Microsoft: The Double Whammy [Archive] - Quarter To Three Forums

Moggraider

06-21-2010, 03:54 PM

My Zune died today. Not for the first time. "Contact Support," says the screen display. No chance of repair. It's out of warranty, sadly. My computer won't recognize it when I plug it in. No amount of resetting the Zune fixes things. Even with an empty hard drive, like it's been lately, there seems to be no hope.

My 360 died today too. RROD. The sad thing is the thing's from 2006. No recourse for me. Why, God? Why?

There's no real pleasure in life.

I'm buying a Zune HD (despite the inevitable line refresh in September... grr), but hell if I get another 360. Eff you, Microsoft.

kerzain

06-21-2010, 03:55 PM

This is Microsoft's way of giving you a good reason to purchase the new xBox 360 Slim.

bago

06-21-2010, 03:57 PM

I hope my next box is a slim. This will be my third. Fourth if you count the stolen one.

Mark Asher

06-21-2010, 04:12 PM

I hope my next box is a slim. This will be my third. Fourth if you count the stolen one.

That's kind of amazing. I can't believe how many of these 360s fail.

Eric T Cheng

06-21-2010, 04:14 PM

That's kind of amazing. I can't believe how many of these 360s fail.

One of my ex-coworkers went through about eight 360s (he had the Best Buy warranty).

Moggraider

06-21-2010, 04:38 PM

Hmm; XboxSupport is tweeting me, but I doubt they'll be any help. [EDIT: twitter link removed; XboxSupport just linked me to an FAQ, then told me to do a paid repair].

This is terrible. In a single day, I'm down $400 cuz of Microsoft's reliability problems. Oy.

Hagbard Celine

06-21-2010, 04:39 PM

My 360 RROD'ed on me twice. Thankfully I was able to send it in for repairs with free shipping. Lately in the last year or so the disc drive started sticking and not opening properly. Now it takes a lot of coaxing, a lot of pushing the button, to get it to open at all. Plus for some games, like the Halos, it just refuses to stay closed and keeps trying to open. Which is sad because while it often does not succeed in opening on its own it still dumps me back to the dashboard whenever this happens. Eventually it cooperates and let's me get on with my gaming, but not without 10-20 minutes of dicking around with it. I don't know if it's still under warranty or not but I suspect it isn't. As a result of this most major releases that are multiconsole I just get on PS3.

Really looking forward to Crackdown 2 and Halo: Reach though!

I know I can replace the dvd drive in my 360 but it's a huge hassle to do so because you have to do things to get the 360 to accept the new drive, not to mention that actual process of installing it. So lately most of my Xbox gaming has been through the Xbox Live Arcade, which has a pretty good library of stuff on it by now. I still love the 360 as a platform and everything, I just wish MS hadn't been so quick to rush to market and had spent some more time on it before unleashing it on the general public. Maybe build it with components that aren't guaranteed to break down in a couple years time. I don't know.

I guess that's what I get for adopting new technology early (got my 360 back in 2006).

Mark Asher

06-21-2010, 04:47 PM

I know people have bitched about issues with PC gaming, but isn't this Xbox stuff just as bad? It's ridiculous. How much downtime does every RROD cost an Xbox user?

sinfony

06-21-2010, 04:50 PM

I'm about to find out. Just printed my shipping label and dusted off the Wii.

Moggraider

06-21-2010, 04:51 PM

lulz. The XboxSupport Twitter told me to get a paid repair, then said "Cheers" when I said I was going PS3. No more suffering. That was my fifth and last 360.

Hagbard Celine

06-21-2010, 05:01 PM

I know people have bitched about issues with PC gaming, but isn't this Xbox stuff just as bad?

There was a time when I would have said no, but lately I'm of the same opinion.

There are a number of things that keep me from being a dedicated PC gamer, like the market moving towards consoles and my laziness in keeping my system current for gaming matched in equal parts by my inability to afford it. Plus I grew up playing just as many games on a Nintendo console as I did on the family 386.

