Is Microsoft getting in it’s own way?
GameIndustry wrote an interesting article regarding the unapologetically surprising success of Microsoft’s XBox 360 and how at this juncture, in it’s battle to succeed over Sony, it’s dominance may be undermined by what they so eloquently describe as the “problem of hardware reliability and customer service, an area in which the Xbox 360 has a track record that is nothing short of utterly appalling.“
Now, I can only rely on my personal experience to expound upon, because while my 360 has never caught the Red Ring Flu, I got a bunk disk tray that refuses to close, and in those few uncertain moments where the drive pretends to operate correctly, it conjures up noises I’ve not heard since I decided to take a pair of pliers to an old broken stereo I dissected when I was 13.
What happened to consoles that lasted through an entire generation? I owned one NES when I was 8 years old, and as of last summer, it still works. Yea, yea, I get it - technology has changed and the components of current-gen machines are far more complex than those of yore, but let’s put this into perspective, shall we? The NES was a more complex machine than, say the Atari, and it was cutting edge for it’s time.
So, is it just sour grapes on my part? My 360 was two months out of their retroactive year warranty so I’m forced to pay to fix a machine fourteen months after I bought it new - yea, I guess it is sour grapes, but when I invest $400 into a piece of technology, I expect it to not fall apart after 14 months. So now, I get to watch Bioshock, Mass Effect and Halo 3 approach with naught but a tear in my eye. Wish me luck in saving up to pay to have it fixed.
To their credit though, they have updated their repair policy to include free shipping, a renewed year warranty for out-of-warranty consoles, the return of same console sent in (rather than a replacement console) and faster turnaround for repairs. I guess I have something to look forward to.
Read [GameIndustry] Also Read [Kotaku]
Keep up with the latest Gaming news! - 
Subscribe to our feed →
Expectations do seem to have fallen. The PS2, especially units produced early in the console’s life cycle, are notorious for wearing out. Of the four 360’s I’ve played, only mine has survived without replacement, and I’ve only just stepped into the third month just recently. That said, it occasionally has difficulty reading game discs for no apparent reason.
Compare this to my clunky old Game Boy from 1990, which was at one point run over by a car on a gravel drive way. If I gather the nerve to install the four AA batteries it needs, it will still gladly oblige and power on. It usually takes a lot of blowing and a few tries to get a game to boot properly, but it still works. My SNES from 1991 has a mysterious problem rendering it in operable, but that was only a year ago that it finally failed.
DVD based systems do have moving parts that strain, and machines heat up a lot more than they used to, but I agree: when I’ve paid $400, and the machine decides to kick the bucket so soon, I don’t want to be left out to dry. If it was less expensive, it wouldn’t be a problem, but $400 isn’t throwing around money.
on May 25, 2007 at 01:23 AM - LINK