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Do Xbox glitches belong in court?

Bloggers, some of whom helped spread the word about overheating problems with Microsoft's newly-launched Xbox 360, have been prolific in their reactions to yesterday's Reuter's story that a Chicago man is suing the software maker for selling a "defectively designed" video game console.

While most aren't challenging the proposed class action suit's claim that Microsoft rushed to release Xbox 360 ahead of next-generation consoles from competitors, they're calling it a market issue, not a legal one.

Blog community response:

"Similarly to Apple being sued for the Nano scratching too easily, these kinds of cases shouldn't require a lawsuit. They should be warranty issues. In my experience (more on the level of the freezing Xbox, not so much scratches on my iPod) I call up the manufacturer (or go to their retail store), tell them what's up, and they replace the defective product. No lawyers required."
--Phatpat.com

"I guarantee that the reason people are having overheating issues (the 3-4 percent) is because they buried this thing under 500 lbs. of wire and cable, behind their entertainment unit, shoved against the wall, sitting on very thick shag carpeting. I hope this douche wastes 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of dollars, or gets fined for wasting a judge's time."
--I Hate People

"Ok, first off, every company in the world launches products to market as fast as they can to get the jump on competitors...Unless there are serious safety issues with the XBox 360 which make it hazardous, this lawsuit is pretty frivolous...Now if you want to sue for the 'emotional distress' caused by not being able to play XBox 360 games for a few days (while the new XBox 360 is being shipped to you), then I might have some sympathy for you--but I have no sympathy for stupid lawsuits that tie up the courtrooms' time."
--VoIP & Gadgets Blog

"It's a matter of principle. Hardware manufacturers must be held accountable for their actions. They CANNOT be allowed to release these items (Apple with its iPod Nano fiasco is another blazing example), charging these outrageous prices and then be simply slapped on the wrist when something this blatantly obvious is wrong."
--Dennis Veite on CNET News.com's Talkback

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