But the technology in consoles was always simple enough that you could rely on it to work for you, most of the time (blowing on cartridges aside!), in a way that you couldn't count on with a PC. That reliability has steadily dwindled as consoles technologies have caught up to their PC analogs, to where now consoles are basically fixed platform PCs with all of the same general problems (delicate components wearing out, needing to be replaced) and with none of the benefits (ability to upgrade the hardware, etc.).

Which is a shame, because I truly do love my consoles and the gaming experiences they provide. I just wish they wouldn't break down as often.

On the plus side my PS3 seems to work pretty well so far, but I've only had it maybe a year. In the last few weeks I experienced hard lockups while playing Red Dead Redemption, which I just attributed to it being an open world Rockstar game. But then I got a hard lock during Infamous and now I'm starting to worry if I might need to replace the hard drive. Which I am quite capable of, but backing up my current data and installing a new drive would be almost as much of a hassle of replacing the dvd drive on my 360.

The time of people being able to use the argument that the consoles offer a level of convenience that PCs don't has ended, I am afraid.

Omniscia

06-21-2010, 05:04 PM

I know people have bitched about issues with PC gaming, but isn't this Xbox stuff just as bad? It's ridiculous. How much downtime does every RROD cost an Xbox user?

Mine cost me about three weeks. But I got a one-month Xbox Live Gold card out of it, so at least as far as that's concerned it was a net gain of one week.

Hagbard Celine

06-21-2010, 05:06 PM

I suppose I should mention that both times I sent my 360 to be fixed it wasn't out for more than a week or so before I got it back. So that's not so bad, I guess. Sucks that it broke in the first place though.

Brian Rubin

06-21-2010, 05:17 PM

forgeforsaken

06-21-2010, 05:20 PM

Ugh, that's awful Moggraider, I hope you enjoy your new PS3. I only own a PS3 -- my first console in ten years -- and I love it. People told me to get an Xbox for my first console, but I read a lot of similar reports of crashes and what not and decided against it.

It's kind of painfully obvious that the PS3 is your first console in 10 years with the way you keep gushing over every B-tier console game :P

Moggraider

06-21-2010, 05:25 PM

Well, the PS3 may have a disc drive die out from time to time, but it's definitely worth more praise than the 360. Never again.

Brian Rubin

06-21-2010, 05:35 PM

It's kind of painfully obvious that the PS3 is your first console in 10 years with the way you keep gushing over every B-tier console game :P
You know what? You can just...I mean you're a big...you don't even...*sighs*...yeah, you're right. ;)

A lot has changed since the Dreamcast. ;)

mkozlows

06-21-2010, 06:59 PM

I know people have bitched about issues with PC gaming, but isn't this Xbox stuff just as bad?

No. Every time my 360 broke, I called Microsoft (later, after they got their website in place, visited that instead), got a shipping label printed or a box mailed to me, and then put it in the mail, and got it back fixed a few weeks later.

I have a PC that intermittently crashes. It has been sitting disconnected for two months because I don't know if it's a hardware problem, a software problem, or what, and I just don't feel like spending the tens of hours debugging that it'll take to fix it. Oh, and my ThinkPad, just over three years old now, suddenly doesn't recognize its TrackPoint. Hardware problem? Weird driver thing? With a high level of technical knowledge, and a willingness to spend a lot of time, I'm sure I can figure it out, and from there I may or may not be able to fix it.

When PC makers let you ship your PC back for them to debug and fix it at their cost, then we'll have a comparable situation. Right now, though, PC problems suck a ton more.

mkozlows

06-21-2010, 07:01 PM

You know what? You can just...I mean you're a big...you don't even...*sighs*...yeah, you're right. ;)

A lot has changed since the Dreamcast. ;)

Ha, I know how you feel. Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie: Specifically the Movie King Kong: By Peter Jackson: The Game was my first console shooter since Goldeneye, and I was just blown away by how super-great it was. In retrospect, it was probably just pretty decent, but in my mind, it's still this incredible immersive thing.

triggercut

06-21-2010, 08:11 PM

If you post here and you own a 2006 360, you've known for 3 years that it wasn't a question of "if" but "when" on it going belly up. You should've invented a reason to coffin-ize it years ago when it was still under the extended warranty. That you're angry it failed is understandable. All of us who have had that happen share that with you. That you're surprised is kind of odd.

