"Three red lights flash on the Ring of Light"

"Three red lights flash on the Ring of Light" is the official description Microsoft gave my support ticket when the Xbox 360 went the way of the RRoD.

Microsoft have done very well in their handling of the issue, sending out replacement Xbox's speedily. Here in New Zealand, a shipping label is emailed to customers to place on a box to ship the 360 out for free. Microsoft Support should be commended for their professionalism.

We all know that Microsoft have spent a lot of money trying to rectify the problem, but how much of a problem is it? The Times has an in-depth article on the issue.

Diarmid Andrews, a director at GT Electronics, a Dundee-based repairer which is still offering to fix the machines despite having only a 70 per cent success rate, said: "It's a big, big issue. My estimate is that about a quarter to a third of units are experiencing this problem."

Mr Andrews said his company was now getting more than 100 Xboxes with 'Red Ring' a week, and had taken on 3 extra staff to cope with demand.

Microsoft are quoted as saying that "there is no single root cause or systemic issue with any of the Xbox 360 consoles." Many gamers around the world would probably scoff at such a claim, and with repair centres estimating over 20% of consoles suffering from a Red Ring, it is becoming increasingly easy to find people who's Xbox have failed. The team at 1UP Yours have begun referring to the issue as an inevitability rather than a case of bad luck.

How can Microsoft have engineered a system with such workmanship? Consumer electronics, from iPods to Playstations to washing machines have never suffered such catastrophic failure rates without a full product recall. Microsoft has not done this, and one is left speculating as to why. Is there really no systematic issue (doubtful)? In face, the answer is probably right under our noses: the mainstream media has not taken up the cause. Without anyone holding Microsoft's feet to the fire, the problem doesn't exist in the greater public's consciousness. Consumers around the world are paying out for expensive pieces of hardware, with no knowledge about the crap shoot that Xbox ownership has become. Microsoft would be fools to change that perception, and so there never will be a mass recall of 360 units. The marketing department of Microsoft has trouble enough as it is, sullying the 360 brand would be commercial suicide.

My Xbox arrived yesterday. One can only hope it doesn't take another trip.