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Study: Xbox 360 RROD on the decline

by Justin McElroy { Sep 2nd 2009 at 9:03AM }

We're not sure there's a great way to write this post without you beautiful monsters turning it into flamebait -- nay, a flamesteak. We're just going to chuck it into the pit and then walk away in slow motion while the animals devour it. If we do it right, it should be very Guy Ritchie. SquareTrade, which claims to be the largest independent warranty provider in the world, has presented data indicating that the Red Ring of Death has been on the decline since the introduction of the Jasper chipset in early 2009. The findings were based on 16,000 new consoles covered by the company.

Well, that's great news! We don't think we're forgetting anything.Nope, we're all set. Well, we guess the report did say that the Wii was nine times more reliable than the 360 and four times more reliable than the PS3, but we can't imagine that's of much interest to anyone. [begin slo-mo walking]

[Via IndustryGamers]

Digital Foundry examines why 360 and PS3 can't take the heat

by Justin McElroy { Aug 31st 2009 at 10:50AM }

You could make the argument that system reliability has been the preeminent conversation of this console generation, but it's one often clouded by speculation and a lack of reliable information. Digital Foundry talked to Darren Thickbroom, an engineer for an independent console workshop, who offered a lot of revealing insight into the issue.

Thickbroom explained that the massive amount of heat generated by the HD systems -- exacerbated by high-end technology crammed into a small compartment -- contribute to their eventual demise (and all because you played on them so often). And like many "exclusive" games this generation, this is by no means constrained to one console. Though Xbox 360 failure rates are abysmal, Thickbroom noted that more PS3s have been appearing in his workshop. His gloomy prognosis? "It comes down to how much you play it. People might disagree with us, but this is the way we see it: if you handle the machines day-in, day-out with the issues they've got, I'd expect to change them every year."

We have the same rule for our underwear, so that part should be easy to remember.

Game Informer: Xbox 360 at 54.2 percent failure rate

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 17th 2009 at 4:01PM }

The latest issue of Game Informer contains a surprising statistic for anyone who's ever loved and lost their Microsoft-branded home console – according to their survey, in which over 5,000 console owners participated, the Xbox 360's current failure rate due to the Red Ring of Death, E74 or other hardware failure is 54.2 percent. They also calculated the relative death toll for PS3s due to the Yellow Light of Death (10.3 percent) and Wiis, due to ... well, we're not actually sure what color the Wii's light turns to upon its demise (6.8 percent).

Unfortunately, for having the highest failure rate, survey participants also pinned Microsoft for having the least helpful customer service representatives. Not that it matters – later in the survey, only 3.8 percent of participants said they'd never buy another Xbox 360 due to its high failure rate.

Speaking of which, we're not sure what future techno-utopia this poll was conducted in, but a 54.2 percent Xbox 360 failure rate sounds awfully low. Had the survey's participants been comprised entirely of Joystiq staffers, it would have been a bone-chilling 100 percent.

[Via Consumerist]

PSA: E74 victims should have received refund check by now

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 1st 2009 at 12:40PM }

If your Xbox 360 fell victim to the E74 error and you paid Microsoft for the repair, you should have received a refund check back from the company by today. If you paid for a repair and have yet to receive a check, you'll need to follow up with Microsoft before the hard deadline of November 1, 2009. After that ... well, you're just going to have to eat it.

The E74 error was placed under a similar warranty to that of the Xbox 360's "Red Ring of Death," after data revealed it was another widespread defect for the console.

[Thanks, Matt L]

Microsoft kills 'coffin' policy, time to pack your RRoD Xbox yourself

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 8th 2009 at 4:30PM }

Microsoft – the manufacturer of the RRoD-prone Xbox 360 – has confirmed to Joystiq that it's discontinued its policy of providing a prepaid box with shipping label, more commonly referred to as the "coffin," for all Xbox 360 repairs. As of May 26 the policy was discontinued "in an effort to expedite the repair process." Customers will have the option of receiving an e-label to slap on the box they ship their bricked consoles in, but the days of the "coffin" are now over. A Microsoft spokesperson tell us, "Customers can now ship their consoles themselves using an e-label provided by Microsoft and do not need to wait for an empty box to be shipped to them."

Apparently Microsoft's accountants were getting tired of that budget line item signifying thousands of dollars spent on providing cardboard boxes to the millions of consumers with defective units (often multiple times). We likely should have seen the writing on the wall when we recently contacted Microsoft to find out what recourse customers had if customer service wasn't offering coffins.

Our advice: Mail it to Microsoft in whatever packaging you've got lying around (remember: they're going to fix it regardless) and save the special, custom-fit packaging they mail it back to you in. Odds are you'll use it again.

