Microsoft has finally detailed the reason behind the company's biggest hardware controversy to date. The information came to light via a new documentary that Microsoft itself released called Power On: The Story of Xbox. The six-part documentary is currently available on YouTube, with a whole episode dedicated to the "Red Ring of Death" saga.

Microsoft has acknowledged the Red Ring of Death many times in the past and has even went as far as to make some self-aware jokes on the matter. Earlier this month Microsoft released Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death posters in order to make light of a trying time in the company's history. Former Head of Xbox, Peter Moore, explains in the documentary that all in all The Red Ring of Death cost the company around $1.15 billion when the cost of repairs and lost sales were accounted for.

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Even after all these years, many gamers were still unsure of the exact reason The Red Ring of Death occurred in the first place. Leo Del Castillo, a member of Xbox's hardware engineering department, explained that the issue was caused by connectors inside components of the console overheating and breaking.

This damage was not directly caused by too much heat as Todd Holmdahl, Xbox's Head of Hardware from 1999 to 2014, explained that the Red Ring of Death occurred when the console reached a high level of heat and then cooled off suddenly when the console was switched off. This put a lot of stress on the internal components of the Xbox 360 causing the dreaded Red Ring of Death.

With the Red Ring of Death issue now firmly in the past, Xbox Series X owners can now reminisce on the Xbox 360 days by using the older console's dynamic background. Microsoft released a new dynamic Xbox 360 background for the Xbox Series X in commemoration of Xbox's 20th anniversary. This may offer long-time Xbox fans some nostalgia that they can appreciate when they switch on their Xbox Series X consoles.

Xbox has made many strides in recent years with backwards compatibility, however, there are still some games that are exclusive to the Xbox 360 that may just end up being lost to time. With the holiday season winding down, now might be the perfect time for gamers to blow the dust off of their Xbox 360 consoles and experience some nostalgia.

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