14 DAY TRIAL // Just when Microsoft's Xbox 360 console had gotten rid of its hardware problems, specifically the Red Ring of Death, new reports from the UK say that when a new Kinect device is connected to it, the console immediately freezes up and displays the dreaded error.
Older Xbox 360 consoles were really prone to breaking down, largely due to heating problems, at least according to Microsoft, and displayed the "affectionately"-named Red Ring of Death around its Power button.
Now, thanks to improvements in the manufacturing process and the introduction of the new Xbox 360 "Slim" model, things are back to normal, and the console's failure rate is really low.
With the introduction of the Kinect, however, things are going down a steep slope once more, as plenty of owners are reporting that their Xbox 360 broke down when they connected the new device to their console.
According to a report from the BBC, the Kinect can cause the Xbox 360 to display the Red Ring error, with multiple cases reported in the last few weeks, during the holiday season.
"We plugged it [Kinect] in the day we got it but only played it a few times before we got the red lights," a Xbox 360 owner said to the BBC.
"The next day when we tried it again we still had the red rings of death and haven't been able to use it since."
After polling a few online forums, CVG also discovered a few similar incidents.
"I have never had a single issue with my Xbox," one poster wrote. "I got Kinect for Christmas and the screen starting freezing randomly. Then on New Year's eve... BAM I got the red ring. Very sad."
Another read "Yep, I got the Red rings of death on Christmas day The very same day my kids got a Kinect."
Details about the incidents are sketchy, so we don't know for sure if the victims had older Xbox 360 consoles or new devices.
Microsoft was quick to reply to this report, and denied that there is any link between the Kinect and the Xbox 360 failures.
"There is no correlation between the three flashing red lights error and Kinect," the firm said in a statement. "Any new instances of the three flashing red lights error are merely coincidental."
Have you had any problems connecting your brand new Kinect to the Xbox 360 or did it go off without a hitch? Share your experiences below.