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Poll: Has your Xbox 360 been dealt the E74 error?
Move over RRoD, it looks like there's a new Xbox 360 hardware failure in town. According to anecdotal data collected by Joystiq as well as Google Trends, there's been a steady rise in reports and discussion of the E74 error since mid-October, with no apparent correlation between any specific model or year of purchase. From what we can tell, the E74 error is related to video problems caused by either a faulty AV connector or, more often, a loosened ANA / HANA scaling chip. Symptoms include visual glitches like random lines or snow and a single red light on the console in the lower right quadrant (see picture). The time frame for the rise in issues makes NXE and its November debut a suspect, but it's worth noting that the uptick started just before that launch, so perhaps it has more to do with hiccups caused by spurred interest in turning on the console after a long period of dormancy. We're curious to know how the issue has affected the Engadget readership. Has your Xbox 360 gotten the Red Arc of Death? Let us know in the poll below.%Poll-28318%Read - Joystiq SurveyRead - Google Trends [Via Negative Gamer]
Joystiq survey: Xbox 360 E74 errors on the rise since NXE [update]
var digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/19/joystiq-survey-xbox-360-e74-errors-on-the-rise-since-nxe/'; When we recently posted about the Xbox 360's E74 error and asked for your input, we weren't prepared for the staggering response we'd receive. Within a few hours, we had dozens of emails from readers like you who had experienced this particular hardware failure (typically caused, according to unofficial web reports, by a loose scaling chip). It was surprising to touch such a nerve, but what really knocked us for a loop was what we found when we started compiling the data sent to us.
Is your Xbox 360 an E74 victim?
[Update 2: The results are in, check them all out right here.]Considering the Red Ring of Death (to put it kindly) debacle, we're going to be extremely careful with what we say here. We're starting to see and receive numerous reports from readers, friends and in forums like this of Xbox 360s becoming the victims of an error labeled by the console as "E74." We've received only a few of these reports (two in '07; one in '08) prior to the recent barrage of complaints. When contacted, a Microsoft rep told Joystiq she wasn't familiar with the problem (the company is currently looking into it), so here's what we've been able to piece together by ourselves:The E74 error seems to be related to video problems. It's occasionally caused by a faulty AV cord, but more often than not, the solder on the ANA/HANA (in HDMI models) scaling chip has come loose. In fact, many have reported creating a temporary fix by wrapping pennies in electrical tape and weighing the ANA/HANA down. (For the record, we're not suggesting you do that.) Before the error, the system usually starts showing graphical problems like lines across the screen or snow. It's accompanied by one red light in the lower right-hand quadrant. So, we've got a poll right after the break where you can weigh in with your own experience. Also, if you've got more details, we'd love it if you would email us here.[Update 1: Our friends at Negative Gamer just sent this interesting Google Trends result our way. As you can see, E74 was basically a non-issue until August of 2008. Interesting ...]
Broken Xbox 360? Be happy you don't live in Nome, Alaska
We almost all have Red Ring of Death stories at this point, but few compare to that of Kim Galleher in Nome, Alaska. The Seattle Times reports on the mother's month-long quest to get her 13-year-old son's Xbox 360's RRoD warranty honored by Microsoft. Turns out the main situation revolves around MS not sending a coffin because Galleher's address wasn't recognized -- it's speculated in the piece this is because the United States Postal Service delivers mail in the region to post-office boxes. Meanwhile, other attempts to circumvent the address glitch with Microsoft also failed. Although Galleher's circumstances are slightly out of standard parameters, the whole piece reads like one giant failure in customer service.One of the better parts in the story is Galleher wrote a letter to Xbox honcho Robbie Bach, stating that Microsoft ought to be "ashamed that a group of women at Victoria Secret can figure out how to send a bra to [her] via UPS and yet Microsoft can't figure out how to send an empty box."For fairness, we contacted the Nome, Alaska visitor's bureau to get a little more background about the mail situation in the town, located at the end of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The incredibly pleasant woman on the phone said she had the same problem when dealing with another computer warranty situation and the post-office box issue causes problems from time to time. As for Galleher, Microsoft contacted her directly through an advocate to inform her a "repaired console" should arrive by March 17.[Thanks, Matt S.]
Xbox 360 red ring of death problems (finally) solved?
