Xbox 360 defects: an inside history of Microsoft’s video game console woes

[Noobie]

History of XBOX 360 RROD

"Microsoft decided late to add a hard disk drive to most of the machines. It also came up late with a plan to add wireless controllers; all of the previous consoles shipped with wired controllers. The hard drive blocked a lot of the air flow on one side of the machine," Takahashi wrote. "And the wireless modules had to have enough of their own space to ensure that there was no electrical interference. In the end, the machine was a series of compromises."

Incredibly low yields were the norm for a long time, warnings from engineers were ignored, problems were swept under the rug and gamers put up with lousy customer service to try to get their system replaced. The piece also lists an Ars Technica thread as one of the ways consumers put pressure on Microsoft to get the company to face up to their mistakes.

When Microsoft finally did, the public relations damage had long been done. Many gamers switched over to the stable PlayStation 3 after suffering through multiple dead systems, and the term "Red Rings of Death" had entered the gaming lexicon. "To conclude, the video game industry has never seen a consumer problem as bad as the 'red rings of death' and the size of the $1.15 billion charge stands as one of the biggest liability glitches in consumer electronics history," Takahashi claims. It's a hard statement to dispute.

[M.Farooq]

Nice read this article and glad to see Microsoft's ass being whooped for a change .

[H.Bogard]

Their ass was being whooped since 2005. They've actually started making a profit on this POS hardware since late 2007.

[spid3rguy]

Originally Posted by Noobie

History of XBOX 360 RROD

i have read a whole ebook realted to xbox and latest xbox 360! same here thanks for the information by the way!

[Noobie]

Whistle blower fired over leaking X360 defect rate

Microsoft had him fired on Wednesday. Delaware worked as a game tester at Microsoft but was employed by the temp agency Excell Data. He reported directly to a Microsoft manager, who told him he was being let go because of the VentureBeat article.

Delaware, a 29-year-old Seattle resident, expects to face civil charges from his former employer VMC (which tests games for Microsoft) and Microsoft as well. He will likely have to hire a lawyer. Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said the company does not talk about personnel issues.

“I don’t regret it,” he said in a phone call on Thursday. “I’ll fight it. If they want to come after me, bring it on.”