Forget the motion-sensitive remote, Microsoft, just fix Xbox 360

David Sheets of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

By now, the word has trickled into every crack and corner of the Internet that Microsoft is developing a motion-sensitive wand controller for its Xbox 360 console, and that the prototype design fairly resembles the wand available for Nintendo Wii...

Because the report goes against Microsoft's earlier position that motion-sensitive controllers were not on the horizon for Xbox 360 (but perhaps for its hoped-for replacement, the Xbox 720) and has no credible sources cited, gaming pundits were quick to jump on it and affix their own question marks: Is this good for Microsoft? Will Xbox 360 regain and keep the top spot among gaming consoles? Does Nintendo have anything to fear?

Well, in Game Guy's opinion, the answer is "no" to all three, because one huge problem still stands in the way of any new technology helping lift Xbox 360's fortunes: the Xbox itself.

[green]

I understand where the author is coming from but his views have a few flaws.The jasper should be released during the summer and it might get rid of the RROD problem,but won't be sure until a few months after it's release.

Company's like Microsoft are massive with huge Research and development facilities.if they stumble on to something that believe will move the game on for them,then no harm done.

Because if the jasper equipped units work and the motion controller works,then it would be a win win situation for all.All we can do now is to wait and see how they both turn out.

[Lord Anubis]

i'm not aware of jasper. What's the revision in jasper?

[green]

Jasper is going to have a 65-nanometer graphics chip from ATI Technologies, as well as smaller memory chips.

Falcon board has the same old 90-nm graphics chip on it. And many have pointed out that the big heat problem in the Xbox 360 is due to the graphics chip. The Falcon board will likely give off less heat. But the real serious heat saver looks like it will come with Jasper.

[Charlie2688]

@green: Unless the Jasper has a new cooling system specifically the fans we will continue to see the RROD (but the time before the fail might be extended as with the Falcon), while its obvious that a smaller GPU will produce less heat the problem still continues in the fact that the hot air cant be ventilated fast and efficiently enough and even then with better fans we have the problem of the poorly placed GPU sitting under the DVD drive with little room for air

regarding the "massive with huge Research and development facilities" I wonder if they even have any or if MS already fired them all, cuz ANYONE remotely familiarized with hardware building or engineering will tell you that the 360 (specially the original mobo) has some of THE worst design choices specially in the allocation of the chipsets that makes me wonder how on EARTH were they approved for manufacturing in the first place? for example knowing that the GPU is one of the parts that heat up the most specially if you are playing videogames why was it placed in the most confined and close space in the whole mobo layout and even worse sitting under a constantly heating DVD drive? but what I find the worst offence is how on earth did someone approved a cooling system NOT designed to handle the MASSIVE heat output of the 360?

Did they even tested any of these things gamers were easily able to pinpoint with in the first year of the 360 when the first RROD started appearing? why is it taking almost 3 years and 3 different mobos for MS to fix a flaw that is SO obvious and like I mentioned before gamers already knew since the first RRODs?

at least fixing a RROD is VERY easy and fast ;)

another thing to consider that I wont get into too much is the recent surge of faulty DVD drives that again makes me wonder about the quality control and why arent more heads rolling inside MS

[le killer]

for a ps3 only owner charlie, you seem to know sooo much! i've not heard of any faulty dvd drives, and believe me, i know alot of people who have 360s and play them often. you sony sheep seem to know everything that's bad about the competition. i'll be getting a ps3 for resistance2, the problematic ps1s and ps2s i had have not stopped me picking one up sooner, i'm just waiting for resistance2.

[mistertwoturbo]

"Company's like Microsoft are massive with huge Research and development facilities.if they stumble on to something that believe will move the game on for them,then no harm done."

So why didn't they put any of that R&D into the current X360's instead of releasing it pre-maturely into the hands of consumers, resulting the loss of millions, and possibly billions of dollars? Also the headaches of millions of gamers around the world who just wants to play a video game without they're console dying on them?

