Are PlayStation 3s really that much more reliable?
Do you see a 50-page thread about the YLOD?
Yes, they are that much more reliable. The main thing to be careful of, AFAIK, is to make sure that the PS3 is well-ventilated.
I don't know how you 360 guys deal with this. If I were on my 3rd or 4th 360 and it RROD'd, I'd probably mail Microsoft a dead cat or something.
Your collective patience is damn near admirable.
Here is a graph from a 3rd party warranty provider:
As you can see the 360's failure rate is terrible but the PS3's isn't so hot either. New 360's probably have failure rates about equal to that of PS3s assuming that RRoD is basically fixed. Of course maybe slims are better or worse than the old PS3s.
More details regarding your source please. I really don't see how a "3rd party warranty provider" can chart with any kind of accuracy the failure rates of consoles.
Are PlayStation 3s really that much more reliable?
Do you see a 50-page thread about the YLOD?
Yes, they are that much more reliable. The main thing to be careful of, AFAIK, is to make sure that the PS3 is well-ventilated.
I don't know how you 360 guys deal with this. If I were on my 3rd or 4th 360 and it RROD'd, I'd probably mail Microsoft a dead cat or something.
Your collective patience is damn near admirable.
I've had similar thoughts. The fact that they keep buying or paying to repair the thing shows some great dedication. If it were me, I'd have chucked it in after the first failure.
"Chucking it in" isn't an attractive alternative when you've invested more in games and accessories than you did in the system purchase itself. In many cases, quite a bit more.
Exactly.
I have 40+ games, wireless adapter, purchased the 120gb hd, still have xbox live for a year, my friends all have a 360 - not a PS3, have tons of XBLA games, a few dashboard themes, and Gabe's shirt for my avatar.
Definitely feel bad for all you 360 users, I would flip out if my PS3 broke down.
With that in mind, I recently got an entertainment center that requires me to keep my PS3 in a closed cabinet (glass doors). The PS3 has about 3 inches of room on all sides, and a hole in the back for ventilation/wires. Is there anything I can/should do to try and keep it cool in there? Or do you all think I'll be OK?
I wouldn't chance it. I got a new cabinet and put my PS3 inside the open spce under the TV with 2 inches or so on either side and six inches or more above and got the YLOD. As you are probably aware it does get warm and heat is a definite cause of the YLOD (and RROD).
Descendant X on
Garry: I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!
Definitely feel bad for all you 360 users, I would flip out if my PS3 broke down.
With that in mind, I recently got an entertainment center that requires me to keep my PS3 in a closed cabinet (glass doors). The PS3 has about 3 inches of room on all sides, and a hole in the back for ventilation/wires. Is there anything I can/should do to try and keep it cool in there? Or do you all think I'll be OK?
I wouldn't chance it. I got a new cabinet and put my PS3 inside the open spce under the TV with 2 inches or so on either side and six inches or more above and got the YLOD. As you are probably aware it does get warm and heat is a definite cause of the YLOD (and RROD).
The key no-no for me that I see is "closed cabinet." In my experience, having space around the vents is of course good, but it's not going to save you from the fact that your machine is in a closed box. It's going to get hot in there. Unobstructed vents don't help when the air you're using to vent the unit is hot.
I've started using something to prop open the doors on my entertainment center a couple inches when it's in use.
nlawalker on
0
Descendant XSkyrim is my god now.Outpost 31Registered Userregular
Definitely feel bad for all you 360 users, I would flip out if my PS3 broke down.
With that in mind, I recently got an entertainment center that requires me to keep my PS3 in a closed cabinet (glass doors). The PS3 has about 3 inches of room on all sides, and a hole in the back for ventilation/wires. Is there anything I can/should do to try and keep it cool in there? Or do you all think I'll be OK?
I wouldn't chance it. I got a new cabinet and put my PS3 inside the open spce under the TV with 2 inches or so on either side and six inches or more above and got the YLOD. As you are probably aware it does get warm and heat is a definite cause of the YLOD (and RROD).
The key no-no for me that I see is "closed cabinet." In my experience, having space around the vents is of course good, but it's not going to save you from the fact that your machine is in a closed box. It's going to get hot in there. Unobstructed vents don't help when the air you're using to vent the unit is hot.
I've started using something to prop open the doors on my entertainment center a couple inches when it's in use.
Indeed. I should have added that there was no door on the space in which my PS3 was placed. It was wide open, but there still was not enough cool air getting to the vents.
Descendant X on
Garry: I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!
Amazingly enough I'm still on the 360 I bought a couple of years ago, but I am a little cautious of it breaking. It occasionally makes a noise that gives me pause for thought.
