My Halo 3 disc has become cracked, what do I do?

This happened to me just recently. I didn't notice the cracks, before I started getting disc read errors from my 360, which only seemed to happen w/ my copy of Halo 3 in the disc drive. In Xbox live, certain maps would ALWAYS fail to load during matchmaking (one of which was Epitaph, which I was rather happy about), and during the pregame lobby, just before the Vetoes begin, the map picture would not display. Also, in campaign, the disc would spin unusually loud, and make strange noises. Eventually, my disc became nearly unreadable altogether. After recently finishing the campaign again w/ skulls on to get the metagame achievements, my 360 froze after the Post Game Carnage report, just before the credits rolled. A reboot fixed my 360, but it wouldn't read my disc at all.

That is when I noticed the cracks in the disc, coming from the middle, where it is held down when inserted back into the case. Apparently, the piece in the metal case (Limited Edition) that holds the disc is too big, and causes the disc to crack outward from the center when it is inserted and/or removed from it's place. Having done no research, I wrote into Bungie and Microsoft last night.

I looked into it further this morning, and found out that I am not the only one having this problem.

On Xbox.com's Support page, the second topic is "Halo 3: Limited Edition Disc Replacement--No Charge until 2-1-08"

Link: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/gameplay/discreplacement-program.htm

Phew! I would have been pissed if they didn't acknowledge and take appropriate steps to resolve this issue. But they have, so no worries. If you have a Limited Edition disc, and it is not already damaged, DO NOT store it in the metal tin case it came with, it will eventually crack and become unreadable.

In case anyone is debating purchase of the Bioshock limited edition I thought I might show you exactly what you get. The box is big: about 5" x 6" x 6". Inside you'll find the DVD case marked limited edition, game manual, game, an audio EP with three tracks, a behind the scenes DVD, ...and a Big Daddy (Bouncer) figurine that will pwn your face off! It is heavy! Must be made of lead pewter. Detail on it is pretty good, and there are a few (but not enough) splatters of blood. The EP is interesting, but nothing really special. I thought it might be audio tracks from pre 1960 that you hear inside the game, but the songs are remixes. The third track is pretty cool. All tracks are kind of new age / techno. I won't watch the behind the scenes DVD until I finish the game, so I'm reserving comments on that one. For the figurine alone, the extra $10 over the regular edition MSRP is a no brainer for me. More pics after the break.