Do the console makers slack off ?

[Thommo]

I wasn't entirely sure where to put this since it is not really specifically to do with the Xbox360 anymore than it is to do with the N64 and since this is only an observation of mine that I thought I would put out there for debate I decided to put it in here since it's to do with consoles....anyway.....

My question is, do the modern day console makers slack off when it comes to production value of these consoles or money spent on quality parts or solder ? I mean don't get me wrong the X360 is an awesome piece of kit but the reason I ask is because I have had an X360 die on me (three red lights - about as common as cow shit on the yorkshire moors) and so have many, many other people - now I also have an old N64 that was bought as a bday present some 10 or 11 years ago when they first got launched and it still works as perfectly well now as the day i switched it on in the summer of 97 or whenever it was they were released....so my question is if my N64 can last 10 years minimum without any issues or problems whatsoever, and yet my X360 died after one year, is it that the companies that make these console have gone cheapskates ? or is it simply that the Xbox360's technology is so modern and new that the people at Microsoft havn't harnessed it's full potential yet good or bad.....what do you guys think ?

 

[tomlad]

i think its true, but its a case of too much power in too small of a space. i mean, i have mega drives that are almost 20 years old and they work fine, but yeah, xboxes dont last 10 minutes these days. i just think the demands are getting bigger but the production is getting lazier but the costs are rising.

makes little sense to me lol

 

[Thommo]

Agreed to some extent but I wouldn't have thought they were getting lazier because I bet it is alot harder and alot more time consuming to make an Xbox360 than it was to make a MegaDrive or N64 lol ......but about the too much power in too small a space thing perhaps you are right, maybe that is why PS3's are so big in size ? I don't own a PS3 by the way so I don't know what their reliability is like but as far as the 360 goes it is definitely a money making thing with Microsoft (obviously) I mean they are releasing a newer version 360 soon with more bells and whistles and it's like erm do you wanna get your original system sorted out first guys ? But then as much as some may not like to admit it, just about everything does come down to money so...........

 

[spud1966]

i think thay make more on software sales than hardware , but it's new and got blueray tec

 

[tomlad]

well dont forget, at the time, the chips and graphics inside a megadrive or even a master system etc... were cutting edge, and they never seem to break. i think that microsoft dont have a clue about console gaming, the xbox is basically a pc, just slightly smaller. but companies like nintendo know what theyre doing, and how to do it, hence the reason why the gamecube was so small but so powerful. microsoft should have done their homework a bit better before desiging a console. i mean, look at the dreamcast for a good example of this, it was 128bit graphics and it was smaller than the playstation, and it came out in 98. sega rushed out the saturn because of the playstation. they redesigned the chip to be able to produce 3d graphics (it was originally supposed to be a very high spec 2d console, much like a neo geo aes). in the end they messed up and the saturns graphics were tame compared to playstation (but this might be down to lack of any serious support) but the dreamcast was faster than the n64 and came out 3 or 4 years before the ps2, they were going into very new territory with the graphics and technology, and they still hold up today and look great and ive never heard of overheating problems with them. fair enuf a couple of lazers have worn out over the years, but thats to be expected, its the same with any cd/lazer based console. dont forget, sony were able to really look at the dreamcast and figure it out before they released the ps2.

im basically rabbiting on a bit here, but im saying a little homework on the subject could save the companies millions in the long term. i just hope the ps3 does well against the 360 because theyve had extra time to work on its problems and hopefully it wont overheat.

 

[Thommo]

m8 i couldnt agree more with that post thats exactly what i was thinking......i suppose we maybe should give MS the benefit of the doubt due to the technology being used but then again they are payed to make these things and more to the point we pay 300 quid odd to purchase these things brand new and the last thing we need is it getting dead within a year considering the initial cost of outlay so in that respect MS deserve no benefit of any doubt on second thoughts.

i just think that microsoft should step back and take a long look at their console and sort it out good and proper before they release any major new model with an inflated price tag i mean lets be honest who honestly believes that the new black xbox 360 is going to be miles more reliable than anything previous ? i wouldnt have thought it would be especially more reliable than the current latest release of 360s and i will be surprised if it is.

