Trouble on the horizon for the Xbox 360

Microsoft have a mandatory update planned for the Xbox 360 due any time between today and the end of May. The mandatory update is intended to add support for PayPal transactions and support for the new XGD3 disc format which offers 1 GB of additional space on Xbox DVDs.

Currently the update is in Beta testing and according to the Redmond company which is testing it, the update has rendered a small number of machines with unusable optical drives. There is no way to reverse the update either. Meaning these machines will only be able to play games downloaded through Xbox Live.

Xbox has already started preparing to offer replacements. It has advised those who get dysfunctional machines after the update to:

• start a repair request
• send back the broken Xbox 360

They will then be sent a brand new Xbox 360 slim 250GB edition.

Microsoft said this is an email:
“We apologize for this inconvenience, We will send you a free shipping label and materials along with your replacement console. After we receive your current console, we will send you a code for a one year Xbox LIVE subscription at no charge to you. Please note that the offer is valid only until September 30, 2011.”

The reason for the failure is not every Xbox 360 is equipped with the same brand and version of optical drive therefore certain optical drives do not flash properly and are rendered unusable. If you are one of the “unlucky” Xbox 360 owners you can expect to be clutching a brand new Slim 250GB Xbox 360 within a week of your old one breaking 😉