the blue box, they dont disappoint
Did my share of research on the user sites for the XBOX 360 and this topic was noted to an extreme. So when I bought my box, I made sure I purchased a 3 year "replacement" warranty. It guarantees me that if it breaks, I bring it over and they hand me a new one. If I lose the HD, I'll be PO'd, but I won't have to deal with a 2-3 month turnaround time I see reported.
It's very sad that such quality issues are presenting such a problem. Let the buyer beware.
Also, with the XBOX 360 vs the Wii, the titles for the XBOX started stacking up and I noticed over half were "First person shooters". The Wii titles were far more various in genre and more family friendly. Yet for HD graphics, racing, sports and some very well done shooters, the XBOX delivers quite a rush on a 52' screen with the stereo turned up.
To each their own. Enjoy...
So when we got the Wii, if it's raining outside my son, daughter and I are playing tennis, bowling or trying to prevent rabbid rabbits from overrunning the planet by squirting them with carrot juice or assaulting them with plungers.
My kids are the right age for this and we have a blast.
Anyways, two very difference emphasis on gaming experiences, IMHO. We loved the Gamecube for the kids, and that enjoyable play experience has been enhanced with the Wii.
Microsoft facing $1bn Xbox bill
Microsoft has said that it is facing a bill of more than $1bn to cover the cost of offering extended warranties, after failings with its Xbox 360.
The company admitted it had been forced to make “an unacceptable number of repairs” to the consoles after key hardware failed.
Customers who suffer the problems will now be given a free three-year warranty, the company said.
The failures are indicated by three red flashing lights on the console.
Microsoft, has not revealed how many of its machines have suffered the problem, but said the number was “bigger than we are comfortable with.”
It added that the move - which will also see some people reimbursed for postage and repairs on consoles which were out of warranty - was aimed at keeping the loyalty of its customers.
“The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one,” said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division.
“But this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologise.”
It added its Xbox division was still expected to make a profit during the financial year beginning 1 July 2007.
Migration manoeuvre
Separately the company has announced an October launch of its advanced version of the Xbox - the Xbox 360 Elite - in Japan, where it lags behind Nintendo and Sony in the console market.
And the company has also unveiled plans to open a software development centre in Canada which it said was a way of hiring talented people from abroad who would struggle to obtain a US working visa.
The Vancouver location would “allow the company to continue to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by the immigration issues in the US”, Microsoft said.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6275728.stm
Published: 2007/07/05 21:11:57 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Must be a dammslow news morning. Hopefully not the calm before the storm.
Truth is, I’m shocked. Every other Microsoft technical blunder has received no support from the company, and any assistance would exceed the cost of the product in question. But here they’re doing what I view as the right thing - fixing a defect.
Now if only HP would start replacing (or at least offering at a reasonable price) the stupid hinges that keep breaking on their laptops, I’d be a happy person.
the blue box, they dont disappoint
The investment in memory isn’t that big either, to be fair it’s a 700mhz RAM so it works fast but why 3x3.2 GhZ CPU and only 512 MB RAM??
And your certainly not allowed to open the thing up!
Why would anyone want to you ask? well, the thing is nothing more then a PC and since I have a MCSE Certification (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) I’m allowed to take huge tower servers apart but this tiny lil’ box is beyond me according to them....
Oh well, great games, looks great with HDTV and Live is fun (except when 13 year old kids lose over and over and start to go insane...) so I’ll survive... at least until the next Grand Theft Auto game that they payed a couple of fifty million bucks for (Bill had some spare cash).
That's quite a screen. Is that in your living room?
360s are failing at about a 30% rate.... And that’s with the oldest being not even 2 years old.
MS has been lying and covering up its 360 problem forever. Only when fiscally forced to disclose did they finally, and even still will not provide anyone with accurate return/repair rates... only give canned “they are reliable” responses.
The XBOX division of MS is an utter failure fiscally, over 20 BILLION burned in over 6 years and no end in sight to the hemoraging.
Buy a Wii for the fun, and get a PS3 if you want great graphics and first person shooters.
360 has hit a wall in sales, Halo 3 will give em a little spike, but nothing over the top. 360 is going to be another 20-25million worldwide sales system...
Long term, they will wind up 3rd place this generation. Wii will be number one sold system in about 2 months worldwide, in spite of 360s 1 year head start. PS3 will overtake 360 in total sales sometime in late 08 to mid 09.
Shareholders should be demanding MS shut down the XBOX division, its a fiscal black hole, with no end in sight.
Every kid I know that got an xbox for Christmas, now has a broken xbox-including my son. I am very happy to hear this.
I really like the gaming experience with my 360. I’ve mostly been into racing games so far, although I also have Call of Duty 3.
I just wish they’d address the quality issues - they really need to get the new-process (60 nm?) chipset done, to reduce the heat output, too. It’s unbelievable how much heat this thing produces, which is undoubtedly related to the reliability problems. I’ve had mine since last September and have had to send it in for replacement with a refurb once already. Getting it replaced took a rather long time - 2 or 3 weeks just to get the shipping box delivered, in the first place, although it went reasonably fast (”only” another 2 weeks or so) after that. I have no expectation at all that the replacement will be any more reliable. Also, I bought an extended warranty, to 3 years, but it’s not a replacement warranty. I guess this basically renders that useless. I should probably ask Future Shop for a refund on it, since I no longer need it.
Typical Microsoft, all around. Customer service and satisfaction is a largely unknown concept to them.
Red ring of death here, and no, it’s not from a bad lunch.
I remembered reading your post, and I got lucky in searching for it. Happened today with my son and I. The three red rings indicating hardware failure. I remember getting the extended plan from Best Buy, but I will have to find the paperwork or contact Best Buy to verify. I hope I don’t have to contact Microsoft. Oh well.