Microsoft: those who really care will find the Jasper 360s

Arstechnica: Aaron Greenberg is tired. The group product manager for the 360 has been doing interviews about the product line for hours, in a room with a 360, some Guitar Hero equipment, and of course the new Xbox 360 UI. "I probably don't need to show you this, do I?" he asks, nodding to the screen. We laugh, but I do have some serious questions. Such as, why is it so hard to find out which models of the system sport the Jasper hardware?

I ask point blank: has there even been a discussion about simply putting the model type on the box, making it clear for consumers? "Yes," Greenberg tells me, and then pauses.

He rubs his face and looks up. "I have to be careful about how I answer this," Greenberg says. "We have focused really hard on improving the quality of our products, including the internal components, new types of things internally. Unfortunately we don't get and share the exact specifics of that... I know your site and your readers are much more sophisticated than the average public, but for the most part, we believe the type of consumer that's buying an Xbox today, they should be able to buy with confidence. They shouldn't, you know, get hung up on the internal components of the device.

[Darkseider]

Would be a lot easier if people knew what they were buying. Why would someone spend at a minimum $200 up to $400 on a non-jasper system if they knew that a RRoD would be more likely on it? I would think that Microsoft would at a minimum recall as much non-jasper stock, assuming the Jasper is the end all of RRoD issues, and immediately ship out Jasper units to replace them. That would instill confidence, otherwise it is no different than playing Russian Roulette with your hard earned cash.

[Aaron Greenterd]

Firstly, let me address the gamers. This is the real Aaron Greenterd, the 2 bubbles is from the mods back during the whole "ps3 is dying" media blitz, where i was owning fanboys and sending them sobbing away from their Windows© based PC's.

I am tired. I'm tired of my company's unwillingness to sell you gamers the equipment you deserve.

Starting today, we will be selling the Xbox 360 in even more pieces. This way, you can identify the right parts. Don't need a jasper chipset? Not afraid of the RROD? Then why pay more. Simply add the parts that you need, down to the very component, and you are good to go; however I hope I don't have to tell you, you do not get a warranty this way.

If we marked the box showing a better chipset, then we would have to acknowledge that the old chipset was bad, and that RROD exists, and that would cost my company more that we've already sunk into this white elephant called the Xbox 360.

So we will stealth release this chipset to the consumer and move on as if nothing ever happened.

The End.

[OGharryjoysticks]

Since when did jasper fix the problems? I didn't know there was proof that any of the systems were totally reliable. Just because Microsoft is claiming to have solved the problems with a special name (jasper) doesn't mean it is true. If you just want to believe anything you can believe Microsoft's original statement that there is only an industry acceptable failure rate on the 360 and move along.

Jasper is cheaper to make

[princejb134]

yea rite
they saying to go get a jasper system to get their sales up
F U microsoft ill stick with my current model

[Bnet343]

I just want to say a few things. First, Microsoft was foolish to release a faulty machine in order to be "first". Second,

"Why would someone spend at a minimum $200 up to $400 on a non-jasper system if they knew that a RRoD would be more likely on it? "

Because when it RROD's, you get a free replacement and that would be a Jasper machine.

And finally, I'm glad that at least Microsoft lived up to thier mistake and provided a free replacement + a three year warranty at no charge. That being said, attacking Microsoft hardcore is something a lot of people like doig here, but you can't deny the fact that they are trying their hardest to make everyone happy.

[Darkseider]

I never said it did...

"I would think that Microsoft would at a minimum recall as much non-jasper stock, assuming the Jasper is the end all of RRoD issues, and immediately ship out Jasper units to replace them."

Reading is your friend, m'kay?

[gaffyh]

So basically they don;t write Jasper on the box, because if they did all the other 360's on the shelves will not sell.

[ultimolu]

Exactly. That's why I didn't buy one for Christmas. I refuse to play roulette with my money.

If these Jasper models are indeed the ones to fix the RROD, then they should replace the old ones completely.

[morganfell]

There is no guarantee your refurb will be a Jasper.

And I can't believe this comment from Ars Technica:

"Greenberg is right, the type of gamer who follows the code names of hardware will find the telltale signs easily, so why bring it up to a larger market?"

By deduction they are saying it's okay for the larger market to get shafted.

[FantasyStar]

When 360s go for like $110 on Ebay; I think the larger market just stopped caring. As long as they can get a console for a cheap price above the Wii: then it's all good. I personally don't have a Falcon. Don't need one. A downsize from 90nm to 65mn is about 5-7'C for most 360s difference. My room temperature is too erratic to really consider Jasper a proper solution.

