I've never seen an NES in this day that still works. That machine was heavily flawed too, didn't you ever have to blow on the cartridges to get them to work?
Apparently, you can get the NES working perfectly with a new connector.

Plus, why would I ask for a refund for my 360? Each time it broke, MS fixed it for free, and within a week! Plus, it's got the games I want to play, and when it's working, it's a fantastic machine.

Quoted from jonny_eh

when it's working, it's a fantastic machine.

Welcome to the era of over-disposable consumerism...

It is just me, or is there a direct correlation between how modern something is
and how quickly it breaks...

Appliances built in the 60's worked fine for 30+ years.
Nowadays, you're lucky if you get 10 years out of your fridge or washing machine...

Electronics are even worse...
Who here has a cell-phone older than 3 years old... ?

Plasma and LCD's have "picture life" of 5-7 years before you need to replace parts.
My 1992 Sony Trinitron is still working fine thank-you very much...
(... and my 1984 Panasonic TV is still great for the kids VCR ... )

... Commodore 64 (1981) still works.    2002 ATX PC, dead.
Xbox Vs. Intellivision,  ...see Sparky's comments...

.... aaahhhh, the good 'ole days ...

/rant off



Steph

Quoted from Steph

Electronics are even worse...
Who here has a cell-phone older than 3 years old... ?

*Raises Hand*

Steph, I don't see the big deal. When talking about electronics, they go obsolete within a few years anyways. Competition is just so fierce, and everyone just wants the cheapest option available (hello iphone haters), there's no point in companies risking market share to make more reliable products.

Also, to bring it back to pinball, how long do they last before they need repairs?

BTW, my NES: DEAD, SNES: DEAD, Dreamcast: DEAD. Game consoles were never very reliable, at least for me.

Sure, the 360 has a definite flaw, but MS has replaced machines for free, and they no longer have the flaw (supposedly).

Quoted from Steph

Appliances built in the 60's worked fine for 30+ years.
Nowadays, you're lucky if you get 10 years out of your fridge or washing machine...

But isn't the world better now with a fridge you can plug your iPod into?  

Quoted from machine.slave

But isn't the world better now with a fridge you can plug your iPod into?  

Actually, my wife would love that. She loves listening to her ipod while cooking in the kitchen. Right now she has to take the ipod compatible clock radio from the living room and bring it into the kitchen. It's annoying to keep moving it, and it takes up precious counter top space.

Now they just need a washer/dryer with ipod support!

Believe it or not, my NES still works and is played every now and then by my kids.  The 360 is too fragile, there was a flaw but at least they provided support for it (not that they had much choice) which is something Sony didn't do with their PSone, which I knew no one who didn't end up playing their system upside down to get the games to work.

Speaking of the old systems, I love 'em but we have to be honest, the more complex something is, the more likely there's a chance it can break (unless it's uber expensive to have redundancy built in).  You can't compare a system that's based on cartridges with a CD based system that runs very hot because of the CPU/GPU, it's not the same thing man!

i seem to be the luckiest dude around when it comes to 360.

still have my *launch day* (Nov 2005) xbox 360 ... working great, no RROD at all. and i've played it a *lot*.

i guess being someone who enjoys cool air at home (if home temp goes over 21〬C, i get uncomfortable) helps. also probably helps that the 360 is directly exposed to my AC fan.

My Atari 2600 that I received in 1982 still works like a charm. Same for my Atari 5200 (joysticks are 'OK'), Atari 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision, PONGS and even my Original XBOX and 3DO.

I don't have a 360, wii or PS2 or PS3...and I'm not looking into buying one in the near (or far) future...What's the point of buying a 'cool toy' where it would just gather a crapload of dust?

Mes deux cennes,

Frosken

Quoted from jonny_eh

Never buy a 360 used for this reason. I'm on my 4th 360! (all repaired under 3 year warranty)

Wow thats scary.

Quoted from jonny_eh

I've never seen an NES in this day that still works.

Both my NES and Genesis still work fine.

Quoted from jonny_eh

Steph, I don't see the big deal. When talking about electronics, they go obsolete within a few years anyways. Competition is just so fierce, and everyone just wants the cheapest option available (hello iphone haters), there's no point in companies risking market share to make more reliable products.

Also, to bring it back to pinball, how long do they last before they need repairs?

BTW, my NES: DEAD, SNES: DEAD, Dreamcast: DEAD. Game consoles were never very reliable, at least for me.

Sure, the 360 has a definite flaw, but MS has replaced machines for free, and they no longer have the flaw (supposedly).

I forgot to mention that my original xbox's hard drive died, but I replaced it. Also, my DS is having problems with the left shoulder button. So even Nintendo's modern systems are not immune from failure.

Quoted from frosken

I don't have a 360, wii or PS2 or PS3...and I'm not looking into buying one in the near (or far) future...What's the point of buying a 'cool toy' where it would just gather a crapload of dust?

these newer systems have some incredible games on them, and i have to say that we are in a golden era of gaming because standards are now incredibly high. it's not just about mechanics anymore - games are becoming an art (see: everyday shooter, castle crashers, street fighter 2 hd edition, braid, little big planet, dead space, okami, etc, etc, etc).

what i'm trying to say is --- from someone who is incredibly nostalgic about classic games --- do not ignore the current generation of consoles, and "make time" if you dont have any.