When I first glanced at this piece of gaming news, my eyes nearly bugged out of my head. Once I dug a little deeper to find the source of the article, I had to stifle the urge to laugh. I'm still thinking that this newly christened website is going anti-360 as a joke of sorts, but I'm grabbing this just for kicks. Hey, it could've happened, right? Anyway, you know you've reached an all-time low, when potentially fake websites sound off and refuse to do business with you, due to quality concerns:
"It is my sad duty to let you know that as of today, February 21st 2008, Next Gen Ireland will be suspending all Xbox 360 coverage indefinitely. Why? You ask! Let us tell the reasons behind our decision! Here at our offices, Next Gen Ireland currently has three Xbox 360 consoles that are used to review games. Over the past week, each one of these consoles decided to give us the dreaded red rings of death in succession. Now we all know that Microsoft have decided to extend the warranty on consoles experiencing this issue, but from our dealings with Microsoft Ireland directly, it's not as simple as that.
Firstly, original proof of purchase is still required. While not an odd request, we personally don't hold onto receipts for 2.5 years. We were told to go back into the store where we bought our machines and get our receipts re printed. Shockingly enough, HMV, GAME and Xtra Vision where unable to help us with this request. We were given the brush off by Microsoft and as paying customers (over 1.5k was initially spent on these consoles when they were first released) we feel very disappointed in their after care service."
All jokes aside, I get the point that they are trying to make. We've all been through the ringer when it comes to our Xbox 360s. If only Microsoft would've been more pro-active, and less reactive (after the fact), we could've been reading about how one of the best consoles ever made continued to mop the floor with the competition. Instead, we get endless jokes and skits about how Microsoft failed the consumer, while chasing after the Golden Fleece.
Paging Bill Gates: we officially have a problem on our hands. Right about now, Sony must be thanking whatever deity it is that they fawn over, that they put some quality into their expensive hardware in the first place.
[Via MaxConsole]
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Contest:
2:44 PM on 02.21.2008
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:(
Sometimes you just have to slap a bitch.
Good for them . . . I guess? It makes a good point . . . but it kind of gives the 25% (I DON"T KNOW THE REAL NUMBERS!) of euro console users a reason not to follow their coverage.
But it makes a decent point. I'm a fan of ruckus like this.
Sweet!
Blowing the cartridge, angling the PS2 and now, smacking the 360.
Brilliant!
I still find it hard to fault them for trying to do the same thing Sony did last time around. PS2 had some pretty embarrassing hardware failures too, but still came out on top. As someone who will eventually own all systems, I'm not too concerned with who comes out on top, but I do hope that Microsoft's console has a longer life span this time around.
The life of the hardware; however, is another story. Shit should've been fixed lonnnnnnnnnng ago. The 360 wasn't just released yesterday, guys.
I have the additional heatsink in mine and I am just hoping that it will last. 7 months problem free and counting...
I'm still not happy with a failure in less than a year of light use, but that did make me feel a *little* better. And if you're under warranty, you can still get a service contract... it costs a lot less than the $100 they try to stick you with to repair it!
Great software? Check.
Great Online service? Check. They even get money for it.
Hardware? Hardware? Hey! Wake the fuck up! We just need the damn thing to work. What's the big deal?
Idea: [b[KEEP THE FUCKING RECEIPT IN THE BOX[/b]. No wonder Uwe Boll is still making movies. Gamers are fucking retarded.
I did. Some jackass in my house threw the box out because they thought it was trash. To this day I don't know who did it. But I'll have my revenge...
It's not so much that the tides have turned. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo equally feel the sting for things that anger their customers. It just so happens that the 360 is the one with the hardware issue, and no excuse for it.
Had this been Sony or Nintendo, they'd take their lumps too.
Don't be so quick to call people assholes, asshole. :)
Anyway, I went through the song and dance with MS repairs- they told me to send it in, we don't need a receipt. So I sent it in, and got an un-repaired 360 returned to me COD ($41.76!). I then spent the next month (i kid you not) on the phone with MS EVERY NIGHT to try to work out why the 360 wasn't repaired. Eventually, I found out the Jabil, the company that actually does the repairs in Texas, had 'flagged' my console as being either tampered with, or that I was a reseller trying to repair multiple 360's. Since the warrantyh sticker was intact, and this was my first contact with MS support in any way whatsoever, even the reps on the phone knew that the flag was incorrect. The problem was, they all said that there was nothing they could do about it! Eventually, they told me that there was nothing more they could do, and I was screwed.
