The Mercury News stands by its comments to skip the Xbox 360

[Zeus]

Mike Antonucci has posted up part 2 of his editorial which is titled "The Xbox 360 - just skip it." He received many a comment following the first part and has since seeked to further justify his opinion. He concludes by saying that to him it seems like a poor choice on the behalf of a consumer to accept the risk of faulty hardware even if there is there a hassle-induced extended warranty.


Some of the people who agree with me dismiss the Microsoft defenders as fanboys. I know what that means, but it’s a harsher (and, to me, less preferable) way of saying that the Xbox 360’s core audience is a narrow and less-than-mature demographic niche. I just think it’s a very specific niche, with very specific tastes, and not representative of most consumers (hence the overwhelming head-to-head success of the Wii).

I’m not going down the road of a point-by-point argument over game inventory (again, read the whole comment thread on the previous post), but it seems to me a poor consumer choice to accept the risk of faulty and expensive hardware for the come-on of the games. Right, there’s a much better warranty now, but what a hassle to take advantage of it!


News Source: <a href="http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/07/the_xbox_360_--_just_skip_it_part_two.html" target="_blank">Mercurynews.com</a>

[blade47167]

Exactly even with a 3 year warranty how long is it going to take them to get you a new system during this down time. Service centers are already refusing to fix the large quantity's because of the cost and labor entailed.

Needs to be a recall but MS won't do that. Took them over a year to finally admit the problem. The knew the article about 2.5mil being returned was coming yesterday so they had to announce a warranty expansion otherwise it would have been a PR nightmare. It still is in a way tho. It still has especially now that they had to acknowledge the problem. Was a double edged sword.

[Viewsat]

This generation's consoles simply never should have been released. The 360 is a ticking time bomb and the PS3 is just an over-priced trojan horse for Blu-Ray. They should have waited another year or two for the price of technology to lower so these machines could have been released at a reasonable price.

[Scorpion3]

Exactly even with a 3 year warranty how long is it going to take them to get you a new system during this down time. Service centers are already refusing to fix the large quantity's because of the cost and labor entailed.

Needs to be a recall but MS won't do that. Took them over a year to finally admit the problem. The knew the article about 2.5mil being returned was coming yesterday so they had to announce a warranty expansion otherwise it would have been a PR nightmare. It still is in a way tho. It still has especially now that they had to acknowledge the problem. Was a double edged sword.

Any proof there chief? About them refusing to fix consoles, which would breach the contract of 3 Year Warranties or even the people who paid for extended warranties. It would be cool to have a recall, but they'd have to put all production at a hault just to collect 10 million consoles to repair them, that's the hard part of it all.

This generation's consoles simply never should have been released. The 360 is a ticking time bomb and the PS3 is just an over-priced trojan horse for Blu-Ray. They should have waited another year or two for the price of technology to lower so these machines could have been released at a reasonable price.

Very well said. They both should have waited for the next console release.

[khukon]

dont say evil things about the 360. people will have hurt feelings.:D

[aic007]

While there is no excuse for the failure rate of the systems, to write to system off because of that is absurd. There are many people including myself who have had countless hours of fun using it. It definately looks bad for MS but every company, besides nintendo has had to deal with mass console failures. Anyone remember flipping a PS1 like a flap jack to get it running?

Hopefully when they get the 65nm processors out this problem will end and people wont have to worry about the ROD, until then enjoy the time you have with it and if it does go out for repairs, make friends with the outside world again.

[blade47167]

Any proof there chief? About them refusing to fix consoles, which would breach the contract of 3 Year Warranties or even the people who paid for extended warranties. It would be cool to have a recall, but they'd have to put all production at a hault just to collect 10 million consoles to repair them, that's the hard part of it all.

Yes chief here you got... :rolleyes:

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/29/uk-repair-service-micromart-refuses-xbox-360/

[Oner]

dont say evil things about the 360. people will have hurt feelings.:D

...chuckle.

