News In Brief

Kinect spells ‘Red Ring of Death’ for some older-model Xbox 360 users

Jaclyn Giovis Jan 6, 2011

Kinect, the new controller-free motion gaming system for Xbox 360, lures some of its owners into the Red Ring of Death. And as the name suggests, it’s not a happy place.

According to a BBC report, some Xbox 360 gamers with older models have reported that soon after hooking up the Kinect to their gaming console, it became inflicted with the Red Ring of Death and broke down. Several online message boards feature lively discussion among gamers on the problem.

The Kinect has sold 8 million units to retailers so far. Maker Microsoft has high hopes for future sales.

Microsoft told the BBC the system is “designed to work with every Xbox 360 sold to date.”

Here’s the company’s response to the BBC:

There is no correlation between the three flashing red lights error and Kinect. Any new instances of the three flashing red lights error are merely coincidental.

Marketplace Morning Report host Steve Chiotakis investigated modern gaming with the Xbox 360 Kinect last month.Watch our video to see him test out his motion gaming — and dance — skills on Kinect.

(At first, Steve had a little trouble with the hands-free concept. Lucky for us, he didn’t experience the Red Ring of Death.)

Bitmob’s Dan Hsu reviews the Kinect from Marketplace on Vimeo.

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