And what's the gaurantee the new chip will even help the situation? Wasn't the same said about the magical Falcon?

Sometimes, it's not a matter of how bad a product is. It's a matter of how stupid the consumer is who keeps on supporting arguements for a defective product as if you work for the company themself. Microsoft doesn't write you a paycheck to defend their bad product. If you truely support the product that you claim is the best in the industry, then slap a lawsuit at microsoft for them to fix the problem, and not gloat about software sales, when obviously it has bad hardware.

[green]

i am one of the lucky few that have enjoyed my 360 for 2 years and 4 months without a problem.I wish others had the same luck that i have had but unfortunately the console was poorly designed.

One thing is that they seem to be addressing the issue sloooowly but they are addressing it.As for cooling,the falcon equipped 360's have a different heat sink to the original versions and the Jasper will have a bigger one as well.

i don't know were you got you info about the faulty disk drives happening recently.But i know that the new Bosh disk drives that were implemented last year when the Elite was lunched don't have a problem and they are less noisy than the orginal that i posess.

One thing is that my 360 sounds like a boeing 747 when playing games,like a rally car when playing demo,s or just on the marketplace dashboard but WHISPER quiet while watching DVD's.Hard to believe but it is true.I think i am one lucky 360 owner.

[Charlie2688]

@le killer: "for a ps3 only owner"? that is odd I don't even have one and I didn't even mention it in my post in fact I only have a 360...like it shows in my profile...but you are one for those blind fanboys in denial doing the usual damage control over FACTS so why do I even bother with you? ...sigh

@green: I am aware of the extra heat sinks I was talking about the fans you could even do a test open a 360 let it heat for a while open with the mobo exposed and you will notice that for some bizarre reason the heat keeps building and building up inside and the fans don't seem to be pulling a significant amount of heat outside even when they seem to be working at max and most of it by the design of the "wind" or ventilation tunnel is directed at the CPU and not the problematic GPU thankfully there is a modd to fix this by placing a price of plastic of cardboard in the wind tunnel, regarding the faulty DVD drives that is also pretty new to me I had read about very isolated case in the past but very few to matter but recently (past 6 months) ive been reading people comment more and more about this and it seem MS knows too cuz last time I called MS for my 3rd 360 I was explicitly told like 3 times as soon as I mention a "faulty 360" if it was sure it was a RROD alone of something was wrong with another part like the "DVD drive" (that I bet it was for the RROD only covering warranty -_-) also some of the people I know that modd 360s have told me people have come to them with 360s with defective DVD drives a thing they didn't had before...as far as people have commented the main problem of the "faulty" DVD drive is either ultra fast wear and tear or simply the plastic piece that makes the DVD pop open some of those can easily be fixed other need a complete DVD drive replacement I juts hope that doesn't happen to my 360 T.T

[JsonHenry]

I bought two on launch day. A core and a premium. And I have never had any problem out of either of them. I feel sorry for all those guys that had a problem though. : (

[le killer]

sorry mate, it appears i was wrong about you bud and i apologise! blind i am not, i know a few people who've had rrod, and there is clearly a design flaw. personally, i've a 360 for over 2 years without a problem. but that's neither here nor there! i assumed you were a dirt slinger that does'nt even own, or never will own a 360. and therefore not really entitled to say anything! anyway, sorry once again mate!

[Jack Meahoffer]

The Sony sheepeople are trying to spread more FUD. While I agree the original motherboards were garbage I've had one since launch with no problems. My friend has the original Elite mobo and never had a problem.

RROD is a huge problem but its only on old units. Falcon fixed it already and Jasper will be even better and cheaper.

Sony fans seem so preoccupied with dogging the 360 why not complain to Sony so you can have Home they promised you March last year or in game voice chat? Oh thats right Sony never does anything wrong...

[n to the b]

that's the kind of attitude I wish more people here had, owning up to a mistake. bubbles for you.

