Gamers call it Red Ring of Death, or RRoD for short. If you didn’t know that by now, either you don’t own a Xbox 360, or you’ve been so lucky you should start playing the lottery.

RRoD is the slang term for when your Xbox 360 displays the dreaded three red lights symbolizing a “general hardware failure.” A few exceptions aside, there is no coming back from this. Your 360 will no longer turn on and your only hope is to call … deep breathe … Customer Support for a repair.

This happened to so many Xbox 360 owners, we even wrote a song about it! Unfortunately, Microsoft refused to admit that RRoD was a real problem, until earlier this year.

Read how they finally owned up after the break!

In July of 2007, Microsoft announced they would extend all Xbox 360 warranties to three years from the purchase date, and handle all repairs, shipping included, for free. They also said they would reimburse all 360 owners who paid for any repairs in the past. This decision cost them billions.

I know we give Microsoft a hard time around here, and yes, they should have prevented this problem in the first place, but I have to give them credit. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them to come forward and basically say, “Ok, we screwed up, but we’re going to do what we can to make it up to you.” It’s also probably the reason that they had little, if any loss in sales while this whole fiasco was reaching it’s tipping point.

Kudos guys, kudos.

A 1600 Microsoft point card would have been nice though, instead of a useless 1 month Live subscription card.

Anyway, I’ve personally dealt with RRoD in all its glory, and if you missed any of my experiences, here’s an easy way to catch up on my inspirations (in chronological order):

How the Red Ring of Death Saved Me!

Which Is Better? Halo 3 or a Box?

Microsoft Kills UPS!

The RRoD Survival Kit!

Microsoft Monkeys!

That’s why Microsoft’s 360 Warrenty Extension checks in at number 3 on Sarcastic Gamer’s Top 100 Gaming Moments of 2007.

Click here for the rest of Sarcastic Gamer’s Top 100 Gaming Moments from 2007 all in one place!

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