I don't believe I've ever seen a console game go broken and unplayable for a complete YEAR!
For this to be a Halo game (which are normally of the utmost quality)..... this is especially unacceptable.
Just an FYI, I contacted Amazon for a return and was given a full refund (gotta love Amazon's Customer Service Department), and also reported the defective product. It will likely not make a difference, but it is the right thing to do.
I have played every Halo FPS game since Combat Evolved, and they have always been amazing with Bungie running it. Unparalleled quality of storyline, visuals and audio, as well as such a memorable soundtrack. While Halo 4 wasn't exactly up-to-par in my opinion, 343 earned my respect in seeming competent enough to handle such an established franchise.
My gut instinct tells me M$ is the one to blame for this abomination of a release. To get it out by the end of the year, I have all ideas that it was not 343's choice to go with its current state at the time. 343 likely reported it as not ready, but M$ probably threatened legal action based on their contract, instead of understanding the issues at hand.
Having said that, I DO place the onus on 343 to make it right and fix the glaring issues in the forefront, and to fix them quickly.
To that end, both M$ and 343 have lost my respect and trust as a long-time customer, and I will no longer continue to support either of them in the future. It is the only logical conclusion that I can come up with.
I can only hope that others will uphold the same standard of morals and values. However, in today's day-and-age, it is not something I will expect.