GTA 4 causing Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death - In addition to PS3 issues
By Dave Parrack
Were you under the misapprehension that the Red Ring of Death problems were virtually over? Unfortunately it seems that GTA 4, widely regarded as the best game of this generation so far is causing a resurgence in the number of Xbox 360s suffering from the dreaded RRoD.
As soon as Grand Theft Auto IV was released at the end of April, gamers on both consoles reported experiencing problems with the game. At the time, it was Playstation 3 owners who seemed to be being affected the worst, with some gamers being unable to install the game to their hard drives, while others complained of it freezing or crashing mid-game.
The problem on the Xbox 360 didn’t seem to be quite so bad, but that has now all changed. Tech Radar are reporting that many Xbox sites, and forums are seeing reports of the game causing not only freezing, but also the Red Ring Of Death.
Rockstar do seem to be aware of the issues on both consoles, but have so far failed to offer any solution to the problems apart from advice on the official GTA 4 forums urging people to “Delete your saved game, and start over.” Helpful.
There is speculation that what is causing the problem is the game overloading the Xbox 360’s cache due to Rockstar trying to stop the game from having loading delays. Some disgruntled gamers are calling for Rockstar to release a patch limiting the strain on the Xbox 360’s RAM.
The Red Ring of Death continuing to be an embarrassment for Microsoft, and an issue causing untold aggravation for Xbox 360 owners hit by it. And now the lack of help from Rockstar over the issues obviously being caused by GTA 4 is another reason Xbox 360 owners can feel aggrieved.
Is it possible that Grand Theft Auto 4 is just too hot for the consoles to handle? Or is it more likely to have been caused just by lazy development? Let us know in the comments.
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June 4th, 2008
I didn’t realize certain games could provoke the RROD on their own.
Pretty unfortunate, but makes the PS3s freezing problem seem less crappy.
June 4th, 2008
I Like the spin you put on it. I almost certain it’s not the 1 game that is causing it to do this but I believe it is older boxes just giving up. How come I don’t see this anywhere else but here.
June 4th, 2008
Funny, i have a launch 360 and GTAIV and have had no problems whatsoever. I believe that there is a vocal minority making this claim, rather than a majority.
June 4th, 2008
All this site posts are lies.
lies lies lies.
XBOX RROD issue is FIXED. If your Console hasn’t RRODed yet, and you bought it at ar around launch, put a towel over it and MAKE IT RROD.
Do this, get the new rumored Opus Xboxes, and you don’t have any problem at all.
This site is shameless in it’s lies and propping up propeganda.
Hey PS3 queers, and females. Please explain these articles if the PS3 is so stinking good.
XBOX = New Hotness: http://techdigest.tv/2008/05/xbox_360_outsel.html
Orange Box: http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/3173.html
Cell Processor Rocks!: http://www.videogamer.com/features/article/04-06-2008-430.html
Haze review: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/haze/review.html
Have to keep bringing up the year old RROD issue.
RROD issue was fixed with a 3 year warranty. . . overall game suckiness the PS3 has to offer is fixed by Sony promises of “bigger and better just wait.”
We waited for Haze . . .
We waited for Lair . . .
We waited for these games: http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/007791.php
but you’ll never get them or when you do, they will suck royally. . .
And don’t get me started on the PS3 and how it costs you $250 a year to run it in Electricity bills . . .
Xbox comes in at $200 . . . a difference of $50 . . . Hey! That’s the cost of Xbox Live!
Looks like the consoles cost the same, and Live is free after all.
June 4th, 2008
No it’s just 360 being 360.
June 4th, 2008
Sony and it’s whining fan-boys will forever spin tales of woe surrounding the RRoD long after the problem is a distant memory.
June 4th, 2008
My posting name says it all: I Hate You All.
GTA IV is a great game, and maybe, just maybe, since GTA IV has very few load screens which means that your console is always reading the disc at a higher than normal RPM (when compared to if you’re playing a pre-loaded level such as Assassin’s Creed)…maybe, again I say maybe, that would cause the temperature of a console to be higher when playing GTA IV than if you’re playing….oh, lets say Assassin’s Creed. So what happens when your console gets hotter inside? RROD.
