The man with four bad Xbox 360s

Ever since the November launch of the Xbox 360, news reports have trumpeted quality problems with the next-gen consoles.

But while such reports have largely tapered off, one new one definitely seems worth pointing out.

According to San Jose Mercury News reporter Dean Takahashi, a 37-year-old photographer from Chicopee, Mass., named Chris Szarek has had a little trouble with the consoles.

Apparently, Szarek has had not one faulty Xbox 360, not two, not even three. No, he's had four, count 'em, four malfunctioning Xboxes, and he's pissed, especially since he read that the console's maker, Microsoft, feels customers who complain about faulty Xboxes should take their gripes elsewhere.

"Szarek said he was annoyed at a quote by Microsoft's (Peter) Moore, corporate vice president in charge of the games business," wrote Takahashi, "who told a magazine that complaints were the result of a few people on the Internet making noise."

"It really pained me to see my favorite gaming company act like this," Takahashi quoted Szarek as saying, "but I had no intention of being taken for a ride by any company that I have supported with literally thousands of dollars in purchases over the years."

To be fair, Microsoft has replaced each of Szarek's bad Xboxes.

Still, it's worth wondering whether one guy getting four bad machines is simply like him getting hit by lightning four times or whether it's symptomatic of a larger problem.