Game Informer Hardware Reliability Survey

[wip3outguy7]

BTW the GameCube is the most durable optical disc-based console ever. I took mine on a cross-country flight to California in 2002, loose in my luggage, and it was the only thing the baggage handlers couldn't break. I've also seen one thrown into a brick wall; the plastic shell got busted up but it still worked.

Oh snap, forgot about the cube.

[StriderKyo]

It just makes me laugh when people complain about MS so much even though they are giving everyone a 3 year replacement warranty on the main problem with their hardware.

MS is selling shoddy hardware. Giving you the ability to wait around for them to send you a new one after jumping through customer service hoops isn't much of an excuse, especially since after those warranties run out customers are sunk.

Really, on what planet is this okay?

[Sixfortyfive]

A 3-year warranty for the major problems isn't half-bad. I waited for a hardware revision or two before buying my 360, and it's been working fine for about 2 years now.

Selling broken shit isn't "okay," but after a couple generations of overheating, DRE-ridden, laser-breaking consoles (PS1, PS2, DC), I'm not particularly sympathetic for early adopters anymore.

[Timber]

MS is selling shoddy hardware. Giving you the ability to wait around for them to send you a new one after jumping through customer service hoops isn't much of an excuse, especially since after those warranties run out customers are sunk.

Really, on what planet is this okay?

It's a hell of a lot better than Sony's old policy of denying the problem exists and charging a fortune to fix it.

It sucks, but could be a lot worse.

And I personally didn't experience this "customer service hoops" everyone likes to complain about. It was about a 15 min phone call and I was sent a box within a week. I'm coming up on 4 years without having to shell out another cent. Better than I can say about my launch PS1 & PS2.

[dog$]

Why does one entity being shitty justify another entity being shitty?

Anyway, you say it could be worse, and I can only imagine how much worse it realistically could be. For 5 years, Microsoft has sold machines where the question is when they will break as opposed to if. Would a 360 have to literally disintegrate upon initial human contact for the comparisions to the bullshit Sony pulled to stop and for complaints about the 360's fragility to be valid?

[Timber]

Anyway, you say it could be worse, and I can only imagine how much worse it realistically could be. For 5 years, Microsoft has sold machines where the question is when they will break as opposed to if.

It's just under 4 years from the launch date right now. And the units with the jasper chipset, that I haven't heard about going bad yet, have been around for most of this year.

I'm not saying that this is should be considered acceptable in a perfect world but Sony had conditioned us over the past 2 generations that hardware failure is to be expected and people took it without any kind of replacement after 90 days. At the very least MS is giving people a replacement to their shitty hardware, within 1000 extra days, and they have appeared to fix the problem with the systems currently being sold.

But you're right, let's all just boycott all non-Nintendo made systems. They seem to be the only company who has never had a serious hardware problem (outside of the NES 72-pin connector).

[StriderKyo]

It's a hell of a lot better than Sony's old policy of denying the problem exists and charging a fortune to fix it.

If the 360 were competing against the PS1 it would be pretty awesome on a number of levels. But it isn't.

Of course, if the PS1/2 had failure rates anywhere near the 360's Sony would be on the has-been scrap heap next to 3D0. The 360 would be dead in the water if they weren't replacing them like this, no way they could convince millions of customers to drop another $400 on one of those things every 8 months.

And I personally didn't experience this "customer service hoops" everyone likes to complain about.

I'd like to introduce you to "Steve" from Bangalore.

[cka]

I'm not saying that this is should be considered acceptable in a perfect world but Sony had conditioned us over the past 2 generations that hardware failure is to be expected and people took it without any kind of replacement after 90 days. At the very least MS is giving people a replacement to their shitty hardware, within 1000 extra days, and they have appeared to fix the problem with the systems currently being sold.

sony probably just used cheap parts in manufacturing in some runs (hence why only some people have had playstation consoles die on them), but the 360 suffers from an actual hardware design flaw that they didn't even admit to for like 2 years and were basically pressured into the 3 year standard warranty

unless either a) they're using smaller microprocessors or b) they've radically redesigned the main pcb, it's still probably a matter of when compared to if as far as their longevity goes on newer models... hell, I remember when they claimed that falcons were "fixed" of the rrod problems and my falcon died exactly a month, to the day, after the standard 1 year warranty was up

[Melf]

Justifying one company's shitty hardware by comparing to another's is pointless. If you had owned 4-5 Playstations because they broke once a year, then you could perhaps make the comparison. I'm on my fourth 360 in two years, and the day I have to pay for an actual repair is the day I stick with a PS3 for good.

[Cheebs]

Smart people* had backup memory carts!

*people who played Dragon Force

Hell, you kinda' need a 4-in-1 to really play a Saturn anyway with the whole RAM and region lockout thing.