[morganfell]

So are you saying that it's okay to get screwed if the price is cheap enough? Or are you saying consumers should just blow $110 on Ebay every time their 360 dies? I am on my 5th. Doesn't sound like a solution to me. I would have preferred one price for a decent console and one time only.

By making such action acceptable you are just encouraging MS and other companies to produce crap. And go to Ebay every time you need a new 360? Sorry, but that makes absolutely no sense.

[callahan09]

How are we supposed to "figure it out" whether we're buying a Jasper unit or not when you won't tell us what to look for? He says people who really want to will figure out what to look for? What he SHOULD be doing is telling us what to look for and saying "those who want one will look for one" NOT leaving it up to the consumer to figure out how to even recognize the Jasper units. This guy, I swear...

[FantasyStar]

I agree with you and that doesn't make sense or excuse Microsoft from pushing out low-grade products. However the masses have spoken and times have changed. If a 360 breaks, go buy a new one. If a PS3 breaks, complain until Sony gives you a new one.

It's a problem with society that loves wasting everything. When things are cheap, you're less likely to care. If they're expensive, you're more likely to care. What people never account for is the amount of electronic trash that ends as a result.

It's truly a paradox, and there's nothing one person can do about it because Microsoft has successfully migrated 360s as a form of cocaine. Sure the stuff is good and it's hard to break the addiction, however when the crack is cheap and there's plenty to go around. Why would you stop now? Ebay has spoken. Cheap consoles sell more than expensive consoles: regardless of quality. Resources are taken up to build crappy products and I can imagine what I would do with all those broken 360s. For one thing, I can buy those metals cheaper and build solar panels for renewable energy to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel and keep our environment cleaner due to reduced waste being dumped into the rivers and streams. We can keep our waste-dumps cleaner and reduce the cost of materials.

Isn't that just messed up though? People just ignorantly throwing their money away and there's nothing you can do about it. And the ones responsible like Microsoft are the ones advocating waste, all in the name of the almighty dollar?

I'm no tree-hugger, but I don't like it when people wastes things. Cause someone else in the world could've used those resources for a better good than just shoddy consoles.

/soapbox

[jadenkorri]

you do realise that that warrenty is only on the laucnh 360, not on every 360 you buy, If you buy a falcon 360, you only have a 1 year warrenty, just like the ps3, and it will be the same as the Jasper...

[BattleAxe]

"They shouldn't, you know, get hung up on the internal components of the device."

Yeah, I mean why would I need to know what chipset it has? I guess the worst that can happen is that I get RRoD.

[BLuKhaos]

no its for every 360 not just launch consoles.

[Oner]

Aaron Greenberg's comment is actually quite embarrassing...in that "facepalm" kinda way when you look at how he had to notion to the PR person.

[Mozilla89]

Would make one think that Microsoft doesn't care...

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

Isn't this getting old for you guys, I mean I haven't seen a Falcon console bit the dust and received an RROD. I have been enjoying my 360 for over a year now with heavey use, no problems what so ever. I just bought a second Falcon.

Somebody will come along and say "your experience doesn't account for the masses" which I will respond "show me the proof that Falcon is still affected". The bottom line is there hasn't been any significant statistics or even comments about the fact the newer Falcon still suffers from RROD en masse like the Xenon and Zephyr.

There is absolutely no excuse for releasing a poor product (let alone know that there are issues in advance and still release it like in MS case), but when the problem is fixed let it die.... After all it cost MS $1 billion dollars and I'm sure they wouldn't risk it again. The dollar speaks the loudest!!!

edit: I should say comment from significant sources, such as the warranty statistics from SquareTrade Warranty (I think). Not some anti MS, Sony fanboy in a forum.

[blackpanther25]

I'm not getting at you or anything, but i bought a 360 for my cousin around Feb last year. He just got RROD 3 months ago. I actually just called him to see if it was a falcon model or not. It just so happens that he has a falcon model. I hope people here are wrong about the falcon model not being under warranty for 3 years.

The funny thing I had a launch console that was working until October of last year. lol i was bragging to everybody that my 360 is fine. Karma is a b*tch

[morganfell]

Well ideelee, tell my recently dead HALO edition the problem is fixed. It isn't.

[jadenkorri]

my 360 red ringed on me within a week, it was purchased a week before fable 2 release, i even paid full for the preorder of Fable 2.. The 360 was a falcon manufactured in august of 08 and was put in a well ventilated area, placed horizontally, my 2nd one is in the exact same spot with no problems thankfully...and its was played more than my first one, especially since my ps3 fan broke and is in repair... Saying the falcon is not having a rrod problem, means your just another fanboy denying the fact of the rrod problem while you secretly call MS to get your system replaced..

