Red Ring of Death!!

Since its initial launch Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has taken on a bad rap in the media at least as a system that constantly overheats is poorly manufactured and is too unstable to be on shop shelves. These problems are just a few of the reasons people claim to have experienced when the dreaded flashing rings illuminate on their beloved console.

In 2005 Microsoft launched their second console the Xbox 360 the 360 sold over 750,000 units in the U.S alone in just the first week. All of the consoles released up until 2007 where faulty. 

Only in 2007 did Microsoft fess up to an “unacceptable number” of defective systems been manufactured and sold worldwide. So it took them two years to admit to the problem and to produce a solution. 

Flashing red lights on the 360s normally green ring of light is a bad sign. All red lights don’t necessarily mean your Xbox days are over. The 360s ring is divided into four separate quadrants. Each part turning red indicates a separate problem all with a different way of resolving the issue.

If all of the lights but the first section is flashing this means a general hardware failure has occurred. This problem is a sure sign that your 360 needs a visit to the repair center. 

If the problem is indicated in the second quadrant of the system it means it is overheating.

If all four lights are flashing on the front of the console this is the easiest problem to fix. This is an issue with the AV cable not being properly plugged in to the back of the console.

When you revive the three red rings also known as the red ring of death a phone call to the oh so helpful people at the Xbox support centre is the next step. Every day from 6:00A.M to 10:00 P.M gamers can call the 1800 number and get their heads wrecked for over twenty minutes going through passwords and email accounts and security questions before they can verify who you are. Which is painstaking and annoying especially having to spell out every letter of your details using reference’s like E for elephant and A for apple.

After this process was concluded and the person has finished being dismissive you might be lucky enough that they agree to send you out a new Xbox on the condition you send them back your broken one first. 

The solution Microsoft came up with was to release new consoles with a different motherboard in them. It was called the Jasper motherboard. It decreases the GPU chip size from 90nm to 65nm. Jasper was created with one thing in mind, to destroy the RRoD, before the RRoD ruins Microsoft’s reputation.

In a nutshell without making it to technical the RRoD is believed to be contributed to the GPU chip warping away from the motherboard due to overheating. 

The Jasper motherboard is attempting to disrupt this hardware failure by reducing the energy consumption and heat output through the reduction of the electrical components within the 360.

The Red Ring of death has become less common in recent years as Microsoft gradually improved the quality of the 360, but it is still a big issue in the gaming community, so it's understandable the company would want to clean the slate. Let's just hope the new console has the reliability to really put the RRoD to bed.

A game Informer survey found that the 360 has a 54.2% failure rate.

The Red Ring of Death is the symbol of a catastrophic system failure that has become an icon of the 360's lifetime

But I don’t think it is as simple as that.

When you’re looking at things like this you have to look at other factors like cost efficiency which is the need to reduce expenses when you’re making goods so in a way it’s the need to cut corners in the production process of your product in order to reduce your cost expenses with things like labor hardware and packaging.

Companies use this so that they can sell their goods for cheaper in order to make sure people by from them and not their competitors who are also doing the same thing. It’s just a vicious circle..

So it’s all just planned obsolescence which is when Stuff purposely brakes down fails and expires with in a set amount of time.

This is the main strategy of every goods producing company they just mask it with newer updated products.

By creating the demand by spending more money on advertising then on the production of goods which guarantees the item sells starting the whole vicious circle all over again.

You have to create problems to create profit it’s kind of like an anti-economic system.

For example if I was to make my own video game console I’m obviously going to make it with the most reliable and best materials out there and spend whatever it takes to produce a high rate quality product with the intent that it’s going to last.

You know the saying if you buy it cheap you buy it twice.

Why would I want to do it on the cheap knowing that I am going to have to go back and work on it again and spend even more money on material’s and energy trying to fix the problem that I could have avoided in the first place.

But of course that works counter to the actual system we have now which I think the 360 is a good example of.

So in a way it is technically impossible to produce the best of anything if a company is to maintain a completive edge and there for remain affordable to the consumer.

Everything created and set for sale in the gobble economy becomes immediately inferior.

So to sup up I think the move to next generation consoles isn’t going to fix the problem its allot bigger than that in order for it to change the systems or regime’s that are in place now are going to have to change.

If your interested in hearing more check out my interview with Sean Northridge an ex-Microsoft employee and independent game developer on the home page.