Sign on Options
Theme:
To Dark

Xbox 360 slim can't red-ring by design

E3 2010: Latest iteration of Microsoft's console is bereft of the now-iconic crimson lights that signaled hardware failure; Microsoft confirms "redesigned" ring.

LOS ANGELES--When Microsoft unveiled the new slimline Xbox 360 at its press conference on Monday, it neglected to mention one small detail. The new model of the console is incapable of getting the "red ring of death," the three-red-bar indicator on the front of the console that signaled a variety of hardware failures.

Unlike its elder sibling, the new Xbox 360 won't be able to red-ring by design.

Unlike its elder sibling, the new Xbox 360 won't be able to red-ring by design.

The absolute impossibility of the red ring isn't by virtue of the console being failure-proof--that has yet to be determined. It's because the new console has no red LEDs at all. According to a spec sheet obtained by gaming blog Joystiq, the new console has only green LEDs in the ring on its front.

How the new console will indicate failure is unclear. When contacted by GameSpot, Microsoft representatives tacitly confirmed the change with the following official statement: "The new console’s ring of light has been redesigned with the rest of the console and uses a different illustration that our customer service team will be able to troubleshoot for you. If customers experience any issues with Xbox 360 250GB they should contact customer service at www.xbox.com/support or 1-800-4MY-Xbox."

The new Xbox 360 is already shipping to stores and will bear the same retail price as the Xbox 360 Elite, which has been discontinued and discounted $50. It will have a 250GB hard drive and comes with built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity. Its chassis has ample venting to cool its CPU and GPU, which are both made with a 45nm production process--meaning they will run cooler to begin with. As a result, the console requires a smaller fan for its cooling system, which Microsoft promises will be "whisper quiet."

For more on the new Xbox 360, check out GameSpot's hands-on preview or the video unboxing below.

885 Comments

  • KutexxxKitty

    Posted Jun 2, 2011 2:09 pm GMT

    Haha microsoft make me laugh i have the xbox 360 slim and guess what, its not"whisper Quiet" not at all and the fact that it heats up like a radiator isnt good either, yeah it doesnt break as easy as the 360 but it is louder and overheats a lot quicker which makes it worse when i play on one of my games and forget all about the heat and when i finally do realise it is already like a bloody radiator on full whack! and now i really wish i did get a ps3 but then i wouldnt be able to play halo or fable so thats the only thing good about the fact of having an xbox 360 yeah one of these days i will get a ps3 but keep the 360 just for halo and fable. Microsoft have gone too far by creating a model of slim line by copying off of sony they need to stop before people really start to complain i can see that alot of comments on here made by people who would be maybe the first to complain about it. And i wont be far behind!!.

  • kid23455

    Posted Nov 15, 2010 1:01 pm GMT

    Guess what? When a console gets nearly 50% of failure rates, scratches cds, gets e74, gets rrod, and then a new console comes out to fix all these problems, this console should be called a piece of crap. Microsoft, go away, or make a f*cking console that dosne't break. They never acknowledged the problem, they use consoles that are destined to fail, then they rob you blind in microsoft network, charging 60 bucks a year, when sony provides online for free. Why? Because microsoft existed too long, and they got greedy. They will never release a good console, nor a good windows anymore. Guess what will happen when xbox 720 comes out? It will break. Hopefully they will give up. They have 4 years to fix a problem, and ignore it. They say"oh, we don't rrod anymore. We rdod now, and that won't happen" Well you know what won't happen? Me buying another one of you broken consoles.

  • WilliamSmith45

    Posted Oct 23, 2010 8:06 am GMT

    There are 1000's of vids on Youtube about Slims gettin Red Dot Of Death and E71 Error. MS lied to all of us. Im now a proud owner of a PS3 for 1 year and counting without any issues. MS shoulda just stayed out of the videogame industry. I certainly wont b buying the Xbox 3 when it comes out. Sony is King

  • SuperYeti22

    Posted Jul 20, 2010 9:24 am GMT

    MS made the 360 slim, which is copying what sony did with the PS3, and they tell us all that it cant get rrod. Next thing we know, I found a bunch of videos on youtube of the new xbox getting the red light of death. So M$ copied sony and they lied to us. I'm not gonna pay $300 just to make my xbox a little quieter, since I barely hear the fans over my (loud) games (especially since I got my surround sound, and even before, the volume of my games overpowered the xbox, I never even thought it was an issue). 360 slim and M$ = fail, M$ has lost all respect that I had for them.

