My first 360 red ringed the night I got it while my sister played Halo 3 during a thunderstorm, my second one red ringed a year later, and now, finally, my 3 year old 360 finally bit the dust. I just got COD last night to play with my friends, even though I swore to myself I wouldn't get the stupid game, and it just red ringed in the middle of a match not 5 minutes ago.

I had and old white 20g model that I had a bad feeling would give out soon, I was just hoping it would last for another year. Anyway, I'm making this thread because I really don't know what to do now. I'm a poor college student that can't really afford much, so my plans to buy a 3DS with any christmas money has probably gone right out the window. The thing is, I just don't know if I should wait.

The new generation is upon us, and I have a decent mid/high end PC as well as a PS3. The thing is, I just bought COD and love playing it with friends, I have the season pass for Borderlands, and I really want to play Halo 4 eventually. So, what do you guys think I should do. Should I just suck it up and wait? Should I kiss goodbye to the days of the 360, or should I just take the hit and get a new one even if it may be obsolete in about a year?

Watch out for Christmas sales; during Black Friday, some consoles were going on sale. If you can gather up the money for a 3DS, but you'd rather replace your Xbox, then I'd imagine you could get one at some point.

I'd say it's worth it unless you're buying the next Xbox on day 1.

Wrap a towel around it and leave it on with the RROD overnight, then try it again the next morning!

Just kidding! (During more desperate times in the early years of the gen I actually did that and I did actually manage to get it working for a little longer to satiate my Gears addiction but then it broke down more permanently. Microsoft still fixed it fo' free, though!) I really doubt that *actually* works, but there were plenty of weird things people did to RROD'd 360s back in the day that actually "worked," like in my case.

Although it might've been just a coincidence and the 360 actually decided it had a little more life in it without me wrapping a towel around it and leaving it on with the RROD overnight having anything to do with it working again.

If you feel that you can afford it, I totally think you should get it -- at the very least you don't want to moot the benefits of the BL2 season pass, and despite what some may say, I felt Halo 4 was a great experience.

Though, keep in mind, I still have an SNES and PSX hooked up so I can occasionally futz around in stuff like CT, Contra 3 and various Final Fantasy games. So I might have a bit of hoarder-dom to me.

Also, in reading this thread I've likely jinxed my 360 again. Thanks, jerk. :(

@DoctorWelch: I'd say depends. How much money do you have tied up in games/DLC etc....? There isn't any guarantee that the 360 stuff is going to be backwards compatible. Also, 360's are fairly cheap ATM. Shame you missed the black friday deals by about a week. Then again if your willing to cut your losses and wait for the new console that might not be a bad idea either although that is a year away and there is a ton of good stuff coming in 2013. Honestly, I'd say buy one. Although I'd also say weigh your options.

Get a Jasper?

You could always try the "wrap it in a towel and hit it with a blowdryer for a bit" method which wouldn't void the warranty, though it sounds like you're out of warranty anyway, so you might as well look up a guide online, open the box up, and try to fix it yourself. As for getting a new one? It's a shame that you just missed all of the Black Friday deals, where it would have been more easily justified. For me personally, I wouldn't spend the money on a new XBox since you've got a PC and PS3 too.

@believer258 said:

Watch out for Christmas sales; during Black Friday, some consoles were going on sale. If you can gather up the money for a 3DS, but you'd rather replace your Xbox, then I'd imagine you could get one at some point.

I'd say it's worth it unless you're buying the next Xbox on day 1.

Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, I know I'll probably want to get the new system on day 1, but realistically it'd be smart for me to wait anyway.@EquitasInvictus said:

Wrap a towel around it and leave it on with the RROD overnight, then try it again the next morning!

Just kidding! (During more desperate times in the early years of the gen I actually did that and I did actually manage to get it working for a little longer to satiate my Gears addiction but then it broke down more permanently. Microsoft still fixed it fo' free, though!) I really doubt that *actually* works, but there were plenty of weird things people did to RROD'd 360s back in the day that actually "worked," like in my case.

Although it might've been just a coincidence and the 360 actually decided it had a little more life in it without me wrapping a towel around it and leaving it on with the RROD overnight having anything to do with it working again.

I'm not wasting my time with any crazy shenanigans. My 360 has served me well, and it's time to put good ol faithful to rest.

Since you probably don't have to worry about a hard drive, maybe just pick up an arcade model 360 for a lot cheaper?

@DoctorWelch said:

I'm not wasting my time with any crazy shenanigans. My 360 has served me well, and it's time to put good ol faithful to rest.

Are you calling my once-dead but now still fully functional (albeit very slow) 360 a zombie and implying that I desecrated it by extending its life even through unreasonable means?!

Well... I guess I can't really argue against that. But man, I really wanted to play some Gears multiplayer back in the day!

@bushpusherr said:

Since you probably don't have to worry about a hard drive, maybe just pick up an arcade model 360 for a lot cheaper?

Yeah, I was thinking about this, but where would I even get one? I'm not sure if Gamestop even carries them anymore.

Amazon or another online retailer would be your best bet if local stores don't carry them

Don't replace it. It's a really tough call, but there are several factors that I think indicate that you should hold off.

1. Money is not unlimited. College student budgets are a drag.
2. You have a PC and a PS3. You have other means to play games, so the loss of your 360 won't be felt as hard as it would if it were your only console.
3. The next generation is right around the corner. Face it, if you buy a new 360 now you aren't even going to be turning in on 12 months from now.
4. You were planning to buy a 3DS. Buy the 3DS! You had a good run with the 360 (several of them apparently), and maybe it's just time to say goodbye. take this as an opportunity to check out a great new handheld and some great new games (I just bought a 3DS last week and I love it even more than I expected to).

Replace it. You already have a hard drive so you can probably get a cheap ass used one.

@DoctorWelch said:

@bushpusherr said:

Since you probably don't have to worry about a hard drive, maybe just pick up an arcade model 360 for a lot cheaper?

Yeah, I was thinking about this, but where would I even get one? I'm not sure if Gamestop even carries them anymore.

Used, they should. Ebay or Amazon otherwise, you're in the clear.

They have them used at gamestop for $120. That sounds kind of expensive for a refurbished old 360 without a HDD.

oo that sucks. i would say look into a computer repair place that fixes them. i have a friend that fixes them at his job. it's cheaper than probably buying a new one.

That's pretty shitty. The only advice I can give if you decide to get the new 360 S is to not waste your money on a transfer cable as they don't work on 20gb hard drives for some reason.

Don't invest in a new one. Go for the 3DS. New consoles are coming around the corner and buying a new 360 console would seem like a waste.

that is a real shitty situation duder, i've had 3 xboxs RROD on me...... it's terrible...

But what I might personally do? I'd probably buy a used one on Amazon. I think you can find em for like 100 bucks if you'r doin it without the hard drive.

Good luck to you!

well your a broke college student, so wouldn't it make sense to just get a replacement xbox that you already have games/friends on, instead of buying a 3ds along with games?