Xbox 360 console failure rate forecast at 16.4%
Overheating to blame?
Your Xbox 360 has a 16.4 per cent chance of breaking down, according to an analysis of the Microsoft console’s failure rates by an electronics warranty trading firm.
SquareTrade amassed a sample of 1000 warranty claims that have already been submitted for the Xbox 360 and found that 60 per cent of the failures were due to the infamous 'Red Ring of Death'. It found that both the Wii and the PS3 only failed about three per cent of the time, though sample sizes for both consoles were lower, in the "high hundreds".
Company CEO Steve Abernethy told publication 1up that it expects the 16.4 per cent failure rate to increase over time because many of the recorded malfunctions arose from overheating, as prolonged use increases the likelihood that a hardware failure will take place.
Abernethy admitted that its survey didn’t distinguish between the various Xbox 360 models, and that "most if not all" of the failed consoles were based on the platform's original motherboard.
Microsoft began shipping Xbox 360s with a new motherboard, codenamed 'Falcon', in October 2007. A third version, 'Jasper', is believed to be scheduled to appear this summer.
Last year, Microsoft extended the console’s warranty from one year to three in order to cover problems related to the Red Ring of Death. It also said it would reimburse customers that had already paid for repairs to their consoles. The combined bill for Microsoft has, so far, been estimated at $1bn (£500m/€650m).
COMMENTS
They're all the same
I got my PS2 on the day of release. That had a problem with crackling, distorted sound. That got exchanged in a week or so - the replacement was DOA - DVD drive did not work at all. The third one lasted for years... Sony UK handled the whole thing in the UK very poorly and BBC's Watchdog were involved at the time. As compensation, I got a couple of uncased magazine review copies of games but only after complaining.
Now my XBox 360 lasted two years, the replacement about a week, and now the third one seems OK a few months down the line (with the new motherboard this time). As compensation gave me the choice of a live vision camera or wireless controller. Also MS extended their warranty to 3 years.
From my point of view, MS + Sony are just the same regarding rushing consoles to market, but MS (never thought I'd say this) have done a better job of looking after their punters IME.
It'd be nice to just have a console that worked from day one though!
1 in 6!
Well almost!
By any quality control standards (do they HAVE any Quality Control or QC Standards?) that's SHITE!
Hope the sleeves don't fall of my 6th coat!
No problem here
My flatmate has had his 360 since it was released, and it has been running for long periods without any problems. I can only recommend it. I might get one myself, then I can kick his backside without paying Live membership ;)
What annoys me.
Is people defending Microsoft and/or the Xbox360.
The bottom line is, as a consumer, you should not be rewarding Microsoft by buying Xbox. Why? Because Microsoft have screwed you over, in their greed for profits.
Sony took their time, waiting until the PS3 was reliable and feature complete, and launched when the product was ready.
Microsoft ripped HD DVD and HDMI out of their console, brought the launch forward, and decided reliability testing and stable well designed hardware was not required, as long as they got there before Xmas 2006.
As a consumer, Next time you think about defending Microsoft or ripping into Sony for the PS3 remember these things. We should be rewarding Sony for doing the RIGHT thing, and punishing Microsoft for doing the WRONG thing.
That is the end of my rant...
16% seems way to low
My Xbox 360 is currently away for repair.
After one year it got the three red lights of doom. It was repaired for free.
One year later (now), it has had the DVD drive fail, and worse still destroy two of my game discs on it's way out. I'm now paying £55 for the repair, as the extended warranty only covers the red lights fault.
Maybe my friends are particularly unlucky but the failure rate for consoles owned by people I know is something above 90% - only one person I know has had no problems with his console after a couple of years.