Meanwhile, in bizarro world, the Mega Drive I bought when I was 7 - alongside my 4th hand copy of Bonanza Bros and lord knows how many other titles that, were they people, would be old enough to drink and vote - is still going strong and weighs approximately the same as a hard back book. They don't make 'em like they used to. </grandpasimpson>
Definitely feel bad for all you 360 users, I would flip out if my PS3 broke down.
With that in mind, I recently got an entertainment center that requires me to keep my PS3 in a closed cabinet (glass doors). The PS3 has about 3 inches of room on all sides, and a hole in the back for ventilation/wires. Is there anything I can/should do to try and keep it cool in there? Or do you all think I'll be OK?
I wouldn't chance it. I got a new cabinet and put my PS3 inside the open spce under the TV with 2 inches or so on either side and six inches or more above and got the YLOD. As you are probably aware it does get warm and heat is a definite cause of the YLOD (and RROD).
The key no-no for me that I see is "closed cabinet." In my experience, having space around the vents is of course good, but it's not going to save you from the fact that your machine is in a closed box. It's going to get hot in there. Unobstructed vents don't help when the air you're using to vent the unit is hot.
I've started using something to prop open the doors on my entertainment center a couple inches when it's in use.
Indeed. I should have added that there was no door on the space in which my PS3 was placed. It was wide open, but there still was not enough cool air getting to the vents.
I'd advise against it. The ps3 is a sturdy machine but it will break down if you subject it to conditions like that long enough. My first one cooked it's gpu in an environment like that... Although it was running 24/7 for a month.
Well, the fact that we gamers continually replace the 360 kinda says something about the console itself.
I'm on my second one, which was actually pretty awesome. First one failed but I had best buy warranty so I just took it back and since the premium's came with two free games(Something and Forza2) at that point, I got a new 360 and the free games, so pretty sweet deal for me.
Judge-ZTeacher, for Great JusticeUpstate NYRegistered Userregular
edited September 2009
Just printed out the shipping label for my first return for repair. I feel like I've popped my 360 cherry.
It was a year and a half old 20GB model, and I was careful to be sure to get the most updated system architecture available at the time. Ah well, we see how that worked out. Error code E74. At least MS has decided that E74 errors are covered under the extended 3-year RROD warranty. I'll give them credit for owning up to the fact that they made some shitty hardware, and are willing to foot the bill to repair it without a shitload of class action lawsuits forcing them to.
The most frustrating part is that I just got my first HDTV last week, and was really loving seeing what the 360 could do through HDMI on the new set. Oh well. Gives me an excuse to dust of the PS2 and finall play my way through Persona 3 and 4.
How long has the repair/replacement turnaround been lately, anyway? They claim 14-21 days. I scoff.
Judge-Z on
0
-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
edited September 2009
One thing that always concerned me, and I guess why I never really took the plunge for a 360, is what happens when the console has stopped production, and yours breaks again, without a replacement method? With how BC is treated these days, it would worry me that after the system has run it's production life, it's likely going to die soon and those games wouldn't be playable.
Amazingly enough I'm still on the 360 I bought a couple of years ago, but I am a little cautious of it breaking. It occasionally makes a noise that gives me pause for thought.
Meanwhile, in bizarro world, the Mega Drive I bought when I was 7 - alongside my 4th hand copy of Bonanza Bros and lord knows how many other titles that, were they people, would be old enough to drink and vote - is still going strong and weighs approximately the same as a hard back book. They don't make 'em like they used to. </grandpasimpson>
Couldn't agree more. Sometimes I think we are going one step forward and two back with gaming hardware. Performance and unreliability seem to go hand in hand.
Are PlayStation 3s really that much more reliable?
Do you see a 50-page thread about the YLOD?
Yes, they are that much more reliable. The main thing to be careful of, AFAIK, is to make sure that the PS3 is well-ventilated.
I don't know how you 360 guys deal with this. If I were on my 3rd or 4th 360 and it RROD'd, I'd probably mail Microsoft a dead cat or something.
Your collective patience is damn near admirable.
Here is a graph from a 3rd party warranty provider:
As you can see the 360's failure rate is terrible but the PS3's isn't so hot either. New 360's probably have failure rates about equal to that of PS3s assuming that RRoD is basically fixed. Of course maybe slims are better or worse than the old PS3s.
More details regarding your source please. I really don't see how a "3rd party warranty provider" can chart with any kind of accuracy the failure rates of consoles.
magic box international states something like over 55% of 360 users have experienced failure and over 70% know someone who has experienced failure.
point being, without some kind of real source and data, all these numbers are bullshit.
