Six Rings In I'd hate to be attached to the phrase "justifiably bitter". There's nothing justifiable about all this. I've been through five Xbox 360s in two and a half years and I'm now out of warranty. I'm "Six Rings In" so to speak. If the temperamental, but still functioning, #6 goes, I'm screwed. I don't even know why I keep playing the thing sometimes. I have a PS3 and could easily transfer over most of my favorite games. I can't possibly explain why I put up with all of it. So instead of coming to grips with this cycle of abuse I'm just going to vent it all in this column. I'm going to spit on everything 360 lovers hold sacred until I feel better, and that might take a while. If you have anything to say to me, direct them at Zack@XboxFocus.com. Microsoft Hates Us by Zack Rovinsky July 22nd 2008 8:02 PMI’m disgruntled with Sony, I’ve been annoyed by Nintendo, but Microsoft is the only one of the big three that has truly pissed me off. My experience with my 360 has been more or less akin to that of being a beaten wife in denial. I'm currently on my 6th system and I’m so freaked out that it’ll break again that I sent in a questionable claim to Xbox support just to have a box and shipping info prepared just in case it goes. So here’s a list of every wrong, perceived or real, that Microsoft has done onto the gaming community (aka my “peeps”). Note: due to space restrictions the following will be limited to gaming-based examples of how Microsoft hates us, there are many, many more.Vista Microsoft has achieved the closest thing to a monopoly in the operating system market: an environment where the competition is either regarded as a cult, or simply laughed at. That’s why they can get away with baiting PC gamers as they did with Windows Vista, which is currently making people so miserable that they're going back to XP. That's right, thousands of geeks and technology freaks who live in a world where anything over a year old is ancient are willfully going back to the old OS because the hot new thing is a hateful piece of crap.The Brick In the first few months after the 360 launch we were treated to loads of size-comparison shots of the system’s external power next to things like a Gamecube, a game case, and in one of the internet's darker corners, someone’s wang. Sure enough the thing is unwieldy. It's so heavy it strains the cords connected to it, and it performs worse in heat than an overweight hooker. Battery-Eating Controller Maybe it’s my fault for having outdated expectations of my battery-powered devices, but I’d prefer to think it’s Microsoft hating us. Whatever the case, all I know is that I changed my Wavebird batteries once in two years and the batteries that came with my 360 controller lasted all of three weeks. After that, it was either buy the play and charge kit or a return to the Gameboy days when batteries were coveted like crack.The Core Disaffectionately known as the Xbox 3-Shitty, the core package was an unjustifiable purchase. Desperate parents were faced with crippling shortages, and the terrible choice between making their little snookums upset or getting the impaired Core package. Such a devastating moment of consumer agony could have been avoided if not for the… Worldwide Launch The classic story of the 360's launch was that while they were sitting on shelves in Japan, people were being robbed at gunpoint for one in the US. While I didn’t have to point a gun at anyone to get one, I did have to do some things I’m not too proud of. The Original Xbox Controller It was quite a sight to behold, a controller so big it could be used to smuggle in illegal immigrants. A controller so big it could pull other controllers into it's orbit. Did I mention it was big? Besides the whale-choking size, the monstrosity had a poor button layout and, as the launch controller, was the only option unless you wanted to import the well-proporioned Japanese controller. Oddly enough, a friend of mine still favored this massive thing, go figure. Headsets Wanna know how long it took me to break my Xbox 1 headset? 