AUGUST 2007 – With broken consoles, ports and Harry flippin’ Potter, it looks like a rubbish summer. Thankfully, digital downloads made the month bearable – who would have thought? Well Nick Thorpe would, but then he’s got a time machine and that’s cheating » Microsoft was keen to downplay just how many Xbox 360s were seeing this unwelcome sight.
This month saw Microsoft under pressure over reports that the Xbox 360 was suffering from widespread reliability problems, particularly a fatal flaw resulting in the Red Ring Of Death. Edge reported that the company “denies that there is a systemic problem with the hardware” and noted that it was “charging out-of-warranty customers for the privilege of fixing it despite there being no sure-fire method of delivering a long-term fix”. Diarmid Andrews of repair shop GT Electronics told Edge that the GPU “gets too hot and melts the solder that’s holding it in place” and expressed frustration with Microsoft’s claims that design revisions had fixed the issue. The magazine also reported that the EU had requested more information from Microsoft after reports of consoles scratching discs.
» [PlayStation 3] Harry and chums, looking like they’re about to drop the least interesting album of 2007
EA was aiming for a summer blockbuster with its console adaptation of Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, but it proved curiously divisive with the critics. The PS3 version scored 8/10 in Official PlayStation Magazine, 4/10 in PSU3 and 32% in Play, the Xbox 360 version earned 7/10 in Official Xbox 360 Magazine, 3/5 in 360 and 4/10 in X360, and the Wii version got 82% from Officia
