Nice work Microsoft!
So let me get this right. Microsoft bricks your 360 and you have to pay for it? Well, that seems pretty fair to me.
Perhaps the bricked consoles where chipped? If thats the case then it's tough luck pirates!!
The New Xbox Experience (NXE) patch - released earlier this week to fix an HDMI audio issue caused by downloading the NXE interface itself – appears to have brought the dreaded Red Ring of Death (RRoD) to rather a lot of consoles. Microsoft’s own Xbox 360 Forum has been inundated with complaints from gamers that the patch – …
“The nature of the console itself is very complex, as it’s a consumer electronic product that contains more than 1700 different components and 500 million transistors.”
Yet Sony manage it, which a higher component count, more transistors, and REAL cutting edge hardware like Cell and Blu-ray.
When will people understand, all Microsoft care about is quick cash. There is no long term customer retention, or goal to produce decent reliable hardware. Like the 360 launch, "get it out there before Xmas, I don't care if it's fundamentally flawed in it's design, we'll fix this in the Xbox720".
Mine upgraded fine, although, did this HDMI issue only affect a select number of machines? Mine didn't give me any trouble, I was rather puzzled as to what the update was for when mine prompted me last night.
Mines the one with the mace in the pocket, because the fanboys are about to land and we normal dudes have to defend ourselves from the Sony and Ninty fanboys somehow. (I bought all the consoles, so I'm indifferent.)
Windows updates might b0rk your Windows install, but usually you're still able to enter "Safe Mode" and save whatever you need to rescue. XBox360 bricks with firmware consoles. Which is worse?
On the other hand, my PS3 did have to be changed because I got one of those 0.01% that have a faulty Blu-Ray drive (jokingly dubbed the Blu-Ray of Death) and met shocked faces at GameRush when I went to change it. I was the first one *ever* to return a faulty PS3, and they were visibly surprised to see one failing. 360's are much more common, of course.
Oh, and like someone mentioned ... there's a "Safe Mode" menu available in the PS3, where you can repair faulty firmware.