[Sarick]

Everyone that has had problems with is console isn't going to be getting a free redesigned 360 are they? No, to get one they'll either be very lucky or they'll have to buy an upgrade.

All this behavior does is enforce the bad practices of selling defective hardware. Why should costumers be forced to pay for manufactured mistakes. Consider that even if a customer gets free repaires or replacements things still come up short.

My experience isn't all pleasurable, if dealing with a product that has a tendency of failure I want results. Telling people Yes, a new 360 is comming soon is stonewalling.

The emotional impact caused to some fans of the product has irreparablely tarnished Microsoft's reputation. Telling people just buy a new one does absolutely nothing for the customers. Most have lost respect by this time, and asking for more money only serves to farther escalate these negative emotions.

Money should speak for the customers, because in the interest of the gaming community 3 strikes mean your out. I know one things for certain, my money isn't going to a player who continually drops the ball.

I'm not hitting disagree because I understand your opinion, fares well with hardcore fans of the 360, My opinion differs however, and I draw these conclusions from my personal experiences.

Seriously, I can't imagine people falling for this upgrade or "to fix it" mentality. My money goes into things I believe will preform within satisfaction. Anything less and I don't care. Cheap imitated gimmicks only serve to harm innovation and that's exactly what I see here.

-Sarick

[jkhan]

Is it really that bad? I mean I bought the 360 back June 2007, I had RRoD once, I sent it to them and they fixed it and I got it back in 6 days. Its working fine since then. Yeah I know you have to take extra care of it, but still is it really that bad? or I am just lucky?

[Charlie2688]

unless you have a modded 360 with improve cooling its guaranteed your 360 will eventually die again (unless you live in the north pole o something) cuz a thing people don't seem to understand is that the 360s "failure rate" is not 30%-16% or 60% its more like a 100% right now because we are not talking about deficient/faulty parts or problems in certain units parts or that kind of things that are usually attached to "failures" much less certain "faulty production batches or shipments" like some people pretend to blame (so no looking at the manufacturing date will only guarantee a longer time before the inevitable death) cuz the problem of the RROD is actually very simple in 95% of them its as simple as constant overheating makes the GPU become loose of the mobo which gives you the RROD BUT both mobo and GPU are in perfect conditions simply reattaching them makes the 360 work perfectly again

so the RROD is not a matter if "I might get it or not" its a matter or "when" cuz a problems like this is subject to endurance before inevitable failure not specific part problem, for example we already saw a HUGE amount of people around last years Christmas with launch 360s that finally RROD and yes they were the usual "but I still have a perfect launch 360" which tells you the ONLY thing besides modding it is keeping it as ventilated and cool as possible also let it cool with an external source after is off :)

[green]

i lived in Nigeria from 2005 december to january 2007 with temperatures averaging 34 degrees,no wind and at least it was used for 14 hours a day.,And no RROD.So don't think North pole can save you from RROD.

i think those that where built properly would last long but others wouldn't.I don't even take particular care of my console,just kept it vertically from day one(even if i here it should be kept horizontally for better cooling),but have always kept it in very open spaces and never any other equipment.

Hopefully things will improve because failure rates like this are simply unacceptable.

Charlie2688 i replied to your other comment, so see above.

[Charlie2688]

@green: Like I explicitly mentioned in my post its NOT a matter of " those that where built properly would last long but others wouldn't" because the problem here is not a burned mobo or a burned GPU or if for some random reason that GPU has less soldering than others its as simple as the constant overheating melts or cracks away the soldering in the GPU making it loose from the mobo so its no related to any manufacturing mistake or faulty part its an effect of a poor cooling system on a normal hardware part of this kind

and that is why its so easy to fix too, if the 360s RROD (at least 95%) was related to faulty or poorly manufacured parts you wouldnt be able to repair it so easily

and like I also mentioned a KEY part of preventing as much as you can the RROD is cooling the 360 AFTER is off cuz you can imagine how much heat is still inside the 360 after your turn it off and the fans stop that is why many people recommend for the non warranty void solution to use a high power external fan and place it in the right "vent" or honeycomb to ventilate the left hot air and cool the parts...you will be suprised how much hot air comes out after its off (after playing for 2-3 hours and turning it off you get like 30 min of still hot air building inside O.o)

[InMyOpinion]

I had a modded(flashed bios) 360 that went RROD. I got it back in 6 days and it has worked flawlessly since then. They gave me the Benq drive(which is more quiet and loads extremely fast) and a new motherboard.