Are PlayStation 3s really that much more reliable?
Do you see a 50-page thread about the YLOD?
Yes, they are that much more reliable. The main thing to be careful of, AFAIK, is to make sure that the PS3 is well-ventilated.
I don't know how you 360 guys deal with this. If I were on my 3rd or 4th 360 and it RROD'd, I'd probably mail Microsoft a dead cat or something.
Your collective patience is damn near admirable.
Here is a graph from a 3rd party warranty provider:
As you can see the 360's failure rate is terrible but the PS3's isn't so hot either. New 360's probably have failure rates about equal to that of PS3s assuming that RRoD is basically fixed. Of course maybe slims are better or worse than the old PS3s.
More details regarding your source please. I really don't see how a "3rd party warranty provider" can chart with any kind of accuracy the failure rates of consoles.
magic box international states something like over 55% of 360 users have experienced failure and over 70% know someone who has experienced failure.
point being, without some kind of real source and data, all these numbers are bullshit.
Wow, I didn't know this thread was such serious business. Here is the original article (had to look it up, the graph was just sitting in my photobucket account so I thought I'd share it).
This analysis examines customer reported failure data on “over” 16 000 game consoles purchased by SquareTrade customers over the past two years. The service company only included malfunctions from normal usage, and excluded any claims for damage caused by accidents. It should be stressed that SquareTrade did not reveal the split between PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii among the reported 16 thousands. Potentially, this could seriously affect the results.
There is a breakdown of failures by types in there too.
I don't know why people here would think that a warranty provider wouldn't know something about the failure rate of consoles. Not that there couldn't be some distortion. Personally I wish I knew a bit about how this companies coverage interacts with the manufacturers coverage.
Anyway, whatever faults that data has, it's by far the best estimate I've seen.
lowlylowlycook on
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
The gist of it is that while the 360 was initially very bad, especially RRoD, things have gotten a lot better after Jasper, while the PS3 is just starting to snowball into more of a widespread problem. And at this point, it isn't clear whether the Slim form factor will remedy or exacerbate and exasperate the problem.
Talking to the company's engineer, Darren Thickbroom, it instantly became apparent that many of the Internet truths surrounding the console failures were anything but, and that the heat dissipation issues that plagued every revision of the Xbox 360 up until the most recent Jasper version were hardly exclusive to the Microsoft console. Slowly but surely, just like its competitor, the issue of PlayStation 3 reliability is being brought into question.
Everything is melting!
The core problem remains however: too much power crammed into too small an area.
"I just think that with all of these machines, the power and the heat they produce have long-term effects on the units," says Thickbroom, referring to both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. "It's also down to the solder being used on the units: it's a lead-free based solder. The consistency and quality of the joints with lead-free isn't as good as a proper lead-based solder. It's the law now, huge companies manufacturing these machines need to use lead-free, so the long-term reliability of the connections isn't so good."
Didn't know that, doesn't seem to be causing Nintendo any problems though. But I guess the Wii is just two ickle Gamecubes duct-taped together, LOLOLOL
In terms of the scale of the problem, and failure ratios versus the Xbox 360, it is very difficult to put a number on just how many PS3s are malfunctioning. In the case of a relatively small-scale operation like Colchester Computers, working on average, they'll get 20 dead consoles to fix each day - 12 of them will be Xbox 360s, eight of them will be PlayStation 3s. But that's an average. As Thickbroom says, "sometimes, in a hectic week, we can have entire palettes of consoles coming in."
In terms of failure rates, the 60/40 split between Xbox 360 and PS3 they experience is remarkable in that it does prove pretty conclusively that both consoles are having exactly the same issues, especially when the methodology for fixing them is effectively identical. But beyond that, the figures are too isolated to tell us much more as many additional factors need to be taken into account: the installed UK bases of both systems, the fact that the damage is cumulative over time (and Xbox 360 is a year older, remember) and also the fact that 360 has a three-year warranty, while the PS3 is limited only to one year. We can assume that machines under guarantee will not arrive at Thickbroom's establishment, which specialises in extended warranty work with the likes of Argos and catalogue companies, in addition to dealing with the public directly.
"We really do see a lot of the 60GB launch PS3s which are a couple of years old now. Generally I think the faults there are down to wear and tear," he says. "We see a slightly smaller ratio of the newer 40GB machines with the smaller motherboard, but they still suffer from the same issues."
I wonder how much the "broken 360" image has been affected and amplified by the easily identified and diagnosed RRoD? I mean sure, the thing has a tendency to blow up, but it doesn't sound like a Microsoft timed exclusive here.
"It comes down to how much you play it," he says. "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."
