Microsoft ruined Christmas!!

I've been a Microsoft console owner since 2002, I'm not a fanboy, I own Sony and Nintendo current and previous gen hardware too, but I'm a big supporter of Microsoft and the Xbox, I even gladly upgraded to an Elite on the day they launched even though I already owned a premium 360. This isn't going to be an I hate Microsoft thread. However it will be an I am so frustrated and pissed at Microsft thread.

They have completely ruined my Holiday gaming season. Which is important to me since I save up vacation and have about 3 weeks off over the holidays, and my wife and I just game like crazy, among other things. But this year, Microsoft has outdone the Grinch and stole my Christmas.

I had a launch Elite, took super good care of it, and a couple weeks ago, the disc drive started making this extra loud shuffling/searching noise, and a couple days ago, it just stopped working, No RRoD, no DREs up till that point, nothing. I put any disc in game/orginal xbox game/DVD/CD, any of the above and the door shuts, and nothing, it doesn't spin up, it doesn't load nothing. I tried toggling the autorun or whatever it's called and still nothing. I tried everything.

I have a BB replacement plan, so I figure I'll take it in, and boom I'll get a new Falcon Elite and get a value bundle with Forza, so I go in to Best Buy, and to my horror, I am told that the Elites are out of stock, have been for more than 2 weeks, and that they may not get any in until after New Year.

So I did some research on my own to see if another store had one, no, no Best Buy in my area has any, not that it would help me out, but either does the website or Amazon, or Gamestops in my area, no Elites anywhere around me. I understand MS wanting to make the value Bundle limited, buy why in the hell couldn't they release it alongside the non bundled consoles? Whats worst, is that this console has been out for two years now, and MS still couldn't judge demand.

I understand the Wii being hard to find, right from the gate, it blew away expectations for sales, and Nintendo still hasn't been able to keep up or get ahead of the demand. I get that. But MS has had reserves of stock on the 360 for almost 18 months, and the Elite has been readily available since shortly after launch. How can a company like MS misjudge demand so badly after this amount of time, to the point when major retailers are running out of stock well before Christmas both in stores and online? This is almost inexcusable to me.

Alright, so you say just shut up and deal with it through MS's warranty. Been there and done that. In a desperate move, I figured I might as well call them up and see if I can get a repair or replacement. It will void my BB warranty, but atleast I'll have a working console. What do they tell me? Because it suffered a component failure and no RRoD was triggered, my console will need extra service time to deduce the problem, that combined with the Holiday rush and all, my estimated time for repair or replacement would be 6 - 10 weeks. So almost Feb before I would have my console back? That is so wrong.

So I buy a near $500 dollar console, and little more than 7 months later despite perfect care, it fails, and because of poor quality construction, poor sales estimates and poor customer relations, I've got to go through the entire Holiday season without a console, unless I want to go fork over another $450 and buy a new console.

Thanks for ruining Christmas Microsoft.

The fact is that Demand is outranking supply. What more do you expect from a Holiday season?Bruce_McGivern

Good point!

The fact is that Demand is outranking supply. What more do you expect from a Holiday season?Bruce_McGivern

A better job of market assessment is what I expect. This is the consoles 3rd Holiday season, they should have a better idea of demand than they clearly do. It's not even the middle of December yet, and some of the largest retailers in the US are already sold out, and not expecting more until the new year? That is a gross miscalculation of product demand, even Nintendo has a better handle on thier stock than that.

It's not just that, I completely understand that things get sold out, but this is a way off the mark scenerio. And for me, it's the icing on the cake made in hell. They just had to do 1 of 3 things right. Either make a more reliable console, have a better handle on thier turn around for repairs and oddball repairs or replacement, or just make enough of the damned things so someone can go out and get one. They just had to do 1 of those three right, and they didn't they failed me on all three fronts, and that's why each one has me so disgusted.