@ BLuKhaos
you really should do some research before you post, 360 rrod is "NOT" for every 360 console, only for launch ones, and probably a few models afterwards that i would assume was manufactured before the falcon....any falcon does not fall under the 3 year warranty of the rrod, i called MS on my issue as i stated above, and they told me, along with Gamestop, that there is only a 1 year warranty on the console... if you don't believe me, thats fine, but its just as easy to call MS, and ask a question...

[Bob Dole]

Cue: "This is what to look for when identifying a Jasper" article. 6327863278362786398728 degrees.

Edit@FantasyStar: +bubbles That drug analogy was BRILLIANT!

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

I'm sorry you guys had problem (if you guys did as claimed). However, that is 3 out of millions sold every year. In the early days, we got widespread claims of RROD as well as reports from retailers, warranty providers and repair shop complaining about it. There was no doubt there was an issue.

We don't hear about this anymore and nobody has come out saying anything about this problem. Mind you consumers will storm the message boards spewing their problems if they have one about a product they paid minimum $200 for. I would too if I get one.

I'm sure there are plenty of PS3 owners with YLOD, does that mean a widespread problem?

@morganfell:
There were very few Halo 3 Special Edition Xbox 360's with Falcon in them. There is a good chance you ended up with an older motherboard.

[Nineball2112]

CYA in his response there. ;-)

[ThaGeNeCySt]

yeah I found my jasper 360 a couple of weeks ago (wasn't hard 2 spot)

and it definitely runs better than my old 360 that I sold off... if this one RRoD's i'll be PISSED

[DeletedUser]

Jasper Xbox 360's are easy to find.

First check the voltage. You want a 12.1V and make sure it also has 12.1A there.

Second look for XGX-00019.
Third Look for Value Bundle 2008 E. (The last two are based off of arcades.)
Fourth look for a Lot # of 0842X or newer, this helps, but the 12.1A on the left side of the sticker guarantees you have a Jasper.

[Mc187]

Write down what you said on a peice of paper, then look at every 360 in stock to find all that, seems a bit arduous.

[hippo24]

Ive checked the "date Manufactured" on most electrical systems I have bought. Doesn't seem like to much of a stress to check for a label.

but maybe Im just a freak.

[ThaGeNeCySt]

all i did was push the console back and look @ the voltage... i couldnt' see the whole thing but i did see the "2" which let me know that it was 12,1a so i bought it.

[DeletedUser]

Yes. It takes 5 seconds to look at the little hole and match everything. Boom, you have a Jasper 360. Took me 5 consoles to find one for a lady yesterday who was returning a RROD console for the 3rd time.

[Trollimite]

didnt they say pro systems would be RROD proff. why should we beleive them now

[ultimolu]

I'm sorry MS but I will not play roulette with my money.
The damn system needs a redesign.

[yz250]

then why don't you quit posting in 360 threads with your negative responses. then you turn around and complain about "360 fanboys" when you clearly do the same. i'm sick and tired of the hypocrisy on this site. you don't like microsoft, or the 360, then stay in ps3 news. you just typed negative crap yesterday in a 360 article, and i see that "story" failed approval. microsoft is doing and has done what they can regarding rrod. i play my falcon 360 more than you play your ps3, and i can say with full confidence, its 100 times better than the launch 360's- you'd know this juuken if you ever ACTUALLY owned one. microsoft has came a long way against rrod, just like sony has came a long way with finally providing quality software for it's system. juuken, take ya negative fud somewhere else please.

[ultimolu]

First of all, get the hell off my back.

Second of all, I was going to buy a 360 this Christmas but I'm still wary about the hardware itself. For your damn information, I'd like to play Star Ocean, Ninja Blade (if it's good), and play Ninja Gaiden II since I loved Sigma. I'm a consumer who likes to spend money wisely. I don't buy things that break within seconds.

360 fans have no interest in the PS3 and yet they find themselves in the threads.

And I love how you insist on calling me juuken.

Grow up.

And learn something called "paragraphs" because it's clear that you can't even make a coherent response to ANY of my comments.

[ApolloT4L]

Although I am not trying to condone the RRoD, I think saying "I don't buy things that break within seconds" is a little harsh.

I am sure there are PS3 consoles that develop faults and I am sure that the main issues with 360 hardware relate mostly to launch consoles (Xenon) which I own.

I did get an RRoD about a year ago and it was replaced with another Xenon when it happened. Despite any chance of failure the Xbox 360 is one of my favourite consoles of all time and when I did get a failure it had easily seen around 4000-5000 hours of gaming and MS replaced quickly. How many average consumers will ever push the hardware that far?

