Opposable Thumbs / Gaming & Entertainment

Microsoft offers free repairs/refunds for repairs for launch 360s

If your 360 was made before January 1, 2006 and your system broke, repairs are …

 It looks like Microsoft bit the bullet and has decided to repair 360s produced before January 1 2006, so if you've been staring at some red lights, this is the time to send your system in. If you've already paid for repairs, you have a refund coming your way. Microsoft is doing the right thing here, but this is somewhat of an admission that defect rates weren't exactly as low as they'd like us to believe. This is even more apparent after the Internet scare over Dead Rising killing systems. That's how mine died, and I'm far from alone in that regard. 

I've been through a system, but I bought the replacement deal when I got the system, so it was a simple thing to get a new one that day. To be honest, if the system is from either Microsoft or Sony I always assume the launch hardware is going to be glitchy. It's just a part of being an early adopter; I budget for replacement plans and the like. I don't get huffy about it, or try to fight City Hall on the issue. I'd just rather be able to replace my system instantly if anything goes wrong, and that's worth a little bit of money to me. I am glad Microsoft made this decision, and those of you who will be getting checks back are probably not exactly upset.

The 360 hardware on shelves now seems pretty stable, but we'll see how it does in the long term. Now it's time to start getting nervous about Sony and the PS3. Isn't launch hardware fun?  

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