Is your Xbox 360 red in the face? No, not that kind of red, but facing that painstakingly loathsome red ring of death? Well, if group product manager Aaron Greenberg knows anything about the situation -- and we'd imagine he does -- then it looks like the guys at Microsoft have finally found a solution to many gamers' worst nightmares. In an interview with Edge Online, Greenberg said that through repairs they've done as well as updated technology, the guys in Redmond are pretty confident that afflicted consoles should be nonexistent in the not so distant future and that they've "put the worst behind us on this." So, breathe easy obsessive gamers, you needn't worry about getting an infected console any more -- we hope.[Via Yahoo! Games]
Microsoft on RROD: The worst is behind us
Talking with Edge Online, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg discusses the past and present Xbox 360 hardware situation, claiming that those bleak days of RROD failure are (mostly) over."What it comes down to is isolating and figuring out the issue, fixing the issue, and the more that we can fix the issue, and know it's fixed, then we're good going forward," said Greenberg. "We've put the worst behind us on this, but we know there are a few lagging systems, and so we want to take those and make it right." Hopefully, Microsoft can move towards a brighter future with its more reliable Jasper technology and leave its problematic hardware past behind. Those early RROD days were really, really, really bad and we welcome any improvement in hardware quality. If not for Microsoft's sake, at least for ours. Sending out RROD condolence cards is getting old.
Counting Rupees: Once bitten, twice shy
Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming: This past week, my 360 finally gave up the ghost. It began with an occasional hard freeze, and a day later was freezing every two or three minutes – a tell-tale symptom of impending red rings of death. Unfortunately, my Xbox exhibited all of the symptoms except an actual series of red rings: a problem that, as the Microsoft support agent informed me, meant that my device was no longer covered by the extended warranty. There goes $99. A series of problems sending me e-mails (and later the actual shipping box) have cost me at least a month of playing time ... during the busiest gaming season of the year. The point is not to complain about my problems per se – I'm hardly the first gamer to have experienced these issues and I'm sure that I won't be the last. But since I haven't been playing, I've had a lot of time to think about the implications of these issues on hardware manufacturers, publishers, developers, and even retailers. Do my problems matter to the businesses that care about me?
Engadget Podcast 119 - 11.21.2008
Back for more, eh? Well you've come to the right place -- the Engadget Podcast! Join Josh, Paul, and Nilay as they take you on a magical journey through the trials and tribulations of the BlackBerry Storm, investigate the legal situation of the Apple-cloning operation known as Psystar, dish on the latest Zune and Xbox happenings, and lament the forthcoming death of FireWire as it cedes its high-speed throne to USB 3.0. And just think, access to this treasure-trove of information is yours free of charge! Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, and Nilay Patel Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: Paranoid 00:02:25 - BlackBerry Storm review 00:32:35 - Psystar's antitrust claims against Apple dismissed 00:53:59 - Microsoft revamps Zune Pass: keep ten tracks per month forever and ever 01:02:43 - Microsoft ratchets down pricing on flash-based Zunes 01:02:39 - NXE hitting 360s with red ring, freezing and sorta-sexy-avatar issues? 01:06:45 - Goodbye, FireWire 400 Subscribe to the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.
Microsoft to open 'Avatar Store' next year
A Microsoft staffer has revealed that, beginning next year, users of the New Xbox Experience will be able to use an "Avatar Store" to buy clothes and other branded items for their avatars. What's with the surprised expressions everyone? Oh, sorry, did you not totally see this coming?Robin Burrowes, European product manager for Xbox Live, told Videogamer.com, "The plan of record will be to launch a more extensive Avatar Store from spring time onwards next year, and that store in theory would have branded content in there, game publisher IP stuff in there as well."What shirt do we most look forward to spending our hard-earned cash on? Why, a red-ringer-T, of course! Thank you.[Via X3F]
Microsoft sued in California for faulty Xbox 360s
According to DailyGamesNews, Microsoft is the target of a class action lawsuit in California, alleging that not only have too many Xbox 360s failed, but that the company concealed the fact to "compete with the pending launch of Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii gaming systems." If it loses the suit, Microsoft would have to "disgorge" all the cash it made on the 360 and implement a refund program in California.... Ladies and gentlemen, our economy is hurting. Now is the time for us to rally around our gigantic corporations, not try to tear them down! Did you know that Bill Gates is only the planet's third richest man now? Can you imagine how that must feel, being a hair's breadth from being surpassed by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal? No. No, we bet you can't.You know that part of the beach where there's only one set of bald-eagle-skin loafer footprints? That's where he carried you.