[yz250]

you complain all the time and yet you do what you "hate". you think you're better than everyone for some reason, and using the line "grow up" just shows your immaturity.i'm just calling you by your first(?) n4g name, no need to get offensive. also look at it this way, you play "roulette" and actually buy a 360, if it rrod's then you get it fixed for free.(by the way rrod isn't as much a problem now) but if it were to happen you have your ps3 to play in that time. no need for ya hot headed comments, and put downs. sad really. someone calls you out for how you REALLY ACT and you get all ruffled. kinda funny. EDIT- hut oh she done brought out ALL of her n4g names to disagree with the truth!!!

[ultimolu]

Excuse YOU?

I act as if I'm better than anyone else?

I have every right to speak my mind and I don't care who disagrees or who agrees. You're just bitter because I have the guts to criticize Microsoft. The same way I can criticize Microsoft, I have also criticized Sony where they need criticism.

I won't stoop to your level.

Again, grow up.

Go on, slam the disagree. It shows your inability to even argue against me.

Apollo: I have heard of 360's dying on people the same day they bought it. That's what I'm referring to. What's the sense of buying something like that if it's not going to last?

[LilMissGoddess]

i believe you need to grow up and move the hell on with yourself, you are ALWAYS saying sh1t on here to yz250, dirtrider, and any other xbox fan...if you think you are SO grown then stop being so childish with your comments. this is suppose to be where we can find out news on consoles that we prefer but ya know its just a bunch of garbage that you ps3 fanboys sit here and bash on because they do better at making games...wow, i believe its YOU that needs to grow the hell up, quit trying to act all grown when really you ARENT!!!

[yz250]

there is no arguement- you are a troll period. stoop to my level, lmao i'm not the one sitting here getting all hot under the collar like you, and typing put downs.i see what you type 24-7 on here, and it is all fanboy BS. you wouldn't have all those bubbles if you didn't have the ps3 faithful hanging on every one of your arrogant words.i may not like the ps3 fanboys on here-don't take me wrong,(just being honest) but you are the worse one. you are the BIGGEST hypocrite on n4g period- sony fan or not. atleast the other sony fans on here do base their fanboyism on fact, unlike you, you just keep up with the jones's as they say. excuse me why i roll my eyes at this little 21 yr old girl!

[hippo24]

Id like to call THIS to everyone's attention.

You know the thing you quickly skim over before posting your hate speeches
----------------------------- -----------------------------

Gamer Zone Posting Guidelines
The Gamer Zone is for members who want a more friendly and civilized discussion. This section is heavily moderated by the N4G staff, so leave your fanboyism at the door please. Members who are unable to behave in a mature and respectful manner will be temporarily or permanently restricted from posting in the Gamer Zone. Using words such as Xbots and Sony droids, or other words from the console war vocabulary, is strictly prohibited in this Zone.

[poopface1]

But I agree that 360 might break, but I also think my 360(which I sold) got a lot of use in the year and a half I had it. If you ever get a 360 you should play Ng 2 because it is great. It was rated bad by reviewers that couldn't admit that the must play it on the lowest difficulty, and maybe they fixed some of the technical problems by now.

This guy may be lying about everything else, but its true that they considered writhing what version it was on the outside. I still have my box which says zephyr, which is still crappy and probably broke too much to keep on the box.

[darthv72]

dude...you still aint got a 360 yet? I been waiting to play you in halo 3 or gears cause you say you are gonna get one for the exclusives. Just bite the bullet and get one already. No roulett here as you are in a win / win situation.

Good exclusives and people on n4g wanting to play with you. Dont let that RROD scare you. If you are scared by that then I just don't know anymore.

[ultimolu]

yz250: You know what defines the word you just mentioned? People like LilMissGoddess. You are in no position to call me anything when you don't even know me.

LilMissGoddess: You're a joke and a really big one. You keep on with those comments! See if it gets you anywhere in life!

darth: I'm not fond of Halo? I've said that on numerous occassions. I will get one ONCE I'm certain Jasper models are better.

[LilMissGoddess]

as for you don't nobody else on here as well JUUKEN...that's cute that you get a kick out of sending people private pm say "fu" and then you block them so that they cant respond back, that's so cute but childish...im not the only one you have done that to...n by the way i'm not the one who sits here putting down a system when you never owned one let alone probably never played it...because you see i have both systems n have no problem with either one, you can't say that for yourself... :-)

47 minutes ago | By: ultimolu | Block
FVCK YOU. <--------guess this makes everything ok because she worships sony?