  • aerohead1

    Posted Jul 19, 2010 12:10 pm GMT

    I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!! So gotta get this. I only own a ps3 slim 250 gig right now but im seriously thinking about trading it in for this bad baby right here. Looks great. And the possibility of no RROD. That and fee for onlin were the only 2 reasons keeping me from getting an xbox but now i cud care less about 50 dollars. Im definitely going to get it

  • Alexvsu3000

    Posted Jun 29, 2010 1:42 am GMT

    only few more weeks and im getting that xbox slim

  • CrusaderX7

    Posted Jun 27, 2010 11:21 pm GMT

    Can be people stop b**ching? They never said it was 100% failure proof so stop thinking your so smart insulting them.

  • portymd

    Posted Jun 24, 2010 8:02 pm GMT

    That makes me sick, I could make a failure proof 360, how about put a fan with a heatsink over the GPU and CPU??? How many models have they had, whoopdee doo, its still going to heat up like the damn sun

  • kwildgun posted Jun 24, 2010 9:55 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    kwildgun

    Posted Jun 24, 2010 9:55 am GMT (hide)

    Neither can any other 360 manufactured after November 2008 of course I'm only speaking for my self, there is a new culprit the PS3 slim has a problem with the disk not ejecting I'm not the only one with this problem you can call my co worker, my uncle, his girl friend and alot of angry people on forums they all have the same problem. Still waiting for that damn uncharted 2 BRD to eject. I hate you right now FONY.

  • mr_squibble

    Posted Jun 24, 2010 9:19 am GMT

    Rev8691 Posted Jun 24, 2010 1:24 am CT "when i was a kid "red ring" meant you were sitting on the toilet too long playing GameBoy..."

    LOL! Funniest thing I've read on GS in a long time!

  • SuperYeti22

    Posted Jun 24, 2010 9:02 am GMT

    There right! It won't get the red rings of death... it will get the GREEN rings of death! MUWAHAHHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • JP-

    Posted Jun 24, 2010 7:57 am GMT

    @Ov31s You can ALWAYS get a free new xbox from Microsoft when you have the ring of death.
    I got 2 new xboxes.Far after my gaurantee expired.

  • Rev8691

    Posted Jun 23, 2010 11:24 pm GMT

    when i was a kid "red ring" meant you were sitting on the toilet too long playing GameBoy...

  • JediofRuin

    Posted Jun 23, 2010 5:12 pm GMT

    lol why not yellow

  • Inconnux

    Posted Jun 23, 2010 5:10 pm GMT

    it won't red ring... because they are going to change the color to blue >

  • infinitecrysis

    Posted Jun 23, 2010 3:55 pm GMT

    @kamizuka No I don't think it's normal for a console to do that. But it is what it is. I also don't think it's normal for people to feel the need to move they're system while a game is running either. But again, it is what it is.

  • und3rw0rld_h3r0

    Posted Jun 23, 2010 12:56 pm GMT

    ive got every single xbox360 including Elite who wasnt supposed to have the death ring ( who's name got changed to E74 Error ) its just full of cr@p they only made it smaller... Q.Q

  • Ov31s

    Posted Jun 23, 2010 7:54 am GMT

    My xbox 360 just got RROD and i won't pay for a new one. F*ck you Microsoft!!

  • Nintenddo

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:33 pm GMT

    @Dekanis FYI I like ALL companies =)

  • Nintenddo

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:31 pm GMT

    @drivemuse what the hell are u talking about black is my fav color now u go insult me and call me racist? messed up dude >.>

  • fanboy_killa

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 11:42 am GMT

    it'll probably transform into a robot and shoot itself in the head to let you know it's dying/dead. not a hater of any of these systems, i got all 3, it's just microsoft makes me laugh sometimes.

