Today there was an article on Gizmodo talking about how Microsoft knew their XBOX 360 was scratching disks, yet they did nothing about it. Here’s a snippet of the article that sums up everything:
“The solutions considered—and rejected—were to increase the magnetic field of the disc holder (could’ve interfered with the disc opening and closing), slowing the disc speed (could’ve increased load time) and to install small bumpers (too expensive, costing between $35 million and $75 million). Instead, they went with a warning in the manual not to move the console with the discs still inside, a warning that Microsoft itself thought was insufficient, according to an internal email. A consultant for the plaintiff notes that Sony and Nintendo “almost always incorporate the possibility that a console could be moved while a disc is rotating inside in the designs of their products.”
Microsoft took the easy way out and basically gave their customers the finger instead of trying to find a solution to the problem. As a business you can’t take the easy way out when it comes to quality and user experience, you just can’t. If your product is scratching disks, skipping songs, deleting files, or freezing up then you need to do something about it before you release it. Sticking a warning label or “do not” clause isn’t going to work.
Now, at a time where every user and consumer is the media, you can’t afford to slip up. Microsoft is now in the middle of a lawsuit and I bet other XBOX 360 users are going to jump on the band wagon. This is a great example of why taking the quick and easy route isn’t always the best alternative. Notice how Sony and Nintendo responded? They already take into account that the system is going to be moved around and they compensate for it.
thoughts on this?
thanks for reading!
Comments