[yz250]

ultimolu - 3 days 17 hours ago
PM
Track
Ignore
1.6 -
That's your opinion. I think the 360 is a great system in terms of software but I'm wary of the hardware because I don't want my house blown up.

You're sick of 360 bashers? Then what about the PS3 bashers who make it their holy mission to bash all things Sony? Or plan their personal jihad against the positive articles that are posted here on a daily basis?

Oh, no one says something about those guys but oh noes! 360 bashers are out on full force! Lock ya doors yo! <----------read her post carefully ok. she just done in this post what she claims she doesnt' like from others........i love the part about 360's blowing up people's houses. EDIT: TO ONER make sure you report her replies too. all i have done is said the truth, and no personal attacks to her are in my posts, unlike hers. this comment here is what SHE wrote NOONE ELSE. im backing up my claim that yes she is a fanboy, and a hypocritical one at that. she is clearly trolling this news as usual.

[Oner]

Reported about 5 or 6 different replies as off topic/spam since it was a specific attack on someone when all they did was post a simple comment.

Certain people have a documented habit of making things "personal" when it's not for all that. It is clear evident that Ultimolu was on the receiving end right here.

[hippo24]

@oner
Well I normally would have agreed with you, but I have recently tracked Ultimolu and viewed quite a few of his/her comments only to find that Ultimolu deserves the comments against him/her. Ultimolu is a fanboy/girl in the most literal sense of the word, and it really surprises me how this persons account is still active.

On almost every comment they have posted the themes of bashing Microsoft and raising up the Ps3 have been the only thoughts on Ultimolu's agenda.

Im quite partial to the Ps3 myself, but what Ultimolu is doing is kinda out of hand.

Furthermore the responses from Ultimolu have been, deconstructive at the least, and could be described as spiteful in most situations. HE/She has donated very little help or insight and has done only negative and vengeful acts.

Although openly chastising a Ps3 fanboy on this site is akin to HIGHLIGHTING the "Report" button, I felt the need to draw light upon this persons actions.

Don't defend Ultimolu, save your sympathy for someone who deserves it.

[7h3ultim8p00]

Wow lol. You guys take this sh1t way too seriously

[ultimolu]

LilMissGoddess: You know why I said that? You deserved it. Your sole purpose of creating that account was to directly attack me. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings back when I was under the other name. It's pretty clear that I hurt some 360 fanboy feelings when I threw their company's mistakes at their feet and forced them to look at them. Because you know, they think Microsoft is so goddamn perfect. And no, don't even mention Sony because if I don't think they're perfect.

yz250: Blah, blah, blah. That's all I heard from you. Like I said, learn how to speak correctly before you argue with me.

hippo24: Excuse me? You obviously didn't look at LilMissGoddess or yz250's comments towards me. yz250 was the one who started this. I don't back down from nobody.

He could have easily ignored my comment but he felt the need to start an argument.

And while there are times I have bashed Microsoft, there are also times I have said good things about them.

[LilMissGoddess]

lmao, i would LOVE to know what you have ever said that's been good about the 360, because in the 2 yrs i have been on here...i have never seen you say anything GOOD about the 360...i have NEVER made this account to attack you, i did it because i wanted this account...this account that i have has nothing to do with you...you must LOVE to be center of attention, i think that's what it is with you...you always want attention...typical kid thing these days i guess...

and further more, i think there is a few people on here that know your full of yourself with that one...all in all, xbox has always done good no matter what the failure rate has been, and they have done things to fix it...at least they have done something to try and fix it without doing a recall...

[hippo24]

@ultimolu

I normally would jump at the chance to back you in stopping those who ridicule you, but even your most recent comment is damning to your odd behavior.

Your a fanboy, not in the sense where your PREFER on console over the other, you are a fanboy to the extent where you look upon everyone with a gilded view.

Sorry but as far as Im concerned the other contenders are armatures compared to you.

[ultimolu]

LilMissGoddess: Oh, you wouldn't want me to provide links. There are times where I have said all three consoles will do fine. There is a time where I said that Microsoft did a better job with the 360 than the original XBox. I'm sorry that you didn't see those links. Perhaps you were too busy attacking PS3 fans with your nonsense. Perhaps you were too busy attacking me when you know NOTHING about me.

hippo: Get over yourself okay? You know NOTHING about me. My preference is the PS3 but I would like to play on other consoles. I have played on other consoles in my lifetime. Don't sit there and judge people when you don't even know them outside of the internet.

You completely missed the point where those two attacked me first when I didn't even start with them. This what we do at N4G? Attack other members? Oh noes! I hate the 360! Let's judge this person!