Whether the advent of PS3 Slim and the Jasper revision of Xbox 360 with their smaller, cooler chips will solve the issue remains to be seen, but producing machines that pump out less heat and suck less power from the mains is clearly the way forward.
But the fact that both Microsoft and Sony have these heat-related problems suggests that the problem isn't only related to the manufacture of "shoddy machines" as Sony's David Reeves once put it. It also means that the next generation of consoles - which will inevitably see a return to larger, more power-hungry silicon - are going to require some ingenious design solutions to prevent the same thing happening all over again.
WTF @ bolded. And yeah, things will have to improve next gen, this expensive component stuff will only get more powerful and even hotter, hope there is some serious R&D being done on the cooling solutions to go with the multi-core uber-graphics chips etc.
As for the RRoD, yeah it is a total bitch, but so far after almost 4 years of 360 gaming and 2 dead consoles it has cost me less than £100, only 3 days of gaming lost due to no 360, and I've actually gained extra games / pads / a wireless freaking adapter and a year of Live. Yeah, I've been lucky, and I really hope my Jasper Arcade has a decent life in it, but to some people, RRoD has actually been OK.
Of course next generation, store warranties will probably be less useful then they have been to me this time around.
Are PlayStation 3s really that much more reliable?
Do you see a 50-page thread about the YLOD?
Yes, they are that much more reliable. The main thing to be careful of, AFAIK, is to make sure that the PS3 is well-ventilated.
I don't know how you 360 guys deal with this. If I were on my 3rd or 4th 360 and it RROD'd, I'd probably mail Microsoft a dead cat or something.
Your collective patience is damn near admirable.
Here is a graph from a 3rd party warranty provider:
As you can see the 360's failure rate is terrible but the PS3's isn't so hot either. New 360's probably have failure rates about equal to that of PS3s assuming that RRoD is basically fixed. Of course maybe slims are better or worse than the old PS3s.
More details regarding your source please. I really don't see how a "3rd party warranty provider" can chart with any kind of accuracy the failure rates of consoles.
magic box international states something like over 55% of 360 users have experienced failure and over 70% know someone who has experienced failure.
point being, without some kind of real source and data, all these numbers are bullshit.
Again, very interesting (I'd also like to see some data on the PS2, but I suspect those numbers are lost to time and the class-action lawsuit), but I'm curious to see the backing behind them.
There was an issue with the PS2? The only problem I encountered was with one of the WWF/E games that made your disc drive fuck up. That is when I went from the old clunky console to the slim. Other than that, I have never had a problem.
Is it wrong that I am scared to unbox my arcade console? Haha. I just have a fear that it will break as soon as I touch it. Feels like I should just wait until Tuesday when NHL 10 comes out.
I was just playing The Beatles: Rock Band and my 360 'sploded. Random Colors/Noise and lockups, culminating in one final terrible 3 red ring catastrophe. This my original 20gb launch unit that has already been repaired once.
Same here, it freaked me out, since I saw when my brother's really old 360 got it's red ring and it made no such noises.
This is my first, and this was one of those new, at the time, 360s from about two and a half years ago. It's absence also makes me tv useless. My PS2 is(unless fully replaced) an ancient one from the release day, and I have no cable, so this is going to be weeks of suck.
I don't need to worry about the harddrive and my arcade game purchases do I? I vaguely remember issues with people not getting their original harddrives back, and having problems with their games not recognizing their consoles on their accounts.
As far as anecdotal evidence goes, the XBOX 360 is less prone to failure. My 360 still works. Every single fat ps2 I've ever seen, all my friends' and both of mine, all failed.
As far as anecdotal evidence goes, the XBOX 360 is less prone to failure. My 360 still works. Every single fat ps2 I've ever seen, all my friends' and both of mine, all failed.
Well it's funny, my 50000 PS2 is still working despite having a total DVD track laser failure.
Bartholamue on
Steam- SteveBartz Xbox Live- SteveBartz PSN Name- SteveBartz
As far as anecdotal evidence goes, the XBOX 360 is less prone to failure. My 360 still works. Every single fat ps2 I've ever seen, all my friends' and both of mine, all failed.
Well it's funny, my 50000 PS2 is still working despite having a total DVD track laser failure.
I did the whole warranty (expired anyway) voiding self fix on both of mine, and it did work for a while.
I was just playing The Beatles: Rock Band and my 360 'sploded. Random Colors/Noise and lockups, culminating in one final terrible 3 red ring catastrophe. This my original 20gb launch unit that has already been repaired once.
Same here, it freaked me out, since I saw when my brother's really old 360 got it's red ring and it made no such noises.
