Has your opinion on the Xbox 360 changed now that it's been discontinued?

[Atari Pogostick]

The Xbox 360 from the time it was out until the release of the Xbox One, was my primary console. Me and millions of others let a lot of earlier mistakes slide, played it's diverse and large library, and continued to experience one of the most spectacular comes backs I've seen in the Industry.

 

But to be honest looking back, I still prefer the 360 to the other consoles in that era. However I think looking at the 360 now after the smoke has cleared had made it easier easier to digest a lot of its problems:

 

1. The RROD debacle was unacceptable, and we now have enough information to know that it was likely done intentionally. Even with the warranties, your failure rate shouldn't have been that high. Even YLOD, which became an increasing problem later on for original PS3 models, wasn't even half the failure rate. I understand that some models failed more than others, but it should have never been to that level. I don't care how fast Microsoft thought they could fix it, there were people who would never by a 360 due to it.

 

2. The Kinect i was a mistake, but not the device itself, but more how it was advertised and how it effected Microsoft's development studios. Kinect was a massive success selling 25 million units(!) and brought in a lot of dough for MS. However, they did not sell the Kinect as an evolution in game design, even if it wasn't, they didn't advertise it as an opportunity to add to the game experience, they advertised it as a stand-alone-casual fad focused on shock value. The sales of the software speak for itself, it has a few games that sold really well and the rest were basically thrown to the way side. The audience MS was targeting with Kinect was not the correct audience. They don't buy many games, they usually buy a few games and then that's it. MS didn't realize this so they created and converted multiple studios to work with Kinect assuming software would sell in millions across the board.

 

When Kinect slowed down massively, MS still though they could bring it back with a second iteration. However, that did not take off and they quickly shuddered all studios that were converted to make games for Kinect except 1 (Rare) and so they ended up losing a bunch of studios that should have never been converted in the first place.

 

3. I think Microsoft made a big mistake adding Windows 8 to the 360 dashboard. The NXE being updated would have been a much more effective and less irritating solution to fixing the outdated dashboard. I believe that adding the 360 to MS's "LIne of Windows devices" was a mistake. It caused a lot of people to talk about whether the next Xbox would just be a PC with a gaming OS. Which had MS double down on Kinect due to stalling sales.

 

4. Tiered models. I'm not a fan of different "models" of consoles outside limited editions. The Arcade/Pro/Elite should have been just one complete console from the start. It was discovered by 2007 there was no reason that the Elite shouldn't have been the main SKU. They could have sold it at the same price as an arcade and just added a bit more for the hard-drive. Having one SKU would have greatly reduced or eliminated hardware issues. The arcades (and previously cores) were rushed and prone to RROD.

 

Other than those problems, I still think the Xbox 360 holds up really well and to me still the best of the 3 consoles. I think it was amazing seeing MS come from the original Xbox, that was losing BILLIONS of dollars, and come back strong selling over 84 million units and above eating Sonys lunch and even surpassing the WII in NA and the UK. I do think they made several mistakes that could have skyrocketed the 360 above the Wii's LTD, but despite some of these mistakes being quite problematic they quickly turned it around, and I mean really quick. Microsoft has a fast response team. Sure the damage was done, but it could have been worse.

 

 

[derFunkenstein]

what in the actual hell is this? you know it has its own dedicated forum, right?

Edited September 11, 2018 by derFunkenstein

[mbd30]

"The RROD debacle was unacceptable, and we now have enough information to know that it was likely done intentionally."

 

They intentionally sabotaged their own console and made people not want to buy it because.... reasons?

[derFunkenstein]

"The RROD debacle was unacceptable, and we now have enough information to know that it was likely done intentionally."

 

They intentionally sabotaged their own console and made people not want to buy it because.... reasons?

The tinfoil hat is strong with this one.

 

BTW I have had two Xboxen in my life: one manufactured in mid-2006 and another I got when the Xbox 360 E started shipping. That supposed intentionally-sabotaged system lasted me like 6 years and i only replaced it when I got a TV with no component video.

