The 360 Was Rushed and shows!?

[ghost master]

Just for the record I plan on getting a 360 eventually.

So, the Xbox 360 launch was a success, right? Turns out the jury is still out - and early reports the morning after are not pretty. From unconfirmed rumors of near-riots as employees apparently hoarded Xbox 360 systems in front of waiting customers, to numbers of pre-orders that went unfulfilled, some are saying Microsoft mishandled the launch.
Both those who actually got the system in hand are breathing easy and living it up, right?

Some of them are. But others are posting a plethoral of problems with their brand-new 360s, from game crashes to hard drives that simply don't work.

One reasonable gamer lays it out like this: "Between my friends and I, we bought 6 machines at the Zero Hour event. Of the 6, my machine has a dead hard drive, another machine is working but is rather flaky (seen some strange behavior - the drive may also be scratching discs, as my friend's copy of Condemned is now unplayably scratched, but we don't know if the drive caused it - the machine has also had problems booting games and being turned off...), one seems to be good, and I haven't heard yet about the status of the other three."

Is there enough evidence to shout "recall"? While there are plenty of stories in the games press and blogging scene this morning, many of them seem centered on one fellow's experience - a poster called "Jsgongwon" on the Xbox-Scene forums who included pictures of his crash, which apparently happened repeatedly during Project Gotham Racing 3. "So far haven't been able to play one track without crashing... also got this crashing on Xbox Live screen and on startup too..." he writes.

Another fellow on the same message board reports that his 360 "just turned off" during Perfect Dark Zero.

And some stories seem - well, not to be unduly harsh, but they seem a bit shady. One poster, for example, claimed she had exchanged her 360 because of a defect and the same thing happened. Other posters wondered how on earth she found another 360 in the same area to trade her old one for. I'm not calling her a liar, understand, but merely pointing out it's easy to make stuff up on the internet.

But that there are some systems experiencing real problems is not in doubt. Even here in our offices we have had some incidents with retail units. One of them overheated and crashed during Project Gotham Racing 3, though not as spectacularly as Jsgongwon's experience. Dan "Shoe" Hsu also reported that a very strange echo effect happened during Xbox Live play of Perfect Dark Zero - sometimes a word said over chat would endlessly repeat in a strange echo effect over and over in the headphones. Some kind of bizarre feedback loop?

Just how widespread is the scope of 360 problems, though? It's a little too early to call whether these problems are systemic or isolated bugs. Consumers have to spend a little more time with the machines and we do, too, testing out various games and Xbox Live experiences. We also need to divide the hardware problems from the software bugs. Microsoft has been alerted to these issues and are currently investigating. We should have a statement from them shortly.

In the meantime, if you do have a 360, treat it as you would a gaming PC, which is essentially what it is. Don't leave it on all night long to idle, don't wrap it in a blanket, don't stick it anywhere it won't get enough ventilation. Just in case.

source 1up.com

 

[The Battousai]

Well most console launches are bad, however 360 tops the list as the most bugs at launch. I went to my friend's house afterschool today to play his 360 and it froze right in the middle of PGR3. If microsoft took their time instead of trying to meet black friday we would have something (I was anticipating it and was anxiously waiting for a price drop). Graphics could have been bettter (PGR3 looks likes GranTurismo 4), bugs would be fixed, and we would have oblivion at launch (that was the main reason I didn't buy one at launch, thank God though, I would ended up with a buggy, rushed system). Sony has an edge if they can launch their system at $350 (which is probable) and test their consoles instead of mass production. That would create some good hype, xbox 360 has shown it's flaws, if ps3 can nail where 360's mistakes were 360's lead won't last much longer. I still do think 360 is a good system (just not buying one anymore) and the second batch (comes on black friday) will be much better and less buggy. Right now my xbox is basically a 360 without the bugs and the slight boost in graphics (in the first generation of games) that will satisfy my console needs while I wait for ps3.

 

[WinterSnowblind]

Sony is well known for having crappy systems. A few 360's are known to have some problems, but you can easily get it replaced. This is nothing compared to Sony's PS2 shrotages, and use of faulty parts so people actually have to go out and buy replacements.

 

[WinterSnowblind]

Sure some people's PS2's will be worken fine, but Sony actually went to court over these disc read errors, so there's no way you can deny it.
Also, I treat all my consoles and games perfectly. I bought a new slim-line PS2 last year, and it broke down and had to be replaced after a week.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Die Halo AV Adaptors, Die!

 

[PhQnix]

Lol, Microsoft and software bugs who would've put those together

This is probably because they rushed the production to do a near simultaneous world wide launch, but I do wonder if they have enough stock to replace the broken 360's?

Sony is well known for having crappy systems. A few 360's are known to have some problems, but you can easily get it replaced. This is nothing compared to Sony's PS2 shrotages, and use of faulty parts so people actually have to go out and buy replacements.