And I am done with this because I'm speaking to brick walls.

Godday gentlemen and keep up the fine work of tracking/disagreeing with me because it makes you look big and bad.

[Oner]

hippo24 it's not about what YOU "believe she [or anyone] deserves". Her comment didn't warrant all the heat she got (remember SHE got called out). Plus if you REALLY want people to stop posting stuff that is unwarranted (that you believe is) then use the report function and label it as spam or off topic & hit their bubbles as that is what they are there for....ultimately she was attacked for a passing comment of which more people jumped on her for.

Not cool.

And not what the gamer zone is for or about. The open zone is where that should be (hell even then in extreme cases I think it should/could be taken to PM's).

[Bob Dole]

Bob Dole personally attacks everyone at the same time with his manliness: -999999999hp!!
.
.
.
YOU ARE DEAD.

[Raoh]

anyone know if the jasper models dvd drive is hackable?

i'd gladly trade in my old original loud, clunky, dusty, rattling, 360 in for a newer model if i can flash the drive.

[Kushan]

All 360 drives are currently moddable, however all NEW drives (lite-ons)require a special tool in order to do it. The tool will set you back approximately £20-40, depending on how easy you want to make it for yourself (or if you're handy with a soldering Iron, you can make one yourself).

I wont give out any further information on how to do it or supply links that support piracy, I'm just answering your question.

[Anon1974]

It makes shopping exciting! Find the good 360.
"I found one!"
"Good for you, Timmy! So you did. You just saved yourself possibly weeks or months of irritation, Microsoft's Support line and not being able to play the bulk of your game's library for weeks on end. And look, as an added bonus Microsoft included hard candy with every Jasper. Fantastic!"

Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. There is no hard candy.

[Mc187]

Hilarious . bubbles+

[caladbolg777]

Darkride, you're the first person on this site that I've "tracked". Hurray for consistent, solid commenting.

[Bob Dole]

It should come with that gummy-bear flavored Mountain Dew. Damn that sh1t was good.

[invoked]

is it just me or did he just shoot himself in the foot? he's basically saying that Microsoft, whom he represents, is selling a faulty product without consumers knowledge. This is an indictment. This is YAHOO feature news worthy.

[jcfilth]

Exactly what I was going to say, the don't want those uninformed costumers to know about their faulty product.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

That's no one then!!! ;-D

[kingme71]

They aren't going to draw attention to new hardware when all XBox's "should" be the same (75% of consumers probably don't know about RROD), otherwise they would have alot of old hardware sitting on retail shelves while people pick up the Jasper models. It's like seeing 409 and new and improved 409 next to each other on the same shelf only they both have to be sold at the same price. If 409 was so great why is it now new and improved? Sure if new and improved cost me $2.00 more I might have to make a decision but Jasper models are the same price as non Jasper.

[Rai]

no one should be force to look for a better version of something..thats just stupid. you think I'm going to run around to my best buy and look for one, since they are pretty much the only store that leaves the console out on display, not happening.

[Aclay]

If Microsoft just took their time with the Xbox 360's development process and quality control, the 360's hardware issues would probably be non-existent.

I congratulate Microsoft for bringing up the reliability of the Xbox 360, but it should have been that way from the start, no excuses. Most people (Casual gamers) buying the $199 Xbox 360's aren't looking for a 360 with a Jasper chipset, they are just looking for a bargain.

The 3 year warranty that Microsoft offers is great and everything, but I would rather buy a product that has a 1 year warranty and is already reliable to begin with than to buy a product that's known for hardware issues with a 3 Year warranty.

Microsoft should just recall all of the non-Jasper 360's and replace those models with Jaspers and just ship them back out. Whenever a certain Sony Vaio laptop model experienced an overheating battery, Sony recalled those laptops, and Microsoft should do the exact same thing.

[locos85]

Flock of Nerds going to their local retailer and scavenging through every Xbox 360 looking for the "Jasper"............ . That's just stupid.
Easter Egg hunt just to have a less chance at a RROD!!! LMAO!!

[pixelsword]

...because a person who doesn't care so much might just say "forget it" and get something else.

C'mon, microsoft: you know the regular ones are bad... be a good sport and recall the non-jaspers.

Sony and Microsoft are a little too sure of themselves... which is why they are second and third, methinks.

And if Nintendo keeps on catering to the casual crowd, they will have lost the respect they earned, and possibly hardcore gamers forever, and possibly the lead down the line. They forget their legacy games are built upon the backs of the hardcore gamer, to which casuals and newbies may not give a rip about.

[NipGrip]

Do you get an Achievement for finding a Jasper?

