Special Interview: Ex Microsoft Customer

Microsoft’s worldwide release of the Xbox 360 was unprecedented in video game history. They achieved global market saturation in a very short period of time, and millions of gamers everywhere could readily enjoy the next generation of gaming. Unfortunately a few ripples of hardware failures began to make big waves for Microsoft, with a few lawsuits being levied against them for supposedly making a product that can not properly cool itself. I myself personally went through 5 Xbox 360’s until I got a functioning unit. Despite my woes I assumed that by now, almost 9 month’s later, that Microsoft would have worked out the kinks or so to speak. Are gamers still walking into a headache when they pick up a 360 off the shelves? In the following interview, I talk to one casual gamer to find out.

Straight Up Gaming (SUG): Thank you for joining us today, could you please state your name and occupation?

Clint Rhodes and I am a software engineer.

SUG: How would you describe your gaming habits? What are some of your favorite games?

I tend to gravitate towards adventure/rpg titles and racing games but I do indulge in the occasional shooter. Some of my favorite games include the Grand Theft Auto series, the Legend of Zelda series, Knights of the Old Republic, Beyond Good & Evil, Project Gotham Racing 2, Ninja Gaiden, and Psychonauts.

What aspect of next generation gaming interests you the most?

I’m very interested to see the evolution of the ‘marketplace’ services that the console companies are creating for the next-generation consoles. Currently it seems they’re aimed at bringing older games onto the newer consoles, but I’m hoping that it will segue into a service that will provide smaller, independent developers with a platform to deliver their games without having to depend on a major publisher.

SUG: What exactly was it that drew you to the Xbox 360 versus any of the other consoles?

I still own an original Xbox, and some of my best gaming moments on that console were in games played through Xbox Live. I’d been following Microsoft’s efforts to improve and evolve Xbox Live and felt that it would be the best online platform available in the console realm.

SUG: Where did you purchase your Xbox 360, and describe your initial experience?

I purchased it from Best Buy. My initial impressions of the 360 were fantastic. I thought I had a good idea of what to expect from the console, but I was very pleasantly surprised when I began using it. That was my first experience with a wireless controller and I thought it was simply amazing.

SUG: I understand you purchased an Xbox Live account, what were your impressions?

The Live console is incredible. Once I completed the setup, I probably spent the next hour or so going through Live and downloading videos, demos, and arcade games. Again, my expectations were met and exceeded with this aspect of the Xbox.

SUG: How and when did your Xbox 360 problems begin?

I purchased Burnout Revenge with my console. I believe I got a solid week of play time before I got my first dirty disc error with that title. Next came a string of lockups in both Burnout Revenge and Saint’s Row, but I was willing to overlook that. Then, about 2 ½ weeks into owning the console, I started it up and my Xbox Live profile was gone.

SUG: Did you attempt to trouble shoot the problems, and with what success?

Of course. I went through all of the steps to recover my Xbox Live profile. After entering all of my information, the Xbox tried to write the profile back to the hard drive, but I would get an error telling me the Xbox was unable to access the attached storage, in this case, the hard drive. I tried removing the hard drive and reattaching it, then repeating the recovery process. Each time it gave me the same error trying to write to the disk.

SUG: Eventually you made a decision not to keep your Xbox 360, what was the primary motivator behind that?

To me, the Xbox is just like any other piece of hardware. If it fails me, and there is a history of failure, I’m not going to keep using it. If brand XYZ television goes bad on me, and I know a couple of friends who also had the same brand go bad, why would I go back and get the same television? With other hardware, I would look for a comparable product from a different manufacturer, but in this case, there really isn’t such a product, so I chose to return it for a refund.

SUG: Were you able to receive a refund for your Xbox Live purchase?

Yes, I did get a prorated refund on my Live purchase because I paid for a full year upfront. Thankfully, the account was only two weeks old so the prorated amount was very close to the full amount paid.

SUG: How would you describe Microsoft’s customer care and support?

It took me quite a while to get through to an operator. I guess their system disconnects callers during high call volumes rather than put you in a queue, so I had to call them back several times. Once I managed to get through, they were very courteous and took care of me quickly.

SUG: Would you purchase another Xbox 360 in the future for any reason?

I do intend to purchase another 360, but it’s going to be later in the console’s lifecycle. I waited to purchase the original Xbox until after all of the Thompson drive problems had been corrected, and I foresee a similar thing with the 360. I need to know that Microsoft has worked out the gremlins, whatever they may be, before I’ll purchase another 360.

SUG: Would you recommend an Xbox 360 to an excited friend?

I can’t say I’d recommend it. I would simply convey my experience with the 360 as best as I could to them and let them make their own choice.

Thank you very much for your time!