Edited September 11, 2018 by derFunkenstein

[Atari Pogostick]

"The RROD debacle was unacceptable, and we now have enough information to know that it was likely done intentionally."

 

They intentionally sabotaged their own console and made people not want to buy it because.... reasons?

 

 

The tinfoil hat is strong with this one.

 

BTW I have had two Xboxen in my life: one manufactured in mid-2006 and another I got when the Xbox 360 E started shipping. That supposed intentionally-sabotaged system lasted me like 6 years and i only replaced it when I got a TV with no component video.

 

 

Ummmm

 

 

 

“The problems began before the Xbox 360s got to the market. The testing machines were not ready, and the battery of tests that they ran were not fully developed. That meant the testing machines would inspect the Xbox 360s coming off the line and approve them for shipment, even though there were likely flaws.

“The test machines were not properly debugged, due to an ill-advised cost-cutting initiative that shaved $2 million from $25 million paid to Cimtek, a test-machine maker in Canada. The Microsoft team decided not to pay the consulting fee to Cimtek to build, manage, and debug the test machines. Sources familiar with the matter said there were only about 500 test machines at the time of launch, a third of the 1,500 needed.

“‘There were so many problems, you didn’t know what was wrong,’ said one source about the test machines. ‘The [test engineers] didn’t have enough time to get up and running.’”

By August 2005, three months before launch, Microsoft engineers reported a plethora of issues with the system, almost all of which came down to one problem: heat. The system was packed with too much tech with little room to breathe, and the overheating issues were manifesting in various failed components. At this stage in production, thousands of units were expected to be created every week, not the hundreds they currently had. Beyond that, the defect rate for the systems coming off the line was an atrocious and unacceptable 68 percent... this meant that for every 100 units created, 68 were deemed unshippable, three months before launch.

Engineers pleaded with higher-ups to shut down production. They needed time to source the malfunctions, but ultimately, Bach and Moore made the decision to launch. As the date approached, the media got wind from retailers that supplies coming in for the system were well under what was ordered, the first sign of trouble to the general public. Despite this, Xbox 360 launched on Nov. 22, 2015, one year ahead of its competitor (even though the Xbox 360 began production after the PS3), at two price points: $399.99 or $299.99.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Atari Pogostick

[mbd30]

That the XBOX 360 was rushed to market doesn't mean that Microsoft intended for their consoles to fail. It was just a stupid decision.

[Atari Pogostick]

That the XBOX 360 was rushed to market doesn't mean that Microsoft intended for their consoles to fail. It was just a stupid decision.

 

yes it was done intentionally. They knew about the problems before launch and decided to launch it anyway. So it's not really "rushed to market" than "we wanted the money so we'll release it with issues now and maybe see if we can fix them later, now"

[derFunkenstein]

That the XBOX 360 was rushed to market doesn't mean that Microsoft intended for their consoles to fail. It was just a stupid decision.

 

Yes, this equivalence is a huge logical fallacy that this poster makes repeatedly.

[mbd30]

 

yes it was done intentionally. They knew about the problems before launch and decided to launch it anyway. So it's not really "rushed to market" than "we wanted the money so we'll release it with issues now and maybe see if we can fix them later, now"

 

"we wanted the money so we'll release it with issues now and maybe see if we can fix them later, now"

 

This is what "rushed to market" means. It's why any product is rushed to market such as a glitchy game before it is ready, in order to make money now rather than wait and get those issues resolved.

[Jess Ragan]

Oy gevalt, all these inane editorializing threads! What is this, an especially inhumane form of torture, like waterboarding for nerds? Okay, I'll tell you anything you want to know! The password is 1-2-3-4-5! I killed Kennedy, and Lincoln, too! Diet Dr. Pepper doesn't taste that much like regular Dr. Pepper... that was just marketing hype! Just have mercy on me!

[Hyper_Eye]

Yes Microsoft made a $1.15bn mistake that significantly damaged their brand intentionally.

[jaybird3rd]

Oy gevalt, all these inane editorializing threads!

I'm getting kinda tired of them myself. Locking this one for now.