Red light district

Shawnsim · 06-09-2006

I know that other topics exist about this issue but after navigating through few of them and, hearing from fellow members that this problem is basically in the minds of those who have the problem, or that some inferred abuse was inflicted upon the machine, i have to stand up and say that enough is enough.
This is my second machine that has malfunctioned in less than a year. Me and my 2 children camped outside of a local store for 14 hours on launch day to procure this machine for 450 dollars ever since then it has been one problem after another. The first machine crapped out after 1 month of use, most recently the second machine developed the "red light syndrome" I called 1-800-4-my-xbox and spoke with the operator. Here is the gist of the conversation.
Hello, my 360 is displaying 3 red lights around the central power button ever since I downloaded the new maps for PDZ.
[operator] I am sorry to hear that. Did you check to see whether all of your cables were connected?
Yes everything is connected.
[Operator] I see that you have already sent in another unit, what was the problem with that one?
The machine simply would not play games, dvd's or cd's.
[Operator] Did you purchase our warranty?
Yes I purchased the warranty after the last fiasco, is my warranty still valid?
[Operator] our records indicate your last warranty was purchased more than three months ago. Your warranty is no longer valid; however you can ship the ruined unit to us for roughly 200 dollars and we will fix it for you.
200 dollars?!?! why? Why should I have to pay for a machine that is less than a year old? I own a Sega Genesis and NES that are 10+ years old and still work. How can you justify me paying you half the system cost for repair when your "wonder system" is less than one year old? I am a hardcore gamer who believed in your system enough to camp out and purchase it on launch day, can't you do something for me?
[Operator] Yes we can. If you could just give me your address we will ship a postage paid box to your address, and you can ship us your defective unit we will repair it and ship it back.
Will this still cost me money?
[Operator] Yes of course it will.
This is the second defective unit I have received, won't you please do what you have to do to satisfy an avid consumer?
[Operator] I am sorry. Too many of these machines are defective and we can no longer offer free replacement/repair of defective machines.
So basically I am screwed for my allegiance?
[Operator] Sorry, thank you for calling 1-800-4-my-xbox.
I will never purchase another x-box product again.
[Operator] Thank you for your support.
So why am I typing this message? I am excercising my right to come against large corporations who are intent on bilking the little guy of their hard earned cash by selling inferior products.
Did you know that companies that develop anything, develop them so that some part of the product will fail so that consumers will have to pay for repair thereby forcing the consumer to have to pony up more money to support their hardware? There is a technical name for this that eludes me at the moment, maybe someone can help me out with the proper term. I believe that this is happening with this system (the naysayers be damned).
All things aside, I am spearheading a class action lawsuit against Micro$oft for their shoddy craftmanship and blatant disregard for their consumers. If anyone is half as mad as me about M$ and the 360 please p.m. me and maybe enough little people will make a big difference.
To those who think that there is NO issue don't bother with your comments, I also believed that, until M$ proved me wrong.

Brutal 4ngel · 06-09-2006

Good luck with that bud...

Crazy though, I've now purchased 2 360's, both of which have been set up on carpet, and neither have had a single problem...not one. Never received the "ring of doom" nor anything for that matter.

Some people just choose to ignore the chance of OE, which is operator error to those who don't know. Maybe you did have something to do with both of these systems going down, because in my case, I am sure I am a much more hard-core gamer than you (I have owned every console to hit shores besides the Neo-Geo) and have been gaming since Atari 7800, and have treated all my systems with utmost quality and have never, never had a single system just stop playing games (granted, I did have to turn my PS1 upside-down, but it still worked).

I would like to see your setup of how you have your 360 positioned, how ventilated it is, if you have it on top of other eletrical components, etc...

SheiK · 06-09-2006

Dude, that really sucks. I do also hate that corporate shit that goes on. I really don't know anything I can do, though. It's never happened to me personally, but the same thing happened to one of my good friends.

Like Angel said, it may be your configuration. Also, when did you get the 2nd 360?

Good luck man. If you need any help, I conjure as much as I can for you.

Shawnsim · 06-09-2006

I do realize that a post like this will elicit all manner of responses, yet to say that you may be a more hardcore gamer than me is a little presumptuous. I am 34 years old my career is a building engineer. Not a janitor, a REAL Engineer. I appreciate that a lot of OE occurs to the un-mindful yet, I will describe my set-up in the hope that I may be taken seriously. To me a 400 dollar peice of machinery is to be treated with the utmost care. My 360 sits upon a singular un-obstructed shelf all by itself, far removed from any other components or electronics. There is no heat build up or any impediment to the proper working of the system. This is a simple issue. Two defective machines in the space of less than one year and X-box is un-willing to do anything to correct it. This has caused me to waste my afternoon to "preach" my message. Trust me, I do have better things to do. On a side note I also have been playing video games since the Atari system, which leads me to my biggest issue....my Atari still works, my 360 has failed twice go figure.

Shawnsim · 06-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkBlade

Dude, that really sucks. I do also hate that corporate shit that goes on. I really don't know anything I can do, though. It's never happened to me personally, but the same thing happened to one of my good friends.

Like Angel said, it may be your configuration. Also, when did you get the 2nd 360?

Good luck man. If you need any help, I conjure as much as I can for you.

I obtained my second 360 on the 22nd of December exactly one month after launch on 11/22 Thanks for your reply hopefully your friend gets his issues resolved, if not have him p.m. me here and maybe like I said enough little people can do something. Trust me this is still America and enough little voices can amount to one big outcry.

SheiK · 06-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnsim

I obtained my second 360 on the 22nd of December exactly one month after launch on 11/22 Thanks for your reply hopefully your friend gets his issues resolved, if not have him p.m. me here and maybe like I said enough little people can do something. Trust me this is still America and enough little voices can amount to one big outcry.

Well, I think all the 360s that were made 4 monthes AFTER launch are fixed; the ones before are prone to bugs and some are defective. That's my knowledge according to all my friends that got their 360s right at launch and till May. I got mine in April when it was said to be fixed of bugs and defectivity. I haven't experienced anything.

I'm not sure how successful anyone would be in the legal field, because this circumstance is more of morality than the physicality of it.

Shawnsim · 06-09-2006

Sure, I completely understand. To be completely honest, 30 signatures is enough to constitute a class action suit. This is merely an attempt to have them stand up and say "there is a real issue here and we need to do something to satisfy our consumers." This is in no way an attempt to bilk money from an established company. Trust me that I only want to be heard not discounted as some raving fanatic that wants an easy buck. I just want to turn my machine on and play when I want to play, is that so wrong? Lol.

zZ Billy Zz · 06-10-2006

i got mine april 1st, hey darkblade is mine still prone to bugs