There definitely is a love-hate relationship between gamers and Xbox 360. Since the first light of day glanced upon the 360’s case, reports have continued to stream in about the ongoing problem of the RRoD (Red Ring of Death). Other problems such as the DVD drive being faulty have also become commonplace.
But in spite of all these problems with the quality control of the unit, gamers still remain enthusiastically loyal to the creaky Xbox 360. The game library continues to astound and delight fans with games such as Mass Effect, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4 and a solid Xbox Live Arcade library.
But let’s face it, this is the 21st century where electronics are some of the most reliable products that consumers can buy. Buy a television set and you can expect it to work for at least 10 to 15 years. Buy a stereo component system and it can work for the rest of your living days. You name it– practically every consumer electronics item you can buy has a lifespan of 5 years or more. It’s expected that electronic items are fault free and reliable. And in the instance that an electronics item has a problem, it is usually a rare occurrence.
But with the Xbox 360, many users are lucky if they can squeeze out a year of trouble-free service without problems of any kind. This really should not be the case. We’re living in an age where we send people into space, land probes on different planets in our solar system, are constantly discovering new methods to cure disease, and are inventing products and consumer items that were considered pure science fiction only a mere 50 years ago.
As much as I love my Xbox 360, the constant dark cloud hanging over me on whether it will be working the next day, the next week, the next month, or the next year is something that is constantly nagging at me and many Xbox 360 owners. Microsoft has already confessed to the the Red Ring of Death problems, but only after an enormous outcry from the gaming public that the instances were not isolated and were, in fact, widespread.
Microsoft has done the best it can in trying to solve the problems but the problems continue. The money Microsoft has spent in trying to fix all the instances of the Red Ring of Death amount to about $1 billion. Microsoft is very fortunate to have such loyal fans of their gaming machine. But as these problems continue it can only hurt Microsoft in the long run if they do not produce a game machine that is as reliable as their competitors.
All we gamers are asking for is a solid machine that works without us having to worry about it breaking every time we turn it on.
Is this really too much to ask of a company that has virtually billions of dollars in resources to do anything it puts its mind to? Let’s all hope that the next Xbox iteration will shed all of the problems that the 360 have had all these years.
