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Open Letter to Microsoft & Xdudes: You are the worst console manufacturer. EVER.

DarkCloud

Member
I've bought two PS2's, 1 Xbox, and 1 Gamecube.

My Ps2 was a launch unit and got very little use the first year I had it (Sega Dreamcasts final year kept me busy) but it literally started to slow down on me. The laser just gave out. Transitioned to an Xbox at launch and had no problems all the way up to july of 2003 when my cousin yanked the PS1 off the tv onto the system...dead harddrive.

Called MS up and after explaining what had happened they stated that my system was in a batch number that was under extended warranty and would repair it free of charge. Ever since then it's worked fine and I've put in tons of hours in Morrowind and Kotor.

My second PS2 works like a champ as well (I've clocked in over 30 days play time in FF11 via bazaar sets and farming)

Gamecube has only given me problems in Monkey Ball2 and Smash Bros...

Guess I'm luckier than some on this forum.
 

P90

Member
Kobun Heat said:
My Xbox has never worked properly. DDEs are my constant companion.

Thompson drive. My experience as well. I'm glad I have EB warranty-I returned it and got one with a Samsung drive. I haven't had one DDE. I haven't used it much, though. I'm much more into the PS2 and GC games (and GBA).

I'm on my original GC and second PS2.

In summation, reliability scores:

GC : +1
PS2: -1
Xbox: -1

And GBA: +1
 
I'm on my second XBox... first one had a problem with the sound in every game, except Halo, being horribly distorted and scratchy... so we bought a second XBox after finding out it would cost us $100 + shipping to repair... it is truly a Halo Box now... well anyway, the second Xbox is now crapping out with DDE. I can't even play a race in Rallisport Challenge 2 without it being all multilingual. One of these days I'm going to try to convince MS support to replace it for free but I'm not sure the best way to go about that.
 

DaCocoBrova

Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
Interesting...

I have modded numerous XBOXs. Abused my own modded v1.0 Thomson, and never had any problems or people complain.
 

Brofist

Member
I've never had a problem with a Sony console (PSX or PS2). Back when the PSX first came out, my friend brought his over my house for some link up Doom. Another friend was walking by, pulled my friend's PSX off the desk...it fell about 4 feet bounced off a metal barbell on to the floor, and still works.
 

cvxfreak

Member
Of my four GameCube systems, only the launch black model (which was modified) failed to play a game the first time. My Spice GC and Panasonic Q are still brand new but they both work extremely well. My 2002 Platinum model also works very well. The January 2001 PS2 has been replaced and repaired countless times. My Xbox has shown no signs of DREs so far.

Guess I'm pretty lucky.
 

Phoenix

Member
I have a launch PS2, XBox, Gamecube, Dreamcast, N64, SNES, PS1, Genesis, 3D0, and an Atari Jaguar that I took from a pile of trash (which is where it belonged). I have yet to have a problem with any of the above. I've always been curious about systems that die under routine conditions because the MTBF for them is longer than a gaming generation.

Man do people kick their consoles or throw them against the wall or something? The closest I've come to a console failure is a N64 thumb stick getting loose.
 

MoxManiac

Member
Funny thing, I've had my PS2 since March 2001, and it's been flawless ever since. Never had a problem with the multitude of CD and DVD based games i've thrown at it over the course of three years.

Oh crap.

**knock on wood**
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
i'm usually quite unlucky with hardware, but none of the xboxes in the house have had a single problem.

or the GCs for that matter.
 
m0dus said:
#2) A HUGE number of DDE errors, as it turns out (ha ha!) are the result of CORRUPT DATA, SAVES, and or SECTORS ON THE HDD. Check out the mod scene, if you have your doubts. Depending on the nature of the error, they take what steps they feel is necessary--and if that means nixing your data vs having to replace an entire DVD drive, again, tough break.

You don't happen to have any links to more information about this available... I'm thinking that may be my problem since I have only gotten the DDEs while I was in a game of Crimson Skies or Halo, and when the replay was loading in the background of RSCII.

Actually Halo Im not sure if it was loading a level or not but Crimson Skies and RSCII I know it was happening when the level was already loaded because I was in it.
 

Dyne

Member
I have a first gen Xbox. It froze ONCE on the first day I got it. I guess it was still choking then. DOA must have been hard.

Since then, no problems. Not even a 9-hour play of Ninja Gaiden.
 
Kobun Heat said:
Exactly. A couple of my friends had problems with their Gamecubes and they weren't under warranty. So they called Nintendo's customer service, who dispatched Fed Ex to their door the next day to pick up the GC and fix it free of charge.
What. the. FUCK. I've called Nintendo several times about my faulty launch Gamecube, which gives me a "Disc cannot be read" error after approximately 5 minutes of play, and they want 50 bucks to fix it.