Microsoft fires tester for speaking out about red rings
When tester Robert Delaware spoke with VentureBeat about problems with the 360 hardware, he said he did so because he "believes passionately in his work ... and in the Xbox 360 gamer community." Now, Delaware has been rewarded for that passion by being fired by Microsoft. Lest there be any doubt about Delaware's job performance, VB reports that a Microsoft manager told him it was as a direct result of aiding with the article.The twist? Well, we're going to have to side with the giant corporation on this one. If Microsoft was still insisting that nothing was wrong, that would be one thing, but its decision is already hurting it both in the pocketbook and in the reputation department. Plus, Delaware even said he knew this was a possible repercussion of his actions. We hate for anybody to be out of a gig, but our advice to Delaware would be this: There's a reason some sources are anonymous, and it's not just so they can wear cool hats and hang out in dimly lit parking garages.
Rumor: The five-hour Xbox 360 relaunch Sept. 25
VGChartz is running a megaton rumor about the launch of the new Xbox 360 dashboard. It has our curiosity piqued because of its creativity and sheer audacity. The story goes that Microsoft will have a five-hour televised countdown beginning September 25 at 7PM Eastern leading to the New Xbox Experience and the software-based relaunch of the console at midnight.Allegedly, G4 will cover the event exclusively and Live members will be able to stream it. The rumor gets even bigger by saying that three new components of the NXE will be unveiled when the update happens at midnight. First is a partnership with Sirius Radio, allowing users to access the satellite radio station for a "modest monthly fee." Then there's the music store page -- think iTunes, except on your Xbox. Finally, there's the "mad lib" page, though nobody seems to know what the _______ it is.Sending this whole thing into overdrive, the source claims Microsoft will announce 12 new titles "exclusive or first" on the 360, including Assassin's Creed 2, Mass Effect 2, a new Conker game and two new Halo titles. Also, six free original Xbox games will be available to download, with Halo being one of them.The whole thing sounds like madness (and fanboy conjecture), but given the Xbox 360's slipping sales, a mega-event relaunch might just be the reset button the company needs for the console best-known to general consumers for the RRoD. The whole rumor isn't even that insane when we recall how Microsoft went all-out for the first Xbox 360 launch and, if Microsoft execs are to be believed, this is "an entirely new Xbox" made possible by "the magic of software."[Via X3F]%Gallery-27601%
Rumor: Xbox 360's defect rate was as high as 68%
According to VentureBeat's own Dean Takahashi and his numerous insider sources, 68% of all the early manufactured Xbox 360 consoles were defective and Microsoft knew it. Takahashi does mention that it's common industry knowledge that "early yields on electronic goods are almost always lousy", but in the case of the 360, the problem was never fixed and production of the defective consoles went as planned. Because, you know, Microsoft had launch plans to stick to.Again, this is all rumor seeing that Microsoft would never admit to such knowledge or such high defective rate numbers, but let's say they knew that 68% of all their consoles had a potential for failure. If so, shame on them, but we think they learned their lesson.[Via Eurogamer]
Dean Takahashi completes chronicles of Xbox 360 red ring of death
By now we have all heard of (or experienced) the infamous Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death, and we also pretty much know what causes it. Heck, we've even seen ways to avoid it by spending more money on fixes instead of going through Microsoft's replace / refurbish / replace process. In what he calls his final chapter on an extensive bit of investigative journalism, Dean Takahashi uncovers the early quality control-absent rush to market that resulted in a massive number of Xbox 360s being sent to market despite known design flaws. Dean goes on to propose that all this has kept Microsoft from winning this round of the console wars, as costs to keep the consoles working crippled Microsoft from aggressive marketing measures such as price cuts. In the end, he concludes (via an anonymous quote) that Microsoft treated the Xbox 360's launch like a software company would, as if some future patch would cover up the inherent problems with the console's design.
Opus-model 360s begining to flow?
Thanks to a tipster in our last post, we've now heard our first real world tale of the previously rumored "Zombie Repaired" 360, code named Opus. The Opus "model" is for those who have had their 360's red ring and have sent them off to Microsoft for repair. In an effort to use (instead of toss) the older Xenon motherboards, Microsoft is basically upgrading repaired 360's with the Falcon model chips (65nm CPU, 90nm GPU) and one of the older motherboards that doesn't have have HDMI, effectively creating a zombie 360 that cannot be purchased in stores. According to a specific poster over at GameTrailers, when a repaired RROD is now returned to its owner it includes a slip of paper marked "OPUS" as well as a new power supply. So if you've recently had a 360 red ring, keep an eye out for that little slip of paper when it returns, as it basically says that your 360 is now of the undead, and thus is quite unlikely to ever die again.