This is my first, and this was one of those new, at the time, 360s from about two and a half years ago. It's absence also makes me tv useless. My PS2 is(unless fully replaced) an ancient one from the release day, and I have no cable, so this is going to be weeks of suck.
I don't need to worry about the harddrive and my arcade game purchases do I? I vaguely remember issues with people not getting their original harddrives back, and having problems with their games not recognizing their consoles on their accounts.
Do not send your hard drive. They tell you not to, because you will not get it back.
Willeth on
@vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming! @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
And if I get back a different Xbox than I sent, will there be no issue with my harddrive and Arcade games recognizing and accepting a different console?
And if I get back a different Xbox than I sent, will there be no issue with my harddrive and Arcade games recognizing and accepting a different console?
If there is a problem, a phone call will resolve it (and maybe a couple days wait while it gets resolved.)
1. I registered my new arcade online and it says warranty is only for one year. I thought the RROD shit was for three years?
RROD is indeed 3 years. They'll keep track of that for you as well, so even if your warranty is listed as expired when you submit a repair request, you'll be charged exactly $0 for RROD (as well as the E74 error) for three years.
As far as anecdotal evidence goes, the XBOX 360 is less prone to failure. My 360 still works. Every single fat ps2 I've ever seen, all my friends' and both of mine, all failed.
All of this is anecdotal, and thus, pretty useless, but I had 3 PS2s failed (fan failure, disk read failure, and some sort of motherboard failure I think the last time) in four years. So my experience is pretty bad (my PS3 is probably more than a year old, and still working though, I bought it used).
You can still find a few sitesmentioning the resolution to the class-action lawsuit against Sony. PS2settlement.com was taken down a while back, mostly because Sony isn't under any obligation anymore on the matter?
The fact that people aren't as familiar with it probably has more to do with 1) it was several years ago, before the advent of Twitter and the like 2) the Playstation 2 has undergone several hardware revisions. In any case, people saying "I never had any problems with my PS2" is just as anecdotal and unsubstantial as me not having any problems with my launch Xbox 360. Everyone can bring up counter-examples.
Similarly, UPS and other shippers are going to have varied experiences. My roommate had to get his Xbox 360 fixed about a year ago, and the clerk at the UPS store wasn't familiar with the process (I drove him there, since I thought I might have to go through the same process). She said it was the first time she'd seen the mailing stamp, though she might have been new too.
And if I get back a different Xbox than I sent, will there be no issue with my harddrive and Arcade games recognizing and accepting a different console?
If there is a problem, a phone call will resolve it (and maybe a couple days wait while it gets resolved.)
Your hard drive will work fine in a new system. Your saves and profiles won't have any sort of problem. However, you might see an issue with your other content. I'm going to launch into a giant-ass explanation here, but I recommend you read it. In future I think I'll just write this up as an article and post the link to it - I seem to post this a lot. Spoilered for length:
So. They should transfer your licences for you. Note that it will only affect whether or not you can play your content offline - if you're online, everything will work in either case. It's still a good idea to test whether or not it works offline, though, because if it doesn't, then no other profiles will be able to use that content, and if Live or your Internet goes down, you don't want to be locked off from a bunch of content.
The way this works is that when you buy a piece of content on Xbox Live, you get two licences. One of them is tied to your Xbox Live profile. It allows that profile to play any content it has bought, as long as it is connected to Xbox Live to verify the rights. One of them is tied to your Console ID, and allows any profile on that machine to play the content.
The Xbox prefers to read the licence attached to your console, and so when you're playing on the original Xbox that bought the content, you have no issues, whether you're online or not. When you send your Xbox in for repair, however, it's possible that they'll send you a replacement machine, which has a different console ID and none of your licences on it.
Chances are, you're connected to Xbox Live, and so you'll not notice any difference - your Xbox looks for a console licence, doesn't find one, and so looks for a profile licence and verifies that through Live, sees it's legit, and allows you access. However, as soon as there's a problem with your connection or Live itself, perhaps months down the line, your profile licence is temporarily invalid because it can't verify that you own the content on your machine, and you don't have the console licence. So, the Xbox locks you out of all your Rock Band songs, DLC maps, and so forth, and reverts all the Arcade games to trials. You still have all your content - you're just locked out from accessing it.
When your Xbox is replaced at a service centre, Microsoft are supposed to transfer every console licence associated with your console to your new machine. This, for whatever reason, doesn't always happen. There are a couple of steps you can take to check that it has (or hasn't). The first thing to do is unplug your console from Live. Try to load an Arcade game. If it's a trial, you have a new system.