30 seconds. As soon as I put it on the connector snapped and I spent the next 6 months being playing with a headset held together by a yard of duct tape. I don’t think the hair around my right ear will ever grow back. Then, my 360 headset was destroyed beyond repair in another 30 seconds by a kitten with abandonment issues. Needless to say, I’m now using a third party headset, and it’s already lasted longer than the other two combined. Customization I just don’t get this whole customization craze. People are happily paying 20 bucks for a pretty hunk of plastic to make their 360 “theirs”. Add in the overpriced picture packs and themes, and I’m forced to draw the conclusion that people are idiots. Hmm, fourth time today, what a coincidence. Of course this wouldn’t be as bad if not for… Microsoft Points In the devious world of online micro transactions, a theme that should cost $1.50 ends up costing more than four times as much because this online pseudo-currency only comes in sets of much more than anyone needs. It’s like going to a rigged casino, losing half your chips, and being forced to gamble away the other half because you can’t cash out. Hmm, that doesn't really work. Maybe a simple sodomy analogy would’ve been less cumbersome. The List One of the finalists for “bane of my existence” being narrowly beaten out by capital punishment and this guy named Gordie I fought with in second grade. So many great games I always wanted to play (like Chronicles of Riddick, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, Otogi 2) but didn’t have the Xbox for. Even after schilling out the $500 to Microsoft via this guy on eBay, I still can’t play them until someone decides it’s worthy of emulation. That means I'll never be able to delve into such classics as Barbie Horse Adventures and Big Mutha Truckers. Avatars In, Gamerpics Out In the big kerfuffle about E3, certain nasty truths about all the shiny new stuff can get lost, or at least delayed until everybody's calmed down enough to start tempering expectations again like intelligent human beings. So I feel a responsibility to get up on my soapbox, dodge fanboy ejactulate, and speak the truth so that all may share in my outrage. The nasty truth about this new 360 dashboard update (the one with the Mac-like interface, the Wii-like avatars, and the complete lack of shame) is that is will render the gamerpics and themes that so many people have spent so much money on completely useless. To reiterate: all that cash, down the crapper. Also, while I'm at it; Santa's not real, wrestling is fixed, and mommy's "friend" Tony is banging her like a screen door in the next room. Reliability Issues This is, of course, the big one. If you can't guarantee your product will work when it gets to the consumer than the consumer won't buy it...in theory. While that never stopped me or anyone I know, it has caused me lots of grief. I've spoken to 15 different customer service reps of at least 3 different nationalities. I've even gotten sent on to someone at HQ who kissed my ass and called me every day for a week to make sure I wasn't going to do something drastic, like stop buying their products. I'm on my 6th console, and now that I'm out of warranty I live every day in fear. It's like Microsoft was contracted by the universe to dish out all the karmic payback from every time I hit my brother when we were kids. source site
Opinions and experience. All that needs to be said... Just reading that Headset bit...my Headset's fine and I've had it since April 2nd. But the battery thing is true. BTW; you find some interesting articles.
For a second I thought Reynbow actually wrote that. Some people are either unlucky or clumsy with their xbox, I've had mine for about 19 months and I've sent it away once, I'm still on the same box.
What a retard. All I can say is that he has had some of the worst luck. But with that headset issue he had, He should of put it out of reach from the cat. I found that out for myself, I left my headset on the chair and my dog came and chewed it up. As for my xbox, it has never had anything wrong with it. I have had two and they were both working fine.
I have a sense that most of these things are from Sony fanboys that are mad at the 360's success and dominance over this next gen console war. As for 3 red rings I have had only 2 times thenI learned that if I would have just bought an eliet like the smarter people I wouldn't have to worry but I didn't learn quick enough. Overall most of these "issues" are preventable and I would like to say any thing will break if its abused or missused. <This mean takes care of what you payed for otherwise it will break due to lack of maitanance and or general care for the product. People will always find sometyhing to complain about and this prooves that fact of life.
Very true, you'll see that on a lot of lists the Wii and PS3 are towards the top of worst console ever. The 360 is clearly the most successful console and as all other items it has its faults, he's either clumsy or unlucky(as I said earlier). I've gone through 3 headsets. On one I could hear but it didnt allow me to speak On another I could speaker but was unable to hear And my wireless one just randomly stopped working one day I'm now using a one I borrowed from a friend and its working fine.
