delivery got here faster than the UPS Priority Express delivery.. Pft.
  • Shooting a "Fast & Furious" sequel?
  • Yep two lost in transit apparently. I dont believe them either. I'm sure they're just shipping out the replacement for broken consoles first. They're going to have to send me one soon or they're going to send me more compensation than the Xbox is worth. Currently in into $145 refunded to card including tax they refunded, $120 credit for time spend ($65 for first replacement hassle and $55 for second replacement hassle; spoke with supervisor both times) and they just sent me an email after they told me they'll call back to follow up at 6pm for details on second replacement, they ended up calling me at 7pm which was the cutoff time for it to be to me tomorrow, so I'm getting it on Friday now. Email stated in receiving an addition $40 credit. Total of $160 credit for amazon purchases and $145 refund to credit card. Total savings of $305. People think I got out good, but my inner gamer really doesn't care and just wants the XBO that I ordered in June.
  • Sounds like one of their delivery guys has sticky fingers.
  • That's a great deal. Never mind the time spent waiting, that's free money! Don't get greedy. Just stop ordering from Amazon if you don't like the service and don't appreciate the attempts to pacify you.
  • How long does this go on for? If I buy one now and it fails, or if I get a Christmas gift and it fails.
  • My heart goes out to those poor folks. Last Gen I had to replace 3 'broken' 360s & got a free controller and a free game on different occasions. So, I'm just happy my XBOX ONE works as advertised.
  • Just to make sure everyone knows, as the article says, if you experience an issue with the disc drive then you'll get a free Xbox and be able to use the advanced replacement. I know a couple of people who had errors beyond the disc drive and were instead told to contact Amazon about replacements (thats where they bought it from).
  • Nice of them
  • When you say 'many' are there any numbers or stats to quantify that? There seem to be quite a few sky digs at Microsoft in these articles, including the bit yesterday about how the PS4 had fared much better with hardware defects when in reality it has also had problems and isn't even out in some of the major regions, like the UK.
  • Michael Archambault is a Microsoft and Xbox hater, just right click on his name and read all his articles, most of them are Microsoft bashing, I can understand fair criticism from time to time like Daniel, Paul does but never seen such hatred for a company on a fansite not even a competitors site, Don't know how Daniel Rubino hired this guy or couldn't get a better guy to cover Microsoft ecosystem :(
  • Do you expect everything to be rainbows and butterflies? I mean the guy told you could have a free game on MS, that's good news if you're having issues, isn't it? He also wrote a piece on how the XBOX ONE would have better Stability and Longer Lifespan than the PS4. It's not all negative.  I thought the whole point of 3rd party sites was to cover both the good and the bad. Does IGNs XBOX site only cover the positives? I guess he could reword his article and the Title to appease to y'alls Fanboyism!  
  • +1
  • "A faulty Blu-ray disc drive had plagued many on launch day " Yes, I noticed that as well.   I would tend to say "plagued some on launch day."    I have yet to see an authoritative estimate of failure rates.
  • That is nice of them, but what is preventing people from gaming the system? It could cost Microsoft a ton of money shipping out new consoles, shipping back the old consoles (which, in this scenario aren't defective at all), and giving away a free game (i.e. a potentially lost sale). I guess I just don't have a lot of faith in people being honest.
  • Microsoft isn't that dumb u have to put a hold like u do their preorders I.e. A 500 hold on a credit card is required for the advancement.... But if I had 500 dollars floating I'd do it just to get a free $60 game and return the box as soon as it arrived
  • I haven't received mine at all!! Stuck in Calgary..
  • Does anyone else have a slight whine coming out of the console? I'd say it's the fan bearings, but subtle. Only can hear it with everything powered off.
  • Yes, I have the whine and gets worse when I launch a game (it ain't the CD drive cause I only have digital games.)  I called Microsoft and they are sending me a new Xbox One.  But I haven't been told anything about a free game. I hope I can get a free game even though my problem isn't the disc drive.
  • I had a Xbox 360 that developed what I think is a capacitor whine after quite a while.   My girlfriend could not hear it but as I am part dog, I could hear it when the room was quiet.
  • I'll never know if I have a defective console, because I don't watch bluray movies, and have no plans to buy games on physical media.  Microsoft could have saved some money and size by not even including a bluray drive, and I would have been as happy with my console.
  • You a big fan of overpaying then? If you don't have physical media you don't have price competition. Angry Birds is £35 for example on Xbox One and games like Fifa are £10 more than in shops. They need some way of having price competition before digital only is an option. I agree they should have done it, could have shaved a significant sum off the cost of the hardware. I would like to see Steam and all the retailers given stores on Xbox Live so you get deals etc and there is fair competition.
  • I agree that they need to open up digital sales to third party retailers, and I am pretty certain that is going to happen.  I also believe that to entice more digital purchases, they should incentivize digital media by reducing their price.  How often have we heard that packaging costs so much?  Where are the savings then I buy a digital copy that has ZERO packaging costs?  I think it is kind of shameful that digital media is selling for the same price (and often MORE) than the phyiscal media. As it stands though, I don't resell my games, because I do go back and play them over time, plus I have kids that play them.  I am tired of the clutter that physical media brings, so even though digital titles through the xbox store are overpriced, I will continue to buy them in digital form only.