In the second incident this summer, Microsoft Corp. admitted this week to another overheating problem in the hardware it sells to video gamers.
The 230,000 owners of its US$130 Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel should order and apply a free retrofit, Microsoft said Wednesday, before continuing to use the driving game controller when it's plugged into a power outlet. "A component in the Wheel chassis may in rare cases overheat and release smoke when the AC-DC power supply is used to energize the Wheel," the company said in a warning posted to its Xbox 360 site. No property damage or injuries have been reported, the company claimed.
Until they receive the retrofit, users should run the wheel on batteries only, the advisory continued.
The wireless controller, which offers "force feedback" -- shuddering and pulling that mimics a real stressed-out steering wheel -- works with such titles as "Test Drive Unlimited" and "Need for Speed: Carbon."
The too-hot wheel follows the far more expensive repairs to the Xbox 360 itself that Microsoft conceded earlier this summer. In early July, company executives announced a $1 billion-and-change charge to pay for an Xbox warranty extension and the ensuing fixes to what some analyst have calculated as one in three video game consoles. The Xbox, said Microsoft then, suffered from design flaws and "an unacceptable number of repairs."
Xbox 360 overheating has been long suspected by users and analysts as the most likely cause for the high rate of unit failures, although Microsoft has declined to get that specific.
Microsoft has posted a retrofit kit request form on its site, and is also taking calls at 1-800-4my-Xbox.
source : Computerworld
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