Reports have already emerged that the some Xbox 360 Elites are showing the red ring of death. This comes just a day after the model's release in the US.

Apparently disc-scratching issues are also emerging, with the video below demonstrating that one unit (in the owner's words) "always sounds like a screaming banshee on crack". At this stage, however, SPOnG's treating the reports as rumour only until we see more evidence.

That's not to say, however, that the reports are implausible. The 360, in both its core and premium configurations, is notorious for dying for no apparent reason. Most recently the issue arose thanks to a patch released by Red Octane to fitch the Whammy Bar on Guitar Hero II.

Given that the 360 has been on sale for over a year now Microsoft ought to have been able to sort its hardware issues out. If the rumours prove to be true and the problem widespread could it be that consumers might have fallen victim to a rush job for the sake of PS3 spoiler antics? The Elite was announced just a few days after the PS3 launch and only a month before it hit retailers, after all. SPOnG, of course, would never suggest such a thing, but we know some people who might.

SPOnG has the footage of an Elite allegedly failing to read a disc, but remains sceptical. We tried filming our 360 and making 'grrrrr' noises next to it and achieved a similar effect...

Needless to say, we'll monitor the situation and keep you informed of any updates.



^{Source: Loot Ninja}