2 years ago I bought an Xbox 360. Since then, I’ve had to return the console twice. Recently, the console failed on me yet again.
Frustrated, I called the Xbox customer case hotline with a simple request – I wanted my ‘Falcon’ set replaced with the supposedly more reliable ‘Jasper’ set.
For the uninitiated, the Xbox 360 has been suffering from the dreaded Red Ring of Death syndrome. The Red Ring of Death (popularly referred to as RROD) is named after the three flashing red lights that appear on the console when it fails. The RROD results in total failure of the console – it is spoilt and no longer usable.
Unfortunately, the RROD is a very widespread problem. How widespread? Square Trade survey wielded a 23.7% failure rate while Game Informer reported a failure rate of 54.7%.
The RROD became so widespread, that Microsoft “expanded the Xbox 360 warranty and announced a related charge of more than $1 billion.”
Microsoft also redesigned the motherboard so that subsequent models would last longer. There have been at least three incarnations, the ‘Falcon’, the ‘Zephyr’ and the ‘Jasper’.
The ‘Jasper’ set is the newest incarnation that is supposed to run cooler, and last longer. My busted set is supposed to be a ‘Falcon’.
But here’s the rub: in Singapore, you are stuck with whatever configuration you bought. So if you purchased a configuration that was more likely to fail, you’re stuck with it.
Yup, despite the fact that Microsoft has fixed a major design flaw with a product they sold you, they’re unwilling to give you that fix. They’d rather give you a stop-gap. In my opinion, the originally Xbox 360 motherboards were fundamentally-flawed, hence the widespread RROD problems.
Instead of doing right by this consumer, who feels cheated by the way, they’d rather replace my system with another fundamentally-flawed system and inconvenience me when I inevitably have to bring it in for replacement 1 year from now.
Keep in mind I am a ‘power user’ and already have had 3 Xbox 360s die on me. Comparatively, my SNES, Sega Genesis, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, PSOne and PS2 are all still working fine. Individually, these consoles have also seen much more usage and playtime than all 3 of my Xbox360s combined.
Today (Wednesday 16 December 2009), I called Xbox customer care and relayed my request to have my ‘Falcon’ set replaced with a ‘Jasper’. Below, you will find an attached recording of the conversation I had with the supervisor who returned my call. Warning: some profanity and strong language. Do not listen if you are under the age of 18 or easily offended.
http://depositfiles.com/files/dm240vc18
Quite frankly, I don’t feel like I’m asking for a lot. I merely want what I paid for: a video game console that will function for longer than a year.Thanks for giving me a ‘Merry’ Christmas Microsoft. You guys suck.
Update 17 December 2009
In case I did not make my sentiments clear on the phone, I have also sent an e-mail, expressing frustration, to Xbox Customer ‘Care’. I have also given them a link to this post.
Let’s see if Microsoft decides to reverse this ridiculous policy or if they intend to leave me out in the cold this Christmas. I’ll keep everyone updated.