And a Zune? And one failed and you're buying another one?

Huh.

Mike Cathcart

06-21-2010, 08:19 PM

The Zune is a real thing?

Hagbard Celine

06-21-2010, 08:21 PM

I wouldn't say I'm surprised my 360 failed on me. I knew it was just a matter of time. I'm just expressing my disappointment that MS would ship such a shoddy product. Another thing I am not surprised at.

Papageno

06-21-2010, 08:26 PM

Speaking (or rather, writing) as someone who is on his first (Falcon) 360, which is almost 3 years old now, I have to ask, how have I been this lucky?
And if I had to choose between a freaking Zune and a new 360 (particularly this new one) I'd be all over the new 360. On the other hand, I keep most of my old games so I have an investment so to speak.

mkozlows

06-21-2010, 08:44 PM

Speaking (or rather, writing) as someone who is on his first (Falcon) 360, which is almost 3 years old now, I have to ask, how have I been this lucky?

Falcons are mostly reliable. They're still not super-awesome, but they're not the instadeath machines the early Xboxes were.

Bahimiron

06-21-2010, 08:47 PM

I'm surprised we even got a Gamespy Debriefing again after you'd tweeted at them about their epic failure. I would've expected such a cut to leave Anthony weeping for weeks.

Moggraider

06-21-2010, 09:05 PM

Look, man, I just wanted some kind of effective notice on them to spur them into reposting it right away, instead of three days later, or what turned out to actually be... NEVER.

As for the Zune... it beats the hell out of the iPod classic.

CLWheeljack

06-22-2010, 07:56 AM

Ha, I know how you feel. Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie: Specifically the Movie King Kong: By Peter Jackson: The Game was my first console shooter since Goldeneye, and I was just blown away by how super-great it was. In retrospect, it was probably just pretty decent, but in my mind, it's still this incredible immersive thing.

Peter Jackson Presents Peter Jackson's King Kong: a Peter Jackson Film is actually quite a good game at doing what it tried to so (ie immersive and atmospheric). It was designed by Michel Ancel, whose game design chops are nothing to sneeze at.

Robert Sharp

06-22-2010, 09:14 AM

My 360 is so important to me that I have two of them (both working). I can't imagine living without it. I use it for netflix viewing, watching DVDs, gaming (obviously). When a game comes out for both 360 and PS3, I always get the 360 version. I LOVE that console. It's fanatasticality. I've had to send it in for RROD twice, and got it back about 2 weeks after it died each time. It's annoying, but not too bad. I've spent a lot less time fiddling with it than I have my PC, and my PC isn't a lemon at all. It works just fine, overall, but I've still had to fix obnoxious stuff with it (including flash virus attacks) that would never happen on my 360.

Dave Long

06-22-2010, 09:16 AM

The PS3 is a far better DVD player than the 360 and it does Netflix as well. Not sure why you'd be so hooked on the 360 for the DVD function.

Pogue Mahone

06-22-2010, 09:17 AM

What does that mean, that the PS3 is a far better DVD player? Just curious, I figured at this point a DVD player would pretty much be a commodity.

MatthewF

06-22-2010, 09:22 AM

Robert Sharp

06-22-2010, 09:23 AM

The PS3 is a far better DVD player than the 360 and it does Netflix as well. Not sure why you'd be so hooked on the 360 for the DVD function.

