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[Bry0]

I thought this video was worth sharing. Yes it’s long, but this video creator has gone through incredible lengths to get to the bottom of why the heck RROD and YLOD are so prominent on certain early versions of the Xbox 360 and PS3. There have been tons of myths and rumors over the years that are based on shoddy internet posts that lack enough technical understanding to diagnose the issue properly. It also seems forgotten amongst the console discussions for this issue that during the same time nvidia was seeing an incredible amount of gpu failures. In fact I have had multiple GPUs both mobile and desktop variants that seemed unusually prone to failure from this era.

It was usually attributed to a problem with the solder balls, but really it has to do primarily with the composition of the underfill used in the packaging process when the die is attached to the substrate. The formulation of the underfill would soften under heat, and harden when cooled causing the solder bumps to crack under the expansion and contraction. This was hinted at in Microsoft’s Xbox documentary but Felix goes into much more detail and even does some clever tests to prove that the change in underfill composition also aligns with known “reliable” 360 and ps3 GPUs.

It’s long but it’s a fun nostalgia trip and touches not just on the technical aspects of this hardware defect, but also the business, supply chain, and customer service aspects of this whole fiasco. Certainly the most comprehensive investigation of rrod and ylod that I have seen.

 

[DEAD ORIGINAL]

I thought this video was worth sharing. Yes it’s long, but this video creator has gone through incredible lengths to get to the bottom of why the heck RROD and YLOD are so prominent on certain early versions of the Xbox 360 and PS3. There have been tons of myths and rumors over the years that are based on shoddy internet posts that lack enough technical understanding to diagnose the issue properly. It also seems forgotten amongst the console discussions for this issue that during the same time nvidia was seeing an incredible amount of gpu failures. In fact I have had multiple GPUs both mobile and desktop variants that seemed unusually prone to failure from this era.

It was usually attributed to a problem with the solder balls, but really it has to do primarily with the composition of the underfill used in the packaging process when the die is attached to the substrate. The formulation of the underfill would soften under heat, and harden when cooled causing the solder bumps to crack under the expansion and contraction. This was hinted at in Microsoft’s Xbox documentary but Felix goes into much more detail and even does some clever tests to prove that the change in underfill composition also aligns with known “reliable” 360 and ps3 GPUs.

It’s long but it’s a fun nostalgia trip and touches not just on the technical aspects of this hardware defect, but also the business, supply chain, and customer service aspects of this whole fiasco. Certainly the most comprehensive investigation of rrod and ylod that I have seen.

Ps3 died after 10 years, Xbox 360 went through 5 did the towel trick what a great generation that was though.

 

[analog_future]

What a time that was. It's a surprise that Xbox were even able to recover from that catastrophe.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

What a time that was. It's a surprise that Xbox were even able to recover from that catastrophe.

 

[Trogdor1123]

My ps3 is still kicking I think. Can’t use it though as the controllers have messed up batteries

 

[Punished Miku]

What a time that was. It's a surprise that Xbox were even able to recover from that catastrophe.

It was a legendary disaster of insane proportions. I think I got 3 systems in the mail. Free shipping on all of it.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

It was a legendary disaster of insane proportions. I think I got 3 systems in the mail. Free shipping on all of it.

I remember when Microsoft released new boards that supposedly fixed the issue (Jasper or something?); everyone wanted to know how to see if their 360 was one.

The only other console I ever had an issue with was Dreamcast, and that was entirely my fault because I effed up the disc drive playing burned copies of games. I've had zero issues any any other console, including my OG 60GB PS3 which booted up easily until the day it was stolen.

 

[Punished Miku]

I remember when Microsoft released new boards that supposedly fixed the issue (Jasper or something?); everyone wanted to know how to see if their 360 was one.

The only other console I ever had an issue with was Dreamcast, and that was entirely my fault because I effed up the disc drive playing burned copies of games. I've had zero issues any any other console, including my OG 60GB PS3 which booted up easily until the day it was stolen.