3-year Xbox 360 warranty extended to cover E74 errors

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Apr 14th 2009 at 7:42AM }

It's been a difficult time for you, we know. While all your friends were getting the radical Red Ring of Death and happily cashing in on Microsoft's three-year Xbox 360 warranty, you had to make do with a decidedly less impressive (though equally cataclysmic) hardware failure, one that couldn't even manage to spit out more than a few crimson lights.

But your lonely torment is at an end, with Microsoft ceasing its defection discrimination and revealing via the Xbox Support page that the mysterious E74 error is now covered by the RROD's three-year warranty. Microsoft has determined "that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console," and will "refund to customers the amount paid for an out of warranty repair due to a general hardware failure associated with the e74 error message." If you don't automatically receive this refund by July 1, 2009, you'll need to claim one through xbox.com/support before November 1, 2009.

Hooray! Welcome to the club, E74 victims! Um, sorry about your Xbox.

[Thanks, Peter]

Reminder: Xbox 360 repairs should always have the option of a 'coffin'

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 7th 2009 at 3:30PM }

We discussed it at the end of Episode 111 of X3F yesterday, but we continue to hear from folks that Microsoft's repair support isn't offering "coffins" to return busted consoles. Just to retread this issue, Microsoft confirmed to us a couple weeks ago that postage-paid boxes should be offered in "all scenarios, regardless of the repair." Furthermore, "this policy is global, not region-specific."

To help those out who continue to have issues with this explicitly stated service, we've contacted Microsoft PR to ask what recourse customers have who are not being offered coffins. We will update as soon as we receive a response. We've placed the policy after the break for reference.

Continued →

More survey data backs up Xbox 360's E74 increase

by Justin McElroy { Mar 23rd 2009 at 4:24PM }

So, we only tracked around 60 incidences of E74 in our last batch of emails, so we thought you'd be interested in seeing the results after we cataloged the more than 170 emails we've received about E74 since our original piece went live.

As you'll see, there's a huge increase of E74 claims since the launch of the New Xbox Experience. In fact, you can see a spike right around November, and many claiming an E74 in that month say it was just a day or two after installing the firmware. The evidence that we've gathered from emails, our poll and the Engadget poll all points to the same conclusion: There's been a definite increase in E74 errors since the NXE dropped. Whether that's due to a change in error reporting, a change in the way the system operates causing the error or simply increased use during that time, we can't say. Check past the jump for all the data.

Continued →

Xbox 360 repairs should always have the option of a 'coffin'

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 20th 2009 at 10:57AM }

With all this talk of the Xbox 360's E74 error, and the continued presence of the RRoD, we are reminded of former Microsoft executive Peter Moore's request that we not focus on the Xbox's problems, but rather on the quality of the repair service. To that end, we've received conflicting reports about whether consumers are being offered the option of receiving a box -- which has come to be known as "the coffin" -- from the company, when dealing with Microsoft's customer service in India. When we took a quick sampling earlier this week using Twitter, answers were all over the map, so we followed up with Microsoft to get a clear and direct answer.

Reports that the company now requires consumers to find their own packaging when sending in an Xbox 360 for repair are "inaccurate," a Microsoft spokesperson told us. The company has always given two options and "this policy is global, not region-specific." Customers have the choice of either printing an e-Label (and providing their own box) or receiving a coffin from the company (this should take about five business days).

The representative did "confirm that the same policy applies to all scenarios, regardless of the repair." So, just to clear up any future confusion: There should always be the option of receiving a coffin when dealing with an Xbox 360 repair scenario.

Reference -- Official Microsoft repair FAQ
Reference -- Online console repair support

Joystiq survey: Xbox 360 E74 errors on the rise since NXE [update]

by Justin McElroy { Mar 19th 2009 at 2:40PM }

When we recently posted about the Xbox 360's E74 error and asked for your input, we weren't prepared for the staggering response we'd receive. Within a few hours, we had dozens of emails from readers like you who had experienced this particular hardware failure (typically caused, according to unofficial web reports, by a loose scaling chip). It was surprising to touch such a nerve, but what really knocked us for a loop was what we found when we started compiling the data sent to us.

Continued →

Is your Xbox 360 an E74 victim?

by Justin McElroy { Mar 17th 2009 at 11:45AM }

[Update 2: The results are in, check them all out right here.]