I seriously hate you all and hope your parents choose to abort you tomorrow (lets tell the police that your mother was in her 72nd trimester).
**STOP FANBOYISM; HANG YOURSELF**
June 4th, 2008
I have a ps3 and have gta4 and to me it has never frozen in mid play i didnt have trouble installing it
maybe people are so stupid now a days to actually follow instructions on the ps3 that they switch of the power when they are not supposed to. For the xbox, we all new this was coming xbox shitty box is a queer xbox it cannot handle the complicated calculations it has to do.
June 4th, 2008
I have the same FREAKING problem!!! my 360 just died on me while I was in like 47% of GTA4. iT’s the second time now after i changed it when crackdown came out. this is really the worse time for 360!! i hate it when this happens while i am so into a game!
I HATE microsoft!
ill just get a PS3
June 4th, 2008
I cant believe none of this BS…. This article is well know to be written by a SONY fanboy… I have not heard anywhere about GTA4 causing this problem.. there are almost 5 millions copies of GTA4 for the x360… Dont believe this C.R.A.P!!
June 4th, 2008
Look. Everyone knows that the 360 isnt renowned for being stable, but there are measures that you can take to ensure the lifespan of the console is increased. I bet most people with RROD would have their 360’s stuffed in a cabinet with no ventilation, sitting on a flat surface (needs to be slightly elevated folks) or they’re playing it for hours upon end during a hot day. Look after it and it will look after you…trust me. A working 360 is a shitload better than a PS3 anyday - it is afterall only a glorified Bluray player.
June 5th, 2008
Ha ha LOL at Mark…the fanboys come out to play.
I cant answer this thread because I don’t own a 360 so I can’t say if it is true or not. I can say however that I find it unlikely that GTA4 is “causing” RROD as I think there are other games out there that are just as demanding on the system as GTA4.
I have seen the “claims” both for the PS3 and 360 problems associated with GTA4 but I have found that my GTA4 and 60gig PS3 have no problems WHATSO EVER. Ran smooth as a babies butt. So if my lainch 60gig can run it fine, I think that it is not a “generic” problem with PS3, and going on that, I would say with confidence that the same would be for 360.
I think the problems on both sides of the fence are the VERY vocal “minority”.
Relax 360 boyz…the thread is a discussion point. Lets discuss instead of getting panties in a twist.
June 5th, 2008
i own a 360 with GTa Iv and i’ve never had any problems with it .. (KNOCK ON WOOD) lolz
cant wait for the Extra DOWN-LOADABLE CONTENT!!!
June 5th, 2008
lol 360 fanboys get so hostile when 360 breaks from RROD, yet when ps3 got problems from gta, they are more calm, and 360 fanboys still very hostile. just my observation. Halofan never ever call DAVE PARRACK a sony fanboy. Although i will say this DAVE PARRACK: i’d be intrigued to see your sources for this report or any links on 360 forums (just out out curiosity, im not bashing your article)
June 5th, 2008
I have a launch 360 and have GTA 4 too, i have also played hundreds of hours on the thing with no problems yet (just saying)
June 5th, 2008
lazy devopment?
GTA4 budget is $100million how can that be lazy?
come on 360 has crappy hardwere and overheat
then it breakdown and I have a ps3 and a ps2 (which still works) so I’ll be getting a 360 and a wii
and a new psp(it ended up in the wash so my point
is sony console more reliable ms consoles less reliable.
June 5th, 2008
Bought a new 360 one week before gta4 launch specifically to play this game, and apart from a few hours of saints row i have never played anything else on it. i have not had serious issues (rrod or so) however i am noticing that the frequency of short freezes and pop ups is increasing. my guess is that this is due to the huge strain the game imposes on the dvd drive (it often sounds like a hd, there is so much searching going on) and dvd drives wear down pretty quickly from such strain. was wondering if installing a hd would reduce the strain on the dvd drive (i have the arcade version), while the game cannot be copied to a hd it may use it for cashing?! has anyone tried the game with and without the 360 harddrive?