[QUOTE="Bruce_McGivern"]The fact is that Demand is outranking supply. What more do you expect from a Holiday season?Schumi7WDC

A better job of market assessment is what I expect. This is the consoles 3rd Holiday season, they should have a better idea of demand than they clearly do. It's not even the middle of December yet, and some of the largest retailers in the US are already sold out, and not expecting more until the new year? That is a gross miscalculation of product demand, even Nintendo has a better handle on thier stock than that.

It's not just that, I completely understand that things get sold out, but this is a way off the mark scenerio. And for me, it's the icing on the cake made in hell. They just had to do 1 of 3 things right. Either make a more reliable console, have a better handle on thier turn around for repairs and oddball repairs or replacement, or just make enough of the damned things so someone can go out and get one. They just had to do 1 of those three right, and they didn't they failed me on all three fronts, and that's why each one has me so disgusted.

Dude, I was at Best Buy today and they had at least 20 Elite's on the floor. So just because Best Buys around your area are out of stuck, it doesn't mean that Microsoft is not keeping up with demand.

Dude, I was at Best Buy today and they had at least 20 Elite's on the floor. So just because Best Buys around your area are out of stuck, it doesn't mean that Microsoft is not keeping up with demand.TraXxX

Dude, just because they are in stock in your area, doesn't mean they aren't in very short supply most other places. All 4 Best Buys in my area are the same way, and it's a way bigger issue than that. Best Buy.com, CircuitCity.com as well as Amazon.com are all out of stock sold out of Elites. There are many other smaller sites that are the same situation. You don't think that clearly shows the Elites are more than a little hard to come by?

Hi. I just want to say that I read your message. I feel sorry for you bro.

This is a big shame for them. Don't they have QUALITY CHECK... New consoles shouldn't be malfunctioning like that... How did that malfunctioning console got pass their quality check?

Hi. I just want to say that I read your message. I feel sorry for you bro.

This is a big shame for them. Don't they have QUALITY CHECK... New consoles shouldn't be malfunctioning like that... How did that malfunctioning console got pass their quality check?

llSapphyrell

Thanks.

In thier defense though, there is no way quality control could have picked up on this, the console ran flawlessly since April when the Elites launched, the problem didn't pop up until a few weeks ago and then it suddenly completely failed.

The problem is, they need to use better and more reliable components. And there is no reason on earth they should have been putting the worst of the 3 DVD drives that they have used (Hitachi) in the brand new Elites, when there MS28 version of the Toshiba drive and the Superior BenQ were both much newer, quieter and more reliable and in other production lines for months before the launch of the Elite.

[QUOTE="TraXxX"]Dude, I was at Best Buy today and they had at least 20 Elite's on the floor. So just because Best Buys around your area are out of stuck, it doesn't mean that Microsoft is not keeping up with demand.Schumi7WDC

Dude, just because they are in stock in your area, doesn't mean they aren't in very short supply most other places. All 4 Best Buys in my area are the same way, and it's a way bigger issue than that. Best Buy.com, CircuitCity.com as well as Amazon.com are all out of stock sold out of Elites. There are many other smaller sites that are the same situation. You don't think that clearly shows the Elites are more than a little hard to come by?

Elite's are a bit harder to come by, that's true but it's not impossible to find one. GameStop.com has Elite's in stock and I'm sure they'll have them in their stores too.

[QUOTE="Schumi7WDC"]

Elites areharder to come by, that's true but it's not impossible to find one. GameStop.com has Elite's in stock and I'm sure they'll have them in their stores too.

TraXxX

I never said it was impossible to find one, that's not the issue for me, because there is no way in hell I'm throwing down another near 500 bucks to buy a new console when I have 2 warranties on the one that died, but I either need MS to get off thier ass and be able to replace mine sooner, or have them ship enough to Best Buy so I can replace it there.

Gamestop would be the last to run out, because it's thier primary business, selling videogames and hardware, but they are one on an ever shorter list of places that do still have them in stock, and that's clearly showing that MS badly missed the mark this time on how much public demand there would be for that specific model.

