ON QUALITY -

I got my Xbox 360 back today. Something had come loose inside of it and it had to be repaired. Now, estimates vary as to how many consoles are affected by this problem, but I've heard estimates ranging from 25% to 66%. Doesn't that seem oddly high for a (relatively) pricey purchase? For example, if there were "Blackberry" devices with a failure rate like that (even the low estimate of 1 in 4), wouldn't the manufacturer be called on the carpet for their terrible performance?

I know Microsoft has been raked over the coals for this; however, I feel like most of the raking has come from the "gaming press" (a term which may or may not exist) and not as much in the mainstream media. Part of this may be the general slant toward video game stories - if it doesn't result in violence, it's not going to get reported - but part of it may just be the fact that once we get our consoles back, everything is good. I get a month of online play free (a $4.33 value), but I am so excited to play the games I got for Christmas, I am willing to forgive Microsoft for sending out poor consoles.

Look, it's not like I got the first console off the assembly line. I was not an early adopter of the Xbox 360. I waited until it had been out for almost a year and a half - plenty of time to work out an issue that affected so many users. So I don't understand why the issue of quality should have come up at all. It reminds me of the movie "Elf," when James Caan doesn't recall a book with two blank pages (this seemed like the least-realistic part of the entire movie to me). It's a question of quality, and a company's commitment to it. I know that Microsoft fixed my console at no cost to me (other than three weeks of lost enjoyment on my part), but had they been focused on quality - the fifth dimension in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" - they wouldn't have had this problem. Instead, they tessered their reputation away, Wrinkle in Time-style. I just wish I could stay mad at them, but several hours playing Fable II will go a long way to ameliorating any ill will.