I also got a certificate that said that they had performed several durability tests on it just to check that it won't RROD again. Other than that they gave me 1 month Live for free.

I really can't complain about the service. I mean they fixed it even though the 360 was tampered with. They could have just returned it without fixing it and ban me from Live or something.

[mirroredderorrim]

True consumer mentality, man. I got my first Xbox 360 a few months ago(Elite) and so far so good, but in accordance with what you said, I will not buy a 2nd if this RROD on me. I'll go through the painstaking process of sending it to them for a fix, and spend a month enjoying whatever PS3 hit is out at the time.

That B.S aside, I'm confident that my Xbox product will last awhile..
>_>
<_<

[uie4rhig]

just reading the title: Agreed!! fix the 360, then start a new project!

[power of Green]

You're not going to catch Decapitator or cyruss posting this fud no one is reading it they're ignoring it(not counting the run of the mill Sony trolls) you might as well post positive news, thats where the hits/point are.

[PumPum]

You dont want RROD to be fixed rather than X0mote?

[Phil Harrison Mklll]

There isn't any! :D [well it sinking is positive News to me] :D
CryBabyXbox360Bots

[PSMonster21]

M$ should just give up on their POS360. HAHAHA.

[thexmanone]

Wow It sound like you PISS3 fanboys are scared. Don`t worry you will still be able to watch your blue ray movies.

[captainjy]

Do you know how many people I have heard complain about the BD tray on the POS3? There are defects with every electronic device. Who really cares if MS fixes the RROD issue or not. I have a warranty and if my 360 blows up, I go to Target and "buy" a new one until repair is done. I have only lost one console. It's no big deal. We just keep coming back and there's nothing you can do about it.

[Oom]

Microsoft does not want to fix the 360.

[thor]

Well yes they should fix the 360 first... but did everyone _really_ believe that mspaint drawing? I know they said something like "our contact drew this for us in mspaint so that he wouldn't get in trouble", but to be honest, couldn't anyone have drawn that? And its a bit late in the day to start introducing new peripherals to drag people away from the wii... I think microsoft actually _is_ fixing the 360, they're bringing out new models all the time, and I'm sure that the rate of RROD has gone down over time with the new models.

[SL1M DADDY]

Any R&D done at MS should be done for the sake of fixing their already crippled console. Once they fix the console and can give us something that falls well within the industry standard failure rates, then by all means, start making Wii clone controllers.

[Jack Meahoffer]

I have yet to hear about one Falcon unit getting RROD. I know it would be all over N4G if it did.

Stop whining. Its fixed. MS can work on whatever new project they want. Not like they only have a couple of engineers available...

Look for 175W power consumption on the box and you know its a Falcon.

[HarryEtTubMan]

Wow the media is actually writing articles like this now. Xbox 360 is OFICIALLY FLOPPING.

[MaximusPrime]

Micro$oft is greedy.

[captainjy]

So is Phony, Apple, and just about every other business out there. Think before you post.

[TheKungFool]

I stop reading articles the moment I see absurd sentences like that.

The 360 has never had "the top spot" unless you're talking about 2006 when the Wii and PS3 weren't around yet, and even then, the PS2 was still holding its own.

At this point, its painfully obvious; Microsoft rushed a flawed product to market early to try and get a jump and they're suffering because of it. They've now forked out millions upon millions in repair costs for malfunctioning hardware, they lost the HD war, and now they're in a panic to add features that Sony and Nintendo took the time to implement properly.