[Scorpion3]

Yes chief here you got... :rolleyes:

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/29/uk-repair-service-micromart-refuses-xbox-360/

Thanks, I wasn't being a ****, I was actually wanting to read. But, strangely enough it's only in UK and at this Micromart place? They're not even affiliated with Microsoft? That's like saying EB Games is evil for not taking back a broken Wii. When you want your 360 fixed, you send it to Microsoft, not some UK Game fixing station.

[msanchez]

This generation's consoles simply never should have been released. The 360 is a ticking time bomb and the PS3 is just an over-priced trojan horse for Blu-Ray. They should have waited another year or two for the price of technology to lower so these machines could have been released at a reasonable price.

I 100% agree with you. The ps3 and the wii both suffer from lack of games; as much of a supporter of either format you are you simply have to acknowledge this, and the 360 definitely needed more beta testing. If the ps3 would have been released at this point in time with the games it currently has available it would have probably done much better. Right now for a launch lineup this would have been superb, but it's not for a 8 month old console. The wii is doing good, but it's not based on its current games selection... or at least that's what I think. The 360....... well I'm sure if they would have done some more testing the problems would have been ironed out and it would have still been the first console released.

One negative for the ps3 would have been that an extra year of hype would have been disastrous. They put everyones expectations so high that's it was simply too easy to disappoint them.

[mrdj]

nonsen...:) Why skip the 360 becouse it has i stablish market as any other nextgen consoles out there :confused: Sound more like a disapointed 360 owner to me that have write this :D

[Calidrifter]

nonsen...:) Why skip the 360 becouse it has i stablish market as any other nextgen consoles out there :confused: Sound more like a disapointed 360 owner to me that have write this :D
Well, if he is in fact a disappointed owner...then it's justified right? Everyone has a right to their own opinion.

[xboxuser32]

My 360 never failed me, and I had it since the 1st day it was released.
I only had to exchange it once, in May, when I was banned from Live.
Thank you Walmart! :)

[Scorpion3]

Well, if he is in fact a disappointed owner...then it's justified right? Everyone has a right to their own opinion.

Justified by his opinion of MS because of his experiences, of course. But him posting it on a Blog and basically saying that he is right and everyone should skip the 360, that's just a fanboy rant.

[blade47167]

Thanks, I wasn't being a ****, I was actually wanting to read. But, strangely enough it's only in UK and at this Micromart place? They're not even affiliated with Microsoft? That's like saying EB Games is evil for not taking back a broken Wii. When you want your 360 fixed, you send it to Microsoft, not some UK Game fixing station.

x_x, I will to find the article but MS was outsourcing machine repairs to them.

[Covert Knight]

Yes I must agree with Viewsat on this, and this whole thing is a very clear sign that this console generation, despite its greatness has been rushed. I told my friends in the beginning, microsoft simply rushed the generation way too quickly (this was during the days I wasn't convinced of them as much, the xbox kind of left a mixed and odd taste in my mouth if you know what I mean) and I said because of them, all the other companies will still try to rush the generation, which I said really could result in less powerful consoles. While I wasn't exactly right with my prediction it did lead to faulty ones. Xbox 360 has its heating issues and the PS3 tried starting the HD revolution wayyy too soon (seriously I havent gotten all the Dvds I wanted, now they expect me to go to Blue Ray? eh no Ill wait for the digital distribution revolution) and Nintendo/Sony were NOWHERE near ready to start an online network.

All systems rushed, problems will occur, and this is one of them. And not trying to say zomg PS3 problems, but wasn't there some speculation that Blue Ray discs might decay if I recall correctly? Now what happens if that is true 2-3 years down the road, Sony then says "uh oops I guess we didn't test this well enough either" Microsoft should have waited a year and let everyone take their time to build good solid systems. :(


/sigh patience is a virtue.



EDIT: oh and this guy, has no reason to just say "SKIP THIS SYSTEM FOR THIS REASON" I think thats a bit much. He should have built up a better case and give more examples/reasons to not buy a console if he is going to argue against a system.

