Report claims 360 failure rate over 16 per cent

February 14th, 2008, 19:15 Posted By: Shrygue

via Games Industry


SquareTrade, a firm that specialises in electronics warranties, has found that of a sample of 1000 Xbox 360 consoles, the failure rate was 16.4 per cent.

That compares to a failure rate of just 3 per cent for the PlayStation 3 and Wii, from sample sizes "in the high hundreds" reports 1UP.com.

And according to SquareTrade CEO Steve Abernethy, the overheating problem associated with Microsoft's console may cause the failure rate to climb.

"It is reasonable to believe these failure rates will increase over time, since the Xbox 360 failure issues tend to increase with prolonged use where overheating appears the main culprit," he said.

According to the company's data, the much-publicised 'Red Rings of Death' error accounted for around 60 per cent of the sample failures. Of the different hardware variations of the Xbox 360, Abernethy stated that of the associated problems he "would estimate most if not all were the original motherboard."

Last year, Xbox boss Peter Moore offered an apology to consumers who had been forced to send away their Xbox 360 consoles for repair, with the company extending the warranty of the machine to three years.

Although Microsoft would not offer a solid figure on failure rates, Moore told GamesIndustry.biz at the time that, "you know it when you see it. We saw it, and it was unacceptable."

Again, Microsoft has refused to disclose any internal repair figures, with a spokesperson telling GamesIndustry.biz this monring, "The majority of Xbox 360 owners have had a great experience with their consoles.

"We do not disclose internal hardware repair data and we do not comment on speculation."

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