Microsoft is facing yet another class action lawsuit, this one filed by a disgruntled customer who claims that despite the package in which Halo 3 is sold claiming the game is compatible with the Xbox 360, it does not actually run on the Xbox 360.
Randy Nunez of California launched the suit, which also names Halo 3 developer Bungie as a defendant, after purchasing the game in mid-October from a Gamestop location in San Diego. “Relying on defendants’ skill and judgment to furnish goods suitable” for playing on the Xbox 360 console, Nunez laid down his $59.99 plus tax and headed home with his purchase. When he attempted to play the game, however, “Mr. Nunez’s Halo 3 videogame repeatedly locked up, froze and/or crashed while being operated on Mr. Nunez’s Xbox 360 console.”
“Defendants have breached the implied warranty of fitness,” the suit claims, “because the Halo 3 videogames freeze, lock up and/or crash the Xbox 360 videogame console when operated in their particular purpose of use on the Xbox 360. Defendants continue to breach the implied warranty of fitness to this day because they have failed to correct the defect in Halo 3.” While the suit does not specify how much money Nunez is after, it does state “Nunez and the Class sustained damages including, but not limited to, the purchase price of Halo 3.”
Released in North America on September 25, Halo 3 generated $170 million in its first day of sales in the U.S. alone, with 3.7 million copies sold in the U.S. as of November 15. The game was also responsible for a massive influx of users to Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, and drove the Xbox 360 console past the Nintendo Wii to the top of the September sales chart.
It is unknown what steps, if any, Nunez took, including exchanging the game for a new copy or trying it on another console, prior to launching the suit. The full text of the complaint is available here. (PDF format)
