The Guide: Red Ring of Luck
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates.
Aaron Greenberg recently told Edge that Microsoft has "put the worst behind us" regarding the Red Ring of Death, the infamous mark of a dead Xbox 360. He noted that there are still some consoles out there that are affected by the widespread issue, but that Microsoft wants to make it right. That got me thinking. I'm not sure what's more amazing, that Microsoft shipped such an incredibly faulty piece of hardware, or that it's still managed to be successful.
There was a time when I would have chalked up the reports of mass Xbox 360 failures to internet hysteria. We deal with internet hysteria a lot around here. It's only natural, really. If something fails, you're inclined to look for answers. Savvy gamers are likely to turn to the internet. A quick Google will turn up a news item or a forum post with dozens of people claiming they've had similar problems. The next time someone has a problem, they'll wind up commenting on the same forum, eventually making problems seem bigger than they are.
As I said, there was a time when I believed 360 errors were blown out of proportion. That was before consoles all around me started dropping like flies. I'm relatively lucky, having only been through two Xbox 360s so far (fingers crossed my third will last). Some writers around here have gone through as many as four consoles, and I'm only aware of one who hasn't suffered a Red Ring (and he's only had his 360 since September). That's ridiculous. What's possibly more ridiculous is that we keep coming back like a girl with a deadbeat boyfriend. Sure, he's unreliable, but damn it if he isn't handsome.
It's gotten to the point that it's commonplace. It's actually accepted. Hell, Robbie Bach even said that the RROD fiasco had no affect on brand preference at all. How bizarre is that? Typically, if a piece of electronics breaks, I never buy that brand again, and I think that applies to a lot of people. My first DVD player crapped out on me for no reason at all, and you can bet I stayed away from that brand -- incidentally, don't buy anything made by GoVideo. Why haven't we all given up on the Xbox? Plenty of people have, I'm sure, but let's examine why others don't.
Obviously, there are some key differences between an Xbox 360 (or any game console, for that matter) and a DVD player. For one, only a Microsoft manufactured Xbox 360 will play 360 games. If your Xbox 360 breaks, you can't just go out and buy a different brand. To that end, abandoning Xbox also means abandoning any games you own. If that's the case, why not just sell the games, buy a PS3 and pick up the same games?
Fortunately for Microsoft, it enjoyed a strong position when the RROD media frenzy was at its peak (around the summer of 2007). The PS3 was much more expensive. Of course, it's still more expensive, but developers have gotten much better at developing for PS3, which means simultaneous cross-platform releases are the norm and there is little, if any, disparity between each version. The Wii offered a completely different philosophy altogether, which left users with a choice: Fix their unreliable 360 or pay a lot more for a PS3 and an (arguably) inferior software library. Thanks to the fact that Microsoft was smart enough to take the financial hit and offer free repairs, the decision was that much easier to make.
Who knows, had the Playstation 3 been a little cheaper or had a stronger library, the console landscape might look radically different today (although the Wii would probably still be dominating). I realize I'm simplifying things. For instance, I'm not factoring in how much of an influence Xbox Live has, but the overall question is still interesting to consider.
I'd like to close by putting a question to readers out there. For those who have suffered the Red Ring of Death, did you abandon it in favor of another console? If not, what made you stay?
