My PS3 works flawlessly and I have never talked to anyone that had any issues. Not meaning to be a troll as I know very little about the 360, but how prevalent is the RROD issue? I guess I have been kind of insulated as I pretty much just play BF:BC on PS3 at night to blow off some stream and use it for a Blu-Ray palyer, however, I get the feeling from threads here dealing with RROD is almost an accepted part of owning an Xbox 360. Is that really the case?? Is it that prevalent? Honestly, if Sony was smart, they would start offering say a $150 voucher off a PS3 if you send them your RROD Xbox. Just a thought......
There was an identified issue with the design of the 360 which has since been fixed. It typically takes time for it to break so the issue lingers and is why the warranty was extended to 3 years. Nobody buying a 360 for the last year or so should expect to ever see it in the manner that people portray... as the 'RROD' resulting in a replacement needed. Electronics fail, so stuff can still happen that leads to that same conclusion, but I wouldn't expect it anymore than any other electronics device at this point.
I walked in the front door last night to a RROD on my Xbox. My GH2 controller had fallen off the couch onto it's face. Somehow the way it fell managed to land it on something which held the Xbox button down and turned the console on. For this entire time it was on, all the buttons, the wammy bar, and the strum acted as if they were being held down for however long it was on. This caused the 360 to error at some point, so it locked up and displayed the red ring.
It's just a diagnostic code.... that will always be assocaited with replacing it. Most dont realize that different lights light up for different reasons. You can even invoke one yourself if you unplug the video cable and then turn it on. I believe that's just 2 lights.
Bringing it up now as a reason not to buy it or something is just being ignorant of the facts or just being a fanboy. Blindly defending a choice (buying a PS3) is what it usually is, when regardless of the side people may have chosen, the console one should buy should probably be determined by what most of your friends have the exclusive games available to each system - in that order.
Not buying an Xbox because it might fail is about as rational as people who don't fly for fear of a crash, and instead drive, which exponentially increases their chances of death enroute.