Faulty Xbox Cords Recalled. Lots of them.

[schild]

Microsoft recalls Xbox power cords

Defect in pre-January 2004 European cords and pre-October 2003 cords worldwide could cause burns; 14.1 million cords affected.
Microsoft is recalling power cords on 14.1 million Xbox consoles worldwide, following reports of injuries due to defective electrical components.



The company announced the recall on Thursday, saying it is aimed at protecting the consoles from electrical-component failures that can pose a fire hazard. So far, such failures have been reported in 30 consoles, causing minor injury or property damage, Microsoft said. Seven customers reported burns to their hands. In the rest of the cases, the defect caused smoke damage or minor damage to a carpet or entertainment center.

In Europe, consoles made before Jan. 13, 2004, will need replacement cords, the company said. In all other areas, the recall covers consoles manufactured before Oct. 23, 2003.

Orders for replacement cords can be placed at the Xbox Web site. New cords will take up to four weeks to arrive. Until the new cord comes, customers should turn off consoles when not in use, the company said.

Power cord problems have dogged other device makers in the past. Last year, for example, Dell recalled 4.4 million defective power adapters sold with notebooks between 1998 and 2002.

"This is a preventative step we're choosing to take despite the rarity of these incidents," Robbie Bach, senior vice president at Microsoft’s entertainment division, said in a statement. "We regret the inconvenience but believe offering consumers a free replacement is the responsible thing to do."

By Dinesh C. Sharma -- News.com
POSTED: 02/17/05 09:34 AM PST

Now if only Sony would recall EVERY single first gen PS2.

[AOFanboi]

Now if only Sony would recall EVERY single first gen PS2.

I thought they were "recalled" as in returned one by one as the drive eventually broke down?

Thankfully I never bought one (and today I sold my 'Cube). So I am waiting for XBox 360, presumably without this little "hitch".

(Why does the PS2 get the coolest games? Joy of joys that I own one.)

[schild]

I love my slim PS2. Just thought I'd say that.

++, etc.

[Strazos]

(Why does the PS2 get the coolest games? Joy of joys that I own one.)

Funny, I use to own a PS2, and couldn't seem to really find Any games that I liked. They were mostly asstastic to me.

/shrug

[Krakrok]

Is that what that burning smell was? I hooked up my Xbox to a power inverter in the car recently and we smelled a burning smell so I powered it off. Checked everything, including the inverter. Everything seemed fine so I turned it back on again and the smell didn't come back. And yeah it's a pre-October 2003 Xbox.

[plummerx]

Burn consoles....BURN!

[stray]

(Why does the PS2 get the coolest games? Joy of joys that I own one.)

Funny, I use to own a PS2, and couldn't seem to really find Any games that I liked. They were mostly asstastic to me.

/shrug

Oh come on now...You can't be serious. There are literally hundreds of titles to choose from. If you couldn't find one (or a dozen) you liked, then you'd be hard pressed to consider yourself a gamer even in the slightest sense (and since you're at f13, that probably isn't very likely).

[AOFanboi]

Funny, I use to own a PS2, and couldn't seem to really find Any games that I liked. They were mostly asstastic to me.

Amplitude, Ico, Rez, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, Katamari Damacy, Dark Chronicles, Burnout 3, the entire Jak series... There's lots. Tastes differ and all that, of course. Dpends what kind of games you like.

[Rodent]

Funny, I use to own a PS2, and couldn't seem to really find Any games that I liked. They were mostly asstastic to me.

Amplitude, Ico, Rez, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, Katamari Damacy, Dark Chronicles, Burnout 3, the entire Jak series... There's lots. Tastes differ and all that, of course. Dpends what kind of games you like.

The good games on that list are for the most part availible on the far superior consoles aka Xbox and Dreamcast, or not released in Europe.

[Righ]

Dreamcast is far superior to PS2? Shurely shome mishtake?

[Rodent]

Dreamcast is far superior to PS2? Shurely shome mishtake?

Certainly when it comes to Rez, a game based almost completly around sound. For some reason the PS2 version sports lower quality music. ( Sample rate and whatnot, the soundtracks are the same ).

Hardware wise the dreamcast is no real competition, but the quality of the games were far higher IMHO. ( And the remakes were usually butchered for some damn reason, the same phenomenon as Rez can also be found in Skies of Arcadia and Sonic Adventures ).

[Righ]

Clutching at straws. I really like my Amigas and all the games on them, but all the rosy tinted spectacles in the world won't make them far superior to my current PC. Remakes for other platforms always suck. The quality of pixel precision and timing in Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy for the Spectrum is unsurpassed. However, to demerit more modern platform games because they cannot match the meticulous coding in those games is somewhat jaded. Plenty of PS2 games exceed the quality of the best Dreamcast games. The PS2 has what is argubly the benchmark racing game: GT3.

[Miasma]

Sony's turn, 4 million of them.  Only from the new slim PS2.