Rant: Ahh, Xbox360....

[Midicronica]

Amazing, wonderful console! Best 400 dollars I've ever spent. Found a great game, Phantasy Star Universe. Probably play it a bit more than I should...

I just got 3 red lights. Again. This time with a refurbished console. My first Xbox360 (launch console) broke after a full year of service back in Dec 2006. This refurbished console that I received in January '07 just broke on me. Just like the last time, I'm not extremely pissed off or down in the dumps about this piece of fucking shit breaking (maybe I am angry) all I know is that to get it "repaired" is that I'll have to pay $139 dollars to do it, because apparently my warranty ended back in April '07. I'll pay it, but...I'm gonna go by me a new console, a 360 Elite preferably.

Fuck...right before the week of 3 star luck. This shit really has the worse timing. Last time it broke 2 days into my Christmas vacation which was about 3 weeks long.

Bullshit, right? http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Shadow_Moses on 2007-07-04 13:08 ]</font>

[McLaughlin]

Maybe that trip it took when you were moving that TV had something to do with it? http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

Bummer, hope you get back online soon.

[DurakkenX]

did you make sure all the connections were correct? I took my 360 to my uncles house for the weekend and i got the lights and I was like omg it's true the thing breaks easily... and then I realized I hadn't plugged the AV connection all the way in or power...pushed it in and bam all was green again.

I'd be willing to bet 90% of all the 360 "problems" come from people being too stupid to check their connections and be careful with their system. Anyways I suggest you unplug everything in your 360 and then connect it all and make sure it is all 100% secure and make sure that nothing is wrong with the actual ports or connectors...

[omegapirate2k]

I don't know why that happened, but its probably my fault nonetheless.

[sprky585]

my 360 has been fine since december 06...lots of people complain...but mine has been the best...only froze a couple times on oblivion and ncaa football 07

[Midicronica]

Heh, I'm absolutely sure, that all the connectors are in there good. The Xbox freezes with some sort squares printed all over the screen if I try to turn it back on after waiting like two or three hours after getting the red lights. >_>;

This isn't my first time dealing with a broken Xbox360. = I'll just send it in and get refurbished system, but I'm gonna go ahead buy a Xbox360 elite off on the side.

[Sinue_v2]

Mine's occasionally giving me a red ring, but right now it's at the "NES" stage where I can reset it several times and eventually it'll work. I'm not really worried about it though. If it breaks, instead of buying an elite I'll just go out and buy a new graphics card for my PC and a Nintendo Wii. I'll keep my games and give it a year or two before buying a new one after the price drops and after they finally get their shit together.

[Sekani]

Didn't they extend all the warranties for a year, or does that only apply to new (non-refurbished) consoles?

Anyway, ouch. Hope you get back online soon.

[Hyda]

Sorry to hear that, a friend of mine had the same problem, he got his back in January as well.

Hope it gets fixed soon. See you when you return.

[A2K]

On 2007-07-04 17:56, Sekani wrote:
Didn't they extend all the warranties for a year, or does that only apply to new (non-refurbished) consoles?

Anyway, ouch. Hope you get back online soon.



Seconded. Look into this, if you haven't already. Hopefully you can catch a break on this.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: A2K on 2007-07-04 19:37 ]</font>

[Aisha_Clan-Clan]

http://www.dailytech.com/Retailers+Estimate+Xbox+360+Failure+Rate+High+as+3 3+Percent/article7892.htm

[Midicronica]

On 2007-07-04 21:29, Aisha_Clan-Clan wrote:
http://www.dailytech.com/Retailers+Estimate+Xbox+360+Failure+Rate+High+as+3 3+Percent/article7892.htm



That was pretty informative. Thanks for posting that.

[Midicronica]

Good news for me.