Robbie Bach: broken Xbox 360s did not affect brand preference
Fun fact: the Xbox 360 hardware issues did not affect customers' overall view of the console. Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Group, told a group of reporters, "The amazing part of that whole situation is that when we look at brand preference, customer satisfaction, willingness to recommend, none of that data has moved through that whole process" (via VentureBeat). In case you think you misread that, Bach continues. "It speaks to the fact that they love their games and Xbox Live. Does it frustrate them? Yes. On the other hand, they know we're taking care of them," he said. Bach, who was not part of yesterday's executive reshuffle, covered quite a few topics (and managed to dodge most of them): the next Xbox console, Japan failures, a hinted Wii remote, "Wii 360" and the loss of Bizarre Creations.
Analyst blames Xbox RRoD on MS-designed graphics chip
With Microsoft remaining officially mum on the reasons behind the wave of Xbox 360-killing red rings of death, owners and experts have speculated on causes ranging from cheap heat sinks to bad soldering to power surges. Now, Gartner Research Vice President and Chief Analyst Bryan Lewis thinks he's honed in on the real reason behind the system failures: cheap, Microsoft-designed graphics processors.Speaking at the Design Automation Conference, Lewis said Microsoft tried to save a few million dollars by designing the Xbox 360's GPU in-house, rather than farming the design out to an experienced, approved application-specific integrated circuit vendor. Lewis chalked the high failure rate to Microsoft's inexperience designing such chips. "How many ASICs per year does Microsoft design? Not many.," Lewis said. "The ASIC vendor could have been able to design a graphics processor that dissipates much less power."The irony is that Microsoft is widely believed to have gone to experienced ASIC-designer ATI for a redesigned Xbox 360 graphics chip in the middle of 2007. So, in addition to spending over a billion dollars on a warranty extension, Microsoft probably still ended up having to spend the few million dollars they were trying to avoid in the first place. Smooth move, ex-lax.[Thanks copa.]
Rumor: MS's chip design team caused RROD fiasco
This week, EETimes.com posted an interesting article regarding what they believe to be the truth behind the Xbox 360's RROD problems which led to last year's 360 "recall". And they're firmly placing all the blame on Microsoft and their attempt to save a few bucks.Even though they formally acknowledged it with billion dollar warranty extensions, Microsoft never completely revealed what the cause of the Xbox 360's RROD hardware problems were. The reason for this, as EETimes speculates, is because MS's 360 graphics chip design team is to blame for creating a faulty chip design that was prone to overheating. This "in house" chip development is sort of a rarity, seeing that companies usually leave the design of specialized chips to an outside application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) vendor who has more experience in designing specialized chips. But that would have costed MS tens of millions of dollars, so they decided to leave it to their own, less experienced design team. A decision that could have led to the billion dollar RROD fiasco and a giant blow to the Xbox 360's overall image. If this speculation is true, we hope MS learned their lesson. Albeit the hard way.
Poll: Are you having technical issues with GTA IV?
We've heard about various reports of the technical problems with Grand Theft Auto IV. We're conducting a network-wide poll with our friends at X3F and PS3 Fanboy to see how the Joystiq community has been afflicted with the issues. After voting, please let us know your specific problems in the comments below. Are you having problems with Grand Theft Auto IV? Yes, and I use the Xbox 360 Yes, and I use the 60GB PS3 Yes, and I use the non-60GB PS3 (please specify in comments) No problem (Xbox 360) No problem (60GB PS3) No problem (non-60GB PS3; please specify in comments) Don't own the game, I just felt compelled to click something
GTA IV Poll results: Achievements, DLC put 360 ahead
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/GTA_IV_Poll_results_Achievements_DLC_put_360_ahead'; Last week, Joystiq (with some help from PS3 Fanboy and Xbox 360 Fanboy) asked you which version of Grand Theft Auto IV you were planning to purchase. We got a great response from everyone, with over 38,400 votes coming in! Check out the results after the break, as well as a breakdown of the reasons (as noted in the comments section).%Gallery-3442%
