Xbox Living

My Xbox 360 died last week.  That is… my third Xbox 360 died last week.  Super.

I’ve been through the repair process with Microsoft twice.  My first Xbox 360 stopped working about six months or so after I got it — it stopped reading discs properly.  A year later, the refurbished one they sent me fell to the notorious red ring of death.

The replacement lasted about a year as well: Last week, my Xbox 360 stopped reading discs.  It just spins, grinds loudly, and gives up.  So again, I’ll just have to send it back to Microsoft and they’ll repl… wait a sec — my warranty is over.  That leaves two options: send it in again and pay for the repairs (ugh), or buy a new one.

My new Xbox 360 is a brand new Elite model, which, in theory, should have a newer motherboard in it that’s less prone to the red-ring, and perhaps other hardware problems.  It also has more storage space, which I was wanting.

Now, with as many hardware failures as I’ve had, the hidden third option did cross my mind: Should I give up on the Xbox 360?  Obviously, I decided against the notion, but there was a time where I, briefly, considered using the money on a PS3 instead, or to make some gaming-related upgrades to my PC.

But I really like the Xbox best.  The PS3 has a weak library and even weaker online play, and I’m not a PC gamer.  The PC crowd may think me noobish, but I much prefer to play games from my living room couch.  (I spend enough time at a desk when I’m working.)

So another Xbox 360 it is.  Let’s just hope that the fourth time’s a charm.