July 5, 2007 - Microsoft announced today that it is expanding its Xbox 360 warranty to three years for any customer who experiences the three flashing red lights error message that indicates hardware failure. All repairs will be made free of charge for three years from the time of purchase, including shipping expenses. Anybody who previously has paid for their consoles to be repaired related to three red light error message will be retroactively reimbursed. Other existing Xbox 360 warranties remain unchanged.

The warranty covers all Xbox 360 consoles. Whether you purchased an Elite, Core or regular Xbox 360 with a hard drive, the new expanded three year warranty holds from the date of purchase. Launch Xbox 360 consoles will now be under warranty from hardware failure until November 2008.

With reports of massive numbers of hardware failures, one can easily anticipate that this retroactive warranty update will not be cheap. In fact, Microsoft is going to take a $1.05 to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter that ended on June 30, 2007, for anticipated costs that it will incur under the current and new enhanced warranty policies.

"We decided to do something pretty drastic to take care of our customers. Doing what we believe is the right thing for our customers is important to us," Microsoft Corporate Vice President Peter Moore told IGN. "If you've had expenditure to fix your Xbox 360, we're going to reimburse you."

For those unsure about purchasing a 360 for fear of the dreaded Three Red Lights of Death, Moore says there is no reason for concern. "We have a great deal of confidence that a lot of the problems we've been seeing are behind us," Moore said. "Consumers should feel no issues about walking into a store and buying a 360 today. And should anything go wrong, we'll take care of them immediately."

Moore could not comment on the return rate of Xbox 360 consoles, which has been recently rumored to be close to 30%. He also seemed unconcerned with any negative reactions to 360 on the eve of E3. "If it's negative connotations heading into E3, so be it… the overriding focus is it's good for consumers and we're taking care of people."

"The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division. "We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come."

The company is making the move as a result of what the company views as "an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles." Microsoft claims that it has identified a number of factors that cause the three flashing red lights error message and has made improvements to the console.

Whether the improvements result in less hardware failures remains to be seen. In the meantime, those with broken Xbox 360s can begin cheering.


Sometimes, I can't help but love Microsoft...

[McLaughlin]

This (http://pso-world.com/viewtopic.php?topic=146867&forum=9&start=0&6) ought to cheer you up.

[omegapirate2k]

Peter moore is an adonis.

And he also has assloads of money to spend on this kind of stuff XD

[Mystil]

I experienced this with PS2s, I'm on my 4th but it;s close to 3 years old now so it's all good.

There's probably more "dud" 360's out there than there is stable ones.

[Tykwa]

Mine had broke 7 times since X-mas, feel loved, although its still in warranty, I'm tired of it too, but I still love it.

[DurakkenX]

Playstations (1, 2, and 3) are built so that they fail after about 3 years...this makes it so people will go out and buy a new one every few years and so they make money that way... and this is widely known. If your PS is still working after more than 3 years it is A) defective (if it didn't break it's defective cuz it's supposed to v.v) B) underused C) you used a trick to keep it working (ie flipping the console over haha psx ghetto solution) or D) you had it repaired (ie had the lens replaced)

[amtalx]

On 2007-07-09 21:28, DurakkenX wrote:
Playstations (1, 2, and 3) are built so that they fail after about 3 years...this makes it so people will go out and buy a new one every few years and so they make money that way... and this is widely known. If your PS is still working after more than 3 years it is A) defective (if it didn't break it's defective cuz it's supposed to v.v) B) underused C) you used a trick to keep it working (ie flipping the console over haha psx ghetto solution) or D) you had it repaired (ie had the lens replaced)



I guess I missed the press release for that one.

[DurakkenX]

it's standard practice so it's ignored for the most part...Playstations are notorious though. The orginal's defect was a bit apparent as the PSX disc lens failed almost exactly at every 3 years on every machine. The PS2 is design with various failures in them though instead of just the one which drew a lot of attention...and while PS3 is has not been fully tested I doubt that with all the "new" technology that it would be surprising that the tech doesn't fail within the 3 around 3 year mark...