Reconnect to Live, go to your download history, and redownload that game. It should do it instantly becausre you already have it on your hard drive. Disconnect from Live again and try to load the game. If it works as a full game, then your licences have been transferred, and to unlock them to this system all you need to do is redownload every piece of content you've bought. This is a lot easier if you use the download history page at http://marketplace.xbox.com to add stuff to your queue.
If it's still a trial, your licences haven't been transferred. Now, you have two choices. You can take the easy way out, and use the tool at http://www.xbox.com/drm. This tool is designed to disassociate all of your licences from the machine it's tied to, and reassign them to the next console your download it to, solving your licence problem. It was designed for use shortly after the Elite came out, so people who upgraded their console can transfer all their content without much fuss. It's important to note that you can only use this tool once per year.
If you want to preserve your once-a-year transfer, as your licences should have been transferred by MS at the service centre, you need to call Microsoft on your local Support number. Explain to them that your licences were not transferred by the service centre, and that you would like that to happen. They will urge you to use the online tool mentioned above. It's up to you how much you care about the principle of the thing - the process that Microsoft will do is exactly the same as the online DRM tool, but it won't use up your once-a-year credit in case you buy a new system within that year. If you want them to do it and not use the tool, simply impress upon them what you want - you may need to escalate. Bear in mind it can take over a month for them to do the transfer once the request is put in.
Willeth on
@vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming! @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Just got my fixed console back. My pristine Falcon has been replaced with a filthy old one with the front USB door smashed off and chips everywhere. Thanks MS you fuckers. Jesus, even the power light is filthy. On the inside.
As for the RRoD, yeah it is a total bitch, but so far after almost 4 years of 360 gaming and 2 dead consoles it has cost me less than £100, only 3 days of gaming lost due to no 360, and I've actually gained extra games / pads / a wireless freaking adapter and a year of Live. Yeah, I've been lucky, and I really hope my Jasper Arcade has a decent life in it, but to some people, RRoD has actually been OK.
Of course next generation, store warranties will probably be less useful then they have been to me this time around.
Interesting article. One other thing I think has perhaps exacerbated the appearance of the RRoD issue is the fact that MS only ever replaces a Xenon with a Xenon and a Falcon with a Falcon, thus you get a lot of people, me included (before jumping ship to a Jasper) who go through multiple units, getting the same problems over and over and over again.
Good to hear some evidence finally that the Jasper has actually improved some things.
Complain about that. That's absolutely unacceptable.
Seriously man, call and complain. Maybe if it was just dirty, that would be one thing, but if there's physical damage to it, that's not something I would accept.
Complain about that. That's absolutely unacceptable.
Seriously man, call and complain. Maybe if it was just dirty, that would be one thing, but if there's physical damage to it, that's not something I would accept.
I did. I was told "Wipe it off and buy a new faceplate. We luvs yer moneez!"
Posts
More details regarding your source please. I really don't see how a "3rd party warranty provider" can chart with any kind of accuracy the failure rates of consoles.
Exactly.
I have 40+ games, wireless adapter, purchased the 120gb hd, still have xbox live for a year, my friends all have a 360 - not a PS3, have tons of XBLA games, a few dashboard themes, and Gabe's shirt for my avatar.
Tumblr | Twitter | Twitch | Pinny Arcade Lanyard
[3DS] 3394-3901-4002 | [Xbox/Steam] Redfield85
I wouldn't chance it. I got a new cabinet and put my PS3 inside the open spce under the TV with 2 inches or so on either side and six inches or more above and got the YLOD. As you are probably aware it does get warm and heat is a definite cause of the YLOD (and RROD).
The key no-no for me that I see is "closed cabinet." In my experience, having space around the vents is of course good, but it's not going to save you from the fact that your machine is in a closed box. It's going to get hot in there. Unobstructed vents don't help when the air you're using to vent the unit is hot.
I've started using something to prop open the doors on my entertainment center a couple inches when it's in use.
Indeed. I should have added that there was no door on the space in which my PS3 was placed. It was wide open, but there still was not enough cool air getting to the vents.
Meanwhile, in bizarro world, the Mega Drive I bought when I was 7 - alongside my 4th hand copy of Bonanza Bros and lord knows how many other titles that, were they people, would be old enough to drink and vote - is still going strong and weighs approximately the same as a hard back book. They don't make 'em like they used to. </grandpasimpson>
Registered member since '04, Lurking since '99!
I'd advise against it. The ps3 is a sturdy machine but it will break down if you subject it to conditions like that long enough. My first one cooked it's gpu in an environment like that... Although it was running 24/7 for a month.