  • kikook

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 10:02 am GMT

    This will get the RROD but it won't tell you, they already stated it will just turn off your console, and you'll hope it'll turn on again. The reason for this is because the origonal Xbox is too compact, and by design it's bad, too small. They just made it smaller, hence why it will be just as unsatisfactory. I own both Xbox and PS3, and I find the PS3 seems to care about issues that are breaking their consoles, hence why my friend got a new PS3 even though he's had it for 3 years and it got caught on fire.

  • kamizuka

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 9:57 am GMT

    @infinitecrysis car parts cant be fixed prominently but the disk scratching problem can be fixed by M$. come on do you think that it is normel for a console to do that?

  • Michael324

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 9:56 am GMT

    I dont RROD either .
    Give me my props!

  • infinitecrysis

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 9:49 am GMT

    @ValentineRain

    Wow, you're like me, one of the few people who won't make an actual opinion on something they haven't had enough experience in. lol. When I had my 360 I played online all the time. Then I got my PS3 and I played online for free and had the exact same experience only with a different controller. That is why I won't pay for LIVE if I do get another 360. I'm not too much of an online fan anyways for most games.

  • ValentineRain

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 9:30 am GMT

    @infinitecrysis:
    Sorry, no, I was referring to LIVE versus Steam.
    I've played a bit on the former, and almost religiously on the latter, and have had vastly different experiences with the community. Since I didn't care to spend much time on LIVE, I can't really make any generalizations, at least being fair about it.

  • infinitecrysis

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 9:26 am GMT

    @ValentineRain
    The differences of the XBOX Live community and the PSN community really aren't that much at all.

    @kamizuka You do know that an "easy fix" is only easy to fix not to completely eliminate right? For example, your brakes go on your car. It's an easy fix to replace them but still impossible to eliminate that problem before hand. Plus, the simple warning would've prevented all those people who complained if they had read the simple warning. lol.. If I warn you that punching the wall may break your hand, and you do it. It than becomes completely your fault that your hand was broken because you decided that it would be a good idea to not listen to the warning and go against it anyway.

  • kamizuka

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 9:09 am GMT

    guys guys! the car thing was a joke. what i am trying to say that they shouldn't have had this problem in the first place because it is easy to fix"Microsoft try to keep costs down just like everybody" there you have it. A simple warning didnt stop all those who complained because his little brother did it or his mom or he forgot

  • p2250

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:51 am GMT

    It will catch on fire, that's the new way to tell.

  • bleedgreen2-1-5

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:51 am GMT

    infinitecrysis
    I guess I was lucky, it took like 4 weeks for me, It was around the holiday season.
    Im just waiting for my other 360 to follow along and red ring me haha.

    For now on, instead of saying "you got screwed" Im gonna say, "You got red ringed"

  • bradwalsh93

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:48 am GMT

    @kamizuka If you crashed into another car on purpose even though you were warned, it is even more your fault because you were warned, yet still did it. If your Xbox scratches your disks because you moved it with a disk inside, it is still your fault as you were warned.

    I know why you think it would be better if it didn't scratch, but that isn't what the console is made for. It isn't a fault of the console or the disk drive, it is just the way it was built ... Microsoft try to keep costs down just like everybody, so they don't want to add $5 per console just so that people can move the console about with a disk in. Try taking the disk out before moving it. It takes maybe 5 seconds.

  • ValentineRain

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:42 am GMT

    @kamizuka: Um...yes. That does make it your fault. I think you gave the opposite analogy than you meant to, because that one works against your point. Your second comparison is flawed logically as well, because getting the RRoD isn't an intentional act like crashing a car on purpose. Sorry!

    @infinitecrysis: Even as a 360 owner, I'm not to hot on Xbox LIVE, either. Any game I want to play online, I just play on the PC for free. (L4D2, I'm looking at you.)
    But it's a totally different community on LIVE, so I guess it just depends on who you want to play with.

