MS Owns up to Scuffed Halo 3 Discs

Uh-oh. Looks like some gamers who snagged the limited and "Legendary" editions of Halo 3 got a rude surprise: a loose—and scuffed—game disc rattling around in the box. That's the bad news; the better news is that most of those discs seem to be working, and Microsoft is offering to replace any defective discs for free.

I can vouch for the problem (reported by gaming blog Kotaku) myself; my review copy of the limited version arrived loose in the metal box, and scuffs were clearly visible on the surface of the disc. My Xbox 360 console has been pretty sensitive to "damaged" discs lately (I sense another hardware problem), so I was worried that my time with the Master Chief would have to wait; luckily, the disc has worked perfectly after many hours of gameplay, and I haven't heard of any widespread disc problems. Still, word of the scuffed Halo 3 discs is yet another ding (albeit a minor one) for Microsoft, which has suffered a rash of Xbox 360 hardware failures and is looking to Halo 3 to turn things around. The software giant was smart to quickly acknowledge the problem and offer a free replacement.

Anyway, if you've run into any trouble or you simply want a pristine disc, follow this link to Microsoft's support page.

Related:
Microsoft Replacing Scratched Halo 3 Discs [Kotaku]