First I've heard of them and faulty systems, my PS2 has worked fine since I got it - roughly the christmas it was launched - apart from disc read errors due to dirty disc read lenses.

 

[WinterSnowblind]

My point was that there's very few faultly 360's. Every electrical appliance is going to be shipped with SOME faulty units. But the fanboys and the media are blowing this way out of proportion, like every single 360 isn't going to work, when infact almost none of them are faulty.

 

[WinterSnowblind]

Proving their not faulty? How exactly am I supposed to do that? Look around. Xbox.com, Gamefaqs, talk to some friends who have a 360, anywhere with gamers. Go to an Xbox forum and tell how many people you can find that are having problems with their 360. I think you'll find it's almost none. Yet the media are telling us 1/20 are defective?

 

[kaibachaoschampion]

I have had three PS2's. My third one, which is the silver version not slim is working. Two of my friends have has their PS2 break too. Not to mention the many other PS2's I have hears to break. I have heard of about 5 now due to Latios pointing out that it didn't break either. Other than that unreliable after about a year i'd say. My Silver one is going ok though.

 

[Kez]

Well I just have to say that that has put me off of an Xbox 360 for good now. I am not ever getting one, not that I was planning to get one, but this has definatly puty me off. What is the point in buying a console for around £300 and it could ruin all of your £35-40 games. It seems like too much of a risk to me.

 

[WinterSnowblind]

XBox forum? Yapparidane...

Shadowfax. Something other than a XBox biased place?

Actually forget it. I can't understand you. You say that the media or sites who apparently is biased towards Sony and against XBox is just putting on some big facade and that people shouldn't believe them. And now you're saying to believe a site that's biased towards XBox and against Sony that whatever they spit out that's Sony related is pure and simple truth?

I'm just going to stop here. You're obviously not worth it anymore.

I'm not listening to media sites about Sony. You think they'd get taking to court for purposefully building bad hardware if it weren't true?

And just because it's an Xbox forum, people aren't going to be so biased they're ignoring problems like this. The fact is almost no 360's have problems. Period. But I'm sure you can find a lot of people on here, and on other forums that have had major problems with PS2's. I don't recall ever bringing up a website spreading crap about Sony.

 

[PUrEHearT]

PS2 had shortages cause it actually sold, Xbox will never be sold out because not many people want it

I never seen people break PS2's on purpose but i saw people breaking the Xbox 360 on purpose... here's picture

http://photobucket.com/albums/b216/pureheat101/?action=view&current=brokenxbox360.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/b216/pureheat101/?action=view&current=brokenxbox3602.jpg

i wonder why some people would break their Xboxes on purpose... you guys can answer that question

it is true that the first editions of game systems dont work most of the time, but hard disk problem? when microsoft is like the owner of computers now? please

 

[The Battousai]

I think maybe the reason 360 launched so early is because they knew they couldn't compete with ps3. Ps3 is bound to sell more units than 360 if the two came out during the same time frame. This is because they have the largest fanbase or loyal following (not me I buy the best systems of each generation, and I will most likely buy a ps3, or maybe even the revolution it actually looks cool now) that will buy the ps3 no matter what. Microsoft knew this and rushed on the market to get as much sales as they possibly could with black friday and what not. They ended up failing with buggy units at launch which was proclaimed through the media. If this blows out of proportion 360 is sure to lose the console race, with many consumers avoiding the 360 because of this and waiting for the ps3 and the revolution. Personally I would much rather microsoft take all the time they need and launch it near ps3's launch then rush it for a quick buck. I would have more respect for them as a company that cares for the consumers.

 

[PhQnix]

i wonder why some people would break their Xboxes on purpose... you guys can answer that question

Lol. Fanboys.

This is the answer to your question, it's also the site you got those pictures off and then lied about why it was smashed, well done you.

 

[ShiningClefairy]

Both Sony and Microsoft have fairly buggy products. From what we've seen, nobody's going to care, as long as their console is "hip" and not "kiddie". And whether Sony is going to take advantage of the 360 screwups, I'll take a guess: Probably not. A company who had to forcefully replace faulty products isn't going to improve.

I played the 360 at my EB games today, and I think the controller was rushed. It's the exact same, except for the shape. My left thumb felt really really awkward, as if there should be more controller where there isn't near the left analog stick. It's also way too thin for it's own good. The controller S was perfect for FPSes. The original XBOX controller, at least it's not that...

 

[PUrEHearT]

Xbox controller is seriously unchanged... oh yes the wire went away for some of them... BIG IMPROVEMENT!