[Neith]

On 2007-07-09 21:28, DurakkenX wrote:
Playstations (1, 2, and 3) are built so that they fail after about 3 years...this makes it so people will go out and buy a new one every few years and so they make money that way... and this is widely known. If your PS is still working after more than 3 years it is A) defective (if it didn't break it's defective cuz it's supposed to v.v) B) underused C) you used a trick to keep it working (ie flipping the console over haha psx ghetto solution) or D) you had it repaired (ie had the lens replaced)



My first PS2 started getting continuous Disc Read Errors (yes, I tried adjusting the cog), but after 4 1/2 years of daily use. Never got it repaired either. I'm on my 2nd PS2, so I'm curious to see how long it is before I start getting grinding noises from it.

I remember someone telling me that when the Mega Drive (Genesis, whatever) cartridges were produced they were designed to stop loading after a set period of time. Whether that's true, or a load of rubbish is another thing, heh. Probably just told me that as a kid to stop me winding up electricity bills http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

It sucks that X360's have become so notorious for breaking down (I know about the 'red ring of death', and I don't even own a 360..), but at least the warranty extensions is a good move by MS, and I'd definately look into it.

[amtalx]

On 2007-07-10 10:36, DurakkenX wrote:
it's standard practice so it's ignored for the most part...Playstations are notorious though. The orginal's defect was a bit apparent as the PSX disc lens failed almost exactly at every 3 years on every machine. The PS2 is design with various failures in them though instead of just the one which drew a lot of attention...and while PS3 is has not been fully tested I doubt that with all the "new" technology that it would be surprising that the tech doesn't fail within the 3 around 3 year mark...



Don't get me wrong, I loathe Sony with the fire of 1000 suns but...source? This seems like a lot of "I'm a pissed off consumer so I need a reason to be angry (other than my stuff broke.)"

[Midicronica]

Haha, received my 360 coffin today. Only a matter of time before I get off my arse and take it to the UPS store to set it on it's way down stream. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_yes.gif

[Lonzell]

OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE D!

srsly tho, you'll be missed.

[DurakkenX]

Amtalx I've never had a system break down on me before, save for maybe a NES if you can call it that...and I shorted out a DC and destroyed a few more, but it never broke down...

I have no source as I thought this was common knowledge... That was one of the things people liked about PS2 is that the design of the disc tray did away with lens problems of the PSX or at least stifled them.

My PS2 also half broke and i gave it to my friend... my dad walked by while i was playing FFXI on it and had a phone cord extend from the kitchen to the living room, more than 20ft, and had it on top of the tv...my dad tripped and down came the PS2 and broke the HDD connection.

[amtalx]

On 2007-07-10 18:52, DurakkenX wrote:
Amtalx I've never had a system break down on me before, save for maybe a NES if you can call it that...and I shorted out a DC and destroyed a few more, but it never broke down...

I have no source as I thought this was common knowledge... That was one of the things people liked about PS2 is that the design of the disc tray did away with lens problems of the PSX or at least stifled them.

My PS2 also half broke and i gave it to my friend... my dad walked by while i was playing FFXI on it and had a phone cord extend from the kitchen to the living room, more than 20ft, and had it on top of the tv...my dad tripped and down came the PS2 and broke the HDD connection.



Anything with moving parts is going to break eventually. It mostly depends on what condition you keep it in and how much it gets used. Everything from my Atari 2600 to my 360 have been kept in pristine condition and they all still work.

Now I may have been lucky with a few of them and just gotten some good units, but I have had my share of breakdowns too. I'm on my 3rd 360 and the power button on my original Xbox has some...issues. Then of course, all old cartridge based systems need some encouragement to work on occasion.

The fact is that gaming in general has become far more complex (both hardware and software.) The benefit is that you can do a whole slew of new things. The downside is that there are more elements that can fail. Does it suck sometimes? Yes. However, I don't think it means there is a conspiracy to make me buy more units.