Perhaps it was foolish not to see this one coming, but Microsoft is finally facing a lawsuit over the crippled Xbox Live service that subscribers suffered over the holidays. Three Texans have filed a class action suit against the company for what they view as a breach of contract.
Now, I fully understand that the Xbox Live problems have been more than a little irritating for many gamers, myself included, but come on. A lawsuit? It just goes to show what a parasitic, disgusting, money-grubbing culture we've created when three greedy Texan wankers can sue Microsoft because they lost a few days of throwing grenades on Team Domination.
While these leeches whine about "many plaintiffs being kicked offline," I have to wonder what kind of twisted individual sees an opportunity for a lawsuit in this, a chance to profit from the situation. Not once did the thought of trying to sue people enter my head while Xbox Live was screwing up and nor, I hope, did it enter the heads of any other decent person with a shred of integrity. It's not like MS isn't offering something in return for what was, let's face it, a few dollars' worth of downtime -- if that. If you want to try and get thousands of dollars for the couple you lost -- you're a piece of crap, no matter how sucky Microsoft has been lately.
Next time your ISP has to go down for a few hours, or your cable company loses some channels for a while, sue them. Because being a suit-happy little grifter is the American dream.
[Thanks, Madninja]
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
10:30 PM on 01.04.2008
| 
at X-Box live...
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!
Submit player review.... avoid this player.
Also, Jim, dear, please do your laundry.
Microsoft compared to the other company are doing a much better job of dealing with customer complaints IMO.
Shit the usual response you get from Sony/Nintendo is "Roll with it bitch!"
And no, that doesn't make me a 360 fanboy.
I live in Houston.
but seriously though, this is just leading back to how someone sued Activision because of the mono output on Wii versions of GHIII. People will sue for anything as long as they benefit something from it.
and this is why America continues to phail in life. Cause we have time to whine about small things like this when it's already been stated it's being worked on.
Has anyone trademarked Fucktarded yet? If not, I call dibs!
http://www.whitepages.com/5116/search/FindPerson?search_id=10041421955819139810&city=BEAUMONT&state_id=TX
Customers sue, Microsoft settles. It's almost always low-dollar vouchers good for future service, which in this case will probably result in a handful of free Xbox LIVE points to compensate for the downtime, or a credit towards a renewal. The whole point of going to court is to get a judge (or very rarely jury) to serve as an umpire in the debate over how much that down time was actually worth. The lawyers make sure that Microsoft pays their fees in cash, not vouchers. And don't you believe for a second that Microsoft settled out of the kindness of their hearts; one consideration was to reduce exposure in a class-action suit.
So climb on down off that high horse cowboy, this is business as usual. About 98% of court cases don't reach a verdict, because the primary goal of class actions are (ideally) to force a fair valuation by an impartial judge. England is not equal to the United States, and US courts are used for very different purposes.
But yeah, litigation like this really just does everyone harm.
Very good point made there. I think what some of these peeps are saying, or at least I know I am, is that the fact of going through all this just because of a few bucks... and something that wasn't even that harmful. This may be just my personality in general (many friends say I'm very hard to piss off, though the reward of doing so isn't worth it for it hurts very much), but I think missing a few gaming days doesn't warrent a whole lawsuit over the thing. Shit, use it as an excuse to do some chores, finish an unfinished project, or at least read a book.
Wait... these are gamers... scratch that last book thing... whatever they are.
I rarely speak passionately publicly, and I fear I've overreached tonight. But I see a growing group of people who are so eager to believe the worst about something that they will ignore common sense in order to attack it. For example, that 37-year-old Time magazine article making the rounds. Not many people stopped to say: Hmmm. This sounds a little off. Some people just ate that bit of misinformation up, displaying an almost vicious enthusiasm for ignorance in their hurry to paint the U.S. as some kind of theocratic cowtown.
One could ask oneself: There are a lot of large U.S. companies. In fact, in in a capitalist economy, businesses would seem to have a good deal of influence. If they have power, then why don't they lobby Congress to end class actions? One possible answer is because all Americans like to sue because it makes them so rich. But class actions almost never pay cash if they can pay in goods or services. Do you know anyone who got rich suing?