I'd also like to mention that I have a Thomson Xbox that loves to give me DDEs, which I'm still working on getting fixed. I'm just waiting for my PS2 to crap out on me.
 
Odysseus said:
My Dreamcast, on the other hand, did not like playing certain games, but I never cared to figure out why. It was a holdover console, anyway.

Boy, I'll hold you over! Come 'er, you gots a pertty mouph. No DC badmouph!
 

Ranger X

Member
Whatever we say, all of what we can witness in this thread isn't supposed to be.
It's very sad to buy a product that is supposed to be of quality (and fully functionnal) and in fact, you're fucking gambling hundreds of dollars when you do...
 

Pachinko

Member
I have a first gen Xbox purchased 3 weeks after launch. To this day the only thing that's given me any problems are xbox game demo discs, and even then once they switched from cardboard insert to plastic case they've worked fine. Perhaps it's becuase I don't use the xbox to play dvds ? I'd say I've put atleast a few hundred hours into the thing all told , it's even been lent out twice to a friend who played it quite a bit. Finally, I might add that it's ina dust filled basement nearly all the time so it probally runs dirty quite frequently. It'll crap out on me some day I suppose but it's running better then my PS2 is.
 

btrboyev

Member
What. the. FUCK. I've called Nintendo several times about my faulty launch Gamecube, which gives me a "Disc cannot be read" error after approximately 5 minutes of play, and they want 50 bucks to fix it.

same thing was wrong with my cube and nintendo gave me $10 off the price to fix it because I've been in their database since 1988. They had the system back in a week, but I'm positive they gave me a different console.

Anyways, after I sent the system off, I found on a solution on the net to fix the disc eror problem on the cube..basically your lens is out of alignment..if you have a gamebit screw driver you can open the thing up and turn a small screw behind the laser just a tad left and i guess it fixes the problem.
 

SKluck

Banned
m0dus said:
#2) A HUGE number of DDE errors, as it turns out (ha ha!) are the result of CORRUPT DATA, SAVES, and or SECTORS ON THE HDD. Check out the mod scene, if you have your doubts. Depending on the nature of the error, they take what steps they feel is necessary--and if that means nixing your data vs having to replace an entire DVD drive, again, tough break.

Um, no. Wanna try again? Please tell me how a DVD MOVIE has ANYTHING to do with Corrupt data, Saves, or the friggin Harddrive AT ALL. Yet, DDE galore.

Explain that one.
 
sep 2001 US-Xbox with Thomson drive... never a single problem except for a city in Gladius, but that was a problem of the DVD and not of the hardware.

feb 2002 PAL-Xbox with Thomson drive... never a single problem, still working at my friends place

limited green PAL-Xbox with Philips drive... works like a charm

limited crystal PAL-Xbox with Philips drive... had a cooler fan problem when I bought it. Was fixed in a week by Microsoft without any costs for me.

Oh, and I love the 2 years warranty here in Europe ;)
 

nubbe

Member
I got an Xbox winter 2002 and never had an issue with it. Worked flawlessly the 6 times I have played on it
 
I A W T P (that is the first post)

My xbox is not working anymore. But that's cause there's no games I want to play. Its been in the wardrobe for the last year and a half and my xbox playtime has been restricted to playing on my casual friend's machines. And this from the console I bought before I bought my PS2 and cube.

Very bleh. And the MS I've got bigger testicles than you phone friendly mannerism is fuckingannoying.
 

Espio

Member
BuddyChrist83 said:
You and me both. Oh well...

how are things going? I haven't talked to you in a while, and things are only looking get crazier this week.

Been real busy with work and the girlfriend the last month or so, plus im now paying for my phone otherwise I would've phoned you at some point.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
It seems Xbox is getting a bit of bad rep in this department..just in the latest issue of Edge they've listed Xbox disc errors in the "not" part of their monthly hot or not section (they call it "continue or quit").
 
My PS2 gives me a lot of problems with PS1 games, and I can never watch a DVD without it freezing up towards the end. Piece of junk.
 

Shompola

Banned
playstation - still works but has problems reading discs
dreamcast - laser lens died when playing skies of arcadia, is now replaced with a new laser
gamecube - has worked great so far. no problem
xbox - has worked great so far
ps2 - makes weird click sounds on some particular games when it does the inital loading ONLY. I guess it isn't that bad because the games still run great etc.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Cousin destroyed my GC (week after launch), nintendo shipped and repaired for free...I see DDE's in F-Zero GX only over 3 copies of that game...doesn't bother me as much as it would some as I didn't like the N64 game at all

Dog + PS2 + Wires often spells disaster, and when my PS2 (launch) fell and stopped working, Sony replaced it for free...got a new one while it was away...both PS2s work perfect

First time I power on my XBox(launch), i got a DDE and have never seen it again since...brother is on his 3rd xbox, though
 
I have never, ever had any major trouble with a console, I'm a lucky bastard haha.