[Bob Dole]

You get a Platinum Trophy :)

[DJ]

Damn, Microsoft's reps probably get fired left and right for answering RROD questions.

[Mutley416]

So they have`nt discontinued making the faulty ones...no phase out?

I guess why should they stop...nobody is making them & with Xbox current sales ... The Jasper probably can`t keep up with demand-

[Revvin]

If they did label new 360's it would probably be under the guise of 'New and improved design' stickers rather than state the chipset, especially if in a few months we find out the Jasper chipset is not the cure for the RROD. It would be unlikely as retailers would be very upset if they get stuck with stock they can't sell as people leave non Jasper 360's on the shelf. As someone who once owned a 360 and went through two RROD's before switching to the Playstation brand it may be enough for me as a consumer to plonk down some spare cash and enjoy both formats if new Jasper 360's were labelled as 'new and improved design' but presently its like playing russian roulette as a consumer.

[tiberious151]

ya I got a Jasper back in December. Its a much more quieter unit. Hoperfully it will last because I dont plan on buying a new console anytime soon. I also had the old unit that had no problems, just noisy as hell.

[jcfilth]

F@ck Microsoft!!!

[Knightofelemia]

I wanna see the track record on the Jasper before i waste more money on a 360. I want to make sure M$ took the time sat down with Japser and threw every test at it. Then I will wait a year and see more reports about it before I buy it. And when someone goes into a Wal-Mart to buy a Jasper how do they know they even get one or get last years model with the RROD. I like my 360 but I am only sending it away once to get fixed after that its Sony and Nintendo all the way.

[Max Power]

with Sony telling people to get a second job. Now everyone don't pull out those needles, i am a huge fan of Sony, its the only system i got and the only one i want to have, but that was a dumb thing for sony to say, and is right next too what ms just said.

[Kleptic]

and that is why kutaragi was demoted...you say stupid stuff, no matter what you have a accomplished...and your share holders will start putting in votes to pull your plug...

brand image is equally important as brand quality...they do go hand in hand...but a lot can be said when a successful company has some whack insulting potential buyers...the whack saying the crap, will ALWAYS lose in the corporate world...

Kutarai saying 'I know its expensive, but its so worth it that customers will gladly [work harder] to enjoy it'...its simply blatantly out of line...there are a hundred different ways to rephrase that and not put anyone off...

Greenburg is quickly closing in on this type of ridiculousness...he is basically saying in this interview that 'we know we fecked up, but we don't want everyone to know that'...or more importantly...'we don't want everyone to realize that we are admitting to fecking up'...the snowball that is the RROD will go down as one of the biggest thorns in gaming history...and MS got off relatively easily so far...but the PR behind the fiasco has always been nothing but a bunch of execs looking to PR people whom simply just threw their hands in the air and said 'we have no idea what you should say'....

if Greenburg could would go into detail on what exact consumer 'wouldn't care' about a potentially beyond unreliable product that they are actively selling and marketing...I would be surprised...he is calling consumers idiots...which they arguably are...but the people selling the stuff are in no position to remind anyone of that...after all...the end consumer is still paying all their bills...

[ForROME]

MS knew of a bad product; they released it anyways and caused a plethora of problems for consumers and took to long to address it.

Bottom line= If your a grown man, you dont buy products that die more than twice period.

Thats distored logic. You dont buy a car if the engine seizes and kills the car, then get it fixed and it does it again, you move on from that care\brand.

You dont buy an LCD that just quits working after a yr twice or even 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 as Ive heard in some cases. Grown men dont put their money into things that dont give you what you pay for.

If you do, your no grown man, your a kid with lame loyalties to a false ideaology.

[pippoppow]

Would love to see MS exit stage right. They helped propel online gaming to the level it's at but the rest many can do without like paying for online p2p, no superior current gen media support, expensive proprietary addons, can only play some single player games when logged into a service, exclusive third party DLC, etc. No thank you. If next gen which I doubt, MS' console business model becomes the new standard then just call me a PC gamer.

[caladbolg777]

QUALITY. INTEGRITY. VALUE. They just don't make em' like they used to. Oh wait, Sony still does.

[Droid Control]

At least he admits (in a round about way) that there is a problem!

Man, i wish the 720 was here now so we could put all this stink behind us!

[Radiodread]

F!ck them, they should have a model out that specifically says JASPER right on the front. But no they don't because they don't want to admit to the world they STILL have an RROD problem. F!ck that I am so glad I'm done with the sh!tbox 360 and all the whiny b!tches on live just like the xbox fanboys on this site. Good riddance AND BURN IN HELL!