What happened is a few lawyers in Texas got together and called a few buddies who had XBox LIVE go down. Then they sue. Microsoft will argue that it's already paid enough. Both sides present evidence. If a judge thinks that Microsoft already paid enough, then it's off the hook. If the judge is leaning towards no, Microsoft will settle and give a little bit more to its clients. Does that sound insane?
Basically, if something sounds too perfect to be true, it almost always is.
[i]16. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY
We provide the Service "as-is," "with all faults" and "as available." The Microsoft Parties give no express warranties, guarantees or conditions. You may have additional consumer rights under your local laws that this contract cannot change. To the extent permitted by law, we exclude the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, workmanlike effort and non-infringement.
17. LIABILITY LIMITATION; YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY
You can recover from the Microsoft Parties only direct damages up to an amount equal to your Service fee for one month. You cannot recover any other damages, including consequential, lost profits, special, indirect or incidental damages.
This limitation applies to:
-any matter related to the Service,
-any matter related to content (including code) on third party Internet sites, third party programs or third party conduct,
-any matter related to viruses or other disabling features that affect your access to or use of the Service,
-any matter related to incompatibility between the Service and other services, software and hardware,
-any matter related to delays or failures you may have in initiating, conducting or completing any transmissions or transactions in connection with the Service in an accurate or timely manner, and
-claims for breach of contract, breach of warranty, guarantee or condition, strict liability, negligence, or other tort to the extent permitted by applicable law.
It also applies even if:
-this remedy does not fully compensate you for any losses, or fails of its essential purpose; or
-Microsoft knew or should have known about the possibility of damages.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. They also may not apply to you because your province or country may not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental, consequential or other damages.[/i]
That should adequately handle the claims of Breach of Contract and Breach of Warranty. I think the claim of Negligent Misinterpretation will fail just fine on its own, without the other two to back it up.
I hope Microsoft doesn't settle. They surely have lawyers competent enough to put this one to bed.
I'm willing to bet that Texas law is favorable to the plaintiffs. The trick will be proving incidental and consequential damages in addition to the fraction of a month's service that was lost. But that's boring stuff that you'll learn all about in the fall. Are you still on target for that?
Microsoft can get the claim for Breach of Contract moved to Washington, if I read the TOU correctly. I'm not sure how that applies to the implied warranty. Would the warranty fall under the terms of the contract, or is it a separate issue?
[i]20. CHOICE OF LAW AND LOCATION FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES
If this contract is with Microsoft Corporation, then claims for breach of this contract will be subject to the laws of the State of Washington, without reference to conflict of laws principles. If this contract is with a Microsoft affiliate, claims for breach of this contract will be subject to the laws of the place of incorporation for such Microsoft affiliate, without reference to conflict of laws principles. All other claims, including claims regarding consumer protection laws, unfair competition laws, and in tort, will be subject to the laws of your state of residence in the United States, or, if you reside outside the United States, under the laws of the country to which we direct your Service.
If this contract is with Microsoft Corporation, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of state or federal courts in King County, Washington, USA for all disputes relating to this contract or the Service. If this contract is with a Microsoft affiliate, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts located in the place of incorporation for such Microsoft affiliate for all disputes relating to this contract or the Service. You cannot revoke this consent.[/i]
I'm willing to bet Washington is a little more friendly to Microsoft, or they wouldn't have set themselves up there. You're probably right about Texas though.
Still, this may make the brass at Microcawks a little more skeptical about investing in the console gaming market. God knows, they barely had their heart in it to begin with.
0.571 cents.
@Mecha: Congratulations! And [Sorry for boring you Dtoid] a claim of breach of contract would likely be adjudicated under Washington law. However, from reading only the Seattle Times article, this suit looks like it might also include claims of deceptive marketing practices (Microsoft knew it couldn't provide service to new customers) which would probably be governed under TX law.
....wait....huh? O_o
In any case, I fully agree those who do these things are the pisspots of society and deserve eternal assrape with a rusty spire, no matter how little I sympathize with the defendant.
why everytime there's something wrong with M$ it's never a big deal ... but every single stuff about sony are not ok ?
unfair journalist ... like most of the readers here ... too many M$ fanboys.
By the way PSN is up and online play is flawless ;-))) also it's free :-)))