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MS Responds To 360 Glitches

Posted by Zonk on from the give-me-some-love dept.

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...'"

26 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. No Biggie by Dubpal · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I highly doubt this is going to effect sales to any degree Microsoft should be concerned with.

    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
    1. Re:No Biggie by Khuffie · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ya, but unlike Sony or Apple, MS has acknowledged some consoles have problems, and are offering support.

    2. Re:No Biggie by lowrydr310 · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's better than a $300 nano-sized doorstop...

  2. Powersupply Cooling Problem by Winterblink · · Score: 5, Informative

    There was a fellow on the XBox360 forums who posted this link to a Gamespot forum post about a guy fixing his problems by getting his powersupply brick off the ground. Could this problem be due to poor cooling of that brick?

    Most people probably heeded Microsoft's advice after people scoffed at the size of the thing - put it back behind your sofa or TV. But it could be that the lack of proper ventilation is causing this problem, which doesn't seem to be as "isolated" as Microsoft is saying. From what I've been reading on various forums around the net it's a higher percentage than one would expect.

    --
    "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
    -Hoban Washburn
    1. Re:Powersupply Cooling Problem by Jarlsberg · · Score: 4, Insightful
      From what I've been reading on various forums around the net it's a higher percentage than one would expect.

      You can't possibly estimate a percentage based on reading forums on the net. Seriously. :)

    2. Re:Powersupply Cooling Problem by Halfbaked+Plan · · Score: 3, Funny

      On Slashdot, you can estimate the degree of something bad about Microsoft by simply looking at the folds in the palm of your hand.

      --
      resigned
    3. Re:Powersupply Cooling Problem by Miros · · Score: 3, Funny

      "Do you have evidence to support your claim?"
      "The best kind, it's called, anecdotal"

    4. Re:Powersupply Cooling Problem by Paul+Slocum · · Score: 4, Informative

      Some of the forums like this one have posts from people who have spoken to MS tech support, and xbox support said the incidents are much higher than expected and replacements won't be available until at least January. They also confirmed that most problems are due to overheating.

    5. Re:Powersupply Cooling Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      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?

  3. Re:Wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

  4. Bullshit free summaries, please by EvilDonut · · Score: 2, Informative

    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!'

    Actually no, the main question does not remain. It gets a straight answer: Those few who have problems with their Xbox will get a new one. It's pretty simple really.

    Why is FUD like this allowed to get through?

    1. Re:Bullshit free summaries, please by defkkon · · Score: 2, Informative
      Amen.

      I bought mine at launch, and it works great. The power supply is cool, and the air out the back of the console is warm at most. The fans will sometimes sound like the thing is going to start flying, but what do you expect?

      I have two friends who bought them, and they're working great as well.

      I've been reading a lot at the Xbox.com Forums, and people are doing some pretty stupid things. They're placing the console on the carpet, with the power brick right behind it. They're enclosing it in a tiny hutch, again with the power brick. One person had stacked it on top of their reciever, which we all know gets pretty warm.

      One guy even complained that their DVD door was broken - and later realized they hadn't removed the plastic sticker that protects the shiny door.

      Honestly people, what's the big damned deal? Slashdot did the same thing with the stupid edge button problem the PSP had. Stories galore.

    2. Re:Bullshit free summaries, please by lubricated · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.
    3. Re:Bullshit free summaries, please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've been reading a lot at the Xbox.com Forums, and people are doing some pretty stupid things. They're placing the console on the carpet, with the power brick right behind it. They're enclosing it in a tiny hutch, again with the power brick. One person had stacked it on top of their reciever, which we all know gets pretty warm.

      Do you consider ANY of your listed "stupid" things as being out of the ordinary?

      Placing a game console, inside an entertainment unit, wow, totally unexpected. I mean who on earth could have expected a consumer to place an entertainment appliance inside an entertainment unit. Next thing you know, people will put bread in toasters. Stupid people.

      Psft, placing your entertainment appliance on a carpet. WTF. I mean WHO has carpet in a living room. We can't plan for everything, were only human. And keeping the power supply, close to the unit it is attached to, again, completely unheard of behaviour. What engineer in his right mind could have ever thought of this ludicrous behaviour.

      Who the hell would stack components on top of one another. I have never seen this type of activity outside of any home theater ever..errr wait, aren't most home theatre/stereo/DVD/VCR/TV components stacked? Mine sure are, and I have never had a problem.

      Nothing that you mentioned is in any way unusual, or unexpected behaviour. What is going to happen in the summer, where many houses will have an ambient temperature similar to the environment in an entertainment unit? Are you going to suggest that these "stupid" users just hack their freezer to allow cable pass throughs?

      I have no problems with faulty components. Bad screens, bad drives, buggy code, these things happen. Cooling problems result from poor design, and even worse testing. There is no excuse for these kinds of problems.

      Hey, did anyone go to the launch parties? Did you notice if the venues seemed unusually cold? Maybe the rush to get these out had nothing to do with Xmas, but had everything to do with the average home temps being much lower between November and March (for NA).

