RRoGDC? Xbox 360 failure shows up at trade show

by Kyle Orland { Feb 19th 2008 at 6:15PM }

Microsoft's efforts to divert attention from the Xbox 360's reportedly high failure rates were were certainly not helped today by an infamous Red Ring of Death that showed up at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. An intrepid BBC reporter noted the common hardware failure on display at Microsoft's XNA area in the Moscone Center's North Hall.

Perhaps this is why the whole XNA area was protected by a shroud as recently as yesterday. Then again, perhaps not. Regardless, the BBC is certainly correct in noting that "at the very least it's embarrassing for the company that its own stock of demo machines are still susceptible to the problem." Check out the full video of the "event" below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]

Tags: embarassing, failure, GDC, GDC08, microsoft, RRoD, Xbox, Xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

dork @ Feb 19th 2008 6:19PM

all the ps3s are still in boxes, waiting for a game to come out that is worth playing

Mike @ Feb 20th 2008 4:39PM

*sniff sniff*

I smell fanboy.

AirIntake @ Feb 19th 2008 6:19PM

Hmm, that's scary if it's a newer unit with HDMI. Because why would MS be stupid enough to use the failure prone non-HDMI 360s for displays? Then again, they're stupid enough to implement DRM they can't control (which has locked me out of all of my saved games) so nothing would surprise me.

E.J. @ Feb 19th 2008 6:43PM

Then again, this is a dev conference, not a consumer show. I don't think devs are going to fret about the 360 after the crapping out of a seasoned demo unit.

Sean D. @ Feb 19th 2008 7:29PM

I bought a new Falcon-based HDMI-endowed X360 in november that had the RRoD out of the box. They're just as failure prone as the rest of 'em.

qo_op @ Feb 19th 2008 7:42PM

@E.J, LOL, proof that this is a seasoned demo unit?? I have every reason to believe from history that each demo box is new for every event, why the hell would you use an old unit? You 360 fanboys are hillarious.

Vol @ Feb 19th 2008 11:34PM

Speaking of DRM..

I just came across this site:

http://www.xboxdrm.com

Hopefully they can get some steam behind their campaign.

religiousjedi @ Feb 19th 2008 6:20PM

I don't know whether to laugh...or cry...

rom @ Feb 19th 2008 6:30PM

Laugh until you cry. :)

FOXHOUND @ Feb 20th 2008 7:35AM

Or cry til' you laugh. Like Meg Ryan.

playwhutyalike @ Feb 19th 2008 6:23PM

Hey, shit happens.

PSN: KillaKornbread @ Feb 20th 2008 1:40AM

and by shit you mean Xbox 360 right? LAWLZ!!!11!!!1!!

but seriously.....i lol'd.

capt_carl @ Feb 19th 2008 6:23PM

I dunno if I should laugh or facepalm.

Mr Khan @ Feb 19th 2008 7:07PM

Laugh UNTIL you facepalm

(/shameless copycatting ;))

rom @ Feb 19th 2008 7:12PM

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!

:)

Mike @ Feb 19th 2008 6:24PM

This is bad. EVERY single major site is posting this story. EVERYONE knows about it.. how embarrassing for MS.

Cyro @ Feb 19th 2008 6:25PM

*Face to Palms*

Ian @ Feb 19th 2008 6:25PM

Hey DORK, why are you so defensive....fanboy

Jake11 @ Feb 19th 2008 6:25PM

as a 360 fanboy, i must say: That is too funny

Korova @ Feb 19th 2008 9:25PM

yeah, they just cant catch a break with this shit ... poor bastards.

Jose1985 @ Feb 19th 2008 6:25PM

You do know that the demo 360 kiosks are closed in a plastic box limiting ventilation and that they are early versions from 2005 , lick my ass Kyle.

XanthouS @ Feb 19th 2008 6:44PM

So you're saying MS can't even take care of their own units?

And just about every kiosk unit, whether it's a 360, Wii, PS3, Dreamcast, NES, whatever, is enclosed in a poorly ventilated plastic box. Does that give the 360 a free pass at bricking?

ill trooper @ Feb 19th 2008 7:31PM

Ask yourself if your 'reasoning' is defensible, Jose - MS set up that kiosk and put it on the floor as a demo unit - they wouldn't do anything that the unit shouldn't be able handle, and other units are in the same kiosks operating perfectly fine.

