X-Box kiosks crashing... (1 Viewer)

Todd H · Oct 23, 2001

Well, thanks to Link Removed article, my choice is now reduced to either a PS2 or Gamecube. I was willing to give the X-Box a chance even though I knew of Microsoft's past concerning stability, but it looks like you just can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Gary King · Oct 23, 2001

Yes....
A couple of kiosks crash (out of thousands shipped), and it's big news.
Never mind the fact that the kiosks are poorly ventilated, the Xbox is a machine that prefers breathing (the P3 and NV2A need space to dissipate), and the kiosks are run at least 12 hours a day. Sure, some boxes are guaranteed to be DOA (that's a rule of manufacturing), but the sky is not falling. And then there's the whole issue of unfinished software (PS2 and Gamecubes at E3 were hardly models of stability).
PS2 kiosks crashed quite a bit, too, for the same reasons. In fact, lots of original Playstations (1000 series) would overheat if placed on carpet and played for more than a couple of hours in a stretch.
The Gaming Age article doesn't even really begin to qualify as a story... let alone a story worth reporting.
[Edited last by Gary King on October 23, 2001 at 09:43 PM]

James D S · Oct 23, 2001

Stand back Gary! The Chicken Littles are going to run you over.

Dean Cooper · Oct 24, 2001

I think I'm going to take Gary's side on this one. That article is complete BS. If that sad excuse of a news article changed your mind about the Xbox I don't think you were truly serious about it in the first place. Try covering the side of a game cube and see what happens

The media is jumping on every little shred of bad news they could possibly manipulate into a story. Last one was the "launch shortage" and the one before that was the "hardware problems with the mother board". when are these people going to bring some REAL news to the table. Oh and name one piece of HARDWARE that was released by MS that every unit was DOA out of the box.
Dean

BrianB · Oct 24, 2001

I think I'm going to take Gary's side on this one. That article is complete BS

Have to totally agree.
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Dean DeMass · Oct 24, 2001

I wouldn't read too much into this news. The systems will be fine. They better be or MS will be in for a big backlash from the gaming community.
-Dean-
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John Kilroy · Oct 24, 2001

For what it's worth, I've seen four Xbox kiosk units, and they were functioning perfectly.
Also, Microsoft has released a statement regarding this rumor:
"With over 10,000 playable Xbox kiosks at retail over a month before launch, there are bound to be a few issues that crop up. Microsoft representatives are currently following up with retailers across the country to insure proper functionality of kiosks. Overall, the displays are working great and we are on track to achieve our goal of having 100% of the Xbox interactive displays working correctly and demonstrating the Xbox difference."
If there are 10, or even 100 Xboxes malfunctioning, that is still a 1% or less failure rate, and in a fairly hostile environment with pre-release software. I also heard that kiosk units do not include hard drives. This is unconfirmed, although it would explain the slow load times I experienced on the Munch demo.
I do think it's cool that the Xbox kiosks have sound systems that include decent speakers at ear level and subwoofers that kick! The Playstation2 kiosk sound (and video) is absolutely anemic in comparison. It will be interesting to see what the GCN kiosks are like, if they have any.
John
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Kelley_B · Oct 24, 2001

Ok, got to hold and play with a final unit at a local store before they put it in the case.........these things are solid. I would have to say best built console that I have ever held. I remember opening the PS2 and being like, is this it??? Not with this unit, i was amazed at how well it felt holding it.....wonder what the GCN will feel like.

Andre F · Oct 24, 2001

This is the company that brought us Windows ME, I should think that you almost can't be surprised by this. I've learned my lesson with Microsoft. Wait and see. If the X-Box is stable and has a steady stream of good games then I'll get one. Otherwise I think I'll wait.
-Andre F
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John Berggren · Oct 24, 2001

If I do ever get an X-Box, I'm going to use the Microsoft rule: Wait for Service Pack 3 (or bios revision 3).
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Peter_A · Oct 24, 2001

I remember opening the PS2 and being like, is this it???

That would be becasue the PS2 is much better enginered in terms of design. The same guys who design the VAIO notebooks and computers designed the PS2. It's quite a piece of enginereing considering that if you take away the CD/DVD drive, the guts of the system are all squeezed into the left half of the unit. The Xbox is more of an off-the-shelf components sytem. The GC is also very well designed.
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Peter

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Gary King · Oct 24, 2001

This is the company that brought us Windows ME

And also brought us WinNT4, Win2K, and WinXP.

