Well, they are ofcourse saying it indirectly. The simple reason for this is, they do not have any service center in India and for their Indian customers, and they simply replace problematic Xbox system with new one. But they do not replace the console if it has been bought from countries other than India, They ask you to send it to their Australian service center.

I had purchased my XBOX 360 from US in November 2006. It worked well without any problems until it started flashing 3 red lights on my console. I think the problem is with some dust or moisture on the console board or RAM. So, now according to MS, I will have to send it to their Australian service center. And it is going to cost me around Rs. 6,000 for the shipment and customs. (Though my repairs will be under warranty and MS will pay for the return shipment too)

So, in short, MS is trying to say is: Pay Rs. 9,000 for the console in India and buy it. Don’t bother us if you have purchased console from out of India.

I am leaving for Heera Panna (shopping complex kinda thing in Mumbai) to get it repaired. I have decided to give it a shot with local guys as it is not any big issue. I would have surely visited MS service center if they had it in Mumbai. Infact I never would have said no to any extra cost for repairs too. But sending it to Australia just does not make any sense to me.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: IF YOUR XBOX 360 STOPS WORKING AND IS UNDER WARRANTY, THEN PLEASE DO NOT SHOW IT TO LOCAL DEALER AT ANY COST. WARRANTY WILL BE VOID ONCE OPENED, MICROSOFT WILL NEVER ENTERTAIN YOU AGAIN AND YOUR XBOX WILL BECOME PAPERWEIGHT LIKE MINE.