Why Xbox 360 Owners Keep Going Back

In their recent printed issue, Game Informer showed the results of their survey of 5,000 Xbox 360 owners, the main finding was that an astounding 54.2% had their Xbox 360 die. The next closest console in terms of failure rate is the PlayStation 3, which comes in at 10.6%. The Wii? 6.8%.

Blog after blog and hordes of registered users have discussed the validity of the numbers or lack thereof, and tirelessly dissected Microsoft's official response given Friday. Whether I agree or disagree with the results for whatever reason doesn't matter much. I just couldn't help but wonder why so many Xbox 360 owners would go back after being jilted by their Xbox 360 hardware, or snubbed by Microsoft customer service reps.

I myself have had two Xbox 360 Pro consoles fail, but not with the infamous Red Ring of Death (RRoD). Luckily, both times my 360 was under warranty, and repairs took about two weeks from the time I shipped them back to when the same, newly repaired 360 arrived on my doorstep. The second time my 360 failed it also ate my Force Unleashed game disc, rendering it unreadable by any Xbox 360. Microsoft wouldn't pay for a new copy of the game, since they don't publish The Force Unleashed, and the Microsoft customer service rep accuse me of lying when I said that no, I had not moved my console while it was on -- like many game console owners, I placed my Xbox 360 snugly in my entertainment center -- and have no reason to move it. I have friends who work at a certain game retailer who advised me to never move the 360, on or off, with a game disc inside. They see the good, bad, and the ugly with all consoles, so I don't take their advice lightly.

I'm now out of the warranty period, and if my Xbox 360 fails again I'll either pay to have it repaired or I'll replace it with a 360 Elite with a larger hard drive. Why would I go back after three replacements? Why does anybody go back, for that matter?

It's about the financial, emotional, and chronological investment. Go buy an Xbox 360, three wireless controllers, rechargeable batteries, on-the-fly recharging cables, and a few games and you'll have spent more than your Xbox 360 cost. Add to that any extra game controllers for Rock Band/Guitar Hero, and you're talking about a significant investment. I'm not quite ready to ditch my 20 Xbox games, my 2 Guitar Hero guitars, Guitar Hero drums, Guitar Hero mic, or my precious Rock Band 2 Guitar. They only work for the Xbox 360, and I can't afford to replace them with the same controllers for PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii.

And what about my game saves? I'd like to be able to import all four of my Mass Effect alter egos when the sequel comes out next year, and oh yeah, Mass Effect 2 isn't even on PS3 or Wii. Even for games available on all three consoles, it's rare (non-existent?) for game saves on one console to be usable on another.

Now let's talk about online play, DLC, and other console features both current and planned. PS3-owning friends have tried in vein to convince me to switch over to Sony, touting its Blu-ray capability and its FREE online services. My aforementioned arguments aside, I love streaming movies from Netflix, which can be done well enough on the PS3, so what else do I have? For starters, I don't own an HDTV, so Blu-ray would be lost on my old 27-incher. If I could afford the LCD TV that I want, getting a PS3 wouldn't be much of a problem. I also don't mind paying for Xbox LIVE; I just buy a few discount Xbox LIVE Gold cards when they're available online. I've purchased what's probably a standard amount of DLC for my favorite games, and I'd hate to have to buy and download everything again. Finally, future plans for the Xbox 360 include the much ballyhooed Natal motion sensing camera, and I really want to at least give it a go. I didn't even get a behind-the-scenes E3 demo, and I'm still excited by the prospect.

Some might see me as a Microsoft and Xbox 360 apologist, but that would be a knee-jerk reaction at best. The simple fact is I couldn't afford the PS3 when I bought my 360 (I didn't want the Wii), and I can't afford to replace the peripherals, game experience and DLC if I made the move away from the Xbox 360. I'd rather say I've invested too much money, time and emotion to switch, which I think puts me in league with a good deal of gamers out there.

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