It's a microcosm of what's happening out here in the real world - a lot of 360s work, and some die when placed in the same situation. I like this post because it may help the people that claim "your 360 died because you didn't take care of it" see that the dependability can vary from machine to machine.

qo_op @ Feb 19th 2008 8:00PM

BOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOL

"You spin me right round baby right round
Like a record baby
Right round, round, round
You spin me right round baby right round
Like a record baby
Right round, round, round"

"You spin me right round baby right round
Like a record baby
Right round, round, round
You spin me right round baby right round
Like a record baby
Right round, round, round"

Alex R @ Feb 23rd 2008 1:59PM

I was just about to say that!
I look after my 360 with plenty of ventilation, but these display Xboxes are on about 12 hours a day and I have never seen one with the RRoD. Mine still got the plague, though.

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 19th 2008 6:26PM

Seriously though, this is pretty fucked up lol. C'mon MS get your shit straight everybody is looking at you.
Even though devs dont see the RROD they see the $$$ so it still wont matter I guess =/

*Goes back to COD4 on 360 =)

Jnas @ Feb 19th 2008 6:27PM

So you guys think that attack is the best form of defence?

That seems like fairly plausible hypothesis...lets see if it works shall we?

ROFL at this news. I swear sometimes i think Microsoft is run by a bunch of dumbass teenagers :P

Wonderflex @ Feb 19th 2008 6:28PM

yeah...because Uncharted, Rachet and Clank, Resistance, and Motorstorm weren't worth opening my PS3 box, nor were the Blu-ray movies.

Mort @ Feb 19th 2008 6:30PM

This reminded me of when Microsoft demoed Windows 98 at Comdex and had it blue screen.

Doom3killer @ Feb 19th 2008 6:38PM

same here

ahhh.. good times, good times

JerJerBinks @ Feb 19th 2008 7:41PM

Reminds me of the time @ CES that Billy got a BSOD while demoing Forza on the origional Xbox with Conan O'Brien. Conan turns to Bill and says, "Who is running this company?"

Anthony @ Feb 20th 2008 12:22AM

I wouldn't compare the two.

One product was unreleased. The other has been out for years.

FOXHOUND @ Feb 20th 2008 7:40AM

This reminds me of the time Microsoft released WINDOWS ME. Hilarious frustration abound!

Gerwurztraminer @ Feb 20th 2008 3:28PM

Ugh... I had ME for 5 years because I didn't know any better.

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 19th 2008 6:31PM

Damn...I was just kidding you guys.

Jason @ Feb 19th 2008 6:35PM

fail.

Tom @ Feb 19th 2008 6:35PM

It's funny, but a little sad too. Doesn't really affect me though so whatever.

el serpiente @ Feb 19th 2008 6:44PM

WELL DA PS3 HAZ NO GAMZE SO THEY IS STILL IN DA BOXIZ!!!1

Look, it's okay, the world already knew that xboxes fail at a staggering rate. Why is it a surprise that out of the many xboxes on display, one would red-ring over the course of the show? In fact I'm surprised it's only one of them that failed. In fact, it is damn encouraging that only ONE failed. But, no, not encouraging enough for me to buy it when I can get all the same games on the PC (which doesn't red-ring).

el serpiente @ Feb 19th 2008 6:45PM

tmacairjordan87 @ Feb 19th 2008 6:38PM

irony always hits in the best places at the best times

GRANTED @ Feb 19th 2008 6:39PM

Awesome. Microsoft =/= reliability.

Brello @ Feb 19th 2008 6:41PM

Damn you, Murphy's Law! Funny stuff.

XanthouS @ Feb 19th 2008 6:41PM

Just waiting for the positive spin...someone HAS to have something.

MS can't even keep their own units running?

Do you think they have to wait a month to send in for a coffin, return the system, and get another defective one in return?

Triforceowner @ Feb 19th 2008 6:44PM

One demo unit malfunctioning means one less unit in the hands of consumers malfunctioning. >:)

Arttemis @ Feb 19th 2008 9:55PM

"Do you think they have to wait a month to send in for a coffin, return the system, and get another defective one in return?"

Yes, but before the replacement breaks, they have to spend the entire time hassling with their own customer support because all of their purchased demoing software won't run unless they're connected to XBL.
Mircosoft's DRM f*cking sucks..