Bad news about the Xbox 360

[Becky]

It seems Microsoft are facing further problems concerning their newly released gaming console, the Xbox 360.

Recent tests by a reviewer at CNet discovered that the unit runs at an alarming 160W of power - double the power usage of both it's predecessor and it's rivals. Retailing at around £280, the last thing prospective buyers will want is larger electricity bills due to their new bit of kit.

Furthermore, a man has recently taken court action against Microsoft, claiming that the Xbox 360 is defective. Robert Byers of Chicago claims that in the rush to get the Xbox 360 onto the market, a flaw has been overlooked which causes the power supply and CPU to overheat whilst in use, ultimately leading to a system crash. Indeed, he is not alone - other gamers have experienced similar problems with their new console.

Read more at CNet about the power usage and the case against Microsoft.
Further reading can be found at BetaNews and ARS Technica

 

[Quadophile]

It's competition which drives all companies these days some get away with minor flaws some like Microsoft (particulary in the case of Xbox 360) will have to face the music. From the point of view of consumers, companies which are conservative are the best options, products being made available on the shelves which incorporate newest technology are bound to have flaws if not tested properly before being released.

Consumers themselves can also adopt a conservative attitude towards new products, rather than buying it the moment it is released, they would be better off by adopting a wait and see attitude. Not only they will find out about the quality but will also avoid paying a fat premium which is almost always associated with new products.

Above is my point of view, the reader of this post may or may not agree to my way of thinking which is perfectly understandable.

 

[muckshifter]

C|Net don't particularly like MS ... I don't particularly like C|Net.

For a 'games console' the XBox360 will mature and become a de facto machine.



*never thought I'd say that*

 

[Quadophile]

C|Net don't particularly like MS ... I don't particularly like C|Net.

For a 'games console' the XBox360 will mature and become a de facto machine.



*never thought I'd say that*

Coming from you, it does carry a lot of weight

 

[Ian]

160W isn't really that much - only the smallest of PCs could match that!

 

[muckshifter]

The Xbox 360 is a vast improvement to its predecessor when it comes to the hardware.

What people don't think of, is that it is many times faster and newer hardware often brings higher power consumption. The earlier generations had a fair consumption of 50W for PlayStation2 and 74W for the old Xbox, but with this new beasts it takes a giant leap upwards, landing on a total of 160W as some sites have already pointed out.

That is still a low wattage compared to some things at home, but it is not far off a decent computer for home use.

Again, to eat my own words, MS are on a winner ... however, the games need to improve.

 

[TriplexDread]

A winner maybe in this country, however its been slated i beleive in Japan. Apparently sales were absolutely awful. All the hype over there is about the PS3 with its hopefully installed Blu-Ray drive. Altho it has not been confirmed as yet if they have time to incorporate them into the console.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/15/xbox_360_not_big_in_japan/

 

[PotGuy]

i dont like sony or ms, but i have no intention of spending £280 on ANY games console anytime soon.

it is rumoured too that the ps3 could be upwards of $500, which no doubt translates to a complete rip off in the UK, however considering at the moment a blu ray dvd player costs $1800, it may not be such bad deal.

Also, if everyone adopted a 'wait and see' attitude, then nobody would ever find out what its like, and the price would never go down and the product would be axed

i like having people with bottomless pockets forking out so that i can find out how good a product is. it saves me money, and it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling.

maybe...