    4. Re:Bullshit free summaries, please by NeMon'ess · · Score: 2, Informative

      Although MS gave the 360 a small form factor for more versatile placement, you could still give it extra room to let it breath. If your big-screen TV recommended placing it a few inches from the wall for ventilation would you ignore that too? Even some PS1s and PS2s had overheating problems. I've witnessed PS1s that would skip during video playback from heat but play smoothly after placing books under two edges so the middle was more exposed. You simply can't expect anymore to cram 5 to 10 times as much computing power into the same size space and not have heat issues if care isn't taken to it's placement.

    5. Re:Bullshit free summaries, please by obeythefist · · Score: 2, Insightful

      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.
    6. Re:Bullshit free summaries, please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      The point of the comment, is that NONE of the "stupid" usage patterns described by the poster I replied to are in any way unusual, unexpected, or out of the ordinary. In fact, they can all be described as typical.

      Perhaps if the 360 had shipped with a cryogenic chamber for the power unit, consumers would have expected that there might be a heating problem. How would a consumer guess that we had just entered the age where technology and room temperature could not co-exist? BTW, have you seen any of the "fixes" that are suggested for this "next era of technology"? They include such technological breakthroughs as "suspend the power supply from a string" or "balance the unit on the corners of an open box". It must be something being at the forefront of this brave new world. Please send us luddites a post card when you have the time.

      I love your point of view though "Hey, of COURSE it's fucked up. Hell, it's the NEXT GENERATION for gods sake. What did you expect, a FUNCTIONING machine for $500."

      Lots of companies look forward to selling their Beta technology to people just like you, in fact they count on it. You are what is known as an "early adopter" to marketing departments, a sucker to everyone else. Top dollar, for an unfinished product. It's the magic 5% of the population. Hell, why would a company pay some chinese semi-slave a quarter to test the units, when they get fools like you to pay them $500 to do it for them?

      But your friends probably think your pretty cool. Well, probably not, but I'm sure the marketing campaign has you believing it.

  5. Whatever the problem is by Miros · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  6. This is why Microsoft restricted supply by Great_Geek · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Clearly, Microsoft expected a lot of problems - this is why they so severely restricted supply. The beta test will last a few weeks, then the supply will be cranked up when the 360 goes RTM.

  7. Varying power supplies by Generic+Guy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There seems to be varying power supplies, and you can even tell the difference from slight alterations of shape and color. It is shaping up that the 'bad' Xbox units seem to (at least partially) be because of bad PSUs. I know I've had flakey PCs because of rickety PSUs.

    There was a posting on xbox-scene from a group who managed to get two of the pre-ordered Xbox units. Getting back home, they hooked up all the cables and power and viola -- bad Xbox 360. So they opened the other box, leaving all the existing plugs and wires into the TV and all in place, put the new XBox unit on the existing wires and viola -- bad Xbox 360. (They admit they were freaked that they may have had *two* broken Xbox 360s out of the gate.) The 'other' PSU made the Xbox work fine, even when tested on both console units. They mention there are slight variations in the two PSU designed.

    So, it really appears that one of Microsofts PSU suppliers screwed up. With multiple PSU suppliers, It would also help explain why some people complain their XBox 360 is "loud" or has a lot of "fan noise" and others claim it is pretty quiet. This may not explain away every Xbox360 problem, but it sure seems reasonable.

    --
    { - Generic Guy - }
    1. Re:Varying power supplies by dbhankins · · Score: 4, Funny

      That group got a viola with each XBox? Wow! I wonder if Microsoft will pay for the music lessons...

    2. Re:Varying power supplies by Generic+Guy · · Score: 2, Informative
      The most important reason why I avoid any Microsoft-products when possible is that whenever there are problems, it's never Microsoft's fault.
      And instead of fixing the problem, Microsoft (plus fanboys) start to play the blame-game and fingerpointing.

      As the original poster (OP), I'm certainly no MS fanboy. This early Xbox-2 or 260 or 360 or 480 or whatever it is hasn't garnered much interest for me, except for some amusement factor at the release problems.
      However, a PSU problem while stupid and frustrating for early adopters it doesn't necessarily take away from the actual 360 design. In fact, the external PSU in this case may be a boon for MS, because its much easier to replace than taking the entire console apart.

      Maybe some PSU supplier screwed up, however it's Microsoft's oblitgation to do the quality-control of the end-product, so they should have never shipped these units.

      True enough, and this is an indication that MS was more worried about pushing these out to the market as fast as possible rather than QA. I hardly think Microsoft wants a looming PR nightmare for a flagship product(especially right before the holiday shopping season), but I can totally see their endemic lack of quality assurance rearing its ugly head.
      IN contrast, Nintendo has historically been a bastion of good quality, where they _never want a customer to have a bad out-of-box experience with their products.

      It certainly shows the difference between the two competitors.

      As for the dust -by -summer issue, well it is interesting to note that the Xbox360 only has a 90-day warranty which will be expired on these early units by then.

      --
      { - Generic Guy - }
  8. "Par for the course"? by Doctor+Crumb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "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.

  9. only 360? by iLogiK · · Score: 5, Funny

    "MS Responds To 360 Glitches"
    only 360? IE must have at least a few hundred...and let's not forget windows 98...
    360 is only the tip of the iceberg. :)

  10. Re:3 to 5 days my ass by BeatUpJalopy · · Score: 2, Funny

    How have you waited 6 days when it was only release 3 days ago?

  11. Re:Testing by RoLi · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I also don't think that this is MSFT's problem [because it's the PSU's problem]

    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.