The formula was pretty simple: Buy a game console at electronics retailer Best Buy, pick up the extended warranty, and when a new hardware revision was released, claim your console was broken and upgrade for free. Just ask all of those Xbox 360 Pro owners who upgraded to the Elite or 40gb PS3 owners who upgraded to the 80gb Metal Gear Solid edition. It worked.
In an attempt to cut back on losses stemming from an increasing amount of console exchanges, Best Buy is now trying to clamp down a bit more. Beginning next week, if you try to exchange a console at Best Buy, a Geek Squad agent will be required to test the console and verify that it's actually broken. No, they won't take your word for it and, yes, it will result in a longer wait on the customer service line. The good times had to end eventually, right?
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