Why I'm not buying a 360

[thatafricanguy]

In a recent interview Microsoft's Peter Moore said the following : "I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something -- it's a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right now. I'm not going to comment on individual failure rates because I'm shipping in 36 countries and it's a complex business."

OK, Mr. Moore here is my problem with that : if I buy your console and it breaks down, I'm screwed! Microsoft's Xbox division has no real presence over here in Dakar, Senegal. Your warranty means nothing over here. When I pay that much money for something, I want to have the peace of mind that I'll be using it for a long time to come. That is currently not the case with the Xbox 360, and since Microsoft's approach seems to be to fix the broken console rather than prevent the console from breaking, the Xbox 360 is no longer in the running for a place next to my TV this Christmas. And yes, I know that the Xbox 360 Elite is supposed to be better, but I'm not gonna pay extra for HDMI, when I don't have an HD TV.

Hmmmmm, is it gonna be Playstation 3 or Wii this Christmas ?

[Decipher]

I kinda feel burned by my new Elite. It's not only going to be replaced with a cooler, quieter version in the fall, but it's also still got the LG jet engine DVD drive and not the Benq one. I do take solace, however, in the fact that if mine were to fail, it would most likely be when the replacement units would be primarily comprised of the newer versions. As it is, mine gets warm, but not horribly so. I just keep it horizontal and well ventilated.

[Speaker for the Dead]

Pointing to the failure rates of the early PS2s does not make the fact that 360s are failing all over the place go away. Just like many of us were taught as children, you cannot alleviate your responsibility for breaking your mother's lamp by pointing out that your brother or sister was running inside the house too.

His response is inexcusable. I only recently joined the 360 ranks. My hesitation was twofold. Number one, I had already waited over a year and was hoping for a price drop, and number two, I was also scared off by the failure rates. I thought, well after the first run of consoles, they'll have worked out all the kinks. I believed that because that is what has always happend with consoles in the past .The first run usually fails, and then a year or so later they figure out why, fix the problem for future manufacturing, and things are fine. Obviously this is not the case with the 360, as just a few days ago someone posted a picture of a bricked 360 Elite which just came out a little over a week ago.

Now you have this statement, which clearly indicates that even if Microsoft knew what was wrong, which they probably do, they have no interest in fixing the problem. How do you defend that? It is the equivalent of buying an automobile that breaks down every five thousand miles, but having the dealer who sold it to you comfort you by saying that all you have to do is send it to the shop for two weeks and they'll fix it.

[Scot]

While I understand your hesitation because of your location, I think the best way for you to go would be the new versions coming this fall. The updated hardware will be sure to solve the overheating problems that cause the red rings and that would be the key to worry free gaming. The thing is, software. By the fall there will be a ton of great software for the 360 and re-done hardware.
If Sony does do a price drop and the games start to match the quality of the 360 and something exclusive makes its way out, then I guess a PS3 might make sense.
I agree, his comments were as bad as Sony usually provides and made me really mad because he obviously doesn't realize just how bad it is.