[grapeape]

x_x, I will to find the article but MS was outsourcing machine repairs to them.

Umm not to Micromart they werent, Micromart was strictly doing out of warranty repair work, they are not even a Microsoft Authorized Repair Center.

[KainXS]

i gotta agree with this paper, when the ps3 was first launched the 360 looked like a good buy but now, GOD DAMN

its not worth it at all if theres a 30% chance that it will be sent for repairs that you yourself will probably be paying for, totally not worth it

at least we know how much MS cares about its consumers now

id say skip out on the wii and ps3 also

and then build yourself about 700-800 dollars and build a mid to high range pc with a core 2 duo and a radeon 1950 xt or geforce 8800 gts or better which will rape the ps3 and 360 performance wise because even though you can play more newer games in consoles, if your console is dead then it dosen't matter now does it

if you can't do that and you still want good graphics i would go for the ps3 and remove the 360 completely

if you want good innovative games which are truly, truly fun then i would say the wii or possibly ps2

[mcmanic]

build yourself about 700-800 dollars and build a mid to high range pc with a core 2 duo and a radeon 1950 xt or geforce 8800 gts or better which will rape the ps3 and 360 performance wise because even though you can play more newer games in consoles, if your console is dead then it dosen't matter now does it


i love my 360, i have two, i sold my ps3, nice bit of kit, too expensive though and not enough games or games that are always delayed to 360 version

[Evil-Rebirth]

I certainly agree with what this guy is trying to say. It may not have the most appropriate title...but I wouldn't say he should be criticized for stating what most of us already know.

I agree. Even though at this time I would purchase a 360 over a PS3, it really does bother me to think that such an expensive piece of hardware (compared to what I have spent on PS2, Xbox, Wii) is going to fail because of poor manufacturing. Hands down, the 360 has the best games, but also a year's head start.

I do believe that the 360's sales were beginning to take a hit because of these hardware problems. By extending the warranty, MS is essentially easing people's anxieties over whether or not to purchase a 360. An extended warranty is nice, but I would rather have a system that works with the occasional minor problem, not one that I may have to send in because: I play for extended periods of time, or because I left the glass door on my entertainment center closed. Show me a hassle free system with great software and I will gladly put some money down for it.

[heman110]

Exactly even with a 3 year warranty how long is it going to take them to get you a new system during this down time. Service centers are already refusing to fix the large quantity's because of the cost and labor entailed.

Needs to be a recall but MS won't do that. Took them over a year to finally admit the problem. The knew the article about 2.5mil being returned was coming yesterday so they had to announce a warranty expansion otherwise it would have been a PR nightmare. It still is in a way tho. It still has especially now that they had to acknowledge the problem. Was a double edged sword.

MS never refused to fix a console. If u call the offical ms repair center u get it fixed..

Fanboi.. tssss

[DanASBO]

Skip Kameo? Skip PGR? Skip Oblivion? Skip Splinter Cell? Skip Viva Pinata? Skip Gears of War? (all games I own by the way)

Skip Halo 3? Skip Mass Effect? Skip Bioshock? Skip Banjo? Skip etc...

You get the picture.

Although I am quite cynical about this generation there is no denying that the 360 is a beast when it comes to great and/or exclusive games.

On a tangent: MS consoles are the only ones I've never had to have at least two of. (Post-Unbreakable even when Dropped in the bath and Stamped on Mega Drive/SNES era) Several PS1's (resorted to hanging these upside down from the ceiling to load C&C), PS2's (Disc drives jammed and would never work again). 1 Saturn that crapped it and is still dead (RIP) 2 Dreamcasts, one randomly turns itself off. My (launch) xbox still runs perfectly and I've not had a single problem with my 360 (March '06) apart from a freeze while installing MSN messenger.

[KainXS]

MS never refused to fix a console. If u call the offical ms repair center u get it fixed..

