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MS Responds To 360 Glitches
Chris_Yates writes "Microsoft has responded to the complaints of angry gamers popping up on the internet. As expected, they claim it is a very small percentage of Xbox 360 owners that are experiencing a problem. The main question remains, though, what kind of support will those unfortunate few receive? Molly O'Donnell says, 'It's unfortunate and it's important that we get working consoles for those few people who are having problems. We want to get them playing and happy and buying games!' An ABC article states: 'They'll be playing again in three to five days...'"
This is exactly the same type of thing that happened after both the PSP launch and in particular the iPod Nano launch with the faulty screens/susceptible to scratching fiasco. A few months on and it's still a more desirable item than ever.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever.
- George Orwell
A few were bad. Just like PSPs and PS2's and original Xboxes.
Microsoft will fix them, sucks to be that guy or girl though.
Life goes on, and as much as I don't want an Xbox360, this is hardly news.
We might as well comment on how a huge number of people travel during the holidays.
You can't possibly estimate a percentage based on reading forums on the net. Seriously. :)
Whatever the problem is you can be sure that microsoft is going to make it right for those who have expierienced a defect. Dont forget, they lose money on every xbox. They want you to buy the games, and they want you to get your friends to buy xboxes. Allowing defective units to remain in the world is not something microsoft will do. They will either offer a software patch (if it's a software glitch), a replacement part via mailin (if it's the brick) or they will just replace the unit. At the very least i'm sure they're all under warrenty.
Microsoft's objective with this console is to snatch up as much market share as possible from its rivals (one of the reasons it will be priced lower in japan). The console market is like the car market. Getting market share is the most important aspect of the business, and it's also one of the hardest. Sony hasent made it easy for microsoft either, but with the second gen consoles (now that people know the xbox 1 wasnt a flop, like so many other "recent" consoles have been) Microsoft has a real opportunity to sieze an even larger share and you can bet your breakfast that they're doing their best to take advantage of it.
"It's what you would expect with a consumer electronics instrument of this complexity .... Par for the course."
Can you imagine Panasonic or Toshiba using that excuse regarding a stereo? No. These are consumer-grade electronics, which should Just Work. Bugginess is par for the course in computers because Microsoft has convinced people of that; they are apparently trying to do the same with consumer electronics. If someone's stereo kept rebooting/hanging in the first 2 days that they got it, and they heard about other people having the same problem, widespread or not, they would go get a different brand.
They also confirmed that most problems are due to overheating
Am I the only one who is surprised that they're having overheating problems? I mean, it's not unexpected that the system produces enough heat to fry an egg, most systems with a multi-core processor and a new graphics card does this, but you'd think that this would be the primary 'engineering' concern when designing the case. Did Microsoft ignore engineering concerns or did they not see this as a problem? Are there other issues which will eventually show up because of lack of foresight?
If my dvd player couldn't sit on top of my reciever and inside my smallish cabinet I would return it. If it made a ton of noise I would return it. Why does is an xbox supposed to get any leeway.
You know my nes, snes, ps1, and ps2 had no trouble with any of the configurations that people mention make the 360 crash. Technology has come a long way, don't tell me that modern equipment should be expected to be worse. That's bullshit, and if it means I don't get a next gen console for a good long time then so be it.
I'm hoping people are more like me and won't put up with substandard shit then like you and take mediocrity as it comes. $400 is too much to spend for bullshit.
It has been statistically shown that helmets increase the risk of head injury.
OK, please explain which parts of the package which clearly has the "Microsoft"-label on it are "Microsoft's problem" and which aren't.
There is absolutely no way that microsoft could test the PSU chealy
Actually it's trivial to test PSUs. That technology is decades old. Also there would be no need to test it with an XBox360, you just test wether it fits specifications (Voltage, Amps - just 2 parameters, there are few devices which are so primitive to check against specifications...) and there you go.
There is no magic involved, either Microsoft put out wrong specifications for the PSU which are barely enough for running an XBox360 or Microsoft didn't make sure the PSUs fit specifications.
In both cases I think it is Microsoft's problem.
How much cooling do you think a desktop PC with 3 x 3.2GHz PPC processors would need?
Why then would you expect the Xbox 360, in a smaller form factor, to need less?
I haven't read the manual for the Xbox 360, but I would go out on a limb and suggest that somewhere they would list a range of safe operating temperatures for the units environment. I would also suggest that the majority of people complaining of problems have not read/disregarded that part of the manual, and are running the systems in environments that are far beyond the manufacturers recommended parameters.
The PS3 is going to have exactly the same problems - a lot of high power processors in a small box all trying to shed heat as best they can. If you want to have a console that competes with the PC for gaming, you need to handle the same problems the PC has as well. Just because you put it in a small box and call it a console, doesn't mean the nature of the device inside will change.
Microsoft are being remarkably responsible about the problems that people are experiencing, by not only acknowledging there are problems, but offering solutions.
I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.