Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 12:20 a.m.

X-Box's performance is not up to its expense.

Posted by 8bitjoystick at 2/13/08 12:25 a.m.

Well I do think they are worth the money and the games are awesome. They just have a chronic bad problem of dying early and frequently.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 2:32 a.m.

I got a Xbox 360 use on ebay for 209 bucks it works perfectly i never shut it off

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 3:55 a.m.

I bought a second hand 360 from Gamestation with 2 games and a extra controller about 11 months ago, it's been in regular use and i now watch all my Divx films on it as well, no problems and i saved a lot of money. I'll probably get a second hand PS3 as well when they are cheaper and release some games i want. It's always a gamble to buy anything second hand but i've never looked back, i bought 2 PS2's brand new and they both developed disc read errors, the third one i bought second hand and it's still going strong.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 4:15 a.m.

I'm waiting for my 3rd xbox360 back from the MS repair cycle soap opera due to RROD. I agree, its definitely a crap shoot as to what I will get back or what anyone would get buying a used one.

I'm 38 years old and play "rockband" and "scene it" with my wife. Occasionally a game of GOW or Halo3 with my buddies over xboxlive. Hardly what i would call hardcore use...

The design is flawed, plain and simple.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 9:25 a.m.

I'm not sure about used but refurbished from Microsoft I certainly would get. A refurbished system had a problem that was fixed and that box got more attention than most of the others before it's sent out the door. There's always a chance to get a lemon, new or used.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 10:25 a.m.

I'm on my 4th xbox 360, but even with all the issues I have if I were to get a ps3 it would gather dust. all the good games and xbox live just blow everything else outta the water.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 1:39 p.m.

What you never shut it off?!?!?!!

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 2:17 p.m.

Buying used modern consoles is risky period!
I would never buy a used Xbox 360 or even a PS3 for that matter. Back in the 8-bit and 16-bit era (minus the NES), buying a used console was a solid investment.
Consoles were much simpler in those days.

Sadly, that's not the case anymore.
But that's technology for you.

(And no, I'm not trying to minimize the X360's failure rate. I just happen to disagree with a writer who happens to be a fan of purchasing second hand equipment)

unregistered user 007

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 2:33 p.m.

If I never turned off my 5 day old xbox 360 I think my family would go def. I had no idea it was going to be so loud when I got it.

I think there is a problem with the hardware already :)

jk I am sure it was a planned bd level.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 3:22 p.m.

I picked up 3 systems all with RROD for 150$, did the x-clamp fix and they all work great, keep one for myself, one to my bro and the other to a friend. I have issues with ejecting the tray but all in all its a fully functional piece of crap 8-)

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 4:21 p.m.

What a pile of crap article. You can argue that a brand new xbox is not a smart purchase either. These things are manufactured to fail. So what is the difference between buying brand new and refurbed? There is no difference. These things have an average life span of under a year straight out of the box brand new. So why the hell not buy a refurb?

This journalist doesn't know the scene well enough to be writing an article of this nature.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/13/08 4:40 p.m.

a second hand 360 is far better than a second ps3 or wii. for the simple reason of that microsoft is back up there system with a 3 year replacement plan. If you buy a wii or ps3 and something goes wrong. That's all lost! But not with a 360. so i honestly disagree with this stupid post. ofcourse there's hardware issues but it's guaranteed.

Posted by 8bitjoystick at 2/13/08 8:03 p.m.

I am not sure about the whole "x-clamp fix" I mean if it were just that simple of a fix Microsoft would have had done that on a massive scale. When an xbox is cooking due to overheating it can affect a variety of things on the Xbox. Just putting a new heat sync on the CPU and GPU is not got to help you if you have cooked memory or melted connectors.

The groups that are "repairing" Xbox are not doing enough testing to make sure that every single problem can be fixed.

"These things are manufactured to fail."

The Xbox 360 was not designed to be disposable, Microsoft wants them to last so that people will still keep buying the games. But to say that they have had reliability problems is an understatement.

Gamestop's used Xboxes might be refurbished and had a previous RROD but the only thing you know is that it's been used for a long period of time.

By the way less that 1% of Wiis and PS3s have had problems and they both have repair/replacement programs.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/14/08 7:21 a.m.

"According to SquareTrade, who analysed over 1000 warranty claims, the Xbox 360 failure rate was revealed to be 16.4%. Its figures for PS3 and Wii, albeit using a smaller sample in the high hundreds, were around the 3% figure."

"This has been backed up by SquareTrade CEO Steve Abernethy who "would estimate most if not all" the failed consoles featured "the original motherboard."

http://www.videogamer.com/news/14-02-2008-7523.html

Looks more valid than your disgruntled alleged MS source.

Posted by 8bitjoystick at 2/14/08 9:52 a.m.