Yep lol. I finally ended on a Jasper unit, and it did fix the issue for years until I stopped using it. Crazy times. Definitely the worst issue I've ever had with a console. Nothing else comparable.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

At least for you RROD gamers with the early systems for replacements/repairs. MS extended it to like 3 years.

My 2006 Pro system lasted to 2012. It got RROD (I think Skyrim killed it as that game was always loading shit) and had to buy a new Slim system replacement! I was amazed it lasted that long as I'd play COD and NHL and RPGs constantly.

On the plus side, it didnt' RROD on boot up. It would always work for about 5 minutes. And would freeze and RROD when a game like Skyrim would do one of it's minute long loading screens. While just flipping around the dashboard it never froze.

So I sold it to Electronics Boutique for like $70 credit. She took my system and turned it on. It worked, so she turned it off and said it's good. lol

 

[YeulEmeralda]

It was a legendary disaster of insane proportions. I think I got 3 systems in the mail. Free shipping on all of it.

They handled it well eventually. Turns out "fuck it release we'll patch it later" is very expensive with hardware!

 

[Punished Miku]

They handled it well eventually. Turns out "fuck it release we'll patch it later" is very expensive with hardware!

They got an A+ for handling the biggest hardware failure of all time. Got replacements for free promptly, multiple times.

 

[Bry0]

I remember when Microsoft released new boards that supposedly fixed the issue (Jasper or something?); everyone wanted to know how to see if their 360 was one.

The only other console I ever had an issue with was Dreamcast, and that was entirely my fault because I effed up the disc drive playing burned copies of games. I've had zero issues any any other console, including my OG 60GB PS3 which booted up easily until the day it was stolen.

Yeah they tested a new underfill in the very late production falcons, then a few months later all jaspers had the new underfill composition on the gpu. They have proven to be pretty dang reliable.

 

[SmokedMeat]

I remember reading which serial numbers indicated which motherboards for the Xbox 360. The Jasper motherboard sticks in my memory as the one to buy.

I had two RRoD consoles, as well as a YLoD PS3.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I remember when Microsoft released new boards that supposedly fixed the issue (Jasper or something?); everyone wanted to know how to see if their 360 was one.

The only other console I ever had an issue with was Dreamcast, and that was entirely my fault because I effed up the disc drive playing burned copies of games. I've had zero issues any any other console, including my OG 60GB PS3 which booted up easily until the day it was stolen.

My console history is pretty good.

- PS1 barely worked after about 5-6 years (the upside down trick only lasted so long). I could get it to work if I kept rebooting the system and after maybe 10 minutes of trying it might catch and work. It got to a point I just gave up. Gave all my PS1 stuff to a coworker and told him it barely worked. Got a PS2 soon after anyway

- 360 RROD after 6 years. Sold it to EB. lol

- One X bombed at the starting patch. Froze at like 99%. CSR couldnt even figure it out despite rebooting and powering down etc.... Returned it to the store and they gave me a Project Scorpio Edition as it was the only One X they had left

Every other new or used system, game or gamepad has worked fine, except during PS1 I bought a used copy of Legacy of Kain and a used gamepad and they both barely worked. Got replacements which were fine. I'd say the cartridge day systems were easily the most robust. Me and my bros would jam in the cartridges recklessly sometimes and it didn't matter. The systems and rom carts always worked.

 

[buenoblue]

Microsoft's best generation, and they still massively fucked up

Thanks Phil

I went through five 360s in a year then just gave up and got a ps3.

 

[Dr.brain64]

My ps3 still works fine.

 

[tommib]

My ps3 still works fine.

Same here. Bought in 2009. It’s a slim that I still use weekly.

 

[Raven117]

Ylod on Oblivion (lol). Got a replacement for free and never had another problem on any console again (knock on wood)

 

[Freelance Yakuza]

My PS3 slim died but it was on me. It did not have space on the shelf, got hot very frequently. I got a "super slim" and it functioned for many years.

I got an used Xbox 360 elite from a repair shop and it died in a week lol
They gave me another and it worked fine.
The first console always disconnected from my WiFi, wherears the second one didn't.

