Wow…it’s been a while since we’ve posted here. We had a great idea, and then it went south kind of quickly.
Anyway, for those interested in consumer issues regarding video game consoles, I recently experienced the dreaded “Red Ring of Death” that is so frequent to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console. If you are unfamiliar with the console or the Red Ring of Death, allow me to explain. The Xbox’s power button is surrounded by the “Ring of Light” which are four semi-circle indicator lights that show when the Xbox is on and/or the controllers are attached. When Microsoft first released the console, it quickly became apparent that there was a higher than usual rate of failure, although, predictably, they denied this at first. For a more comprehensive explanation, just click on the Wikipedia link I have supplied. Anyway, when the console would crash, three of the indicator lights would turn red, and it became known amongst the video game community as the “Red Ring of Death.”
I bought my Xbox in 2007, and hadn’t had any problems to speak of with it. I knew a few friends who had experienced console failures, but they typically tended to be hard core gamers who played their consoles at least four hours a day. I, on the other hand, usually play a couple times a week, other than when I buy a new game, which is usually about three times a year, at which point I’ll play it every day for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I thought that with my fairly limited amount of time on the console, I wouldn’t be as at risk for console failure.
Turns out Microsoft’s products are crappy and can quit regardless of how little or how much you use them. About two months ago, my console finally succumbed to its inevitable failure. I shouldn’t have been surprised; according to a recent survey conducted by Game Informer magazine, the 360’s failure rate is a stunning 54.2 percent. Even worse, 41.2 percent suffer a SECOND console failure after having received a repaired version of the 360. By comparison, Sony’s PlayStation 3 suffers about a 10.6 percent failure rate.
Don’t get me wrong. The 360 is an incredibly fun gaming platform, and the fact that several of the titles I enjoy the most only appear on the Xbox 360 or on PC (Mass Effect comes to mind) I still would rather own the 360 than any other console. But Microsoft, in my opinion, is notorious for putting out poorly made products and then dealing with the damage later. Hence, Windows 7, which if anyone believes is going to correct all the flaws of previous Windows operating systems, I’ve got a bridge in San Francisco to sell you.
That aside, I immediately checked Microsoft’s site and found that the best way to return my console for repair was to enter the necessary information on their website, and I could print out a UPS tag at home and just drop it off at any UPS facility. Which wasn’t an issue for me anyway, since my work has a UPS account and we have daily UPS pickups at our facility. What was an issue was the fact that the tag wouldn’t even show up on the screen when I pulled it up. I tried this on three different computers, and it didn’t work on any of them. This was a problem, especially since the address I needed could only be found on the UPS tag. So I had to call Microsoft anyway and get the information. The next day I sent the package on my own dime to their facility down in Texas.
I was hopeful that it would be returned to me quickly, because one of my friends had told me he had received his back in about a week. Microsoft says to figure on about three to four weeks. It was just a little past four weeks when it was returned to me. When I opened it, I found that they don’t actually fix your console, they give you a replacement console (presumably one that has been used by someone else). This wasn’t a huge deal, since the memory drive on the 360 is detachable and they advise you to take it off before you send the console. This way, you can keep all of your information and just attach it to the new console. After some initial set up, my 360 worked like a charm.
Also, I should mention that when they finally were able to admit that the consoles were crashing at an epic rate, Microsoft agreed to extend all warranty’s for three years from the time of purchase. So the only thing I paid was the shipping, which I would not have had to do had their website worked properly. Regardless, it was nice to get the console back and not have any further issues. I wasn’t greatly impressed by Microsoft’s customer service (I don’t think it should take a month to replace a console that crashed through no fault of my own), and I was even less impressed by the fact that my console crashed. But overall, they did get it replaced in roughly the amount of time they promised, and I’m currently satisfied with how things ended up (considering how they could have gone).