I can't tell you how I know but I know that Microsoft knows that the failure rate for Xenon Xbox 360s is way higher than 16%.

Currently there are three motherboards on the market and they all have different reliabilty factors.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/14/08 2:42 p.m.

I just dropped my 360 off at a staples store here in my hometown in oklahoma, population 100k.

They said they 1-2 360's a day to be mailed back to repair facility.
That's one UPS drop off point in town.

that's crazy

Posted by unregistered user at 2/15/08 2:00 a.m.

Excuse me if i find actual reseach more believable than "I can't tell you how I know but..." and an aleged source who even if real, left MS before the 360 was launched.

On top of that i know many people with 360s both personaly and though Live and none of them with a unit manifactured after last summer have had any problems, the problem with your source is that even IF he is for real, a disgruntled ex MS employee who left before 360 launched is hardly the most reliable person for unbiased reporting.

I'm sure some people will write in claiming to have failures after that time and some of them will be real and some of them fanboys but i know of none and for something under as much scrutiny as the 360, with the amount of people i've talked to i would have expected to find some for myself.

I can read all kinds of stories in blogs but i prefer something a bit more scientific like an actual study that doesn't hide behind anonymity.

Posted by unregistered user at 2/15/08 7:51 a.m.

lost odyssey foever

Posted by unregistered user at 3/12/08 5:36 p.m.

XBOX 360 rules!

Posted by unregistered user at 4/28/08 6:51 p.m.

Thought I would post a comment in defense of this article, which is pretty good by the way.

First of all, there is no question that some Xbox 360 models are unreliable, and the fact that game retailers don't really do any hardcore testing doesn't help at all. Most of the articles I found say about 16.4%, while many articles from last year say 30-34%.

I would like to point out that SquareTrade is a warranty seller, I know for a fact that many people that have problems with their systems just throw them away, hell I did it with my original Xbox.

Thus the figures may be more then just 16 percent, also lets not forget the people that take their Xbox 360 to a Gamestop and make it past the laughable inspection.

I'm not a fan boy, in fact I dislike Microsoft so much, I was thinking about purchasing a used system when I found this page(I mainly want the system for GTA4).

However now I'm just going to wait and see if they'll do another price cut or something nice.

Anyway, calm down fan boys, the sad truth is that Xbox 360 is flawed, even the Japanese people know that look at its sales over there. It has decent games, but its nothing amazing. :P

Again, nice article 8bit!

Posted by unregistered user at 5/19/08 10:32 p.m.

First, 360 started off on the wrong foot. They realized this and fixed their issues with the second generation of the system.

Second, if you are having fault after fault with the system and you are on your third or forth repair from MS then I think it is safe to say that it is your fault. They fix your system and send it back to you. You are getting a new variable everytime it is back in your hand. The only constant is that you are f'ing up the system by whatever it is that you are doing. Keep your room clean and vacuumed, get rid of all dust, keep the fans clear of dust as well, and keep the humidity down. After someone complains about a system screwing up on them for a third time I know it is their own fault. My friends who don't live like pigs have 360's that work like a charm.

Third, the 360 is a fine system with fine games. You might have to dig through the crap that is out their and get some real games but it is a good system. PS3 has some good stuff as well, however just like 360 they jumped the gun with their release of the system and handed the public a piece of crap that was doomed to fail. I am sure that they are working out the problems still and in a year they will have a quality console.

Buying a used 360 is smart, you save money, you have the word of MS that they will fix the RLOD, and you can take it back to the store you bought it from and get a different one if it craps on you. Just don't go out and by a used 1st edition 360, we all know they have problems.

Posted by 8bitjoystick at 5/19/08 10:54 p.m.

That is not exactly true. You baby your Xbox 360 and keep it in a completely perfect environment and it can still RROD on you. The hardware failure rates of the Wii and PS3 are no where near the Xbox 360 and Microsoft has hundreds of engineers working on building a more reliable Xbox 360.

Posted by unregistered user at 6/2/08 6:35 p.m.

I'm still rockin the original xbox!! I am thinking of ditchin it for the real deal 360.. but im not interested in the elite, platinum, or core.. what do you people think of the arcade consoles manufactured in the past year??

Posted by unregistered user at 6/11/08 10:24 p.m.

crap i don't know if i want to buy a new one or a used one.

Posted by 8bitjoystick at 6/12/08 9:26 a.m.

get a NEW one.

Posted by unregistered user at 6/27/08 12:26 p.m.

I have had 2 nintendo wiis. The first broke and was warrenteed by target (big mistake) we took it back for a new one and they said they couldnt back their product! After that we got a second from gamestop (who said they would back the warrente) and havent had a problem so now Im going to get a 360 and leaning tward used and getting a warrente incase it breaks.