My Best Buy in FL, has plenty of all the consoles.

If you send your console to Microsoft that's your stupidity. It's still the beginning of December. Do you honestly believe your Best Buy will not get anymore in?

Have common sense.

I feel your pain...but in MS's defense I think they did say the Elite wasn't geared at those who had Premium or even core systems already and they didn't want people rushing out to sell their current systems and use the Elite as a replacement. Translation, it is a short supply item that comes at a premium price

I think they did miscalculate the popularity the Elite would have andI myself wouldn't spend the extra cash for a new box when the current one I had was working fine already but to each his own. That being said it stands to reason that the Elite was geared to be in short supply from the beginning.

Granted when it started moving they should have upped production, but so close to the holiday season is unlikelythey could catch up.

I think it's a timing thing also. Many new people are just now hoppingon the Xbox train and it is after all the holidays. I have seen Elites inevery store I have gone into for the past few months and only recently have they started to sell out...But hey, it's the holidays.

I understand your frustration and it sucks that your's brokebut I think the holiday season has more to do with your not finding an Elite than MS's fault. Now about the quality control, that is another story completely, I am on my 3rd Xbox but I still have my original Atari and the original Vectrex, both work fine and never had to be RMA'edeither...go figure

That blows. I can't imagine how pissed I would be if I saved vacation time and had 3 entire weeks to game on all the cool new games and my box blew out. Grrrr... Actually I can't imagine having 3 weeks off at all.

Did you ask if they we're expecting any more units before xmas?

btw that drive is garbage. Mine went out a couple months ago.

They can do all the quality checks in the world, but will never be able to catch all of the potentially bad systems. The 360 is a complex piece of hardware and there are so many possible potential problems with them. My pc at work was just over a year old when its hard drive broke. A part inside physically broke and it cost me a good deal of data. There was no way for us or Dell to know it would break. But is did and Dell has some of the better QC in the computer industry. It is impossible for Microsoft to know for sure your system will work for ever.

My Xbox was one of the first shipments that came to the US all those years ago. It still runs like a champ. I had known people who bought some of the last Xboxes made and they broke after only a few months. Why is that? Who knows, but it happens. The fact your system has a problem in it and it does not give you the RRoD tells me it is not a "system" error. It is a hardware problem and would be probably next to impossible for them to have checked anyway. The drive might have had a fault manufactured into it and normal use caused it to fail. It happens and is not Microsoft's fault.

As for Microsoft not being able to forecast sales, I find that such a crazy accusation it is absurd. They are the largest publisher of software in the world. I bet they have more people running market numbers than live in my home town, which are 350 BTW. Holiday sales spikes can fool even the best forecast. They will be getting more of the systems back in, but it might take a while. Also ask your local BB if they can get one from another store. They can do things like that. Possible call BB and see what they can do. Being without a console over the holidays will not ruin your time off.

Read a book if you need something to do. Maybe even head down to your local rec department and play some basketball and don't sit in front of your parents TV the whole time.

Stop complaining about your system being down and move on.

Having a dead system is a whole lot batter than some of the problems I have in my life, Wanna switch? Grow up damn it.

They can do all the quality checks in the world, but will never be able to catch all of the potentially bad systems. The 360 is a complex piece of hardware and there are so many possible potential problems with them. My pc at work was just over a year old when its hard drive broke. A part inside physically broke and it cost me a good deal of data. There was no way for us or Dell to know it would break. But is did and Dell has some of the better QC in the computer industry. It is impossible for Microsoft to know for sure your system will work for ever.

My Xbox was one of the first shipments that came to the US all those years ago. It still runs like a champ. I had known people who bought some of the last Xboxes made and they broke after only a few months. Why is that? Who knows, but it happens. The fact your system has a problem in it and it does not give you the RRoD tells me it is not a "system" error. It is a hardware problem and would be probably next to impossible for them to have checked anyway. The drive might have had a fault manufactured into it and normal use caused it to fail. It happens and is not Microsoft's fault.