Fanboi.. tssss

that is so not true

my 360 got e71 thanks to forza and they want me to pay for it, **** that

[heman110]

that is so not true

my 360 got e71 thanks to forza and they want me to pay for it, **** that

Then dont mod it... If u open it your fault

oh and for E71 solution:
shut down console, remove hdd, power on console - works?, shut down console again, connect hdd, turn on 360

[LeGioN1202]

Any proof there chief? About them refusing to fix consoles, which would breach the contract of 3 Year Warranties or even the people who paid for extended warranties. It would be cool to have a recall, but they'd have to put all production at a hault just to collect 10 million consoles to repair them, that's the hard part of it all.



Very well said. They both should have waited for the next console release.

Your an idiot once again. People should have waited on PS3 because it has 0, yes 0 problems, 1% failure rate, games are on the horizon, only 1 1/2 months away and ULTIMATELY, it is ONLY 8 months into it's life cycle.

360 on the other hand, almost 2 years in, 14 months ahead of the PS3, with **** hardware, 33% FAILURE RATE, no good games as of 2007, dropping sales, repair centers refusing to continue fixing consoles, MS blaming consumers for everything that goes wrong. Only ones to charge for Online play which should be free.

Please, don't fucking compare PS3 to 360, because honestly, they are on a completely different level.

Your sir, are a moron and an extremist when it comes to being biased and pure fanboyism with your wild guessing and bullshit speculations.

Let me enlighten you a bit, PS1 and PS2 launch years. Yeah? Enough said.

MS already let you down with the XBox, your the idiot for backing them again with the 360. Don't get mad at PS3 owners because they made the smarter choice.

[LeGioN1202]

Then dont mod it... If u open it your fault

oh and for E71 solution:
shut down console, remove hdd, power on console - works?, shut down console again, connect hdd, turn on 360

Why should someone need to do this? Console should have 0 problems with the games designed for them. Plus the average gamer wouldn't know to do this stupid workaround.

Realize it people, with this kind of bad publicity going around, which is leaps and bounds ahead of the stupid PS3 bad publicity, expect this system to ultimately flop unless something is done about it. Although seeing Moores track record, he ruined a great Dreamcast system, what makes you think he won't ruin this too?

MC : "PS3 boxes stacked up on store shelves' (XBots yell, "PS3 fails")
MC : "XBox360 confirmed to have 33% failure rate" (XBots yell "Lies, Lies, mine works fine.")

What would you consider to be worse?

[DanASBO]

Your an idiot once again. People should have waited on PS3 because it has 0, yes 0 problems, 1% failure rate, games are on the horizon, only 1 1/2 months away and ULTIMATELY, it is ONLY 8 months into it's life cycle.

360 on the other hand, almost 2 years in, 14 months ahead of the PS3, with **** hardware, 33% FAILURE RATE, no good games as of 2007, dropping sales, repair centers refusing to continue fixing consoles, MS blaming consumers for everything that goes wrong. Only ones to charge for Online play which should be free.

Please, don't fucking compare PS3 to 360, because honestly, they are on a completely different level.

Your sir, are a moron and an extremist when it comes to being biased and pure fanboyism with your wild guessing and bullshit speculations.

Let me enlighten you a bit, PS1 and PS2 launch years. Yeah? Enough said.

MS already let you down with the XBox, your the idiot for backing them again with the 360. Don't get mad at PS3 owners because they made the smarter choice.

Kettle to pot: You're black too.

[LeGioN1202]

Kettle to pot: You're black too.

Me to You: Took any time to check my post history bro?

I am an avid RPG player. Pretty much all I play, so I go where the RPG's flourish, and in case nobody has realized yet, Sony owns the RPG genre pretty much.

Before that of course, I was huge on SNES.

So please don't relate me to any console fanboy party, I exist in none.

If 360 became the leader in RPG's, I would be there too, following a hardware revision or more importantly, a recall before I would jump aboard. $400 isn't worth the risk.

Not to mention, Sony hasn't dicked me in 10+ years. Microsoft on the other hand has been dicking everyone for the last 15+ years... some are too young to realize this, while others need to take a trip back to reality.

