I've been gaming since the ripe age of five. I've owned almost every significant main-stream console that's been released. However, I must say that the best and, at the same time, least durable console I've encountered is the XBOX 360 (herein referred to as "Halo3BOX").

The graphics are spectacular, as is the general quality of the games released for the system. The first and second generation games of the Halo3BOX are, to me, some of the most addicting and well-made games I've seen in sixteen years of gaming. Games such as Project Gotham Racing 3, Halo 2*, and Gears of War are just scratching the surface. However, this isn't a review of the Halo3BOX or a fanboy post. Quite frankly, for me and for many others, the console has been a nightmare to keep in onepiece.

I have two examples of this: one of which belongs to me, while the other belongs to a good friend of mine.

First, me. I received a Halo3BOX this Christmas, which was purchased in November of 2006. After roughly a month-and-a-half of play (I'd say February 1st), the console started malfuctioning. It wouldn't read or play games correctly and, most importantly, it wouldn't run Halo 2, even with the latest console update. Now, if we go back to the beginning of this post, I said I'd been playing videogames since the age of five. That's sixteen years. My very first console was the original NES. It still works. Sixteen years any original Nintendo Entertainment System still works. Yet Microsoft's next-generation console doesn't hold up a month-and-a-half.

Naturally, though, I bought another one and this one seems to work fine. I've invested all of $20 in a console cooler to prolong the life of the console. Of course, this shouldn't have been necessary.

Now my good friend's shortstory. His Halo3BOX worked perfectly until literally a week after his Microsoft extended warranty expired. The console just stopped working. Poof. Out of thin air. Microsoft is charging him $140 for the repair, which a week before would have been free. Ridiculous.

Sixteen years of console fabrication knowledge since the NES and Microsoft can't construct a stable, durable console? I find this very, very difficult to believe. I shouldn't have to go through multiple consoles to find one that works. And my friend shouldn't have to worry about paying $140 to repair a console which has been outlasted exponentially by a console which has been long out of production and had its own share of hardware issues.

Come on, Microsoft. Get your heads in the game. When you release the XBOX 1080 or whatever you decide to call it, make sure it lasts longer than theduration of your warranty.

* - Yes, I know it's an XBOX game. No, your perceived intelligent and/or witty comment about "n00bs" is not intelligent or witty. Or both.

~The Juggernaut