 

[Bry0]

Same here. Bought in 2009. It’s a slim that I still use weekly.

Any 65nm gpu ps3 or newer won’t have the issue, so that’s basically later half of 2008 or newer. Around the same time the Jasper 360 came out to fix rrod.

It’s also pointed out in the video that on the 90nm gpu ps3 the Syscon fan curve kept the gpu temperature much lower than the 360. On the lower end of the “danger zone” for the underfill material that was used, where as the 360 kept it right in the danger zone for heating/cooling expansion stresses. It seems Microsoft kept tweaking the temperature targets and even added some additional heatsinks to the gpu during the rrod to attempt to resolve this issue. (didn’t work until it was fixed at the manufacturing level though)

This could potentially be attributed to why the ylod wasn’t quite as common, but the passage of time has shown that ANY gpu using the improper underfill material will basically die eventually. It is a big point of discussion in the ps3 modding scene since all the backward compat ps3s used defective gpus. There are even services that will swap the RSX with a newer non-defective 65 or 45 nm RSX.

 

[Happosai]

My ps3 is still kicking I think. Can’t use it though as the controllers have messed up batteries

Same deal here. I've owned every PS3 model and current is the dreaded final slim model. The issue over time I've noticed regardless of model is the control batteries and stick drift. 360s I hit a lucky streak in the sense that mine never overheated or died otherwise. Most of those who were gaming online or in LAN parties post-college did get red rings of death. Therefore, I can't speak for the integrity of the first 360 models as this has always been known.

 

[Insane Metal]

Great gen. Both consoles were awesome, both had huge problems and both eventually came around and ended up in a good place.

Misso times like those

 

[ReBurn]

i got both RROD and YLOD that generation. Sucked.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

4x 360s from Best Buy enhanced warranty. Great console, great software.

Glad it made for more reliable hardware across the board. The only thing that sucks now are controllers.

 

[DEAD ORIGINAL]

Xbox 360 early years were legendary u forget how good 2006 was Gears Of War best one, Rainbow Six Vegas, Oblivion, Dead Rising and we had back compatibility to play Halo 2.

 

[Dural]

Xbox 360 early years were legendary u forget how good 2006 was Gears Of War best one, Rainbow Six Vegas, Oblivion, Dead Rising and we had back compatibility to play Halo 2.

Launch through 2006 MS was on fire with the 360. Can't forget Kameo, COD2, and PGR3 at launch and GRAW and Viva Pinata in 2006.

 

[DEAD ORIGINAL]

Launch through 2006 MS was on fire with the 360. Can't forget Kameo, COD2, and PGR3 at launch and GRAW and Viva Pinata in 2006.

Yeah forgot about those wasn't a fan of Kameo but GRAW was great PGR3 stunned not being made today, and Viva Pinata is a bizarre gem honestly great year.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

my second-hand ebay modded x360 got the RROD and MS repaired it, 100% free, no questions asked.
flawless victory regarding their hardware support.

even with the greatest hardware disaster of all time, the x360 still had a great gen.
MS got so lucky... things couldve been so much different if the ps3 didnt suck.

 

[ResilientBanana]

My ps3 is still kicking I think. Can’t use it though as the controllers have messed up batteries

If only you could change them

 

[SkylineRKR]

I got 2 RRoD's and one YLOD on my phat PS3. This YLOD happened after about 4 years of extensive use. The very day before I was about to move out. So I wasn't even mad, I was sitting on quite some cash for furniture and it was a legit excuse to buy a 320gb slim PS3 for my new home on top.

My ps3 is still kicking I think. Can’t use it though as the controllers have messed up batteries

This is why ultimately the solution MS offered was better. 360 controllers probably still work if you replace batteries or get a quick charger pack. PS3 controllers will die no matter what.