[Covert Knight]

Not to mention, Sony hasn't dicked me in 10+ years. Microsoft on the other hand has been dicking everyone for the last 15+ years... only many are too young to realize this.

Well the way you are acting I would say you aren't a day over 4. :p

Look I don't care you blindly support PS3 all the way. Yippy Kai Yey but, to be such an extreme, to label all xbox 360 owners as idiots/retards is not only immature, but it's very hard for anyone to take you seriously, no matter what arguments you use. So just do me a favor, tone it down a bit. But on to my side of this "debate" ...

For some of us, Sony has "dicked out" on us. So we vote with our dollars and go with the competition. And yes you do have the right to say "well I'm an rpger therefore I will go with Sony who rules the RPG side of the industry when it comes to consoles." And yes that is a good argument, but that is YOUR choice and YOUR likes. I love First Person Shooters (well I do enjoy a good RPG here and there, bring on the Mass Effect!) so I went with xbox 360, and mine hasn't crapped out on me for a year when I've played this sucker a LOT. Well to be honest, Pc really is the key dominator in terms of RPGS and Shooters, so we should both have sticked with Pc lol. Well I still am a Pc fan, I'm going to build my new pc in 2 weeks and I'm very excited. That is the one great thing about Pc's in all this. You build it, its your fault if it isn't working properly. :p

[msanchez]

... Well to be honest, Pc really is the key dominator in terms of RPGS and Shooters, so we should both have sticked with Pc lol. Well I still am a Pc fan, I'm going to build my new pc in 2 weeks and I'm very excited. That is the one great thing about Pc's in all this. You build it, its your fault if it isn't working properly. :p

Well I'm not as emotional or opinionated as Legion, but the fact that sony has been the console to play rgps is one of the biggest factors for me liking sony consoles, and I don't really like PC rpgs too much since they're mostly point and click, or hack n' slash and in all honesty I enjoy my turn based games. There's a few that I really like though, Sacred, Dungeon Siege (I hated the psp one though), Neverwinter Nights, Spellforce and Divine Divinity. I'm also looking to build a pc and I'm hoping to get Jade Empire since that and Ninja Gaiden were tthe only 2 games I cared for on the xbox.

I agree with you strongly on the point that people who call others stupid/retards based on their console purchase are the ones that are wrong. It's good to have difference and argue a bit, but we all need to remember that not everyone has the same preferences. Hey my neighbor might like to wear red shirts, on the other hand I wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything red; neither one of us is stupid because of that. The problem is most of us assume that people are tricked into buying this console or that one, and I really don't think that's the case.

[Covert Knight]

I agree with you strongly on the point that people who call others stupid/retards based on their console purchase are the ones that are wrong. It's good to have difference and argue a bit, but we all need to remember that not everyone has the same preferences. Hey my neighbor might like to wear red shirts, on the other hand I wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything red; neither one of us is stupid because of that. The problem is most of us assume that people are tricked into buying this console or that one, and I really don't think that's the case.

Couldn't have said it any better. :cool:

[peachybum]

i own 2 360

had to buy another 1st had redlight out of warranty
sent off for repair.

now they offer 3years( 1.5yrs to late )
obviously they wont be fixing mine 4 me
and many others like me .

Saved themselves a fortune by holding off the warranty for 1.5years
i only wish i had read forums like this
coz if i did i would have skipped the 360 :)

[Oner]

Well, if he is in fact a disappointed owner...then it's justified right? Everyone has a right to their own opinion.

Justified by his opinion of MS because of his experiences, of course. But him posting it on a Blog and basically saying that he is right and everyone should skip the 360, that's just a fanboy rant.


Sounds like someone familiar.....hhmmm :rolleyes:

[Scorpion3]

Sounds like someone familiar.....hhmmm :rolleyes:

Rofl. good to see you came just to flamebait. :D

[Oner]

You must have a guilty conscience or something? :rolleyes: