Copies of the Halo 3: Limited Edition are being plagued by scratched discs and shoddy packaging.

Copies of the Halo 3: Limited Edition are being plagued by scratched discs and shoddy packaging.

Halo 3 is upon on us already and the world is slowly being divided into a new caste system because of it. There are those who will buy the game in the shops, those who pre-ordered the Limited Edition and then there's me - who came to within a single frag of beating the developers at the recent Microsoft Xmas Showcase. A single frag!

Sigh.

Even more annoying is the news that those who pre-ordered the Limited Edition copy of the game may be getting hold of unplayable copies of the game thanks to shoddy packaging.

According to some NeoGAF users, the tin packaging of the Limited Edition has central hubs which are incapable of holding the disc securely. One minor bump and the disc comes loose in the tin, bumping about and getting very badly scratched.

A friend just opened three copies of Halo 3 Limited Edition and with all three copies both disc were loose inside of the package and scratched to death,” explained the original poster of the thread on NeoGAF. “This Limited Edition has a poor plastic nub and foam pad disc holding design that is a major flaw and the discs pop off with ease.

This raises a very important question for gamers all over the globe: Who is sad enough to pre-order three separate copies of the same game? I don't think anybody has done that since Tim bought every single version of BioShock and even then still wanted more.

The matter has been backed up by forum members who work at game stores and have seen many copies of the game have loose discs. So far though the reports only apply to the Limited Edition version of the game, not the Legendary or Standard editions.

Will you be buying Halo 3, or are you utterly bored of the Green Meanie and his adventures in outer space? Let us know in the forums.
Quote DougEdey 24th September 2007, 13:29
I'm getting my pre-ordered copy of it Wednesday. If it's scratched I will NOT be happy! >:E
Quote atanum141 24th September 2007, 13:32
ouchies.
Quote ArtificialHero 24th September 2007, 13:39
Quote:
Originally Posted by DougEdey
I'm getting my pre-ordered copy of it Wednesday. If it's scratched I will NOT be happy! >:E

Same here.
Quote Votey 24th September 2007, 13:48
I never had an Xbox until about a month ago. Never played any significant amount of Halo 1 or 2, but my pre-ordered Halo 3 is on its way (Standard Edition :) ) so I can find out what all the fuss is about.
Quote PA!N 24th September 2007, 14:04
One bad example for looks over funktionality...and because you mentioned it I remember that the disc in the video on gizmodo where Brian opens up the Microsoft Halo 3
"Swagbag" is also loose in the metal casing
Quote Veles 24th September 2007, 14:08
That's lame :(
Quote DrFreeze 24th September 2007, 14:19
Quote:
Originally Posted by Votey
I never had an Xbox until about a month ago. Never played any significant amount of Halo 1 or 2, but my pre-ordered Halo 3 is on its way (Standard Edition :) ) so I can find out what all the fuss is about.

at the risk of getting my ass flamed off, prepare to be dissapointed

halo really hangs on the multiplayer, and like any reasonable person, there is only so much squeeky voiced abusive twelve year olds i can take
Quote DarkLord7854 24th September 2007, 14:37
Pwned? :)
Quote cjoyce1980 24th September 2007, 15:11
jealous sony fanboys trying to poo on halo 3's big day or just unlucky???
Quote Vash-HT 24th September 2007, 16:18
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjoyce1980
jealous sony fanboys trying to poo on halo 3's big day or just unlucky???

It would take quite a bit of work for a crazy fanboy to make so many discs loose, personally I blame it on crappy case design. I've had many game or DVD cases where the disc will just not stay clipped down, I mean is it really that hard of a thing to test out? Anyway not sure if I will even buy Halo 3 yet, its too bad theres almost no hope for a demo, it would be nice just to try it out.
Quote D3s3rt_F0x 24th September 2007, 17:21
Ahhhh good thing I got the legendary edition from play.com got in early enough 2 weeks ago to be able to get my grubby hands on one which has been dispatched today, (pre sale only started 2 weeks ago today)

Not sure what ill be doing with mine like cause going for daft amounts on ebay lol. I know a lad at work same time I got mine bought 2 and he dosnt even have a 360 lol

Ill probs end up keeping as second hand I recon itll go for what I payed for mine new.
Quote The_Pope 24th September 2007, 17:25
I've got Regular Edition already dispatched from Play. I did want the Limited Edition but they didn't have any stock, and I didn't want to wait
Quote Blademrk 24th September 2007, 17:33
Got the limited edition ordered, hopefully It won't be scratched (fingers crossed)
Quote ssj12 24th September 2007, 17:55
its the same with the legendary edition, go watch IGN's opening the box video. Both discs are loose and probably scratched.
Quote fwalm 24th September 2007, 18:15
Im pissed but i'll just open it in the shop and if it's scratched i'll be like gimme another one till I get a good quality one, plus ima be nice and grass on argos because they sent out copies of halo 3 already, my mate has it but is scared of playing it incase he gets banned.
Quote 2JSC 24th September 2007, 18:58
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrFreeze
at the risk of getting my ass flamed off, prepare to be dissapointed

halo really hangs on the multiplayer, and like any reasonable person, there is only so much squeeky voiced abusive twelve year olds i can take

Very true - even then I was never very fond of the gameplay for some reason. It was a little too different from regular FPS's.
Quote Veles 24th September 2007, 19:38
Quote:
Originally Posted by fwalm
my mate has it but is scared of playing it incase he gets banned.

He won't, Bungie denied that would be happening to anyone. I don't think there's anywhere that says you aren't allowed to play Halo 3 early in the EULA, it's the fault of the shops breaching contract if you get it early, not yours, so MS can't legally punish you AFAIK.
Quote fwalm 24th September 2007, 19:54
Ah that's good to know he was all disappointed but I still want argos to get their ass sued off them lol if it's possible, and it's because there was 2 people or so that got banned for a long as time as posted in one of the previous news posts.
Quote mikeuk2004 24th September 2007, 20:37
Nooooooooooooo Not Bioshock all over again.

I still have a busted Big Daddy because 2K wont replace them. When I e-mail them about it they refer me to the usa replacement page on their website. (Im in the Fr****** UK) and Game say there arnt any stock to replace it and therefore wont replace it.

Now I have ordered a Limited Edition Halo 3 and If this is scratched, im going to be soo unhappy :(
Quote Veles 24th September 2007, 20:53
Good thing about this though is scratched disks are easily fixed, just a little rub a dub with some brasso and you're good to go. Or if you're scared of mucking it up, you can get a disk cleaning device that makes it even easier. Still, it's pretty lame, but not quite as lame as the un-replaceable busted Big D's. I think I'm just gonna super glue mine, I've slotted the drill in where it should go and you can't see any break.
Quote Votey 24th September 2007, 21:37
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrFreeze
at the risk of getting my ass flamed off, prepare to be dissapointed

halo really hangs on the multiplayer, and like any reasonable person, there is only so much squeeky voiced abusive twelve year olds i can take

Yes, that is my number one fear.
Number two being I have no idea what happened in the first two games.
But I got it for $46 shipped, so I can unload it later for little to no net cost if need be.
Quote outlawaol 24th September 2007, 21:49
I want a refund for Halo 2... And this one instead (but not the scratched ones).

I can wait awile...
Quote fluxity 24th September 2007, 21:55
Quote:
Originally Posted by ssj12
its the same with the legendary edition, go watch IGN's opening the box video. Both discs are loose and probably scratched.

Wrong. The IGN opening is a development kit where Bungie sent them the Legendary Edition but included the game in the Limited Edition case. The Retail Legendary will be in a regular DVD case similar to the Regular Edition.

I'm picking up my LE in person on Wednesday so I'll give the box a shake and if I hear discs rattling I'll be going through them all until I get one that doesn't rattle. If you think about it, the shops aren't going to let you open them all up.
Quote Veles 24th September 2007, 21:56
Nah, I think Halo had a great storyline. Admittedly, the campaign in the original did have a ton of boring samey corridors, but it also had some truly awesome moments that haven't been topped IMO. Halo 2 was a bit of a let down, the overall quality of the campaign was better, but it lacked any new "wow" moments like Halo had, the best bit about Halo 2 was the multiplayer, but like you say, there's a ton of cheating smack talking 14 year olds on there, and it just spoils the game, when the game was first released, the multiplayer was a lot of fun. The best bit of Halo IMO is the co-op, I've replayed through some of the my favourite missions on Halo with my brother probably more than I've played any other co-op (combined). Four player online co-op will be incredibly awesome, so long as the game is great of course. Also, the higher price point of the 360 seems to have pruned off some of the younger kids, in my experience from the beta, the people playing Halo 3 seemed a lot more mature than Halo 2's community, any smack talking shitheads were soon put in their place. I'm really hoping this carries through to the final release, but that's never gonna happen, I know a lot of those kids will be getting a 360 for Halo 3 if they didn't have one already.
Quote ThE-LyNX 24th September 2007, 22:33
Quote:
Originally Posted by fluxity
I'm picking up my LE in person on Wednesday so I'll give the box a shake and if I hear discs rattling I'll be going through them all until I get one that doesn't rattle. If you think about it, the shops aren't going to let you open them all up.

Yeah they will.

Once you have been given it you stay at the counter while you open the box, if disc scratched then they cannot accuse you of doing it and you then ask for a replacement.

Repeat until you have a good copy.
Quote Jokkocze 24th September 2007, 23:56
Pff.. got my promo edition of halo 3 last week. No scratches there. Sure, not a fantastic game, but still, no scratches..
Quote KayinBlack 25th September 2007, 00:46
Sorry guys, we tried as hard as we could to make that case work...

FYI, I work at JVC Disc Packaging, where Halo 3 was stamped...
Quote DougEdey 25th September 2007, 02:04
To anyone moaning about 12 year olds screaming at you: THERE IS A MUTE BUTTON IN HALO 3
Quote Morphine-Kitty 25th September 2007, 02:25
Quote:
Originally Posted by KayinBlack
Sorry guys, we tried as hard as we could to make that case work...

FYI, I work at JVC Disc Packaging, where Halo 3 was stamped...

I knew they should have just made it a wearable helmet instead of some stupid game case.
Quote Nova 25th September 2007, 05:49
my roommate got the $75 one and both the disk were scratched and unplayable... luckily someone got the regular edition too.
Quote DeXtmL 25th September 2007, 06:58
I only knew that those pirated CD/DVD may have quality problems one minute before reading this.
Quote Delphium 25th September 2007, 10:05
MS it would seam have decided that there disc scratching xbox360's where not enough, that now they ship discs pre scratched!

Wow MS really working hard at there anti copy protection :p
Quote naokaji 25th September 2007, 12:14
it's only halo 3... its just another shooter with nothing really new...

but... shipping broken stuff still sucks...
Quote mikeuk2004 25th September 2007, 12:33
Quote:
Originally Posted by KayinBlack
Sorry guys, we tried as hard as we could to make that case work...

FYI, I work at JVC Disc Packaging, where Halo 3 was stamped...

If mine is scratched will you send me a new one :)
Quote DougEdey 25th September 2007, 12:34
If you knew it wasn't going to work why the hell release it?
Quote BadHead 25th September 2007, 17:19
Hi,

Got My Halo 3 Collectors Edition today and, yip, it was scratched, but not badly - more marked really. It still loads on the Xbox360. But since the scratches - marks - are further towards the inside of disk, I am a bit concerned that as I get further into the disk, the errors will begin. As this problem exists with many of the Collector's Edition packages, I can't really see the point of returning the disk for a replacement as the likelihood of my getting a replacement disk that is just as bad or worse is quite high. Ah, well...such is life.
Quote CardJoe 25th September 2007, 17:45
Demand and upgrade. Seriously, go in there, start some **** and demand a legendary edition version or a standard edition with your cash back at least
Quote The_Pope 25th September 2007, 17:45
Pretty sure the data is written "inside to out" so you might be fine
Quote fwalm 25th September 2007, 18:31
I like what Joe said, I likea lot, and yea from my experience on the 360 games at least it goes inside to the outside, for the simple fact my gears plays until the last chapter, there is a massive circle of scratches around the outside, my fault, played the xbox uupside down and turned it around whilst it was still turned on lol. So you should be good but not a nice thing buying something brand new and it's scratched.
Quote BadHead 25th September 2007, 19:09
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Pope
Pretty sure the data is written "inside to out" so you might be fine

I didn't know that. I just thought that DVD and CD were read in the same manner as Vinyl Records (Remember those...???) from the outside in. Ah well, you live and learn...

About these disk repair devices, how good are they in reality and can they damage disks? What about the Brasso option mentioned above? Is that safe?

Ta.
Quote naokaji 26th September 2007, 08:17
as for how data on cd / dvd are written... its always inside to outside...

as for the repair stuff... i'd say stay away from it and return it to the shop as a broken product to get a new one.
Quote DougEdey 26th September 2007, 09:34
Right, I don't get the holders. I just got my copy (well almost 2 hours ago...) but the two discs are on seperate spindles on seperate sides of the box. Both spindles appear to be the same. BUT the one on the disc side appears to be a tiny fraction of a millimetre smaller which is why it doesn't hold it right. This is something which in the day and age should not happen and I cannot understand why it did.
Quote Veles 26th September 2007, 09:35
Yeah, it would be a better idea to just return the game for a new one.

What the brasso/disk cleaners do is just remove the top layer of plastic. On a CD you have the shiny data bit, then quite a thick layer of plastic (relatively speaking) that protects the data. 95% of scratches, even deep looking ones, are just scratching of the plastic layer, the data is still perfectly intact underneath that, the reason it doesn't read is the laser can't penetrate to the data it wants to get to, most minor scratches won't cause any problems loading, big ones can however. Brasso is just like a very fine grit sandpaper in liquid form, so using it just takes the very top layer of plastic coating off where the scratch is, and because it's fine grit it leaves you with a nice surface finish. I haven't done it myself, but I first heard the method here a while ago. If you do want to try it out, I suggest scratching a burnt CD then testing to see if it works ok if no-one else vouches for the technique.

EDIT: Damn you Doug I want my copy!
Quote DougEdey 26th September 2007, 09:52
My disc has minor scratches. Weirdly though, my old GoW that was unscratched got "Disc scratched" errors (stupid I know) but the new one has a lot and hasn't had one yet. I am going to see if I do get any errors (I have till the end of the year) before returning it (I'll say it was a chrimbo pressie)
Quote Veles 26th September 2007, 10:00
I used to get scratched disk errors with GoW as well, I think it was just a bug with the earlier version of the game, like how Forza 2 sometimes loses it's place when you pause the game so it decides the disk is unreadable.
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