More than a week ago, GamingConfidential reported that a Microsoft customer service representative foresaw an outbreak of the Red Ring of Death (RROD) issue once the New Xbox Experience becomes available.
While most scoffed at the idea, the prediction held true and MS service lines are white hot with calls from angry customers.
"I hate what the company did this year," says the rep. "They released the New Xbox Experience a few days after the extended warranty period ended for most users and it's tough to explain that to raging callers. How do you say that MS just screwed them all?"
He adds "our bosses really fed us to the lions this time. We're getting everything from crying kids to death threats from angry adults. It's an orgy, I tell ya."
The rep ended the short chat by lamenting how Xbox 360 owners are blaming the update for even the most far-fetched issues. An example, he says, is a call from a 32-year old man claiming that his ho... More »
Looks like the New Xbox Experience dashboard update is experiencing some not-so-new Xbox woes. November 19: launch day for the NXE update. Not 24 hours after it went live, complaints
are already piling up.
Various forums online (such as the one linked above) have threads and threads of people reporting anything from connection freezes, slow downs, lock ups, broken TV connections, and so many other different numerical errors that, if all of them were strung together, could potentially measure all the way from Earth to the moon (and back).
There are even reports of brickage - yes, the famed red ring of death is back. Some say it's limited to modded consoles only (no surprise there) but other untainted units seem to be affected by the same problem too.
We've yet to hear any official response from Major Nelson or any of the Microsoft staff. Some say the slow downs are caused by the simple fact of surging traffic accessing XBL, but the oth... More »
A few months ago, the gaming community had its mind set that this generation is the end of 3rd party exclusives, and there will be a big push towards multiplatform.
Over the past year, there were a lot of multiplatform games released from the older Oblivion to the more contemporary Call of Duty, and to the more recent Bioshock.
There seems to be an agreement amongst gamers that the Xbox 360 always had the better version of the game because it’s easier to program for, and of course sometimes that is true, but I also picked the above 3 examples to illustrate the point that sometimes the sheep mentality can be quite deceiving.
The PlayStation 3 version is not “always” the worst one, and sometimes it may even be the preferred version due to the free cost of PSN or the addition of Trophy system (if you prefer it over the Achievement system on your Xbox 360).
Or even better graphics (Oblivion), or extra contents (Bioshock/Eternal ... More »
Once a staple of the games market, the supply of platform-exclusive titles from third-party developers is drying up. Aylon Herbet explains why this isn't such a bad thing... The gaming industry is changing in this generation and there's a bunch of possible reasons.
It may have to do with the higher cost of development, different systems' market share, peripherals or different control requirements, but none of that really matters. The reasons are irrelevant, the point remains the same: we are seeing less and less third-party exclusives (that is, games that are only on one console and which are developed by someone other than Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo themselves) in the world.
The recent announcement that Final Fantasy XIII is coming to Xbox 360 brought this change into focus. All they needed now was a Metal Gear Solid 4 announcement and we could start poking a stick at the corpse of third-party exclusives. Let's face the facts, even if Metal Gear Solid... More »
GN has been following the Xbox 360's various hardware alterations for quite a while now, and it's been a pretty interesting story so far. From the original, RRoD prone Xenon mobo to the Zephyr and Falcon successors as well as the upcoming Jasper design, there's been no shortage of news in the field. Today, as a matter of fact, we've got a look at another Xbox 360 chipset, the extremely rare "Opus" as discovered by member Electric Tunder on the Xbox-Underground forums.
Designed specifically to help Microsoft recoup losses on RRoD'd hardware that's been returned for repairs, the Opus chipset is a Falcon-generation mobo that'll snap into original Xenon Xbox 360s. Because it is installed in refurbished Xbox 360 launch chasses, the Opus lacks HDMI-out. It does, however, feature the Falcon-era HANA video chip that supports digital output, which means a really skilled modder could potentially retrofit such a connection.
The Opus also looks to be sporting the 65-nm ... More »
An Xbot’s take on why the time is now right for Xbox 360 gamers to seriously consider getting rid of their 360’s and purchasing a PS3
Before beginning this article I would like to make it clear that I’m a confessed Xbot. Even after churning through 3 separate Xbox 360’s due to hardware failure, I have remained loyal to Microsoft and believe that Xbox Live is an amazingly fun service, even worth paying for.
BUT do I really? What has kept me coming back again and again when a normal gamer would have spat the dummy and gotten rid of the Xbox 360 years ago? Why is now the right time to finally break away from Microsoft?
The following reasons are what I believe to be the most compelling as to why my fellow hardcore Xbots should seriously consider taking the plunge and moving over to the PS3.
The Play Station Network Now I hear what you guys are saying, nothing beats Xbox lives usability, social aspects and servers, bu... More »
It’s difficult to like a game that’s constantly firing a shotgun into its own foot. There are so many fine and novel ideas but they’re not implemented well, making playing the game frustrating or repetitive. If you’ve ever played the (much less flawed) PS2 cult classic disaster-movie inspired S.O.S.
The Final Escape, you might notice a lot of similarities in the first couple of levels. You’re thrust into the action with little let-up for a good hour or so. Gasp as you hang from about 30 storeys up as gargoyles come crashing down past you.
It’s very exciting. The protagonist, Edward Carnaby, has no memory of his past (this isn’t one of the novel ideas) but has to escape a rapidly collapsing New York City and make it to Central Park.
Huge cracks are ripping apart the city, they’re swallowing people, buildings, everything. Cars dangle precariously from the top of cliff as you gingerly guide Edward past them before they crash down i... More »
Daily GameFunk analyzes the 360's prospects for the immediate and long-term future. With the 360 being surpassed by the Wii in North America, and the Playstation 3 in Europe, the article seeks to answer the question: Is the 360 dead? And if not, what can Microsoft do to keep the 360 viable against strong competition?
In terms of sales, the 360 has been struggling to gain its footing on very slippery slope this year. After being the leading console in the US for more than 2 years, it was finally surpassed by the Wii at the end of May.
In addition to this, Sony announced a few weeks ago that they had finally outsold the 360 in Europe, landing another critical blow to the 360. With this on top of numerous other issues, many have began contemplating whether or not Microsoft has already closed up shop on the 360 and began looking at future consoles. However, this is simply not the case.
Microsoft has lost the advantage of having the largest install ba... More »
(8) 