 

[fart town usa]

My ps3 is still kicking I think. Can’t use it though as the controllers have messed up batteries

Defender

Next-Gen PS1, PS2, PS3, PS Classic, Switch & PC Wireless Controller

retrofighters.com

I recommend this if you get in the market for a new controller. Has all the unique things the DS3 was capable of. Only thing that didn't work for me was trying to sync it to a PSPgo. Otherwise it's flawless as far as I can tell.

 

[MagnesD3]

Theres no way this wasnt by design, I bet it made them a killing before they fixed it

 

[Bry0]

Theres no way this wasnt by design, I bet it made them a killing before they fixed it

didn’t read a single word of the op. no they spent a billion dollars covering repair costs.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Theres no way this wasnt by design, I bet it made them a killing before they fixed it

Well it was "by design" insofar as beating PS3 to the market by a year and capitalizing on the delay of that system. But there's little chance MS planned to sell defective consoles intentionally; no company would want to destroy their reputation that way and ruin goodwill with the most valuable and demanding customers (hardcore & core enthusiasts, making up the vast majority of early adopters).

They WERE aware about the potential problem early on, but didn't think the failure rate would be beyond the margin of error. Oh how wrong they turned out to be.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Well it was "by design" insofar as beating PS3 to the market by a year and capitalizing on the delay of that system. But there's little chance MS planned to sell defective consoles intentionally; no company would want to destroy their reputation that way and ruin goodwill with the most valuable and demanding customers (hardcore & core enthusiasts, making up the vast majority of early adopters).

They WERE aware about the potential problem early on, but didn't think the failure rate would be beyond the margin of error. Oh how wrong they turned out to be.

You can watch it in MS own documentary series and more. They say it was a very bleak period, with the brand itself being in danger. Peter Moore went to Steve Ballmer about it, shitting his pants. And to his surprise Ballmer greenlit their idea of turning it around with no questions asked about costs. The situation was more dire than people knew back then, fans would even downplay the issue a lot. But the execs panicked.

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

I remember when Microsoft released new boards that supposedly fixed the issue (Jasper or something?); everyone wanted to know how to see if their 360 was one.

In fact, Microsoft released 9 motherboards and indeed, the last ones were immune to RROD but much more every iteration: reducing consumption, reducing size, solving RROD and fighting hacking all at once.

Xenon [Xbox 360 "Phat"]
The original Xbox 360 configuration used in the initial Premium and Core machines released in the end of November 2005.
These are also known as the RRoD (Red Ring of Death) machines because of faulty GPU chips from ATI.
Consoles : Core, Pro/Premium 20GB90nm IBM CPU90nm ATI GPU and 90nm on-chip eDRAMLow profile GPU coolerStandard CPU cooler203 Watt output power supply (16.5 A)Shipping with Hitachi46-78, Samsung ms25or ms28, BenQ DVD-Drive. Can also come with Lite-On drive if it was refurbished.Highly unlikely to have glue around the CPU but it IS possible.


Zephyr
Zephyr was the first revision with HDMI connector.
It was introduced with the Xbox 360 Elite in May 2007.
In July 2007 Xbox 360 Premium machines began appearing with the Zephyr motherboard.
Consoles: Arcade, Pro/Premium 20GB, Elite 120GB and Halo 3 Console90nm IBM CPU & ATI GPU90nm eDRAM203 Watt PSU (16.5 A)HDMI video outputUpdated motherboard layoutGlue around the CPU in some cases3 pin fan connectorNew Extended GPU heat sink with a heat pipeNew Elite model includes 120GB hard driveShipping with Hitachi 78 or 79 and BenQ DVD-Drive. May also have Lite-On if it was refurbished.


