Flash back to November 22, 2005. After standing in line in the freezing Minnesotan cold for several hours, I was among the first to get his hands on Microsoft's next-gen Xbox 360 video game system.

Such good times, those. Mega hits like Gears of War were still far off in the horizon, the Wii was still the Revolution, and Sony had yet to price their $599 wonder-machine. We had games like Call of Duty 2 (crappy online play still intact) and Condemned to hold us over until the good stuff like Oblivion and Fight Night Round 3 came out.

Yup...fine times, indeed.

Before long (and after an investment of over $2,000 when everything was said and done) my attachment to the 360 had grown rather strong. Despite claims starting to surface that the launch batch of consoles were somehow defective, I was blissfully uninterested as I gamed away in high definition.

Fast forward to last week, my faithful launch console friend finally moved on to that great TV stand in the sky. As I came home from work eager to jump into the Shadowrun beta test I was accepted into not even a week prior, I was left a little dumbfounded when, after pressing the power button, I was greeted with 3 red, flashing lights. Thinking a cable must've come unplugged, I made sure all connections where firm. Yet still, those 3 lights flashed on.

Why!? Why now!? Why not 18 months ago...?

Why is it, at the cusp of firmware updates, new hard drive releases, mega HD-DVD releases, and two big game betas, did ol' faithful need to suffer from "general hardware failure"?

Lamenting my misfortune, I phoned the 1-800-4MyXbox Microsoft support line. I've heard more than a few horror stories pertaining to Xbox support, so suffice it to say, I wasn't looking forward to the experience. However, I'm pleased to announce that, ultimately,it wasn't so bad.

My tier 1 support specialist was obviously stationed in a foreign country, but his comprehension of the English language and understanding of the Xbox 360 hardware was remarkable. Really, there were no problems communicating with him at all. Moreover, the total time I spent on hold was no more than 5 minutes.

So alright then...so far, so good.

But then came the best news of all: because my console is from the first batch of 360's produced (way back in October of '05), it is under what is essentially an indefinite warranty. Not only does this mean they will repair/replace it for free, but UPS shipping both ways is on them.

My repair box coffin is now on its way. I will be posting updates of the repair process as they occur, so be sure to check back later. Also, if anyone can provide some ideas on how I should pass the time until I get my 'Box back, feel free to chime in.

Xbox 360 launch console. Born October 25, 2005, deceased April 11, 2007.