Bangs Blog - Get your Toy Fix

“It’s not going to be a big hit in Japan,” said 26-year-old Kentaro Okamoto, one of the first Xbox 360 buyers. “I buy every new game console… but normally Japanese customers only buy a machine when it’s made by Sony or Nintendo.”

Hard-core gamers overlap with heavy computer users and many of them have a negative image of Microsoft’s Windows software because of its price, lack of after-sales support and unstable operating system, he said.

“Microsoft needs to make enormous efforts to overtake its Japanese competitors,” Okamoto said.

Another buyer, Mayuko Taniguchi, 28, said she knew she was in a minority of Japanese consumers who would buy the Microsoft console.

“I think many people would rather wait for PlayStation 3 or Revolution,” she said.

Analysts say the first Xbox, which was launched in November 2001 and came to Japan in February 2002, flopped in Japan partly due to a lack of games that appealed to local tastes.

Microsoft has sold 21.9 million units of the first Xbox console worldwide since 2001 but only 1.8 million were sold in the Asia-Pacific region including Japan.

Sony Computer Entertainment said at the end of November its shipments of the PlayStation 2 console had topped 100 million since March 2000, including 22.2 million in Asia alone.”

Apparently they only sold 39% of their inventory. Not sounding good.

“A Chicago man who bought Microsoft Corp.’s new Xbox 360 has sued the world’s largest software maker, saying the new video game console has a design flaw that causes it to overheat and freeze up.

The proposed class action claims that in Microsoft’s bid to gain share in the $25 billion global video game market, the company was so intent on releasing the Xbox 360 before competing next-generation machines from Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co Ltd. that it sold a “defectively designed” product.
Robert Byers, who brought the suit, said the power supply and central processing unit in the Xbox 360 overheat, affecting heat-sensitive chips and causing the console to lock up.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in federal court in Illinois, seeks unspecified damages and litigation-related expenses, as well as the replacement or recall of Xbox 360 game consoles.
Microsoft representatives were not immediately available for comment on Monday.”

Maybe we should wait for the PS3?

British media is reporting that the Xbox 360 has virtually sold out in the UK where more than 200 gamers queued for hours in the rain for the midnight launch of the console at Game’s flagship store in London’s Oxford Street

Just like it happened in North America, the first Xbox 360s have already appeared on online auction sites like eBay selling for more than double the retail price.

A search by the BBC News website on online auction site eBay found some 1,500 consoles, with most going for around £600. The Xbox 360 costs in the UK £209.99 for the Core package or £279.99 for the Premium Edtion.

Electronic Arts faces a lawsuit in the California Superior Court, San Mateo County, based on the claim that the publisher stole an idea for a game feature that was later incorporated into Madden NFL 06.

Pernell Harris, owner of Virtual JAM, said he met with EA in late 2003 to discuss “Heart of a Champion,” a football game his company was developing in which players guide an athlete from high school to professional football.

Harris is seeking unspecified damages, attorney’s fees, and restitution.

The reports of the bugging out xbox 360s are not going away. I was reading an online forum today and here is what some people were saying:

You would think these people would have known better. Never buy the first releases of a new product. By this time next year the Xbox 360 will run more flawlessly and will cost a lot less.

I’ve been anticipating this 360, I even offered to do things unimaginable just to get me one. I feel really let down. Sound advice for your own sake please make sure you keep the box safe so you can return the junk.

According to most news, blog and store reports out there, an average of 1 out of 4 legacy XBOX 360 users reports many versions of the failure issues being described lately. I think expect for ethics and anti-trust issues, Microsoft is a company that needs to reevaluate its quality control processes.

Not good news for Microsoft. This is what Bill Gates has to say about the issue:

“For the last six months, we’ve been on the edge of our seats,” said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. “I hope I don’t get an e-mail saying ‘Gosh, processor yields are too low, or this plastic factory burned down in Malaysia, so we’ll have boxes but no controllers.’” Xbox never managed to gain a high share of the console market from PlayStation 2, Gates is hoping for much better with Xbox 360. “We see ourselves having a higher share,” he said. “We’re not going to name some magic number but we’re out to give the best gaming experience. By the end of 2007, you’ll have kind of a sense of how much did Microsoft increase its market share: dramatically, not so dramatically, did Sony mess up, what happened?”

Hopefully he is a bit more confident in the machines in the coming months as they release bug fixes, patches, and recalls for the systems.

So I was reading on some news site today that apparently a walmart in the US had a deal on some very low end obsolete HP laptops. Remember the Apple iBook sale that one of those schools had and they were $50 and people got trampled? A similar situation here.

It goes to show you that ignorance and the ability to herd the sheep (the general public) is a very powerful tool. I wish I had that ability, only to get those people to clean my house.

I only have one thing to say: What is going on? If you’ve been following the news you’d see stories all over about people mugging each other, beating each other up - scrapping on the floor.. all over a $300 piece of plastic. Why can’t people get over hype and wait until February when Microsoft releases 3 million more machines? I can’t stand how people hurt one another over such a trivial thing. That’s all I have to say.

So here’s the deal. I have received an email from a friend. Apparently there is a company giving away free Xboxs. I have the details here. Check it out below!

It’s free to enter so take advantage of it. Click Here to get your 360

So my buddy Rob was telling me he bought a 360 yesterday, while he didn’t even want one. He was trying to buy Civ 3, when he saw a 360 in the window. Well here is his story:

So I walk into a video game store looking to buy Civilization 3 and look for some gifts since not too many stores were open today. I’m looking around and I see an X-box 360 in the front window on display. I go up to the store owner and ask him if I could buy it. He thinks for a minute and says, “I don’t see why not.” so he takes it down and boxes it up.

On top of that, he knocks off 30% because the box was opened and it was a “floor model”! This store had droves of people waiting in line to buy it when it came out and I can’t believe none of the tech tards thought about asking to buy the display one!

Take that you video game geeks! Early bird doesn’t always get the worm and I don’t even want this fucking thing.

Pretty funny.

There are reports that Xbox 360s are glitching in the US and Canada. Apparently it’s not a really low number either. How typical of Microsoft. Anyway here is a paste of the CNN article:

Some owners complained that their systems were crashing during game play, sometimes with error messages popping up.

“It’s a few reports of consoles here and there not working properly,” said Molly O’Donnell, a spokeswoman for Microsoft’s Xbox division. “It’s what you would expect with a consumer electronics instrument of this complexity …. par for the course.”

Gaming fanatics lined up for hours Monday to be among the first to purchase the next-generation system, which was in short supply despite its starting price tag of $299.99. Microsoft hopes to sell 2.5 million to 3 million of the new systems in the first 90 days.

O’Donnell urged anyone with Xbox problems to call 1-800-4myXbox or go to www.xbox.com. If the problems can’t be resolved immediately, Microsoft said it will pay to ship the console overnight to a repair center, overnight it back once it’s fixed, or ship a replacement.

Obviously Microsoft is willing to help you in a situation like this. But things are going to get busy around the Christmas season. I am glad mine isn’t bugging out right now *crosses fingers*