June 5th, 2008
are you seriously kidding me Dave Parrack (I want to scream but I wont)
I have been providing you with a link to VISUAL proof or GTA 4 RROD… and none of you believed it…
Stupid idiots (the fanboys not you dave)… and Im a little disappointed… people blew the PS3 problem out of proportion while hardly anyone mentioned the 360 problem…
So RROD… what else is new??? Im waiting for Bioshock on PS3… peace out fanboys
June 5th, 2008
wait i thought the xbox 360 had larger RAM than the ps3? or more or something? so surely the ps3 should conk out like xbox 360? i hope not, but mines been fine and i run it on a 60gb model which had major problems at start with gta 4.
oh well crappy m$ hardware. Shouldve sticked to software and not rushed development?
June 5th, 2008
wait i thought the xbox 360 had larger RAM than the ps3? or more or something? so surely the ps3 should conk out like xbox 360? i hope not, but mines been fine and i run it on a 60gb model which had major problems at start with gta 4.
oh well crappy m$ hardware. Shouldve sticked to software and not rushed development?
June 5th, 2008
Sorry Bourne, I think it was Sony who shouldn’t have rushed the Cell processor’s development.
http://www.videogamer.com/features/article/04-06-2008-430.html
Xbox rocks, sony sucks. Haze anyone? Lair anyone? Orange Box Anyone? Home anyone? Oh . . home’s not coming out this Decade.
June 5th, 2008
Cell processor Rocks!
“It’s also worth noting that the PS3 version generally runs at a slower frame rate than the Xbox 360 game, with some terrible slowdown when lots of geometry is on screen.”
from above linked article.
June 5th, 2008
jonathon thats ok im not going to get quake wards anyways. One abbreviation for you sunshine: MGS4. Its gong to pwn anything 360 has, and when ive done completing it i’ll still have a fully functioning ps3. I do wish microsoft would stop lying and fix RROD. its getting quite tiresome taking the piss out of it especially when bill gates recently said it was more reliable then ps3 and the wii. also jonathon i’d play the games before commenting on them, otherwise your arguement is laughable.
June 5th, 2008
OMG did anyone here went to school idiots the person that wrote this article meant that GTA IV causes Red Light of Death because people can’t stop playing it so the Xbox 360 gets too hot and it over heats. I got GTA IV for Xbox 360 no problem yet sometime it frezzes like PS3 and sometime it lags when the person are talking. Learn to use common sense be posting bad dumb useless comments there’s no fanboy just you dummies.
June 5th, 2008
You know what jonathan…..your a fucking dumbass…you just cant accept the fact that 360 is horrible……how is ps3 worse when it doesnt have a RROD..microsoft didnt make the 360 right….they made the machine and there trying to do all this stuff for…but the technology of the 360 isnt capable of doing these things….it seems to me that microsoft is forcing the 360 to do better…it doesnt matter about the computer inside and how many frames per second…maybe sony made it that way for a reason..did you ever think about that?….no cause you think your a smart ass….why do you think the 360 heats up?…because it can keep up with the tasks it has to do smoothly….and home is coming out this year…so are 20 other games or more shit head….if not, it means that the games coming out are LONG, WORTH PAYING FOR, HAVE A STORY LINE THAT MAKES SENSE, AND THEY ARE GOOD GAMES OVERALL…AND DONT GET BLOW JOBS BY THE MEDIA BECAUSE BILL GATES HAS TO BRIBE THE MEDIA WITH MONEY TO MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD…Go to hell john…your a fucking immature dumbass….do us all a favor and get the fuck out of here…..or go join microsoft…so i can laugh at you forever..360has problems, crap games, crappy tech, crap abilities, and is run by a money driven, selfish, uneducated company…Microsoft can bow down to Mac and Sony.