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Morgan Jolley · Oct 24, 2001

If the PS2 is as powerful as it is and only takes up a little amount of space, I would call that a benefit.
The only thing with this story is that many people will be putting XBs in their HTs, which means it might not have the best ventilation, so their consoles could crap out. Even if its a few of all the consoles they have out, its still more than none, which in itself would raise a small issue for me. It won't hinder my decision to get one, but I will be pissed if it happens when I get it.
If MS had designed it better, it wouldn't need so much ventilation. I've played my PS2 for hours at a time with it in a relatively small space and it never froze or crapped out on me (except for that badly programmed Jampack demo, but that was a software problem).

DaveF · Oct 24, 2001

If my experience is at all typical, I'd be more concerned by the lacklaster kiosk quality (based on the kiosk at my local Circuit City).
The only playable demo was Abe's World (whatever it's called) -- snoozer! Let's get that Halo demo going! And the video connection to the TV was horrendous. My N64 looks better than the XBox in that kiosk.
The XBox will certainly have some great games and killer graphics, but my first experience was not positive. On the plus side, the controller didn't seem too bad.
Of course, when I told the dept. lackey that I was waiting for the GameCube, he grabbed his XBox comparison tech sheet, to show me why the XBox kicks GCN and PS2 butt. More gig! More hertz! More poly-thingies!

Gary King · Oct 24, 2001

Most people with HTs are very accustomed to providing ventilation for their equipment.

Even if its a few of all the consoles they have out, its still more than none

Of course, lots of PS2s crapped out in kiosks, too... Since Sony isn't known for reliability (including SCEI, especially after SCPH-1000) did this raise an issue for you? What about all the faulty SCPH-10000 units (Japanese first-release PS2s)?
Kiosks are non-ideal in every sense of the word. We may as well start discussing 'articles' about how Xbox systems aboard the space shuttle are going to fail.

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Michael St. Clair · Oct 24, 2001

I bought a PSX on 9-9-95 (launch). The defect rate was phenominal. When my CD mech died after 4 years, I was the only person I knew who still had a 9-9-95 unit that had not already broken. I'd say at least 10% of the units they shipped at launch failed within a year and a half. A friend of mine who does electronics repair told me that the CD transport was cheaper than the cheapest discman transport he'd ever seen.
God, don't you remember people playing their PSXs upside down, on their sides, and without cases to try to get them to work?
Since I sold my PS2 last xmas I don't have much feedback about those, other than the vertical design is defective. It scratches discs, and not just on mine!
[Edited last by Michael St. Clair on October 24, 2001 at 03:14 PM]

Kelley_B · Oct 24, 2001

The SCPH-1000 was a pile of steaming turds.....I think we had almost ALL of our shipment come back to us at some point within that first year(this was when i was working at a particular toy store that is in malls during high school). Anyone remember the huge drought of PlayStations during the summer of 96 or 97 can't remember, but it was when they were switching from the 1000 design to the 3000 design?

Morgan Jolley · Oct 24, 2001

Gary-
Yes, the problems with the PS2 raised an issue with me, but like the XB, they didn't hinder my decision to buy it or not. They just made me aware of what could happen. Then again, there weren't as many problems with the American kiosks with the PS2 as there are with the XB ones.

Nope, wrong. It needs as much ventilation as it needs. Every processor dissipates a certain amount of heat, and that heat needs to go somewhere. Since there are physical laws that will determine how much heat a processor dissipates, it's not really up for argument.

MS has the money, so why not make a NEW processor that requires less ventilation? If I could get an XB that was just as powerful and the size of a PS2 or GCN, I would rather have the smaller one. Nintendo and Sony might not have 100% original hardware, but they modified the hardware so that it got optimum performance in a smaller package. MS should be able to do the same and reduce the amount of ventilation needed.
Michael-
I, too, bought two PSXs because my first died out. Even so, I loved my PSX and buying a second was worth it.
I have heard of problems with playing PS2 vertical, so if you know about the problems, why would you still play it that way? It's avoidable, and actually, it never happened to me (played it vert once or twice).

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James D S · Oct 24, 2001

MS has the money, so why not make a NEW processor that requires less ventilation?

As you get older, you'll come to realize that the laws of physics are set and no amount of money is going to change them - not even MS-type money.

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BrianB · Oct 24, 2001

MS has the money, so why not make a NEW processor that requires less ventilation?

To quote a famous Scotsman, "Ye cannae change the laws of Physics, Captain."
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