[Sonyfanclubpresident]

Surely no one whines more than you Radiodread along with few other of your Playstation Nation pals.
If I'm not mistaken,this here's a 360 thread.

So WTF do you even care for?

Jaspers are a breath of fresh air for future 360 owners...........good for them.
Go buy some PS3 games and support Sony man.

Or shut up and buy a Jasper 360 for all I care.

[blackpanther25]

They are under the three year warranty right?. I'm getting scared now. I told my cousin to call Microsoft to send it back but he is waiting on a friend to help him do it (god he is lazy).

I need to know quick so that i can decide on what to next.

Edit: anybody know how much the out-of-warranty price is?

[Bathyj]

Man, how are these people allowed to keep operating in capitalist society. I mean come on.

I know alot of you think I hate Xbox even though most the time I'm not knocking it, I'm defending PS3. Its not true. Admittedly I dont love the hardware, but I do like Xbox for certain games and we need the choice. Its these sleazy pr*cks pulling the strings that I reserve my hate for.

"I know your site and your readers are much more sophisticated than the average public, but for the most part, we believe the type of consumer that's buying an Xbox today, they should be able to buy with confidence. They shouldn't, you know, get hung up on the internal components of the device. "

So in other words, if you're too dumb to know, (and that alot of people because we're so good at keeping a lid on these things,) then screw you. You deserve to get ripped off if you dont know crap when you see it, in an enclosed box. Does this sound wrong to anyone else but me. I mean maybe I'm the a**hole here, its possible.

So Xbox is a puzzle now? A mystery we have to unravel and follow the clues to find the elusive fabled, console that might not break as much, but thats not even sure yet. And thats only if you're lucky enough to even know there are clues. Too bad if you assumed their was some kind of quality assurance program in place just by the fact the product is on retail shelves.

What if egg farmers just started throwing 4 rotten eggs into every dozen and their only response when caught was "You know you really should look at see, peek into the carton to check if all 12 eggs are fresh. Its you're own fault for not looking. And if you didn't know getting rid of old stock mixed with the new was egg farmers policy, well the yokes on you." (Sorry, had to do it.)

I dont want M$ to leave the console industry, (actually thats a half truth. If Apple or someone else was right there to take over I'd boot them out of their ears.) But I dont want just Nintendo and Sony, especially since Nintendo isn't interested in gamers anymore. But man, I hope M$ get s sued big time. And I dont mean a paltry couple hundred million. I hope they go for billions, and I hope the big guys at the top hurt, and hurt bad. This crap is not right and you cant justify it at all.

[Bob Dole]

If an apple system came out it'd cost as much as the PS3 did at launch.... oh wait... the iPhone was $599 as well wasn't it?
...
...

At least it would be more reliable.

[Tha Beast]

Just keep wasting your money until you get a jasper then all is good.F*** that!!!!!!!!!

[SprayandPreycom]

if you say this name in a mirror in the bathroom while you spin in a circle 3 times you see a red ring ...

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Good luck.

[Fozzy25]

to see in the next few months how many launches 360's will bust after the three year warranty has run out. i don't think we've heard the last of these problems.

[cyrus228]

i'll stick with my halo 360, screw jaspers, they still get rrod's cuz i know people who still get them.

if ms didnt only care bout money they wuda released a well built console from the start, if ms cared then they wud admit that the 360 was built like crap. buuuut they only care bout money so thats what happens i guess. once i get a red ring i'll stick with my ps3

[Mutley416]

Say what you want about the RROD-
but buy any broken XBOX less then(75$) and call the 1800-service # Tell them the RROD got you!!!...They Don`t check-...I repeat...They don`t check ...they are super polite...and they will fix it, fast- They don`t check, they just set it in a pile-
grab a Fixed one, reassign the serial # to your account and ship it back to you fast..they are good @ it-

I love the Warranty, and my Xbox... I got back up machines to keep me busy, while it`s in the shop-

[slinkey123]

Seriously has anyone looked inside a 360? the layout of the motherboard is just unbelievable. The GPU heatsink sits right under the DVD drive when there is plenty of extra space on the motherboard. Also the main reason for RROD is the X-Clamp that holds the the heat sink on. I CANNOT understand why M$ still use the god dam X-Clamp its beyond me. My 360 had the 3 red lights about a week ago, I fixed it by replacing the x-clamp with bolts. and its been working perfect so far.

I love my 360 but the design is just terrible! And yeah i still prefer my 360 to my ps3 :P even though its designed by complete retards lol

[Sonyfanclubpresident]

MS better take a crash course in hardware durability development,or
they won't see my cash next gen.

I'm for the XBOX brand,but no one should have to put up with these reliability issues again.