June 5th, 2008
Good job Bourne…good job…see jonathan…you lose big time…your a dumbass who doesnt think at all…i guess you brain is a worthless as a piece of shit
June 5th, 2008
Shit, people are still playing GTA?
I think I played GTA3, VC & SA too much because 4 just felt like the same old same old with things removed… I’ve lost the will to play it.
As for the RROD issue, its probably alot of ‘older’ xbox’s that havn’t been used as much as they are because of GTA 4 . On top of that, you probably have a vocal minority, which the PS3 fanboys then jump on making the issue seem huge.
Oh and Jonathan, keep your posts coming please
The best comedy on the internet.
June 5th, 2008
i agree with SW , if it wasnt for previous versions i maybe a bit more excited but we’ve done the same old things. Not saying its a bad game at all, its one of the best games out there, but a bit tiresome. Perhpas the 360 deal will be good for xbox owners? but i feel b the time its come out, it will have passed and its debatable whether owners will have an xbox to play it on. If rockstar do release a further gta game i hope they make it more interesting and vary the story/missions a little. Onc youve played one ‘chase the car and wait till the guy gets off to kill him’ or ‘he owes me money, kill him’ then you’ve played them all. Role on june 12th/6th (my birthday)
June 5th, 2008
I would hope that this story is false but I do have to say that I never had a problem with my launch 360 until I started playing GTA4. I keep my 360 in a well ventilated area and regularly dust it. I am also pretty meticulous about keeping my disc scratch and smudge free. I have enjoyed my 360 for two years and did not expect Microsoft to repair it but was pleasently suprised when they said they would. I don’t think this is something that can be blamed on Rockstar. I think Microsoft should be held responsible for hardware failure as they designed and manufactured it.I think if this were to happen to me with any other type of device other than a gaming device I would switch brands without thinking twice but Microsoft is lucky because as gamers we invest so much money into our systems we are almost forced to stay loyal. What has saved them from doom is taking care of there customers, the xbox live experience, the fact that they came out first and got all of us early adopters and all the first party exclusives they paid out the nose for.
June 5th, 2008
Your posts are an emabarresment Jonathan…… The cell processor is just fine thanks. For the record, that comparison of Quake Wars is, in my opinion a little silly. The PS3 version looks sharper and more refined with more colour, but hey, thats just me. If I remember correctly, they said the same thing about GTA4, but this time it was the PS3 version that was hazy and discoloured ??? and the 360 with the sharper image ??? If you ask me (even if you don’t) it all depends on how they develop the games as to how they look.
June 5th, 2008
Johnathan, stick to the topic will you? That’s Quake Wars, made by a different developer, at a different time and it does not display overall PS3 quality/crappiness.
Personally, I have a 360 AND a PS3 - just so you guys don’t bash me - and I am perfectly satisfied with both versions ( I test videogames for a local magazine, that explains the dual console gaming )
And as far as I have experienced, no RRoD. Lag and freezes? Yes, plenty. 4 hours of gaming and it happens. Fanboys, pack your bags. Both consoles are smooth and they each have their strong points. Besides, rumors say that Crysis might be a PS3 console exclusive simply because the 360 doesn’t have enough power.
June 6th, 2008
Yawn…. this argument is getting real old real quick. Calling other people ‘fucking immature’, ‘dumbass’ and ’shithead’ doesn’t really change much.
So shut the fuck up you fucking immature dumbass shitheads. And get a haircut too.
June 6th, 2008
Its a MS conspiracy to “out” the remaining old consoles by forcing them to RROD. This way they can move another X360 from inventory somewhere and claim another unit sold.
June 6th, 2008
SHUT UP WINNER!!!
I hate that you just sit there pretending not to care… but secretely you crave to bash these idiots too dont you
I know your secret winner… I know that you are a Wiiboy… yes I know your terrible secret.. thats why you pretend to be cool and dont talk anymore… I can see you winner… remember that xD
The RROD is a big problem people… if your lauch console hasnt had it.. then youre lucky… but the people who had to change it multiple times… they arent…
Isnt it weird that you want HD Movies in your HDD so that you dont have to get up to change to Disk… and you bitch about how the PS3 Blu Ray is stupid… but its fine when you have to get up and take your 360 to the store to exchange it isnt it??