Falcon
All Xbox 360 Premium machines and Arcade machines made in August 2007 introduced the new 65 nm CPU accompanied with a new cooler and still 90 nm GPU with the Zephyr cooler.
The motherboard is based on Zephyr and requires fewer components (some capacitors and coils removed) for the new 65 nm CPU, resulting in lower costs.
Consoles: Arcade, Pro/Premium 20GB & 60GB, Elite 120GB65nm IBM CPU90nm ATI GPU80nm on-chip eDRAM.HDMI Video Output175 Watt PSU (2V rated for 14.2A, new connector)New CPU Heat sink + the GPU heat sink with heat pipeFewer voltage regulators, capacitors and inductorsBigger and enhanced CPU coolerRAM removed from bottom of mainboard on later models3 pin fan connectorShipping with Hitachi 79, BenQ and new Lite-On 7XXX series DVD-Drive


Opus
This is an intermediate motherboard with 65nm CPU and 90nm GPU, new coolers, but no HDMI. It will be used in Xenon chassis for repairs and RRoD affected machines.
Started to appear end of July 2008 in machines coming back from repair. It's just a Falcon without a custom A/V (HDMI) port so that it fits into a Xenon chassis and case.
Consoles: Core, Pro/Premium 20GBFalcon based board65nm IBM CPU90nm ATI GPU with 80nm on-chip eDRAMNo HDMI Video Output175 Watt PSU (2V rated for 14.2A, new connector)Updated Heat sinksFalcon CPU coolerZephyr GPU cooler3 pin fan connectorShipping with Hitachi, Samsung, BenQ and Lite-On 7XXX DVD-DriveOpus only available from Xenon being repaired by MS.Very Rare


Jasper
Jasper introduced the 65nm GPU to reduce power usage and cost further.
The new power supply is rated for 150 Watt, down from 175 Watt on the Falcon. The Amperage on the 12V rail is down to 12.1A (12.1A x 12V = 145.2W).
The on-board flash has also increased to allow the new NXE (New Xbox Experience) dashboard update to reside internally, instead of requiring a memory unit or the hard drive.
Consoles: Arcade 256MB & 512MB, Pro/Premium 60GB, Elite 120GB & 250GB and Resident Evil 5 console65nm IBM CPU65nm ATI GPU with 80nm on-chip eDRAM150 Watt PSU (12V rated for 12.1A, new connector)Arcade Edition Larger Flash 256MB or 512MB Hynix HY27UF082G2B on-board flash, up from 16MB HY27US08281A flash, to accommodate the NXE update.New Southbridge chipsetRam removed from bottom of mainboardNew style CPU Heat sink + the GPU heat sink with heat pipe3 pin fan connector.New Warranty Sticker.Shipping with LiteOn 7XXX/8XXX/V2/9XXX DVD-Drivers.Least likely to red ring of death (RRoD) due to the less heat being outputted by the chips


Kronos
Same as Jasper, minor changes.
Consoles: Arcade 512MB, Elite 120GB & 250GB, Modern Warfare 2 consoles and Final Fantasy 13 consoles65nm eDRAM (?)Shipping with Lite-On 8XXXV2/9XXX DVD-Drivers.JTAG Hack / SMC patched on CB levelXenon style GPU heat sink with Falcon style CPU heat sinkSpecial edition consoles: Modern Warfare 2 ConsolesLast of the original "phat" 360 systems


Trinity/Valhalla [Xbox 360 Slim]
Consoles: 4GB Arcade, Elite 250GBUnified single chip with CPU, GPU with eDRAM at a 45nm process on its own die.16MB NAND135 Watt PSU802.11n Wi-Fi integratedNo more Memory Unit portsSeparate Kinect portDifferent HDD portSmaller form factor4GB internal Memory on small daughter boardNo more RROD, simple red power light on error. Green LEDs now used for Secondary Error Codes


Corona
Consoles: 4GB Arcade, Elite 250GBSame unified single chip with CPU, GPU with eDRAM at a 45nm process on its own dieHANA now integrated into the southbridge6 Subrevisions of Corona exist (V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6)Used in both the Xbox 360 S (V1-V4) and Xbox 360 E (V5-V6)NAND has been replaced on V2,V4,V6 boards with 4GB eMMC chip removing the daughter board


Winchester [Xbox 360 E]
Console: Xbox 360 EIntroduced in October 2013120 W PSUDigital Audio Out port removedOne USB port removedRGH/RGH2 exploits patchedMissing IHS on the XCGPUeDRAM combined with CPU/GPU die

 

[Bry0]

You can watch it in MS own documentary series and more. They say it was a very bleak period, with the brand itself being in danger. Peter Moore went to Steve Ballmer about it, shitting his pants. And to his surprise Ballmer greenlit their idea of turning it around with no questions asked about costs. The situation was more dire than people knew back then, fans would even downplay the issue a lot. But the execs panicked.

it wasn’t even just Microsoft too, this issue was effecting chips from various designers coming from tsmc and their packaging partners. Sony, nvidia, ati, Microsoft. I doubt Microsoft really knew the root cause of the issue until someone up the supply chain told them.

