Xbox failure rate is around 16 per cent and rising
15 Feb 2008 | 12:48 GMT
Microsoft converts cash into smoke
A REPORT from a warranty firm Square Trade reckons that the XBox 360 failure rate is running at 16.4 per cent.
Some retailers have complained that the failure rate is as high as 33 per cent, while the Vole reckons it's closer to three or four per cent.
It's not clear how Square Trade arrives at its figure. Maybe it just chose a half-way house. But it does fix battered boxes under is warranty service so should know what it's talking about.
About 60 per cent of all dodgy Xboxes returned to Square Trade suffer the vindaloo-induced Red Ring of Death.
Square Trade CEO Steve Abernethy told 1up.com that the failure rate is likely to rise as the machines are used more. "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.
Both the PlayStation 3 and the Wii have about a three per cent failure rate. Microsoft is lucky in having money to burn, it seems. µ
© 2007 Incisive Media Investments Ltd. 2007