  • infinitecrysis

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:38 am GMT

    @bleegreen2-1-5
    I never understood why someone would want to pay money to play online when they can do the exact same thing for free on another system but that's me. Also you're lucky you got it back quick, 3 of my friends got red ringed and 2 of them it took almost 3 months for them to get the system back to them. lol

  • infinitecrysis

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:36 am GMT

    So it'll still screw up but you won't see the red rings. Well that's nice of them. lol

  • kamizuka

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:35 am GMT

    @bradwalsh93 so is it my fault if i crashed into an other car on purpose even though i was warned? you have a point there but yet they should not give you the option to do so. it is simply a huge fault in the design. it is like saying it is my own fault that my console got RRoD even though my buddies warned me

  • ValentineRain

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:29 am GMT

    Well, now.
    If I didn't know any better, I'd say Microsoft really wants to look like they've gotten better about their most notorious hardware failure by just removing the only way the customer has of knowing they have it. I mean, other than the console not working.
    Which is a half-brilliant move. On one hand, fewer Red Ring jokes, on the other, just as many, if not more, complaints about general hardware failure.

    Or maybe they just forgot.
    But considering how well known that particular indicator is, I'm thinking it was intentional. Interesting.

  • mathgeek2112

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:28 am GMT

    I wish the xbox slim would premiere with a dropped price like the PS3 slim. The other features are nice but the price drop would be a major selling factor.

  • bleedgreen2-1-5

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:16 am GMT

    Probably, or the system will just freeze or something.
    I'm sick of M$ anymore, It gets old dropping $50 Dollars a year to play online when I can play it for free on the PS3. I'm probably just gonna buy Xbox exclusives for the Xbox 360 anymore, if it's multiplatform I'll go PS3.

  • anime_boi

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:12 am GMT

    Hmm... mebbeh there'll be a full green circle of death now, perhaps?

  • bleedgreen2-1-5

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:06 am GMT

    but on the bright side of this article you wont get red ringed, which in my opinion was the big middle finger that said you got eff'd
    One of my 360's red ringed and I was furious haha at least they fixed it and returned it quickly to me.

  • bleedgreen2-1-5

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:04 am GMT

    bradwalsh93 is right.
    It should be common sense not to move the console with your games in it.

  • bleedgreen2-1-5

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:03 am GMT

    Wow, I bought a 360 arcade in like 2007, for $250, then I bought the 100 gb Hard Drive for $100.
    and I WAS gonna get a wireless adapter for $80 but not anymore
    I got yanked! Yo I can't beleive that NOW they include a decent hard drive and WI-FI. Im not a fanboy of PS3 but I have 2 Xbox 360's and a PS3. The longer I have my Xbox the more I hate it. You have to pay to play online, and buy everything seperate to get the most out of the 360.
    Then I got a PS3, free online multiplayer, 250 gb hard drive, built in WI-Fi plus it is internet ready, as well as plays DVD's and Blu Ray.
    The only thing in my opinion, that the Xbox 360 has over the Playstation 3 is its acheivements are better than PS3's trophies, and thier online seems more put together, too bad you have to pay for it.

  • zim3442

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 7:54 am GMT

    Scratching disks while moving aside, its taken Microsoft 5 years to fix overheating, rings of death, size, and noise? yeah that just screams innovation and industry leader, hmm im getting that same awe-full chill down my spine i got when Microsoft announced vista. And they expect me to pay the full price of an elite for a fix to problems that should not have existed at release anyway....encore Microsoft...encore

  • bradwalsh93

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 7:28 am GMT

    I don't see why so many people are complaining about the console scratching disks when it's moved. There is a sticker on the console that explicitly tells you not to do this, yet some people still think that moving it around with a disk inside won't scratch it. It's their own fault really.

  • draco934

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 7:12 am GMT

    it will find a way......

  • odytrice

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 6:36 am GMT

    I think that It will have a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) just like the PC. As for Microsoft's claim of it being incapable of a RROD, it is just a marketing strategy. Otherwise they wouldn't have given Gamespot their help line and support website. Although, we can expect is to be more durable than its predecessors as it uses better manufacturing

  • jadefury27

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 6:33 am GMT

    "If customers experience any issues with Xbox 360 250GB they should contact customer service at www.xbox.com/support or 1-800-4MY-Xbox." and i should do this.......why? so a call center in india can tell me to unplug it and plug it back in?

  • rolla020980

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 6:27 am GMT

    djr1118:
    Why, exactly, are you moving your console while you are playing? I think you need to lay off the caffeine (or alcohol?).

Subscribe to GameSpot's YouTube Channel

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!