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Red Ring Chronicles Pt 3: The Return
It looks like the Red Ring Chronicles have come to an end. After languishing unnecessarily in a Texas warehouse for several days, my 360 was picked up by UPS. I knew this because the tracking number I'd gotten over a week ago from Microsoft was finally recognized by the UPS website. The next day was a feverish wait for the UPS truck, a wait that did not end until well past 6:00 PM. Twilight Princess and hard liquor were all that stood between me and a state of feral insanity. And then, there he was: the UPS guy. I had discovered a while ago that I would be receiving a refurbished Xbox 360 -- I saw that my serial had magically changed on service.xbox.com, you see -- which is unfortunate. Still, it was all in one piece, no weird rattling or anything like that. The package came with a note and a free 1 month Xbox Live subscription. So, that's nice. But, as any 360 enthusiast knows, there is more to getting back your Xbox than simply plugging it in and making sure it works. Oh no, getting back into the swing of things is a process.
Peter Moore chats about failures, new warranty
Speaking to Joystiq in a conference call, Peter Moore addressed some of the implications brought on by the recent Xbox 360 warranty extension. Among the topics discussed was Microsoft's speed at reacting to the situation. While it seems like complaints have been mounting for ages, Moore notes that time was needed to "gather data and weigh the financial implications" as well as identifying the hardware problems themselves. Before you ask, no, Moore did not reveal what those problems were, nor did he reveal Xbox 360 failure percentages. According to Moore, Microsoft has "no intention" of doing such a thing, as they see "no value" in doing so. Moore also discusses the apparent disappearance of Xbox 360 Elites and why the warranty extension applies only to the Red Ring of Death and not Xbox 360s with disc scratching problems. Head over to Joystiq for the full report.
BBC slams 360 defects, MS responds
The BBC television program, Watchdog, caused a stir yesterday after airing a segment decrying faulty Xbox 360s. Specifically, the hosts noted that Watchdog has receive 248 separate complaints about the Xbox 360, with the number increasing as Xbox 360s are no longer covered by warranty. In other words, it was as though 360s seemed to break just after warranty expired. The episode showcases victims of the Ring of Death® and tells their tragic tales.Today, Microsoft responded to the allegations, saying that the majority of Xbox 360 owners have an "outstanding" experience. MS also notes that their is no systemic fault in Xbox 360 hardware and that each failure is investigated on a case-by-case basis. Finally, while Microsoft admits isolated cases of unexpected performance, they also note that the failure rate is "significantly less" than the industry standard of 3-5%.While the majority of our 360 owning bloggers have been problem free, there have been some "isolated reports" of hardware failure around here as well. Our own Dustin Burg is on his third. We're certainly not here to open up the complaint bin, but we would be curious to see the real failure statistics, something Microsoft has yet to reveal.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
What's inside the Big Box Project?
A malfunctioning Xbox 360, that's what. After being bathed in the dreaded red lights of doom for the second time, one Xbox 360 owner was decidedly unimpressed to learn that his second return would not enjoy the same level of service that the initial one did. Customer support informed him that a recent change in Microsoft policy did away with round-trip shipping boxes -- instead, he would have to provide his own packaging and pay for the shipping to the repair center. Irked by the policy change, our protagonist saw the opportunity for revenge when he was told of another Microsoft policy. It dictates that when the repairs are completed, the console is sent back to the customer within the same box it arrived in, at Microsoft's expense. Thus, The Big Box Project was born. "The mission is simple; to raise enough money through donations to send the largest box possible... a shipping container. I want a 40 foot solid steel shipping container with nothing in it but my poor little xbox 360."The site's creator suggests that if enough Paypal donations come through, the shipping container will be taken on tour, gathering up broken Xbox 360s across the country. Joystiq can't verify what happens to donations, but if you're going to lose money to a scam, at least make sure it's an amusing one.[Thanks chEv3lle.]
Save money, smack some sense into your 360
This one goes out to all those people who don't want to shell out $130 (plus shipping) to fix their 360 after receiving the dreaded Red Ring of Death®. This guy has a modified -- and not working -- 360. He turns it on and, sure enough, receives the red lights. What can he do? Call up tech support and try to bargain that $130 dollars down to an oh-so-attractive $115? Give up altogether? No, as the resourceful gamer knows only too well, if all else fails, smack it! Just beat the crap out of any malfunctioning piece of electronics, and there is a 50/50 chance it will be right as rain. So, before you send in that junked 360 for expensive repairs, be sure to give it a good beating first.[Via Joystiq]
