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The Xbox 360 went down a storm when it came out in 2006 and gained a large amount of fans. But the console has had anything but a smooth ride. This article attempts to answer the question “What problems can I expect with my Xbox 360?”
There have been a number of issues with the Xbox 360 since it’s release, some more problematic than others. Perhaps seen as the most troubling was the fact that Xbox 360’s used to, and occasionally still do, simply give up the ghost. They work one minute and the next, nothing. This seems to have happened to a number of customers and was heavily reported, especially in 2007. Many complained that Microsoft put little or no effort into fixing the issue and left customers with the bills. This problem does appear to have cleared up, though there are still the odd case of it happening, especially with the older consoles.
Another problem highlighted early on was that the Xbox seemed to be very noisy. If you played games at a low volume, it was almost impossible to hear over the console noise. Again, there does seem to have been a bit of progress with this, with fans now probably on average 50% quieter than before. You hardly notice it in a large room, however in a smaller room you will find that it can be noticeable, though if you have the game music / sounds on, you soon don’t notice the sound.
A problem I’ve definitely noticed is that games do sometimes crash when initially loading. I’ve occasionally had to start the same game up two or three times before it will actually run. While this doesn’t cause any real issues, it is very frustrating, especially if you just have the time for a quick game.
A last problem, recently highlighted by UK Watchdog, was that discs can be easily scratched in the Xbox. I had a problem with a new game that I bought at Christmas, when it was put in the console and there was movement near the console, the game was scratched to hell and just wouldn’t work at all afterwards. It’s definitely worth looking at where you put your console and how you place it. If you place it on a table, basically anywhere but the floor, and on its side (not upright) you should find you have no problems at all. It only seems to becoming problematic when it is disturbed by heavy movement.
Microsoft do seem to have fixed some of these problems to an extent, though some of the more minor issues do remain. Maybe they will fix them on a newer model and make us fork out more to get one. I do love the Xbox 360 and prefer it to the PS3, so I’ll probably be one of those who gets roped in by this. This is a largely negative article but it’s more so people know what to expect if something does go wrong, rather than put you off the console, which really, on the whole, is excellent.