Yes, that is true, although DVDs look just fine on the 360, and I'm not a stickler for the (IMO) subtle distinctions in quality among DVD players. Netflix came to the 360 first. My 360 is already being used more often and is thus more accessible and hooked up to my router. The PS3 doesn't get a good signal from my wireless, so I use the 360. Plus, I had the DVD remote for the 360 longer and just got used to it.

I didn't mean to imply that the 360 is better at these things. I just listed how I use it and why it is thus valuable to me. Obviously, I use my PS3 to watch blu-ray.

Oh, and my 360 remembers where I was in my DVDs. My PS3 does not, for some reason.

Robert Sharp

06-22-2010, 09:25 AM

Works on my machine, amirite? :)

No, I wasn't trying to suggest there was anything wrong with complaining about your MS devices screwing up. I was responding to posts that asked why people bother with having a 360 with all its reported problems. I don't deny that those reports are true. I'm just sharing why the console is worth it despite those issues.

tempus67

06-22-2010, 09:34 AM

Oh, and my 360 remembers where I was in my DVDs. My PS3 does not, for some reason.

My PS3 remembers where I was in DVD's...but only sometimes, which is actually kind of worse. It seems like it's related to swapping discs (ie you play a game and then pop the dvd you were watching back in, and it has forgotten where you were) but sometimes it seems to remember. Anyone know how this works?

FWIW despite this issue I prefer the PS3 to the 360 for movies because the PS3 is quieter and has a better remote...though I've never looked to see if any of the aftermarket 360 remotes are as good as the PS3 one.

Marcus

06-22-2010, 09:47 AM

MY PS3 never remembers my place on Blu Rays which is a royal pain.

Brian Rubin

06-22-2010, 09:49 AM

Huh, my PS3 always remembers where a Blu-ray or DVD was after I pop it out and then put it back in later.

CLWheeljack

06-22-2010, 09:58 AM

I've noticed inconsistent behavior on my PS3 regarding playback progress as well. I wonder if its some kind of configuration setting, seems like it'd require some (minimal) HD storage to record a table of DVD ID vs position.

My only complaint with me PS3 as a DVD player is that my Wall-E DVD for some reason would'nt work properly, it kept skipping to the next chapter halfway through a scene. I eventually watched it on my (very loud) 360 instead.

MatthewF

06-22-2010, 10:02 AM

No, I wasn't trying to suggest there was anything wrong with complaining about your MS devices screwing up. I was responding to posts that asked why people bother with having a 360 with all its reported problems. I don't deny that those reports are true. I'm just sharing why the console is worth it despite those issues.

Just messing with you. Hence the smiley. I know a guy who bought his 360 2 weeks after it came out and it still runs fine. The failure rates are really insanely damning, though.

Dave47

06-22-2010, 10:15 AM

That was my fifth and last 360.

Out of curiosity, how many of them did you have repaired through Microsoft? I've got to imagine that if Microsoft had a record of replacing your 360 three times in the past they would spot you the fourth refurb.

mkozlows

06-22-2010, 10:29 AM

Out of curiosity, how many of them did you have repaired through Microsoft? I've got to imagine that if Microsoft had a record of replacing your 360 three times in the past they would spot you the fourth refurb.

Your refurbs get a 90 day warranty extension (or the remainder of your original warranty, whichever's longer). They did repair one of mine that I think wasn't strictly in warranty, but that was before they announced the 3-year RROD thing, so I think they were bending the rules more then. At this point, I'd expect it to be pretty standardized.

Rob_Merritt

06-22-2010, 10:41 AM

I feel your pain Moggraider. I'm trying to decide if I want to get Xbox #7 when they are back in stock.

Robert Sharp

06-22-2010, 11:09 AM

Just messing with you. Hence the smiley. I know a guy who bought his 360 2 weeks after it came out and it still runs fine. The failure rates are really insanely damning, though.

I realized that, actually. But rereading my post, it does look like I was offended. Maybe I should have used 'nah' instead of 'no'.....hmmmm...

Either way, I wasn't actually offended, but I did want to clarify that it isn't all roses with the Xbox.