As for Microsoft not being able to forecast sales, I find that such a crazy accusation it is absurd. They are the largest publisher of software in the world. I bet they have more people running market numbers than live in my home town, which are 350 BTW. Holiday sales spikes can fool even the best forecast. They will be getting more of the systems back in, but it might take a while. Also ask your local BB if they can get one from another store. They can do things like that. Possible call BB and see what they can do. Being without a console over the holidays will not ruin your time off.

Read a book if you need something to do. Maybe even head down to your local rec department and play some basketball and don't sit in front of your parents TV the whole time.

Stop complaining about your system being down and move on.

Having a dead system is a whole lot batter than some of the problems I have in my life, Wanna switch? Grow up damn it.

goldenpony

He has a wife, I doubt he still lives with his parents.

Anyway, my drive broke when halo 3 recently came out. I feel your pain. Hope you get it replaced it soon.

The fact is that Demand is outranking supply. What more do you expect from a Holiday season?Bruce_McGivern

Your taking Intro to Microeconomics this semester too? :)

[QUOTE="Bruce_McGivern"]The fact is that Demand is outranking supply. What more do you expect from a Holiday season?APOLLOCJD

Your taking Intro to Microeconomics this semester too? :)

Haw haw... I'm not even taking classes. I'm a slacker.

I feel your pain I'm on my third 360. But if you really need a replacement just find out when they are going to get their next shipment and just go early in the morning. I refuse to believe that there are not going to get more consoles before the holiday season is over.

GS did an assessment of that system and when they looked at the Elite vs. the Premium Disc drives, they noticed that the new premiums were being replaced with better ones while the elites were left with the older, less reliable models. Sorry I can't sticky the thread, check under the 360 section and look under hardware comparisons.

To those of you that bought multiple xbox systems instead of returning your broken one, what the heck are you doing? Are you that rich?

[QUOTE="Bruce_McGivern"]The fact is that Demand is outranking supply. What more do you expect from a Holiday season?Schumi7WDC

A better job of market assessment is what I expect. This is the consoles 3rd Holiday season, they should have a better idea of demand than they clearly do. It's not even the middle of December yet, and some of the largest retailers in the US are already sold out, and not expecting more until the new year? That is a gross miscalculation of product demand, even Nintendo has a better handle on thier stock than that.

It's not just that, I completely understand that things get sold out, but this is a way off the mark scenerio. And for me, it's the icing on the cake made in hell. They just had to do 1 of 3 things right. Either make a more reliable console, have a better handle on thier turn around for repairs and oddball repairs or replacement, or just make enough of the damned things so someone can go out and get one. They just had to do 1 of those three right, and they didn't they failed me on all three fronts, and that's why each one has me so disgusted.

Well, they're not going to rethink their marketing plan just because your christmas is "ruined".

thats bad, i feel sorry for you, if my 360 blows up Christmas eve..... I will kill someone(ordered COD4 for myself, its cheaper now that it will be after christmas!)

thats bad man, microsoft are pretty useless, however in britian we are bogged down with 360s, drowning in them, shops can't sell them, cos all the kids want a wii cos it has minigames

I have a BB replacement plan, so I figure I'll take it in, and boom I'll get a new Falcon Elite and get a value bundle with Forza, so I go in to Best Buy, and to my horror, I am told that the Elites are out of stock, have been for more than 2 weeks, and that they may not get any in until after New Year.

So I did some research on my own to see if another store had one, no, no Best Buy in my area has any, not that it would help me out, but either does the website or Amazon, or Gamestops in my area, no Elites anywhere around me. I understand MS wanting to make the value Bundle limited, buy why in the hell couldn't they release it alongside the non bundled consoles? Whats worst, is that this console has been out for two years now, and MS still couldn't judge demand.

So its only the Elite that they don't have correct? they still have premium and arcade 360s right? because if they just ran out of xbox 360s all together, the stores and the websites, than thats alot of 360s.