June 6th, 2008
DWH - noone whines about taking the 360 back due to rrod as ms sends a prepaid shipping box to the customers house. no need to go anywhere.
pc gamers change disks while gaming all the time, console gamers have changed disks since the ps1 and NOONE cares. sony only spun the idea that disk swapping was somehow bad to justify the upcharge for bluray. hey, they had to think of something since the games themselves show ZERO benefit from being mastered on bluray.
the RROD is less of a prob than the dde and dre that sony got sued for last gen and they STILL came out #1. no reason to think ms won’t do the same thing. unless you’re completely blinded by fanboyism, which is looking more and more like the truth.
June 6th, 2008
Quote:
“the RROD is less of a prob than the dde and dre that sony got sued for last gen and they STILL came out #1. no reason to think ms won’t do the same thing. unless you’re completely blinded by fanboyism, which is looking more and more like the truth.”
Are you for real….. 360-> up to 33% failure rate at it’s peak ?? No more needed to say.
PC games RARELY disk swap….They disk swap once…to install the game…
Quote: “noone whines about taking the 360 back due to rrod as ms sends a prepaid shipping box to the customers house. no need to go anywhere.”
M8 you are delusional…If I had a 360 and it RROD, I would be PISSED, especially if it happened multiple times like it does. “Yay, they pre-pay ship and repair the console”…SO THEY BLOODY SHOULD.. I would expect nothing less with FAULTY hardware whether from MICROSOFT or SONY. The fact is…it shouldn’t happen in the first place, if they didn’t rush production and release way before it was ready, just to get a “head start” on the competition.
No excuses.
June 6th, 2008
A WiiBoi??? Good lord no! I would never get a Wii unless I had kids (I don’t have any that I am aware of, but i’ve been fooled before! hehe). I am just beginning to tire of the whole ‘which is better than what’ argument. The same old points are brought up time and time again. Repeating the whole ‘360 has RROD problems’ and ‘PS3 has no games’ argument has run it’s course and bores me.
June 7th, 2008
I don’t mind arguing them, it is fun winding up some of these dudes…I actually like both systems, but can find the good and bad with both. I suppose I give the 360 more stick, cause its the 360 boyz that make the most noise…lol
June 7th, 2008
Well I Didnt Believe This Was Going To Happen But This Article Is Actually True My 360 Got The RROD Yesterday Whiile I Was Playin GTA 4 But It Started Workin After A While N Today The SameThing Happen But Its Not Workin AnyMore Im Not A PS3 FanBoy Or AnyThing Like That I Found This Site N This Article Cause I Was ReSearchin Why My 360 Got The RROD N I Guess i Know Who To Blame
June 7th, 2008
Quote:
“# DavidB: June 6th, 2008
Its a MS conspiracy to “out” the remaining old consoles by forcing them to RROD. This way they can move another X360 from inventory somewhere and claim another unit sold.”
I have to agree that the tactic would not exactly be new and don’t doubt for a second that Microsoft would use such marketing techniques to forward and bump there own sales revenue.
June 7th, 2008
i think DAVE PARRACK needs to jump in and give us a RROD patch or something
June 7th, 2008
well i have a 360, and i agree with fate but wish to alter it just abit … YES this is something that microsoft will and HAVE done in the past with there computer hardware but … well no but really, MS suck!!
on the RROD note, i’ve now had this 3 times with a “new” console and each time its because of power trips, so hint to you all on how to stop getting RROD …
buy a PC and play games on there. tnx
June 8th, 2008
LOL Spidey, there are polished turds on both sides of the fence. Remember, you can’t trade Ivan_PSP in for a different model, he’s all yours!
June 8th, 2008
I bought Gta4 yesterday. Started playing it today, Went 2 grab some food, came back & had 3 flashing red lights(Xbox 360) What do you think???
