X box Question

[Sifty]

My son's xbox is not turning on.

When you prees the power button the area around it flash's red but then does nothing.

Any thoughts.

Sifty

[bgreen82]

you'll probably need to send it in. you can figure out what the problem is based on how many lights are flashing.

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[zamboni]

Your sons XBOX is one of the 70% that fail. It has the "red rings of death" Needs to be sent in and fixed. Google "red rings of death"

[Sifty]

Thanks guys.

Sifty

[LMITOUT]

I just went through the same thing a couple days before Thanksgiving. Go to the XBOX support webpage and follow the directions. It'll ask you to enter the serial number and if it was made after a certain date you'll get it repaired/replaced under warranty. Expect a couple weeks for turnaround.

[bgreen82]

just a heads up, if its not the 3 red rings, you will have to pay, but if its 3 then its the red ring of death that they pay for.

[zamboni]

I can't think of any other product sold that has a 70%+ fail rate. Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves

[LMITOUT]

...and yet people keep buying them for a reason. It's a bummer that so many people have had problems with their Xbox units. Each brand has their positives and negatives as well as their loyal followers. I'm guessing many buy the PS3 just because they get the Blu-Ray player as a bonus, but personally I'd rather have a better quality player as a separate unit. I'm guessing that with the price of Blu-Ray players falling that segment of people who were looking to save some coin by killing two birds with one stone will dwindle off in time.

Off topic...

I'd be curious to know the number of xbox's and PS3's have been sold. I would also like to know how many owners of each brand participate in online play. Are there more Xbox owners online or PS3 owners.

I have no idea to the answer of either question, just curious as to which one is more popular.

[DTro]

where is that 70% figure coming from? The highest study I've seen was like 54%

This seems more like an accurate number/study:

Hot on the heels of a controversial Game Informer survey comes a new study that also pegs the Xbox 360 as the least reliable console on the market. Electronics-warranty company SquareTrade has issued a survey of 16,000 game consoles it serviced from the second quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2009. The report analyzed approximately 2,500 PlayStation 3s, 2,500 Xbox 360s and 11,000 Wiis selected at random. (The company found Wii owners much more likely to buy warranties.) All consoles had been purchased new and had not been damaged by their owners.

As with the Game Informer study, SquareTrade found that the Xbox 360's failure rate was far higher than its rivals. Some 23.7 percent of those surveyed failed within two years of purchase: 12 percent from the infamous "Red Ring of Death" and 11.7 percent from other problems, including the "E74" error. Both problems are covered by the 360's three-year manufacturer's warranty, which the company began offering in 2007 for a cost of over $1 billion.

Historically, the 360 is more than twice as likely to fail as its rivals.

By contrast, the study found 10 percent of PlayStation 3s surveyed failed within two years of purchase, as did 2.7 percent of Wiis. However, SquareTrade pointed out an April survey by media-research firm Nielsen that concluded the Wii is the least played of the three major consoles, being used for only 516 minutes per month. By contrast, the Xbox 360 is played over twice as much (1,191 minutes per month), with the PS3 lagging slightly behind it (1,053 minutes per month).

Also to its credit, SquareTrade released a timeline for Xbox 360s that failed in their first year. Up until 2007, the 360 "Xenon" and "Zephyr" models were equipped with a 90nm-process CPU and GPU that generated considerable heat--a likely culprit in the still officially unexplained Red Ring of Death failures. Their replacement, called "Falcon," was released in the fourth quarter of 2007 with a cooler 65nm-process CPU and a 90nm GPU, several months after the launch of the Xbox 360 Elite.

However, the Falcon introduction had an adverse immediate effect, with the first two quarters of 2008 seeing first-year 360 failures spike to 10 percent. However, the study points out that a sell-off of older consoles in the fourth quarter of 2007, which then met their maker the following year, could also be a factor.

Since Q3 2008, first-year 360 failure rates have plummeted.

Fortunately, SquareTrade found that Xbox 360 quality has improved dramatically since the third quarter of 2008, shortly before the 65nm CPU/GPU "Jasper" model was introduced. Since then, first-year failure rates have plummeted to below the 4 percent the company projected. Looking at 500 units purchased in 2009, SquareTrade found that less than 1 percent had suffered the Red Ring of Death.

[zamboni]

Type in "70% xbox failure rate" into google. Your 54% is 54% of all Xbox owners having ONE fail, getting it fixed, then having another one fail, which bumps the numbers of actual failed consoles around the 70% range.

Even if your 54% is correct, would you buy a gun that fired half the time? A car that started half the time? Xbox is outselling PS because the prices have been significantly lower, now that the prices are getting closer together, PS sales will go up. Factor in Blu Ray and free online play, plus the lower fail rate and PS will overtake Xbox in daily sales.

[zamboni]

Off topic...

I'd be curious to know the number of xbox's and PS3's have been sold. I would also like to know how many owners of each brand participate in online play. Are there more Xbox owners online or PS3 owners.

I have no idea to the answer of either question, just curious as to which one is more popular.

