Console malfunctions

[Luk3us 63]

US, August 17, 2009 - If your Xbox 360 hasn't broken down yet or suffered from the dreaded red ring of death, then consider yourself pretty lucky.

 

A new survey published in Game Informer's print edition indicates the Xbox 360 failure rate has climbed to a shocking 54.2%. The magazine surveyed nearly 5000 readers, asking them about their experience dealing with broken consoles.

 

Here are their findings:

 

Console failure rate

 

Xbox 360 – 54.2%

Playstation 3 – 10.6%

Wii – 6.8%

 

Percentage of console owners who suffered a second hardware failure after the original repair.

 

Xbox 360 – 41.2%

Playstation 3 – 14.7%

Wii – 11%

 

Percentage of people who rate their customer service experience "very helpful"

 

Nintendo – 56.1%

Sony – 51.1%

Microsoft – 37.7%

 

Percentage of respondents whose friends have had console hardware failures.

 

Xbox 360 – 69.9%

Playstation 3 – 12.4%

Wii – 6%

 

 

The magazine also makes a few notes about their results:

 

The reason the Wii has the lowest hardware failure rate could be because console is played the least of the three. 41.4% of Wii owners surveyed said they play the console less than one hour a day, meanwhile the majority of Xbox 360 (40.3%) and Playstation 3 (37%) owners say they play their console on an average of three to five hours day.

 

Also, only 3.8% of respondents said they'd never buy another Xbox system because of the failure rates.

 

http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/101/1014486p1.html

 

 

I'm not sure which is more sad. That Microsoft doesn't seem to care, or that consumers don't...

[Doctor Destiny 41]

This is surprising how? These figures don't really surprise me in the least. Everything has an inherent failure rate.

[Malevolence 6]

It's Microsoft, what do you expect?

[Luk3us 63]

Obviously far to much...

 

This is surprising how? These figures don't really surprise me in the least. Everything has an inherent failure rate.

 

50% is far too high.

[Saracen 16]

That's gone up since last year then. The rate in 2008 was around 40.3%... I can't understand why it's that high though given MS were supposed to have fixed the inherent flaw in the 360's manufacture.

 

It's like owning an Aston Martin Vantage kitted with with parts from a 1975 Trabant... something just isn't right there!

[Nmenth 290]

50% is far too high.

I'd say anything over 20% is too high...

 

54.2% is just down right wrong.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

It's Microsoft, what do you expect?

HURR DURR. Idiot.

 

50% is far too high.

I find that number to be a huge misnomer. A large part of Xbox 360 failure is IMPROPER handling. You need to vent the hot air properly and a lot of Red Rings were caused by misplaced systems or mishandled systems. Put that with a little faulty hardware, and you double, and even triple, the chances of something going wrong. I refuse to believe the number for Xbox 360s failures is that high...

[Sonic 295]

My 360 died twice. Last time was June 2008. Has been fine since. On the flip side, my brother's PS3 has also crapped out twice. First one was back in March 2009 then again about month later.

 

This new 360 failure rate stats doesn't shock me. The console dies, you get it fixed.... simple really.

[Guest Stevie_K]

Weird. Many of my friends has a 360.. never even heard of a problem. I have one myself, can't complain.

 

But when I see these high numbers I kind of fear the "Red Ring Of Death!" should suddenly appear.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

But when I see these high numbers I kind of fear the "Red Ring Of Death!" should suddenly appear.

Don't. If you take good care of your system, you have a less likely chance of having a Red Ring. It's not eliminated but your chances dip quite a lot with proper care and handling. If you're that paranoid, most Red Rings are caused by overheating so put a fan by your 360 to vent the hot air away.

[Inferno 22]

But the point here is, if you take good care of your 360 and good care of your Wii, chances are the 360 will die first.

[Luk3us 63]

But the point here is, if you take good care of your 360 and good care of your Wii, chances are the 360 will die first.

 

Yeah except the playing ration between the Xbox and Wii will be 10:1. So naturally the Wii will last longer. Unless you are a fitness freak, in which case you should be outside anyway.

[Inferno 22]

Playing the Wii isn't anywhere near the same thing as fitness

[Doctor Destiny 41]

But it's a start for some of the fat asses in this country.

 

Besides, you should all know Nintendo has a penchant for making really good products. I've had my NES since I think 1990 and it still works.

[TheBlackOut 6]

Besides, you should all know Nintendo has a penchant for making really good products. I've had my NES since I think 1990 and it still works.

My NES, my SNES, my N64, my GameCube (that I got rid of), and my Wii all work to this day. My friend bought my GameCube and plays it pretty often, not a problem.

 

I can believe the Xbox failure rate is this high. I have two friends that have Xbox 360s and they both have them set up properly, both of them died within a year. A month later, one of my friend's repaired Xbox dies again. My other friend's Xbox has okay.. so far. Microsoft has acknowledged their horrible failure rates, hence why they've released the Jasper and extended their warranty coverage by what, a year? I wonder if failure rates among Jasper units are lower now. Hmm.

 

The failure rates aren't the reasoning I wouldn't get an Xbox 360 though, I just like the PS3 better now at this point that if I was going to get another console, PS3 would be what I'd grab.

[Saracen 16]

Besides, you should all know Nintendo has a penchant for making really good products. I've had my NES since I think 1990 and it still works.

 

It's the same for most Japanese products really. Their Cars are also a prime example. They still need the usual maintenance... but holy crap they seem to last forever! Not the best cars in the world to drive, but their reliability is without question.

[Guest Stevie_K]

Japanese handcraft works. Drove to Amsterdam from Copenhagen and I can say that it can be quite comfortable as well.

[F15pilotX 4]

It's the same for most Japanese products really. Their Cars are also a prime example. They still need the usual maintenance... but holy crap they seem to last forever! Not the best cars in the world to drive, but their reliability is without question.

I dunno, I always did enjoy the Toyota 4Runner I drove; I'll probably get one when I get out of uni ...it's 11+ years old now (~200k on it) and still runs fine.