Thats really unlucky my xbox 360 broke a week after halo 3 had been released and bungie lost it in the post so i got any game i wanted for free.
Very good thread! I have had my xbox since not last christmas but christmas before ... And it has broken once not too long ago .. And i have broken one mic .. So your right by the systems as many of my mates have had the RRoD ..
this made me laugh, its soo true though. there's not one reason they cant make better equipment, then to just make more money by having them break down all the time.
You bring up some goods points. My Xbox360 only had RROD once and lucky for me, my mom has amazing persuasion skills and managed to get the store to replace the broken Xbox360. I still haven’t gotten the “special box” to transport my Xbox360 for repair, lol. Also, my headsets break a lot 3rd party or not. Oh and BTW both the gamerpics and Themes still work (but probably not as good as before). And one more thing, you should have gone into more detail on how horrible the customer Service is... (Edit: oh you didn't write this, NM.) 1. They have absolutely no concept or understanding of your problem (it probally took microsoft hours too explain the phone to them). 2. They’ll randomly assume you have 1 of 4 problems listed on there transcripts and then they well read you off the “solution” to a problem that you don’t have. (One of the most important problems on the transcripts is "How do I by microsoft points?") 3. They barley understand English either. No wonder Bill gates said “there will be no more phone numbers in the future”. He really just wants people to stop calling him.
1 stop buying x boxes on ebay 2 get a play and charge kit dtop slaming the headset into the connector and above all if your luck is this bad go find other things to do than video games:happy:
yeah...i agree with this post. My xbox 360 just broke and i don't know what happened. i left for a week and came back broken. Whenever i turn it on, nothing shows up on the TV and the circle thing on the power button is red.
RRoD? mg: Some things are so true, some things are not. It also comes down to how you treat your stuff...
my headset is fine. One thing made me freak out though, i have an elite and it broke in the first month. but since then (7 months i think) its fine... Oh and the customer service helped me almost instantly when i called a second time (the first time it was an indian woman who was quieter than fish)
I'm on 5th or 6th headset since December. They all seem to have a break in the inner cords or something. Battery's are guzzled by the controller.
ive had mine for a year and nothing bad has happened (why the hell did i say that, now its gonna break)
Lawlz there's a conspiracy that Microsoft has computers in their devices that Non-explosively self-destruct after a certain amout of gameplay time. But srsly, that sucks. Only problem I have, well actually what my sister has, is her controller gets stuck slightly when she presses up. She may leave in the middle of a custom game, and if she faces toward somewhere you can fall off, she probably does. I think it's the fact she heads straight foward almost all of the time in Halo. To drive, to run, to fly, she goes straight it. If you have a controller that doesn't stick, but you want to prevent it, change you game strategy, strafe, turn more, stuff like that.
Wow, I must be the luckiest guy in the world when it comes to the RRoD. I have had my 360 since launch and have yet to have a problem. Thats after me playing Oblivion 6 hours straight everyday for months, along with a lot of halo 2 and even more halo 3. Now as for the headsets, I actually still use my launch headset to this day. I have had two third-party headsets break on me though, but the one supplied by Microsoft has never let me down. The play and charge kits on the other hand, have been nothing but torture for me. I have gone through three of those bitches and the one I have now is already trying to break on me. I hate them, but with the amount of time I play they are a necessity.
Some people are just unlucky i have to say this is the first ive heard of someone having to get a new xbox 6 different times. If that happened to me i would deffinatly be very mad but i love my xbox and i probally could'nt live without it (I my be having to send my xbox again to support because its starting to freeze a lot and making a loud noise when i turn it on). So far i've gone through a total about one xbox I got the Red Ring of Death right when i've heard about the problems microsoft had and when they just introduced the "New Warrenty plan" if you got the Red Ring of Death. When i got the Red Ring of Death i went without my xbox for a month. Now for some of you a month my not be long at all or that could just be the average.