Xbox has outsold the PS3 by far, it was out a year before the PS3, and when the PS3 was released they were $600. How many ppl were going to pay that? Factor in one more thing- PS2's were still available for sale, CHEAP. Like I said above, now that the prices are close, PS is catching up.

[Nick Kuhn]

I can't think of any other product sold that has a 70%+ fail rate. Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves

With the old 90nm parts they were way too hot. The smaller parts use less power and produce less heat, so the new ones are much much better.

If you get the right person you can have them fixed even when out of warranty so it isn't the worst thing in the world. My brother bought his 360 almost at release, and he just recently received a brand new one (the old one was beyond repair). The current one has been flawless, probably because it has the die-shrink parts in it.

[CJH]

I am baffled on the failure rate and sales success as well. Its one of the reasons I recently got the new PS3 Slim, which has an updated processor producing less heat as well. This is supposed to boost the reliability of the PS3 even farther. As mentioned, I wouldn't by anything with that high of a failure rate. That's one of the worst failure rates in all of modern electronics manufacturing. (Normal standards are 1-3%)

The PS3 is expected to overtake the XBox moving forward now that BluRay is starting to catch on, and with the soon to be released blockbuster game God of War 3 and the new Gran Tourismo. Sony dropped the ball in not having more of their big games ready at the launch of the PS3 and overpricing it. (they overestimated the initial demand for BluRay)

I hope it doesn't take forever to get your XBox fixed and back to you, good luck!!

[DTro]

I guess it’s a matter of preference. Those that purchased the 360 at that time were on the cutting edge of gaming.

Maybe some better QC could have been done on the platform before releasing It yes, but M$ has since stepped up and as mentioned in the article I posted, sank 1 billion dollars into making sure that the boxes were covered under warranty and all but rectified the situation with hardware updates.

This is just my opinion, but XBOX Live is head and shoulders above any of the other platforms network offering and I’m willing to pay the premium for it, not only that but the controller fits me like a glove, and I love that about the 360.

I can see why people who owned a PS and then PS2 would want a PS3, no doubt about it.

For me though I went from an Atari 2600, to a Nintendo, to a Super Nintendo, to a Sega Genesis, to the original XBox. So it made sense for me to go with a 360 since I really enjoyed the original XBox and I have no regrets for purchasing the 360.

I also believe that Blu-Ray is a flash in the pan (at least for movies) and a just a short hold-over until most everything is streamed.

[zamboni]

DTRO- BluRay discs are coming way down in price, and soon they will be around $5. That is a pretty good price on a HD movie. HD DVD was the flash in the pan, soon over 3/4ths of the homes in the US will have TVs that are HD capable, and they will want BluRay. It is here to stay

[DTro]

What I’m saying is that most physical media will be phased out eventually. I watch a couple movies a week, and I honestly don’t remember the last time I had to put a disc in to watch one

Streaming or “On Demand” is the future.

[zamboni]

How many 360's have you been through? You have never said

[CJH]

I agree, the streaming will be the way we watch media at home in the future. Right now, to really get a good HD picture, you need BluRay. I have tried streaming HD movies and wasn't real impressed. I am sure that will change over time.

I would think in a few years BluRay will take a back seat, but its a selling point right now. You gotta have the service and the bandwidth to distribute and download it. Nowadays all this stuff turns over every few years anyway, so who knows.

[DTro]

How many 360's have you been through? You have never said

I bought a release version 360 (yes waited in line for hours and sprinted to the back of the store).

I've had one RROD and sent in my unit and had a new one in a week.

That's the only issue I've had.

I think Microsoft has handled this well and I look forward to buying the next generation XBox.

At the same time, I'm not a PS3 hater.

[Jim Uran]

Soounds like Zamboni regrets not getting a 360.

[Scott K]

I have one of each, I like the controller on the 360, but I like the online play better on the ps3. I also think the picture is a little better on the ps3. No scientific test, but when the kids ask for a new game, they always ask for a ps3 game, instead of the 360. I have never asked them why though.

[zamboni]

Soounds like Zamboni regrets not getting a 360.

Had one, hated it. Controllers too big, went through batteries like crazy and hated the fact I had to buy a seperate charging pack for the controller. I have/had an original Xbox, it serves as the DVD player in my bedroom.

[zamboni]

At the same time, I'm not a PS3 hater.

I am not a 360 hater per se, but they have issues and people shouldn't have to go through what they go through to get it resolved. Whatever they are doing with most of the "fixed" units, why don't they do that when they are new? Makes no sense. They must like having to pay a staff to fix them, and have to pay for repairing them.

[Jim Uran]

I've heard the networking is better on the 360's than the PS3's. Is that correct?

[Nick Kuhn]

Xbox live is pretty good, and it networks with PCs for digital media well, but I'd like to see it support more video formats.

As far as the "fixed" 360's, the ones that can be repaired receive a better heatsink, while those that can't they just send you a brand new one.

I really don't see that many exclusive titles coming to the PS3 to make it catch up in sales. Gran Turismo? Well the 360 already has Forza 3 which is really good (compared to GT4 or Forza 2 I'd say you get the feeling you are driving much much faster). Otherwise most games are available on both platforms. GoW really isn't going to have many people buying a PS3 for it.