I've done all sorts of dirty things to my X-Box and it has worked fine for what, one year and a half? And I know people having trouble with it (a friend pronounced a theory that every X-Box has a certain game it rejects to play, having proof -he says- of it... Top Spin in his case, I recall, lucky guy) but technical service in Europe seems to be way better. People were even getting stuff such as games or controllers for free as "compensation".
 

evil ways

Member
The only 2 consoles that have ever given me problems are the original Nes and the Gamecube. The Nes when it crapped up and I had to struggle with the carts so I wouldn't get the flashing blue screen of death, and the GC when it has reset itself or frozen on certain games like Metroid Prime, and Rogue Squadron II.

Other than those 2 and some issues with the PS2's DVD incompatibility, all my consoles are in top shape, PS2 and Xbox included.
 

human5892

Queen of Denmark
My launch GC works fine, and has only locked up on three games known for locking up (so I'm sure it's not the hardware): once each on Rogue Squadron II, Metroid Prime, and Majora's Mask.

I've also never had any console break down on me; my NES grew a little testy in its old age and had to be babied a little, but it still worked damn fine for a 10+ year-old console based on even older technology. I treat them neurotically well, though (well-ventilated area, never on the carpet, never leave games inside, always put the games directly back into their cases, sometimes use a dust cover on the console, periodically vacuum loose dust off the console, never leave the console turned on unless I am playing it, etc.), so maybe that's part of it.
 
So far all of my systems havent had many problems this gen. I get DDE's on my xbox sometime, but that actually hasnt happened in a while.
 
Except for the PS2 not reading a perfect-condition ICO disc it used to and a few other CD-based PS2 games, very few problems on any of the systems, though all have had a few instances of something happening.
 
I've had my XBox for two years & I play it on a regular basis - never had a problem with it. There was the one time that I smashed my dick with a flattening iron and made love to the XBox via the CD tray, but that was my fault, completely.

I think someone needs to switch up their feminine hygene products, if they're not feeling so fresh.
 

Oni Jazar

Member
Willco said:
Uh, because they said that I had NO CHOICE but to pay $100 and that goes for pretty much everybody. I don't know who's dick you sucked, but good for you.

That's what the internet is for. I asked around and found out that the old Thomson drive has an extended warranty because of so many issues. I had to make a couple calls cause the first guy was an idiot but the second saw the issue and gave me a free repair. With no post dick breath.
 

Bowser

Member
I don't play games on my PS2 anymore because I can't get ANY game to work without multiple DREs popping up. I don't know what's wrong, and I don't feel like calling the Sony helpline. Anyone have that little guide posted on the old board that told you how to fix it yourself? I know you had to unscrew it and take off the top, then use tape to get dust off of something or another and then use a compressed can of air to dust it out. I think that was the gist of it, but I'd rather have the guide to verify.
 

belgurdo

Banned
Bowser said:
I don't play games on my PS2 anymore because I can't get ANY game to work without multiple DREs popping up. I don't know what's wrong, and I don't feel like calling the Sony helpline. Anyone have that little guide posted on the old board that told you how to fix it yourself? I know you had to unscrew it and take off the top, then use tape to get dust off of something or another and then use a compressed can of air to dust it out. I think that was the gist of it, but I'd rather have the guide to verify.

http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/playstation2_sony_repair.txt
 
Lol. great post Willco.

The one thing I can say about Nintendo is that they make their hardware last. I can't say the same about Sony and Microsoft. Fucking pisses me off to no end.
 

rawk

Member
My launch Cube had a disc read problem in January 2002 or so. Nintendo picked it up Fed-Ex, fixed it for free, and I had it back in a week. They also replaced one of my controllers because they said something was wrong with it. I never noticed anything, but hey! I was still under warranty and all, but it was nice anyway. And the hold music on their phone line is video game music!
 
btrboyev said:
same thing was wrong with my cube and nintendo gave me $10 off the price to fix it because I've been in their database since 1988. They had the system back in a week, but I'm positive they gave me a different console.

Anyways, after I sent the system off, I found on a solution on the net to fix the disc eror problem on the cube..basically your lens is out of alignment..if you have a gamebit screw driver you can open the thing up and turn a small screw behind the laser just a tad left and i guess it fixes the problem.
http://p215.ezboard.com/fgameconsolerepairforumfrm5.showMessage?topicID=75.topic

I've known about that fix for a while, but doesn't seem to be long-term. Plus, I'd need to buy a Gamebit. :p I'll eventually do it, though.
 
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