So, being EXTREMELY pissed off at that point, i contacted the Better Business Bureau and the Washington State Attorney General's Office. I never heard back form the AG, but MS responded to my BBB file, and got my 360 repaired. I'm still waiting for the refund of my COD charges, but at least I'm playing Mass Effect- the damn console red-ringed the day before M.E. came out.
Anyway, the moral of my rambling story is that if MS is trying to screw you out of warranty support, go to the BBB!!!
It's just plain sloppy letting the product hang out there like that. Have they stopped caring about their rep?
I sent it and about 2 weeks later a new xbox arrived.
I got A+ consumer service from microsoft.
That is exactly 100% correct. Any company with a high hardware failure rate shouldn't release their defective product into the market. If they do, expect to take Immediate action to fix the situation by having a RE-CALL of all defective products and replacing them with a fixed version. Not a refurbished version with the problem STILL on it
That my friend, would have been the correct measure from Microsoft on the Xbox360. I even said it right when RROD exploded all over the world, but I KNEW Microsoft was going to loose couple of billions more to be able do that, so they went with the cheaper solution, 3 year warranty... What? a 3 Year warranty? so f???in what! Dam console is still defective and it is guaranteed to break!
Personal Experience Comparison:
Sony tried to hide their PS2 problems claiming nothing was ever wrong with it, But at LEAST they replaced it silently and said "shhh, dun wurry kido, ill fix it for free if you stay quiet" which it happened to me, it was excellent quality assurance by Sony, and after that, my PS2 is still alive and kicking after 7 years. (also my PS1 is still working)
So now you guys see why I am more towards Sony than MS concerning hardware quality assurance. With Nintendo, well I just had a broken rib from the wiimote, but that at least is laughable. RROD is not :(
that made me giggle coming from an anti-ps3 and americanized site such as this.
I think they only get an A+ if the product that costs hundreds of dollars works THE FIRST TIME, as far as i'm concerned, microsoft is getting all they deserve.
The best they can hope for is "Meh, they're alright" after the RROD fiasco
I beat Mass effect, and I wouldn't mind going back and playing it again, but because it's not required to play again, I just don't want to risk it.
What kind of fun gaming system forces you to tip-toe around it?
Now, I like my 360, I think its a great console and I've enjoyed many hours on it but the hardware is shit, I'm on my 4th and now this one is giving me troubles because the disc tray fucks up and thinks I'm trying to open it(I'm not) and it kicks me out of whatever I'm doing at the time, very frustrating.
My friend sent his in after his visuals and audio fucked up, got it back 2 weeks later, played it one day, red rings, another had his 3rd fuck up on him and he gave up on MS, sold everything and bought a PS3.
This is further compounded by the content being tied to the machine, you send yours in, they grab one off the repair line and send it back, you are fucked if you got your DLC via going to a friend's house like I had to do.
I can't help but think that MS would be doing even better in sales if they fixed this problem. I would be ashamed of myself if a console I designed had these problems and the company as a whole should be even more ashamed that one of their machines red ringed during one of the biggest game events around especially after all they shit they talked on how it was fixed.
Congrats MS, you came out first, got a good lead but you cheaped out and everyone is sick of it.
02/21/2008 15:51
"we could've been reading about how one of the best consoles ever made continued to mop the floor with the competition"
that made me giggle coming from an anti-ps3 and americanized site such as this.
totally agree with you
@MS: Fix your shit. Mine has been fine for 2 years, but obviously I'm in the minority
Doubtful, you're probably just one of the lucky ones. The RROD problem is indeed a problem, but it's not 100%. There will always been those who got an old 360 that never quit out on them.
Same can be said about my PS2... despite all the stories of hardware failure, i got mine on launch and it STILL works alright... only remote problem is that it doesn't like playing DVD movies that much, but otherwise it's all good
Americanized? Um, well a good chunk of Destructoid do live in America... is that what you mean?