Xbox 360 Slim breaks - fanboys hold their breath

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YouTube user shows the world his bricked machine

How long did that last? Xbox 360 Slim has only been out for a few days and already someone's got a broken one. At least Microsoft changed the error code so that a hardware failure doesn't show up as three segments of red on the ring of light. Instead, this user seems to have a red light on his power brick. Red Power Brick of Death?

Let's take a look at that video:


There's another video that the guy posted showing how he had the console set up. This one's less interesting, except for the fact that this seems to be genuine, documented evidence that some people do, in fact, pronounce the word 'supposedly' as 'supposably'. I thought that was a myth.


So what do we make of it? That doesn't look like a faked video. That Xbox has serious issues. But the positive thing to note is that it appears to be an isolated instance. No console is invulnerable to the occasional breakdown. Sure, we're only a few days into the life of the new machine, but people had suffered the RRoD within hours of the original machine's release. The net would surely be full of similar stories if the new model did the same thing.

Speaking with CVG at E3 last week, Microsoft's Director of Global Marketing for Xbox 360, Albert Pernello, said that the Red Ring problem had "pretty much gone away". He says the problems are mainly limited to launch machines and that consoles bought in the last two or three years were much better.

He concluded by saying: "We wanted to make sure that this [250GB Xbox 360] is rock steady, rock solid." So is it? Have you bought a 360 Slim yet? Let us know how it's running in the comments.

24 Jun, 2010

Justin Towell
Justin Towell
Freelance Writer

Justin was a GamesRadar+ staffer for 10 years but is now a freelance writer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.