Check out what Jensen says at 3:00.

 

[Skifi28]

I had 2 360s and 3 nVidia GPUs die on around that time, an 8600gts and two 9800GTs. Nobody was safe back then.

 

[Bry0]

I had 2 360s and 3 nVidia GPUs die on around that time, an 8600gts and two 9800GTs. Nobody was safe back then.

Yup, ive actually got a bunch of iMacs and MacBooks from that era that I got from a school. After seeing the test Felix did in the OP video I decided to try it on the ati 2600 pro and 8800 gs mxm graphics cards and sure enough it looks and melts just like the low tg underfill chips he tested. (And of the machines I got like 1/3 had graphics display issues)

Both gpu models you had fail are known to be affected by “bump gate”.

I’m hindsight I’m fascinated by the whole scenario. Very similar to the “capacitor plague” if you’ve ever heard of that.

 

[SHA]

I liked it but not gonna lie, truth must be told, every generations, as I remember, 5th and forward, even the nes, there was haters, yes, that's right, haters existed in every generation just to discredit all it's achievements, literally every generation you can't praise a console without being offended, as it gets older, those haters you don't hear about them anymore and the only ones lifted are the ones who liked it, haters, be aware, you may eventually end up like them and quit the hubby, don't pretend you'll not.

 

[BlackTron]

I feel bad that even Xbox's best console was its own complete disaster. It was so good, it refused to die, despite how bad it was (lol). And the unbelievable iconic hype of Halo and being the de facto FPS console for COD. America just loved the ever loving shit out of it. Buy replacement 360s like they're just cans of coke or beer, as many as you need. They even have the 360 behind the counter at the grocery store so you can grab it when you go to re-up on Cheetos. (That's actually real lol)

But I think rapid success made MS feel invincible and get sloppy. Added new ideas to the business like paid online. Once the base was there, stopped trying and started milking. The more people left, the more they doubled down. Trying to find the magic milking homeostasis formula instead of making a good game. The 360 controller is so good, it was practically all worth it!

 

[Fbh]

Still remember having a friend who was in the US pick up an Xbox for me.
"It's way cheaper there, what a great deal" I thought, "Sure if it dies I have no warranty but what are the chances? I've never had a console die on me!!" I thought.

Eh, I'd argue Kinect and the disastrous marketing of the One X did more harm to the brand than the RROD

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I feel bad that even Xbox's best console was its own complete disaster. It was so good, it refused to die, despite how bad it was (lol). And the unbelievable iconic hype of Halo and being the de facto FPS console for COD. America just loved the ever loving shit out of it. Buy replacement 360s like they're just cans of coke or beer, as many as you need. They even have the 360 behind the counter at the grocery store so you can grab it when you go to re-up on Cheetos. (That's actually real lol)

But I think rapid success made MS feel invincible and get sloppy. Added new ideas to the business like paid online. Once the base was there, stopped trying and started milking. The more people left, the more they doubled down. Trying to find the magic milking homeostasis formula instead of making a good game. The 360 controller is so good, it was practically all worth it!

Paid online was something they did way before 360 tho, with OG Xbox because Xbox Live launched back in 2004 IIRC. And the stuff about 360s behind grocery store counters was probably after the Kinect came out. Kinect was a massive deal almost right when it launched.

I'd say it was somewhere around 2010 where MS really started phoning in that generation in terms of 1P exclusives, 3P exclusives, and just taking care of hardcore & core gamers in general.