I'm on my second one, which was actually pretty awesome. First one failed but I had best buy warranty so I just took it back and since the premium's came with two free games(Something and Forza2) at that point, I got a new 360 and the free games, so pretty sweet deal for me.
It was a year and a half old 20GB model, and I was careful to be sure to get the most updated system architecture available at the time. Ah well, we see how that worked out. Error code E74. At least MS has decided that E74 errors are covered under the extended 3-year RROD warranty. I'll give them credit for owning up to the fact that they made some shitty hardware, and are willing to foot the bill to repair it without a shitload of class action lawsuits forcing them to.
The most frustrating part is that I just got my first HDTV last week, and was really loving seeing what the 360 could do through HDMI on the new set. Oh well. Gives me an excuse to dust of the PS2 and finall play my way through Persona 3 and 4.
How long has the repair/replacement turnaround been lately, anyway? They claim 14-21 days. I scoff.
Couldn't agree more. Sometimes I think we are going one step forward and two back with gaming hardware. Performance and unreliability seem to go hand in hand.
Just give me gunstar heroes someone.
magic box international states something like over 55% of 360 users have experienced failure and over 70% know someone who has experienced failure.
point being, without some kind of real source and data, all these numbers are bullshit.
Wow, I didn't know this thread was such serious business. Here is the original article (had to look it up, the graph was just sitting in my photobucket account so I thought I'd share it).
There is a breakdown of failures by types in there too.
I don't know why people here would think that a warranty provider wouldn't know something about the failure rate of consoles. Not that there couldn't be some distortion. Personally I wish I knew a bit about how this companies coverage interacts with the manufacturers coverage.
Anyway, whatever faults that data has, it's by far the best estimate I've seen.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
As for the RRoD, yeah it is a total bitch, but so far after almost 4 years of 360 gaming and 2 dead consoles it has cost me less than £100, only 3 days of gaming lost due to no 360, and I've actually gained extra games / pads / a wireless freaking adapter and a year of Live. Yeah, I've been lucky, and I really hope my Jasper Arcade has a decent life in it, but to some people, RRoD has actually been OK.
Of course next generation, store warranties will probably be less useful then they have been to me this time around.
Again, very interesting (I'd also like to see some data on the PS2, but I suspect those numbers are lost to time and the class-action lawsuit), but I'm curious to see the backing behind them.
Is it wrong that I am scared to unbox my arcade console? Haha. I just have a fear that it will break as soon as I touch it. Feels like I should just wait until Tuesday when NHL 10 comes out.
Tumblr | Twitter | Twitch | Pinny Arcade Lanyard
[3DS] 3394-3901-4002 | [Xbox/Steam] Redfield85
"Yup," came the response.
"I guess this isn't the first 360 you've had shipped in for repairs."
Laughter. "We get 5 or 6 a day."
Holy shit.
4 of those 6 are mine. :?
Tumblr | Twitter | Twitch | Pinny Arcade Lanyard
[3DS] 3394-3901-4002 | [Xbox/Steam] Redfield85
Same here, it freaked me out, since I saw when my brother's really old 360 got it's red ring and it made no such noises.
This is my first, and this was one of those new, at the time, 360s from about two and a half years ago. It's absence also makes me tv useless. My PS2 is(unless fully replaced) an ancient one from the release day, and I have no cable, so this is going to be weeks of suck.
I don't need to worry about the harddrive and my arcade game purchases do I? I vaguely remember issues with people not getting their original harddrives back, and having problems with their games not recognizing their consoles on their accounts.
As far as anecdotal evidence goes, the XBOX 360 is less prone to failure. My 360 still works. Every single fat ps2 I've ever seen, all my friends' and both of mine, all failed.
I did the whole warranty (expired anyway) voiding self fix on both of mine, and it did work for a while.
1. I registered my new arcade online and it says warranty is only for one year. I thought the RROD shit was for three years?
2. I am about to connect and turn on my new arcade Jasper in a few moments. I am fucking paranoid.
edit: Success. She works. *knock on every piece of wood in the room*
Tumblr | Twitter | Twitch | Pinny Arcade Lanyard
[3DS] 3394-3901-4002 | [Xbox/Steam] Redfield85
Do not send your hard drive. They tell you not to, because you will not get it back.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
If there is a problem, a phone call will resolve it (and maybe a couple days wait while it gets resolved.)
NintendoID: Nailbunny 3DS: 3909-8796-4685
RROD is indeed 3 years. They'll keep track of that for you as well, so even if your warranty is listed as expired when you submit a repair request, you'll be charged exactly $0 for RROD (as well as the E74 error) for three years.
