Microsoft Warns: Don't Stand Your Xbox One Vertical

[Karloff]

Microsoft Warns: Don't Stand Your Xbox One Vertical

Do it at your own risk, says Microsoft's Albert Panello.

"It wouldn't be a cooling problem, we just didn't design the drive for vertical," says Microsoft's Albert Panello. "Because it's a slot loading drive, we just didn't design it for both." Thus comes the latest commandment from on high: stand ye not your Xbox One vertical, lest plagues of locusts strip the earth bare. Or possibly the console will just stop working. But according to Panello, Microsoft has made a study, and 80% of Xbox 360 owners keep their console horizontal, as the creator may, or may not, have intended.

"Do it at your own risk," says Panello. Whether or not this makes a difference is entirely up to you, the purchaser. It's a pity that darn slot drive is getting in the way; makes you wonder how other consoles manage [http://sonyps4.com/].

The Xbox One is due November 22nd [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127449-Xbox-One-Out-November-22nd], in its 13 initial launch markets. An unknown date in 2014 is the projected release outside the initial launch zone.

Source: GameSpot UK [http://uk.gamespot.com/tgs/microsoft-on-xbox-one-vertical-orientation-do-it-at-your-own-risk-6414731/]

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[Dragonbums]

Do they think people are really that stupid?

I'm serious here.

EDIT: saw the statistic...don't know why anyone would do that to hardware that obviously was meant to be horizontal. Only thing I can think of relates to saving space.

 

[Hazy992]

Pretty sure the Wii, PS3 and PS4 could be stood vertically and they've all got slot loading drives...

 

[Fasckira]

My 360 has stood vertical for a good few years now, mainly for space reasons. Never had an issue with the drive, but I'll heed the advice for the Xbone and ensure theres horizontal space!

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

They really did throw out the baby with the bathwater when they designed this thing, didn't they?

Everything about it screams bad design. Not trustworthy at all. And then you have to remember the 30% failure rate of Xbox 360 back in the day. That was unacceptable. I sure as hell wouldn't risk buying a new Microsoft console on launch for that reason alone.

This could be a significant limitation. For example, I would have to keep it on the floor. Which would make it run hotter. I literally don't have enough space for this thing anywhere else.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Something tells me that the quality of the Xbone is the same as the first 3 revisions of the X360: horrible badly designed paperweights.

 

[fix-the-spade]

They really did throw out the baby with the bathwater when they designed this thing, didn't they?

I bet it's a cost thing, a slot drive that can safely run vertically probably costs a dollar more than one that doesn't.

I'm waiting to see what the big manufacturing error will be in the Xbone, there will be something, I'm banking on it being related to that non-removable hard drive.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Wait.....So if I buy this thing which is $500+ I can't put it vertically? If I spend $500+ on a thing, I want to put it any orientation I please!

Microsoft is going to get the stupidest company in America award this year.

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

While I admit the Xbone is pretty much box-shaped, the 360 has always been a strange hourglass shape. The only flat sides are the 'sides', so of course I stood it vertical. And, due to space reasons, the only other option would be to put it horizontal and stand the monitor it's hooked up to on top of it, and I feel like that would be damaging both to the 360 and the Xbone.

This doesn't really affect my opinion of the console as much as its other problems, but it may be the last nail in the coffin.

 

[WickedFire]

Is it me, or does just scream shoddy, cheap, parts? Considering the Wii, and PS3 (the first and second iterations at any rate) had slot loading drives and could be stood vertical, how poor a drive do you need so that this is problem?

 

[Teoes]

Wait.....So if I buy this thing which is $500+ I can't put it vertically? If I spend $500+ on a thing, I want to put it any orientation I please!

Microsoft is going to get the stupidest company in America award this year.

How's this for a suggestion: you spend the $500+ on your Xbone, then orient it horizontally in my house. There'll be loads of space for it there.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Wait.....So if I buy this thing which is $500+ I can't put it vertically? If I spend $500+ on a thing, I want to put it any orientation I please!

Microsoft is going to get the stupidest company in America award this year.

How's this for a suggestion: you spend the $500+ on your Xbone, then orient it horizontally in my house. There'll be loads of space for it there.

Next time I have a bad idea, I'll call you!

 

[Jadak]

EDIT: saw the statistic...don't know why anyone would do that to hardware that obviously was meant to be horizontal. Only thing I can think of relates to saving space.

What makes it obvious? The only obvious reason to not put the things vertically is the horizontal advantage of not being able to be knocked over, something that only matters if the console is placed where that is likely. The shape is not dissimilar from my current 360, which is perfectly fine running vertically and has been doing so for years.

 

[Vie]

Is it me, or does just scream shoddy, cheap, parts? Considering the Wii, and PS3 (the first and second iterations at any rate) had slot loading drives and could be stood vertical, how poor a drive do you need so that this is problem?

Exactly the thought I had, makes you wonder just how deep MS's accountants claws dug into the development of the XBone.

I mean the freaking Wii has a multi-orientation drive, how cheap are these fools?

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

While it does seem arbitrary and one wonders why they would go back of the vertical ability of...every other console...it is a reasonably small limitation.

 

[LaoJim]

Am I the only person on this board who is horrified by the very thought of putting an Xbox (or Playstation or CD player or DVD player or a PC that's not a tower) vertically. It's just...wrong...somehow. Ugg. I'm happy that Microsoft has come out strongly against this vile practice.

 

[schtingah]

I love statistics that sound good one way but bad the other way. They're still forcing 1/5th of their potential customers to change their living room arrangements because they couldn't bother getting a decent quality drive.

 

[Yuuki]

"Made for your living room" they had said at some point.