Considering the Red Ring of Death (to put it kindly) debacle, we're going to be extremely careful with what we say here. We're starting to see and receive numerous reports from readers, friends and in forums like this of Xbox 360s becoming the victims of an error labeled by the console as "E74." We've received only a few of these reports (two in '07; one in '08) prior to the recent barrage of complaints. When contacted, a Microsoft rep told Joystiq she wasn't familiar with the problem (the company is currently looking into it), so here's what we've been able to piece together by ourselves:

The E74 error seems to be related to video problems. It's occasionally caused by a faulty AV cord, but more often than not, the solder on the ANA/HANA (in HDMI models) scaling chip has come loose. In fact, many have reported creating a temporary fix by wrapping pennies in electrical tape and weighing the ANA/HANA down. (For the record, we're not suggesting you do that.) Before the error, the system usually starts showing graphical problems like lines across the screen or snow. It's accompanied by one red light in the lower right-hand quadrant.

So, we've got a poll right after the break where you can weigh in with your own experience. Also, if you've got more details, we'd love it if you would email us here.

[Update 1: Our friends at Negative Gamer just sent this interesting Google Trends result our way. As you can see, E74 was basically a non-issue until August of 2008. Interesting ...]

Continued →

Broken Xbox 360? Be happy you don't live in Nome, Alaska

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 16th 2009 at 3:30PM }

We almost all have Red Ring of Death stories at this point, but few compare to that of Kim Galleher in Nome, Alaska. The Seattle Times reports on the mother's month-long quest to get her 13-year-old son's Xbox 360's RRoD warranty honored by Microsoft. Turns out the main situation revolves around MS not sending a coffin because Galleher's address wasn't recognized -- it's speculated in the piece this is because the United States Postal Service delivers mail in the region to post-office boxes. Meanwhile, other attempts to circumvent the address glitch with Microsoft also failed. Although Galleher's circumstances are slightly out of standard parameters, the whole piece reads like one giant failure in customer service.

One of the better parts in the story is Galleher wrote a letter to Xbox honcho Robbie Bach, stating that Microsoft ought to be "ashamed that a group of women at Victoria Secret can figure out how to send a bra to [her] via UPS and yet Microsoft can't figure out how to send an empty box."

For fairness, we contacted the Nome, Alaska visitor's bureau to get a little more background about the mail situation in the town, located at the end of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The incredibly pleasant woman on the phone said she had the same problem when dealing with another computer warranty situation and the post-office box issue causes problems from time to time. As for Galleher, Microsoft contacted her directly through an advocate to inform her a "repaired console" should arrive by March 17.

[Thanks, Matt S.]

Microsoft on RROD: The worst is behind us

by Dustin Burg { Feb 17th 2009 at 10:50AM }

Talking with Edge Online, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg discusses the past and present Xbox 360 hardware situation, claiming that those bleak days of RROD failure are (mostly) over.

"What it comes down to is isolating and figuring out the issue, fixing the issue, and the more that we can fix the issue, and know it's fixed, then we're good going forward," said Greenberg. "We've put the worst behind us on this, but we know there are a few lagging systems, and so we want to take those and make it right."

Hopefully, Microsoft can move towards a brighter future with its more reliable Jasper technology and leave its problematic hardware past behind. Those early RROD days were really, really, really bad and we welcome any improvement in hardware quality. If not for Microsoft's sake, at least for ours. Sending out RROD condolence cards is getting old.

Counting Rupees: Once bitten, twice shy

by Geoffrey Brooks { Nov 28th 2008 at 5:45PM }

Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming:

This past week, my 360 finally gave up the ghost. It began with an occasional hard freeze, and a day later was freezing every two or three minutes – a tell-tale symptom of impending red rings of death. Unfortunately, my Xbox exhibited all of the symptoms except an actual series of red rings: a problem that, as the Microsoft support agent informed me, meant that my device was no longer covered by the extended warranty. There goes $99. A series of problems sending me e-mails (and later the actual shipping box) have cost me at least a month of playing time ... during the busiest gaming season of the year.

The point is not to complain about my problems per se – I'm hardly the first gamer to have experienced these issues and I'm sure that I won't be the last. But since I haven't been playing, I've had a lot of time to think about the implications of these issues on hardware manufacturers, publishers, developers, and even retailers. Do my problems matter to the businesses that care about me?

Continued →

Microsoft to open 'Avatar Store' next year

by Justin McElroy { Oct 28th 2008 at 4:24PM }

A Microsoft staffer has revealed that, beginning next year, users of the New Xbox Experience will be able to use an "Avatar Store" to buy clothes and other branded items for their avatars. What's with the surprised expressions everyone? Oh, sorry, did you not totally see this coming?

Robin Burrowes, European product manager for Xbox Live, told Videogamer.com, "The plan of record will be to launch a more extensive Avatar Store from spring time onwards next year, and that store in theory would have branded content in there, game publisher IP stuff in there as well."

What shirt do we most look forward to spending our hard-earned cash on? Why, a red-ringer-T, of course! Thank you.

[Via X3F]