All of this is anecdotal, and thus, pretty useless, but I had 3 PS2s failed (fan failure, disk read failure, and some sort of motherboard failure I think the last time) in four years. So my experience is pretty bad (my PS3 is probably more than a year old, and still working though, I bought it used).
You can still find a few sites mentioning the resolution to the class-action lawsuit against Sony. PS2settlement.com was taken down a while back, mostly because Sony isn't under any obligation anymore on the matter?
The fact that people aren't as familiar with it probably has more to do with 1) it was several years ago, before the advent of Twitter and the like 2) the Playstation 2 has undergone several hardware revisions. In any case, people saying "I never had any problems with my PS2" is just as anecdotal and unsubstantial as me not having any problems with my launch Xbox 360. Everyone can bring up counter-examples.
Similarly, UPS and other shippers are going to have varied experiences. My roommate had to get his Xbox 360 fixed about a year ago, and the clerk at the UPS store wasn't familiar with the process (I drove him there, since I thought I might have to go through the same process). She said it was the first time she'd seen the mailing stamp, though she might have been new too.
Your hard drive will work fine in a new system. Your saves and profiles won't have any sort of problem. However, you might see an issue with your other content. I'm going to launch into a giant-ass explanation here, but I recommend you read it. In future I think I'll just write this up as an article and post the link to it - I seem to post this a lot. Spoilered for length:
The way this works is that when you buy a piece of content on Xbox Live, you get two licences. One of them is tied to your Xbox Live profile. It allows that profile to play any content it has bought, as long as it is connected to Xbox Live to verify the rights. One of them is tied to your Console ID, and allows any profile on that machine to play the content.
The Xbox prefers to read the licence attached to your console, and so when you're playing on the original Xbox that bought the content, you have no issues, whether you're online or not. When you send your Xbox in for repair, however, it's possible that they'll send you a replacement machine, which has a different console ID and none of your licences on it.
Chances are, you're connected to Xbox Live, and so you'll not notice any difference - your Xbox looks for a console licence, doesn't find one, and so looks for a profile licence and verifies that through Live, sees it's legit, and allows you access. However, as soon as there's a problem with your connection or Live itself, perhaps months down the line, your profile licence is temporarily invalid because it can't verify that you own the content on your machine, and you don't have the console licence. So, the Xbox locks you out of all your Rock Band songs, DLC maps, and so forth, and reverts all the Arcade games to trials. You still have all your content - you're just locked out from accessing it.
When your Xbox is replaced at a service centre, Microsoft are supposed to transfer every console licence associated with your console to your new machine. This, for whatever reason, doesn't always happen. There are a couple of steps you can take to check that it has (or hasn't). The first thing to do is unplug your console from Live. Try to load an Arcade game. If it's a trial, you have a new system.
Reconnect to Live, go to your download history, and redownload that game. It should do it instantly becausre you already have it on your hard drive. Disconnect from Live again and try to load the game. If it works as a full game, then your licences have been transferred, and to unlock them to this system all you need to do is redownload every piece of content you've bought. This is a lot easier if you use the download history page at http://marketplace.xbox.com to add stuff to your queue.
If it's still a trial, your licences haven't been transferred. Now, you have two choices. You can take the easy way out, and use the tool at http://www.xbox.com/drm. This tool is designed to disassociate all of your licences from the machine it's tied to, and reassign them to the next console your download it to, solving your licence problem. It was designed for use shortly after the Elite came out, so people who upgraded their console can transfer all their content without much fuss. It's important to note that you can only use this tool once per year.
If you want to preserve your once-a-year transfer, as your licences should have been transferred by MS at the service centre, you need to call Microsoft on your local Support number. Explain to them that your licences were not transferred by the service centre, and that you would like that to happen. They will urge you to use the online tool mentioned above. It's up to you how much you care about the principle of the thing - the process that Microsoft will do is exactly the same as the online DRM tool, but it won't use up your once-a-year credit in case you buy a new system within that year. If you want them to do it and not use the tool, simply impress upon them what you want - you may need to escalate. Bear in mind it can take over a month for them to do the transfer once the request is put in.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Interesting article. One other thing I think has perhaps exacerbated the appearance of the RRoD issue is the fact that MS only ever replaces a Xenon with a Xenon and a Falcon with a Falcon, thus you get a lot of people, me included (before jumping ship to a Jasper) who go through multiple units, getting the same problems over and over and over again.
Good to hear some evidence finally that the Jasper has actually improved some things.
Seriously man, call and complain. Maybe if it was just dirty, that would be one thing, but if there's physical damage to it, that's not something I would accept.
I did. I was told "Wipe it off and buy a new faceplate. We luvs yer moneez!"