Yes, I do more than work with BlackBerry devices day in and day out, so consider this a rant about one of those personal pleasures that has been with me since I was a toddler – console gaming. It started with an Atari 2600 then I became the first kid on my bus route with a Nintendo. Skip forward into this last generation of consoles with the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii (not a single issue with the latter two, might I add).
I recently returned my defective Xbox 360 to Microsoft for warranty repair and / or replacement for the heart-breaking “Red Rings of Death” issue. A replacement console was shipped to me about a month ago and I finally decided to open it up. I hooked it up to my new 46″ Sony XBR5 LCD TV and started it up. Man, I tell you, high-definition gaming is amazing.
I played Project Gotham Racing 4 for about 30 minutes and then my console locked up. The controller sat in a state of vibration for a few minutes before I finally decided to get up and reset the console. I then decided to switch to NCAA Football 2008 and made it through an entire game (Auburn vs South Florida in the 2008 season in Dynasty mode). But, I made the mistake of trying to start up that week’s recruiting and – BAM – another console lock-up. Thinking that it was perhaps that copy of the game, as there have been known issues with EA Games, I managed to return my copy of NCAA Football 2008 to Wal-Mart and exchange it for a new copy. I got home, tore off the shrink-wrap, put the game in, and was greeted by a nice little squawk and a blocked screen (the same one that broke my 360 the last time around).
Needless to say, when I turned off the console and powered it back on, my good old friend, R. ROD the Third, greeted me with a sinister grin. This unit is dated mid-September 2007. So much for thinking Microsoft improved their build quality, right? Less than one hour of pre-mature enjoyment and another brand new Xbox 360 is now dead. Since BG doesn’t really care (might I add that he’s the most impatient person on the face of this planet, and refuses to send anything in for warranty repair), he’s now on his 6th bought Xbox 360 after suffering the same red ring of death issues. Mr. J Allard, are you really proud of this manufactured creation that has seemingly destroyed any credibility for your vision of a wired lifestyle?
