I really, really, really, REALLLY want to love Microsoft's XNA initiative. Really.

Here's the thing, though. I can't seem to keep my 360's running for any length of time. I had one fail and sent it in for repairs. It came back and within two months suffered from the Red Rings of Death again. So I sent it in and while I was waiting for it to come back I upgraded to a 360 Premium. When my first 360 came back I sold it to my friend Lisa.

Fast forward to now, just over one year later, and my 360 Premium just lit up all red and green; festive colours for a suicidal console. I had decided to try reviewing a few of the XNA Community games while I was working on my own. Thankfully I can continue development, but it is beginning to feel like I should stick to Flash games - if my computer tanks I can usually just buy a new part and have it up and running again the next day.

Had this happened when I wasn't in the middle of a crazy pact, I probably would have sent it out to be repaired and just bought a new one while I was waiting for it to come back. Since that option isn't open to me I get to try sending my 360 out again at the time of year when every means of sending a package is jammed up.

Lucky me.