You may recall when Bungie leaving Microsoft was only a rumor. You may also recall most of the internet calling the source of this rumor as crazy. You may also also recall that the source was soon vindicated while the rest of the internet (including us) were made to look like gibbering idiots. All of this recalling is being done in order to reveal the following: the same site -- 8Bit Joystick -- is now reporting that an inside source at Microsoft has uncovered the ultimate reason behind the Xbox 360's egregiously high failure rate.
The truth behind the Red Ring of Death, says the anonymous source, is that Microsoft rushed the Xbox 360 in order to beat Sony's Playstation 3 to market. This ambition led to lackluster quality assurance and not nearly enough product testing, and the result -- as many 360 gamers will tell you - was disastrous. Furthermore, the source notes that there is no single culprit for failures, but rather a group of faults that can lead to an RROD. Whether it be substandard heat sinks, bad solder joints, or even bad chips, a myriad of issues can lead to hardware failure.
Is it all true? It's certainly not out of the question that MS may have rushed the 360 in order to beat Sony. After all, even with the 360's very real hardware issues, it currently enjoys a healthy lead over the Playstation 3. One thing we can be relatively sure of: Microsoft isn't about to confirm the veracity of the interview either way.
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
1-21-2008 @ 11:56AM
Hey Apples said...
Through some clever detective work, I've unmasked the identity of the "inside source."
His name is Captain.... Captain Obvious.
Reply
1-21-2008 @ 3:05PM
RighteousDork said...
Took the words right out of my mouth. HAHA!
1-21-2008 @ 11:56AM
xenocidic said...
This is hardly groundbreaking news
Reply
1-21-2008 @ 1:01PM
xenocidic said...
an interesting read, nonetheless
1-21-2008 @ 6:37PM
bigmac375 said...
still its nice to have concrete figures and explanations from someone that works in the division, rather than someone named l3eT_bUbBleSuars32 who worked at a best buy once trying to explain stuff out his ass.
1-22-2008 @ 9:22AM
xenocidic said...
yea I shot my first comment from the hip (as I so often do) after just reading the summary and then when I read the actual article it was more enlightening than the summary indicated, so I added the second comment.
1-21-2008 @ 11:57AM
Knight Marquise said...
Hmmm..sounds like an article I'd find on PS3 Fanboy...
Reply
1-21-2008 @ 12:10PM
Larry *not allowed to say cheevo* said...
booyah! BURN! ooooh, it's BURNS so bad. DAYUUMMM! hahaha... just kidding.
Seriously though, this is news? I have been reporting this cause for some time. I guess I had the scoop all along.
1-21-2008 @ 12:01PM
Tron said...
If you're gonna use a word like 'myriad' in your blog post, at least use it correctly.
Reply
1-21-2008 @ 12:38PM
TORO said...
Hey grammar whore, Richard's use of "myriad" is not universally considered wrong. You may use it as noun also.
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/myriad
I got your back Rich! ;)
1-21-2008 @ 12:43PM
Richard Mitchell said...
Indeed it can. In fact, not only is it not universally wrong, it's not wrong at all!
1-21-2008 @ 12:50PM
TORO said...
That's true, but as we can see it still receives criticism lol
1-21-2008 @ 2:35PM
mattclarkie said...
I see no issue with the way "a myriad of issues can lead" has been used in this context.
So go suck on that.
1-21-2008 @ 12:04PM
Naes said...
Makes sense. I was just got hit with the video out problem that seems to be bricking a lot of 360s lately.
http://forums.xbox.com/10/17830899/ShowPost.aspx#17830899
Reply
1-21-2008 @ 12:06PM
mattclarkie said...
I read the article yesterday, and it seemed convincing. I have so far had very little trouble since launch, and it has not suffered catastrophic failure. But it is clear the system suffers serious design flaws.
Reply
1-21-2008 @ 12:21PM
Tony said...
As I said elsewhere about this, as long as MS keeps fixing mine for free I'm not really too upset about it... what's going to suck is years down the line if I want to play a 360 game and can't.
Which opens up a whole new line of questions... as to whether the next Xbox will play 360 games and, more importantly to me, whether or not I can import my XBLA games to it. It'd suck to be given the option to buy yet another version of Pac-Man.
Reply
1-21-2008 @ 12:28PM
Dissappointedn360 said...
After the second return of my 360 for the rrod, I have went to the ps3. I like it much better than the 360. This last time I returned it, MS took a month to get it back to me. MS need to kiss Bungie butt because I would have gotten rid of this piece of junk along time ago if it not for Halo. MS has a long track record of putting things out to the market that don't function very well. Seems to be their new MO. We will put it and fix the problems after the fact. They do it to just get our money. I and many other people have lost faith in MS quality with anything with the MS name on it.
Reply
1-21-2008 @ 2:48PM
Toysrme said...
Seriously... I like this website but this kind of stupid obvious shit makes you look like a dumbass Richard. Don't post stupid things everyone already knows...
1-21-2008 @ 12:40PM
chigthemnky said...
New MO? Do we need to revisit windows Millenium? They have been doing this for a LONG time which is half of the reason so many people are against the 360. The Microsoft name is damaging the 360s reputation. If another company, just for arguments sake say Sega, was responcible for the 360 i think it would cut some of the fanboy talk out of both sides.
1-21-2008 @ 12:47PM
carnage rules said...
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