 

[tomlad]

m8 i couldnt agree more with that post thats exactly what i was thinking......i suppose we maybe should give MS the benefit of the doubt due to the technology being used but then again they are payed to make these things and more to the point we pay 300 quid odd to purchase these things brand new and the last thing we need is it getting dead within a year considering the initial cost of outlay so in that respect MS deserve no benefit of any doubt on second thoughts.

i just think that microsoft should step back and take a long look at their console and sort it out good and proper before they release any major new model with an inflated price tag i mean lets be honest who honestly believes that the new black xbox 360 is going to be miles more reliable than anything previous ? i wouldnt have thought it would be especially more reliable than the current latest release of 360s and i will be surprised if it is.

i doubt it will be any different, they just release a console thats a different colour with a bigger HD. waste of time and money if u ask me. to be honest microsoft dont even need to make a massive announcement about fixing the problems in the 360, its been out for well over a year now and theyve known about the problems for a long time. between then and now they could have redesigned the xbox 360s main board, or at least sorted out the problems. microsoft are lazy money grabbing idiots and thats my opinion on them untill they seriously rectify this situtation. i actually got a phonecall from xbox the other day asking me to fill in a survey about their customer relations, i was MORE than happy. i just ripped into them for 5minutes. the american girl on the end of the line found it quite amusing

 

[Thommo]

LOL always vent the frustrations out at a girl, poor bugger!

Seriously though you are right, it just annoys me that they are such money grabbing dilberts I mean it's not like they arn't made of money as it is they could at least shell out a little of their fortune to fix the 360 properly and keep it's customers happy in the process but then again I should expect no less where megacorporations like Microsoft are concerned.

 

[tomlad]

LOL always vent the frustrations out at a girl, poor bugger!

Seriously though you are right, it just annoys me that they are such money grabbing dilberts I mean it's not like they arn't made of money as it is they could at least shell out a little of their fortune to fix the 360 properly and keep it's customers happy in the process but then again I should expect no less where megacorporations like Microsoft are concerned.

yeah mate i agree, if they dont sort themselves out soon, nobody will be buying the next xbox when it comes out.
well, maybe only the fanboys : big crow

 

[Explosivo]

dont forget
cartridge systems have no moving parts so there is less to go wrong.

n64/snes/megadrive even the wooden ataris will prob still work in 2099.

by that time you'll prob have to go to a museum to find a tv to play it on though.

 

[tomlad]

what about ps1's then? ive never had any problems with them and theyre cd. only thing is the lazers which eventually die out

 

[Thommo]

yeah i had the same issue with my old psx with the laser (same thing with my launch date ps2) i also had a problem with my old psx where the disc tray thing wouldnt stay down lol i swear it was like rocky it just kept getting up so i we had to turn the psx upside down when we wanted to play a game of pro evo....

by the way i dont suppose anybody has tried out the new new emulators like Dolphin (gamecube emulator) or the PCSX 2 (PS2 emulator) ?

i havn't tried them out myself yet and besides if my pc cannot currently run oblivion without major slowdown i doubt it can run these, basically if anyone has tried these emulators out, how are they coming along ?

 

[FATBOY]

youve got to remember that consoles now are more intricate than they were back then!

 

[Thommo]

Yeah that is what I said early on in this thread, I don't know if you read it properly or not m8, I basically said it would be much harder to make 360 games than MegaDrives, but having said that I may have a contradiction time because back when the MegaDrive etc was new it would have been the same scenario as today with the 360's when you put it into perspective - new technology = harnessed into small box = for home entertainment family purposes = major profit!

So I still think/believe from what I have been told in that the 360's problems stem from the "green" solder that the devs currently use and despite it being alot more "environment friendly" than the old solder, the trade off is that it simply has no longevity whatsoever - therefore its nowhere near as good, quality wise.

To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft did it on purpose (well obviously they did it on purpose but what I mean is with more malicious intent in mind) so that the Xbox360 would be more like a consumable product in a sense that for all the people who's X360's break down would pretty much sooner or later have to buy a new one......so basically Microsoft in effect would, like it or not folks, gain repeat custom, essentially doubling their money off the individual, as opposed to the Xbox360 being what it should be by rights considering the dollar and that is a one hit payment - it just proves that Microsoft is all about the money. And not that I like it, but I honestly can't blame them.