More Xbox One Owners Report Faulty Disc Drives

Several more reports of stricken Xbox One’s have hit over the weekend, mostly having to do with faulty disc drives. Via Kotaku (and a number of others), the gaming outlet received over 150 reader complaints regarding one particular issue, all having to do with the disc drive making ugly grinding noises. Kotaku said it received only a few dozen hardware complaints when the PlayStation 4 hit, for what that’s worth. In response, Microsoft continues to say it’s working with users directly to address the issue.
While 150+ reports is by no means widespread, especially with Microsoft allegedly selling over one million Xbox Ones on launch day, it seems more and more users are stepping forward. Hardware-related issues tend to arise during console launches, but just how many affected consoles are out there? There are plenty of YouTube videos demonstrating the issue, and some are already dubbing the problem the “Disc Drive of Doom. Not quite as catchy as Red Ring of Death, but the common denominator here is Microsoft’s faulty hardware.
It’s unfortunate news for Day One adopters, especially since we’ve been anticipating the next-gen of console gaming for so long. You wouldn’t even know your console is broken, either, until you put a disc in; reports say the discs themselves aren’t harmed by the grinding, though it sure doesn’t sound pretty. Since the console is so new, it’s difficult to determine just how widespread the issue is, and how quickly it can be addressed. Microsoft merely says that only a small number of Xbox One customers have been affected, but it seems as the days go by, more and more people are running into the issue.
This isn’t meant to call Microsoft out—early hardware issues are to be expected. But over the busy holiday season, just how deep will the rabbit hole go? We’ll find out soon enough.