Revolution has like a whole NEW controller
PS3... is... unique

 

[The Battousai]

Well I think the best thing about the 360 is the controller, it kept the design of controller s while changing the white and black buttons to shoulder buttons. The thing is why buy a 360 when some of it's best games are on the computer (halo, KOTOR, Oblivion, half-life etc.), this is why I regret purchasing xbox and am most likely not purchasing the 360. PS3 is my favorite of the next-gen consoles mainly because I loved ps2 (only sold it because of random DRE's) it had basically every game made by 3rd party devlopers plus some really good exclusives. PS3 should be hardly any different except for more power, blu-ray disc media, and the new controller lay out (which is decent). As for revolution I am starting to like the system. My main problem at first was the controller, I used to hate it (Shiny Clefairy can tell you that) but now it actually looks like fun to play and I wonder what nintendo can do with this (hopefully they don't stray too far from what gaming should be and originally was though). I am probably not buying one (and if I do it will be a secondary console I'll buy for $100 or less) but I am sure going to be playing this at a friends house.

 

[Steve]

I think maybe the reason 360 launched so early is because they knew they couldn't compete with ps3. Ps3 is bound to sell more units than 360 if the two came out during the same time frame. This is because they have the largest fanbase or loyal following (not me I buy the best systems of each generation, and I will most likely buy a ps3, or maybe even the revolution it actually looks cool now) that will buy the ps3 no matter what. Microsoft knew this and rushed on the market to get as much sales as they possibly could with black friday and what not. They ended up failing with buggy units at launch which was proclaimed through the media. If this blows out of proportion 360 is sure to lose the console race, with many consumers avoiding the 360 because of this and waiting for the ps3 and the revolution. Personally I would much rather microsoft take all the time they need and launch it near ps3's launch then rush it for a quick buck. I would have more respect for them as a company that cares for the consumers.

OK, that is just plain BS right there. Regardless of whether or not they shipped buggy units, they sold pretty much ALL of the 360's that shipped. I'm betting that less than 1% of 360s have gone unshipped. And just because a few people got their 360s messed up, doesn't mean that Microsoft isn't willing to replace it. And if you don't want to ruin your games, then DON'T PLAY IT WITH THE CONSOLE VERTICAL.

$10 says 360's will be sold out during every shipment for the next 2 and and a half months, at least enough time to fulfill the pre-orders. And yes, I'll admit that they couldn't combat a similarly-priced PS3 at the same time, it'll be different at PS3's launch. The 360 will have more, better looking, and better games, and a significantly larger fanbase than the PS3 during the PS3's launch, and it will cost significantly ($50 - $100) less than the PS3 by then. Just because YOU will not get the 360 and will get the PS3, by no stretch of the imagination means that other people share your sentiments.

 

[The Battousai]

Microsoft sold all the units but that was because they only shipped 1 million. Companies do this to create hype, but when 1/3 of the consoles are buggy you're going to have complaints and your going to have angry customers. Also you do not know if the 360 will cost $50.00-$100.00 less than a ps3 at launch, it's pretty much guarenteed with the core package but it's not guarenteed with the premium. All you have is an educated guess, ps3 could take an intense loss and launch at $300 or $350. It could also launch at $400 or $450 and be a higher price than the premium package. As for 360's fanbase I do believe 360 will have a large fanbase in America but I highly doubt it will in Japan. Japan has a large percentage of gamers and developers, being loved or hated here pretty much breaks or makes your console (xbox survived on live and halo without them we would not have a 360). As for the games I will be playing oblivion and halo 3 on my computer not on a overrated console, the game is what matters the most not the graphics so I don't really need to upgrade more than neccesary to play newer computer games. You can still buy it, it's still a good console (for those without computers or hate the keyboard and mouse set-up) and it will most likely sell well here just don't expect a lot of good rpg's (besides ninja gaiden which may go multi-platform, and Final Fantasy XI which was remade several times) and other japanese made games. If your a sports and fps lover go for it though.

 

[skiboydoggy]

You make... Me... Wanna... Cry...

A do recall, a page ago, someone said 1/20 Xboxes were buggy, which is already quite a stretch.
5% is a lot of Xboxes, anyway, you say the computer is going to have all the same games as the Xbox, which is due to the fact that they belong to the same company. However, have you thought for a moment that the Xbox actually plays differently from the almighty PC?
(Despises playing Halo with mouse. Not to mention the lack of cool shoulders.)

Also, being the weird head you are, you say the FFXI was remade multiple times, though as the case is, it is FFVII.
(Let's see... Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Game, Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis, Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerebus...)
Right... Oh, and Final Fantasy VII for the PC... Why do I not see all the PS fans flocking to the PC then? After all, you said the Xbox survived on Live and Halo.
Therefore I shall say that the PS survived on Final Fantasy. More than one were remade.

Honestly, I would like to see you play DoA on your PC you dum-dum.

(Almost two hundred countries, if they shipped a million altogether, that would bring us to a grand total of 50000 consoles per country... Hmm...)

I would continue, but deciphering your typing is now hurting my eyes.