Xbox 360 woes

Well, it's finally happened. My Xbox 360 red-ringed this past weekend. If you don't know what that means, I suggest leaving your cave on the moon and catching a plane to three years ago.

Truthfully, I can't say that the problem was completely unexpected. The problem is so widespead it has its own name and acronym, for crying out loud! It's like Microsoft's sequel to the "Blue Screen of Death," only on consoles and a different color. The Red Ring of Death is so ubiquitous it isn't a matter of if your console will break, it's a matter of when. I'm pretty sure I read that houseflies generally live longer and more productive lives than most 360s, and I believe it.

Anyway, I had been getting the dreaded red lights periodically over the past few weeks, so I knew my console was entering its death throes. I just wish it had picked a better time to kick the bucket. Like, anytime within the last six months, for God's sake. After all, my most-played 360 game this past summer was "Xbox 360 Dashboard," an awesome game similar to Windows Desktop. Despite its fantastic gameplay (giving bad feedback has never felt more satisfying!), I think I could've gone without it for a few weeks should my 360 have died during that time. Instead, like a little fiend, my 360 decided to bite the dust after I discovered the greatest game on the system: Call of Duty 4. Great timing.

So, after receiving the "coffin" from Microsoft, I sent the overworked piece of machinery on a jolly journey down to a Texan repair center. Fun fact: in Texas, the only thing that outnumbers dead Xbox 360s is dead criminals. Seriously, those guys love executing people. If you have to commit a crime, don't do it in Texas. In any case, I guess it's fitting that all these dead consoles are being sent to the state with the highest number of executions since 1976.

Oh well. I guess I should grateful. I'm still within Microsoft's three-year warranty plan, and the stupid console was scratching discs, so hopefully I'll get a brand new 360 back. Then I could almost forgive MS for their incredibly shoddy hardware. No, wait, scratch that. Screw those guys.

Now if only I could get into the LittleBigPlanet beta on PS3, I would be a happy camper.