[bigjclassic]

is on the right track, but he's forgetting something. The demand for 360 is gone and I dont think Gears2 and a Wiimote knockoff are the way to go. Gears2 is the killer app and they need to market it threw the moon.

[funkysolo]

No matter what games are on it, when people talk about the 360 it's always going to get overshadow by RROD..From my experiance the 360 failure rate is at 60 percent. Out of 10 people that I know personally 6 have gotten the RROD. I got it once but after I reboot it went away. I didn't want to take chances so I sold it on ebay and been happy with my PS3 ever since. Nothing against the software on 360 but I'm not going to support a crappy hardware.

[AngryTypingGuy]

"Forget the motion-sensitive remote, Microsoft, just fix Xbox 360" -

They did. Unfortunately, Bill Gates didn't invent the time machine yet, so he can't go back and fix the old ones though.

[captainjy]

Another prime example of how the Phonyboys jump all over the most ridiculous "news" on the internet. It's a blog! It's one person's opinion. I fail to see how this is considered news, much less how or why this was posted?

[somethingSQUISHY]

If all people cared about was quality of the entertainment experience, I find it hard to imagine the X360 wouldn't be in twice as many homes as it is now. As long as people are still scared to death of the RROD, no amount of motion-sensing, wand-waving is going to get some people past that roadblock.

That was the main issue for me not getting an X360 until I won it at work last week. I mean, after my first hour with the machine, I could already see how superior in several areas MS's console is in comparison with the PS3. Hardware reliability is a big issue for me, and I don't think I'm in the minority here. MS needs to PROVE they've gotten past this overheating fiasco before the rest of the market caves to the glory of X360.

[permutated]

Just Fix DRM.

[lelik]

they fixed it? strange because i heard they claim a 10% fail rate on their new motherboard. yep. its fixed.

[Hercules]

well im not the biggest 360 fan, hell not even a 360 fan, but i will say this, m$ better start getting their sh!+ together, or the 360 will fail completely, maybe not now, but in a few years yes, just like the XBOX..look at the ps2, 7 years (8 for japan) going strong, i dont expect it to die anytime soon...i expected M$ to use that $50 mil to fix the 360, not try to own certain rights in a game..oh well just like Vista, they are f*ing up

EDIT: also i dont see the point in making games for PC and 360, i understand more money, but the ratio to a customer having a pc over 360 is pretty damn high

[tgh machines]

but not a gaming pc

[psnDevistator356]

Microsoft needs to work on fixing there damn hardware.

[pshizle]

[TwissT]

YES Microsoft FIX THE RROD PROBLEM! So I can finally have the guts to buy it and not die on me.

[zethos56]

We all know the RROD is horrible but do we really need a new story on it every day?

[Naphthos]

It's really goddamn amusing to see Xbox360 fans trying to convince us all of that it's not a BIG DEAL when their system breaks.

[HelghastGeneral]

Microsoft is trying to do everything in their power to bring their dead red ring of deathbox back to life.

Um its too late for you microsoft you should of had a built in hd dvd player in the 360 and you should of invested in a advanced processor like the cell.

Oh now you want to take the wii's place and have a remote too? just give up your company fails and can not make anything right. Windows xp sucks, windows vista sucks, 360 sucks, zune player sucks.

[Naphthos]

Hey, I like Windows XP. Everything else sucks, though. Just leave good ol' XP out of this.

[HelghastGeneral]

No xp is very guilty do you know how many errors people encounter everyday on windows xp? there are millions of forums of people asking help everyday because of the errors people have of windows xp. I myself had countless errors i do not even use internet explorer if i do the my computer just freezes.

[Naphthos]

Hail firefox!

[lelik]

windows xp is the greatest operating system in existence. i've never once had a problem or a virus. if you think it sucks, you don't understand how to use it. its really simple, when you're surfing porn, don't click everything you see. you'll avoid those "errors" you speak of.