You can watch it in MS own documentary series and more. They say it was a very bleak period, with the brand itself being in danger. Peter Moore went to Steve Ballmer about it, shitting his pants. And to his surprise Ballmer greenlit their idea of turning it around with no questions asked about costs. The situation was more dire than people knew back then, fans would even downplay the issue a lot. But the execs panicked.

Yeah back in the day I didn't really pay it much mind (I was mostly still PS2, Gamecube & even got a Genesis & PS1 again to play those during the mid '00s), but in hindsight it looks like RROD was a very serious deal. MS probably could've faced a massive class-action lawsuit and maybe even been under investigation for selling so much faulty hardware to customers without letting them know their system would've likely died after a few months.

So it was either that or save face with the extended warranties no questions asked. Luckily for them, PS3 was struggling very badly in US & UK during that time and by the time Sony began turning things around for the better, the RROD (and YLOD, which was a lot less prominent but still happened. My PS3 YLOD'd while browsing a website ) was resolved.

 

[ReBurn]

Theres no way this wasnt by design, I bet it made them a killing before they fixed it

I don't know. I paid for my RROD repair and when Microsoft copped to it they sent me a refund check.

 

[Bry0]

Paid online was something they did way before 360 tho, with OG Xbox because Xbox Live launched back in 2004 IIRC. And the stuff about 360s behind grocery store counters was probably after the Kinect came out. Kinect was a massive deal almost right when it launched.

I'd say it was somewhere around 2010 where MS really started phoning in that generation in terms of 1P exclusives, 3P exclusives, and just taking care of hardcore & core gamers in general.



Yeah back in the day I didn't really pay it much mind (I was mostly still PS2, Gamecube & even got a Genesis & PS1 again to play those during the mid '00s), but in hindsight it looks like RROD was a very serious deal. MS probably could've faced a massive class-action lawsuit and maybe even been under investigation for selling so much faulty hardware to customers without letting them know their system would've likely died after a few months.

So it was either that or save face with the extended warranties no questions asked. Luckily for them, PS3 was struggling very badly in US & UK during that time and by the time Sony began turning things around for the better, the RROD (and YLOD, which was a lot less prominent but still happened. My PS3 YLOD'd while browsing a website ) was resolved.

It was huge. I remember like it was yesterday, I was checking out my 20gb 360 bundle and the Best Buy dude was like “you want the warranty? These have been having a looot of failures.”

I was like nah nah I’m good, and it red ringed like 6 months later, but that was around July 2007 so they had JUST extended the 3 year warranty for it. So I got my coffin, sent it in, and got my replacement (which also died shorty after) so I sent that one in, and got my 3rd console back.

Absolutely ridiculous but I had to have halo 3 so I honestly didn’t care. If I had to pay I would’ve been pissed.

 

[REDRZA MWS]

And 360 was still the best console on a long time.

 

[Laptop1991]

I remember the RROD death more, my son had it 3 times with his Xbox 360, he played it to death but every 6 months he had to have it replaced.

 

[dotnotbot]

PS3 controllers will die no matter what.

Battery inside is very easy to replace.

 

[StereoVsn]

This could potentially be attributed to why the ylod wasn’t quite as common, but the passage of time has shown that ANY gpu using the improper underfill material will basically die eventually. It is a big point of discussion in the ps3 modding scene since all the backward compat ps3s used defective gpus. There are even services that will swap the RSX with a newer non-defective 65 or 45 nm RSX.

Well, this is super interesting. I have a YLOD PS3 boxed up in storage, but damn it would be nice to get it back up and running.

Kind of afraid to even guess at the repair cost for GPU swap.

 

[scarlet0pimp]

I have a mate who had a day 1 360 that never got the rrd, he carried around in his back pack to for lans at our houses. It was a noisy bugger in 2013 the last I saw it but it never quit. Other friends went through 2 or 3 by the end of the gen, all were replaced for free by Microsoft though and all within a week of raising the call.
I only ever had the falcon version which didn't have any issue for me.