For those who don’t know, I won the Xbox 360 at CFUnited ’06 from Microsoft’s booth. Immediately upon receipt, I had to spend $150 on this “free” system for a wireless network adapter and one game, just to play it. That’s the most expensive free system ever.
That Xbox lasted a long time, relatively speaking… It was around spring of ’07 when the disc drive tray decided to stop opening/closing. I wasn’t experiencing any of the overheating, red-ring-of-death problems I read so much about. I figured that perhaps the problem was overblown or whatnot, or maybe I was just lucky.
Well, my luck ran out. A few months after getting my first replacement, it died. Now, just moments ago, my replacement’s replacement died. After weeks of inability to just log in and play games, thanks to Microsoft’s servers buckling under the pressure of Christmas sales, I now can’t play any disc-based games. On top of that, the 360 is also our DVD player, so not only can I not game (and use my 360 subscription that is paid for), but I won’t be able to watch movies (and use my Netflix subscription that is paid for).
I’m thinking that it’s time to bite the bullet and actually buy a 360 Arcade (or a used 360 still under warranty) for the other room. Not for primarily gaming, but as a Media Center Extender. I’ve built up quite the library of movies, and it’ll be nice to watch them from the other room, too. And, when the next XBox dies, I’ll have a spare to tide me over until the repairs are finished.