Mark Asher

06-22-2010, 11:19 AM

I feel your pain Moggraider. I'm trying to decide if I want to get Xbox #7 when they are back in stock.

How many have you had to pay for?

Damien Neil

06-22-2010, 11:46 AM

What does that mean, that the PS3 is a far better DVD player? Just curious, I figured at this point a DVD player would pretty much be a commodity.

The PS3 doesn't sound like a jet taking off, which is enough reason for me to prefer it over the 360 for DVDs.

Rob_Merritt

06-25-2010, 04:42 AM

How many have you had to pay for?

Four.

#1 original - new Launch to 2 years (RROD got #2)
#2 original - refirb (RROD got #3)
#3 original - refirb (RROD and was junked)
#4 Jasper - new lasted 3 months, wouldn't turn on, and got a falcon refirb which I gave to the kids (the refirb also RROD)
#5 Jasper - new lasted 1 year. Freezes after showing a scrambled Xbox logo
#6 Slim - DOA with RDOD. Returned.

I picked up a used 360 from Gamestop the other night. Lets see how long that will last.

Papageno

06-25-2010, 08:26 AM

Rob, if I may ask, where did all these Xboxes reside? Either at least a couple of those consoles died due to the environment around them, or you're the unluckiest person in the world.

Rob_Merritt

06-25-2010, 08:31 AM

Rob, if I may ask, where did all these Xboxes reside? Either at least a couple of those consoles died due to the environment around them, or you're the unluckiest person in the world.

No way I'm the unluckiest, I know people who have gone through 10 and more 360s.

My 360s were all on top of a wood cabinet, with nothing around or on it. Right above an AC vent and a window. It is the coldest part of the house year round.

Dave Long

06-25-2010, 08:34 AM

Papageno

06-25-2010, 08:40 AM

Bahimiron

06-25-2010, 08:42 AM

God, I hate disagreeing with a Dave Long 'I just dropped into this thread to remind everyone that I use Microsoft toilet paper' post, but the PS3 is better because it's quieter and the upscaling is superior. The seeking seems to work a lot better as well.

Edit: This is a response to the 'which is a better DVD player' line of conversation, which apparently happened a page back and I didn't notice the dates. Whoops!

Ben Sones

06-25-2010, 08:51 AM

The PS3 is a far better DVD player than the 360 and it does Netflix as well. Not sure why you'd be so hooked on the 360 for the DVD function.

I like my PS3 a lot, but the 360 is a much better Netflix player. It doesn't require a disc to run, is faster to navigate (probably because it doesn't require a disc to run) and has a better menu system, and for some reason or another, the image quality of the stream is noticeably better.

I suspect that the PS3's Netflix capabilities will improve dramatically when they are allowed to integrate the software into the OS, though. And the PS3 is definitely a better DVD player (and a better Blu-Ray player, duh).

sinnick

06-25-2010, 08:52 AM

Wow, I stand corrected. I would have sworn off the thing by now, given the same experiences. How heavy a user of the console are you? For instance, how long do you have the machine on during an average day?

Same here. I've had my 360 for about two years and it's still working great. But I don't use it that much which could be why it's never failed (knock on wood!). I think if I got the RROD, I probably wouldn't replace it.

WarrenM

06-25-2010, 09:05 AM

The PS3 is a far better DVD player than the 360 and it does Netflix as well. Not sure why you'd be so hooked on the 360 for the DVD function.

I have both but I spend WAY more time on my 360. Why? That's the console my friends have.

Jazar

06-25-2010, 09:32 AM

Here's the deal with PS3 resuming DVD / Blu-ray playback.

PS3 supports resume on DVDs.

PS3 supports resume on Blu-rays that don't use BD-J. Any time you start up a blu-ray movie and it begins with a loading bar it's using BD-J and does not support resume. Those titles will sometimes have bookmarking support however. Blame the Blu-ray disc association for being morons in not thinking this feature through and making it standard.