# Microsoft X-Box + Kinect = MASS FAILURES!



## pk (Jan 6, 2011)

Don't buy that Kinect just yet!

Looks like Microsloth are doing their usual head-in-the-sand routine and denying there is anything wrong with their boxes or their new Kinect peripheral, in spite of growing evidence suggesting that as soon as the Kinect is plugged in - the expensive X-Box 360 becomes no more than a doorstop with a glowing red ring... a bit like Kerry Katona in fact.

With reports growing of delighted children across the land opening up their Kinect add-on on Christmas Day, rushing over to play the latest Wii-emulating must have games such as Dance, Rapstar, and grown-ups using the Fitness software (all of which can be done without a fucking X-Box anyway) also come reports of many consoles being utterly buggered by Boxing Day. (a bit like .... oh no let's not...)

Incensed owners have been contacting the BBC (instead of Argos or Toys R Us or wherever they bought it) and reporting the blinking red Goatse like image being the only activity their X-Box is capable of...
------
"I have never had a single issue with my Xbox. i got Kinect for Christmas and the screen starting freezing randomly. Then on New Year's eve... BAM I got the red ring. Very sad," read one complaint.

"Yep, I got the Red rings of death on Christmas day The very same day my kids got a Kinect," read another.

Microsoft said the Kinect had been "designed to work with every Xbox 360 sold to date."

"There is no correlation between the three flashing red lights error and Kinect. Any new instances of the three flashing red lights error are merely coincidental," it added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12121999

So it looks as though Microshaft, not content with foisting their many shit OS incarnations onto the planet have now left thousands of children with only teary eyes and a glowing red ring. 

Shame on you Bill Gates. Shame on you.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 6, 2011)

It has always been thus. They replace them in a jiffy though. 

I've had three Xboxes and never had a single issue.


----------



## tarannau (Jan 6, 2011)

I heard that they had eliminated the red ring of death fault on the latest XBoxes, remarkably by removing the red LEDs and using a new 'green' error message. Bargain

No mention of whether it improved reliability. Commentators are still estimating a returns rate of around 30% for the Xbox, which is staggeringly shit. Presently MS are denying that there's any link with Kinect and older Xboxes burning up, but reports are spreading all over the net.


----------



## Citizen66 (Jan 6, 2011)

I like my console playing to be of a lazy nature.


----------



## kained&able (Jan 6, 2011)

They did a massive update of the dashboard over xmas as well. Might be causing the problems.

Like chris said microsoft have been very good about replacing the consoles in the past.

dave


----------



## Ranbay (Jan 6, 2011)

tarannau said:


> I heard that they had eliminated the red ring of death fault on the latest XBoxes, remarkably by removing the red LEDs and using a new 'green' error message. Bargain
> 
> No mention of whether it improved reliability. Commentators are still estimating a returns rate of around 30% for the Xbox, which is staggeringly shit. Presently MS are denying that there's any link with Kinect and older Xboxes burning up, but reports are spreading all over the net.


 

i bought a new S one, that lasted a week before it had a red dot of death, E82 error... got new one within a week.


----------



## Ranbay (Jan 6, 2011)

had about 6-7 Xboxs since 2005 only one PS3 since launch date... lol 

but saying that i play the 360 way more.


----------



## tarannau (Jan 6, 2011)

I'm not convinced that continuing to sell what would normally be called flawed products with unacceptable levels of failure is 'very good' corporate behaviour, even if you do extend the warranty period to head off mass consumer action. I don't believe they had that much option but to sink a whopping $1 billion plus into their returns programme tbh, not least when they were aware of ongoing problems until they could improve the reliability with subsequent revisions and manufacturing upgrades.

Most companies simply wouldn't have the cash reserves or attitude to carry on regardless. But their deep pockets at least meant that they could keep the bandwagon rolling and people tied into their games and peripherals. They just subsidised the hardware far more than usual, but it's not exactly a great model of a company with quality control at its heart.


----------



## kained&able (Jan 6, 2011)

The whole online update thing is at fault in my opinion. Stuff gets released far to early because it can easily be patched at a latter date. BOOOOO.

dave


----------



## mattie (Jan 6, 2011)

The rush to market has worked very well for MS, in all its business activities.  Can't say I blame them, but then I'm not their target market (I'm not bothered by not being at the bleeding edge) so I've never been too badly stung.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 6, 2011)

tarannau said:


> I'm not convinced that continuing to sell what would normally be called flawed products with unacceptable levels of failure is 'very good' corporate behaviour, even if you do extend the warranty period to head off mass consumer action. I don't believe they had that much option but to sink a whopping $1 billion plus into their returns programme tbh, not least when they were aware of ongoing problems until they could improve the reliability with subsequent revisions and manufacturing upgrades.
> 
> Most companies simply wouldn't have the cash reserves or attitude to carry on regardless. But their deep pockets at least meant that they could keep the bandwagon rolling and people tied into their games and peripherals. They just subsidised the hardware far more than usual, but it's not exactly a great model of a company with quality control at its heart.


 
Doesn't seem to matter though to them though, does it? The Xbox 360 has a larger install base than the PS3 - they won this round.


----------



## cybershot (Jan 6, 2011)

Had kinect working on two Xboxes without issue. Both are the phat models, but both less than 12 months old. Well the one is just.

I'd agree with Microsoft that's it's probably coincidence, wonder how many of those Xboxes hadn't been turned on for months, gathering dust inside, until someone bought the Kinect?


----------



## kyser_soze (Jan 7, 2011)

ChrisFilter said:


> Doesn't seem to matter though to them though, does it? *The Xbox 360 has a larger install base than the PS3 - they won this round*.



Debateable. MS have certainly _sold_ more X-boxes than Sony has PS3s, but they've also had to return more too.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 7, 2011)

kyser_soze said:


> Debateable. MS have certainly _sold_ more X-boxes than Sony has PS3s, but they've also had to return more too.


 
Doesn't matter. More people buy Xbox games than buy PS3 games. 

I'm considering getting a PS3 to sit alongside the Eggsbox. 2011 looks to be the year where it's getting a critical mass of decent exclusives. At last!


----------



## kyser_soze (Jan 7, 2011)

One thing that has changed by way of market dynamic is that all three consoles have sold enough to be viable for software producers to bother coding for. Previous 'wars' have usually seen one significant loser who's sales are massively lower than the others. Sony and MS have both sold 30m+ units (Nintendo even more, but there's a lot of controversy about using userbase), which is pretty staggering really.


----------