June 9th, 2008
@winner lol
Brandon….unrucky
June 11th, 2008
All these comments and not ONE person mentioned DAVE PARRACK’s misuse of the word “misapprehension.”
The internet will kill language.
-Arvis
June 15th, 2008
Usually about 5 min into GTAIV on my 360 and I get the 2 red lights. I called MS and they said that my warranty is up, even though I have only had this system less than a year after returning it 4 times due to the 3 red lights.
June 23rd, 2008
Some people are fucking retards! Its not rockstar’s fault, its the fucking consoles. And the people that play it for hours without resting the consoles. Thats why it fucking breaks, not because of rockstar being lazy.
June 23rd, 2008
wtf?!…. it just happened to me a few minutes ago and i was playing gta 4 for a few hours yesterday… but i restarted it so idk wtf is going on…
July 7th, 2008
i just got the game last night for 360 and the lights keep bouncing back and forth from one light to the other (both green) almost as if theres two controllers connected? whats up with that??
July 9th, 2008
hey, if i get RRoD, (Probably from Gta 4) will i get it again? if I do, im throwing out that game. I CANT GO ANOTHER MONTH WITHOUT MY FUCKING XBOX!!!!!
srry 4 cursing
(itsux)
PLZ ANSWER!
July 10th, 2008
i first bought the game and i had the white xbox 360, i loaded GTA 4 in it and played it for 10 min. and it froze. So i went up and restarted it again i had the 4 rings of death. I called up microsoft and it wasnt under warrent, it would of costed me $100 to fix. So i save my $100 and buy the black xbox 360, everyone told me that this one is better. I also sold my GTA 4 and got a new one. I then played my new GTA 4 on my new black xbox 360 and it did the same thing, it got the 4 rings of death. What kind of BULL SHIT is this, MY SECOND XBOX AND IT Died again, THE SAME WAY!!!!!!
is there some way i can fix this issue by my self, i dont really feal like buying a whole new xbox 360.
July 14th, 2008
just because some of you xbox people dont hear about it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist… just cuz YOU think it isn’t a problem anymore doesn’t mean it really isn’t you’re just trying to make the xbox seem a little less pathetic but it’s not working… i’ve had 3 friends that have had their xbox get the RRoD a few times and they switched to the ps3 and have had no problems. i mean honestly if ur stupid enough to turn off the console when it tells u NOT TO then u deserve for ur system to die because ur too dumb to care for it… and xbox people try not to freakin overdo ur system by making it run for like 12 hours without any rest. That doesnt help ur xbox very much does it? and dont talk crap about which system seem smoother n better in picture quality because its just the damn disc n how they make it… xbox doesnt have enough power for some games so it comes out crappy. that sets the low standard for a ps3 disc which is why they come out crappier looking cuz of the xbox n its low standards
September 2nd, 2008
I have a launch 360 that’s seen a LOT of use prior to the release of GTA 4. I’ve been getting RROD’d lately with the exact same light pattern as the image in the article whenever I play GTA 4. I have no problems when trying to play my other games. This article describes exactly what is happening to me.
September 6th, 2008
spidey - none of you, ANYWHERE, have provided any data supporting the “33%” number you insecure ps3 fanboys like to claim. it’s funny you take rumors as fact, and ignore facts.
it’s funny you claim you would hold ms accountable for the RROD while humping sony’s leg after they got sued and lost for the ps3’s breakdowns.
i swear, you are the quintessential idiot spidey.. you and the rest of the moronic ps3 fanboys…
September 6th, 2008
DAVEP - why haven’t you posted an article abou the ps3 locking up while playing the latest Madden? oh that’s right you won’t. 1. it’s a fact 2. it makes the ps3 look as bad as it really is 3. you’re a flaming fanboy.
http://www.dbtechno.com/gaming/2008/09/05/madden-gamers-frustrated-by-issues-on-ps3-patch-coming/
anyone wanna bet this loser won’t post it? anyone? anyone?