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Xbox 360 Failure Rate Is 54.2%

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the that-seems-a-bit-high dept.

Colonel Korn writes "The Seattle PI Blog is reporting that a soon to be published Game Informer survey finally shows the failure rate of XBOX 360s: 54%! The survey also shows the rates of failure for the PS3 (11%) and Wii (7%). Impressively, only 4% of respondents said they wouldn't buy a new 360 because of hardware failures."

6 of 607 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Missing Details by Silentknyght · · Score: -1, Troll
    Note the giant typo in the slashdot summary versus eldavojohn's (emphasis added). From Slashdot:

    only 4% of respondents said they wouldn't buy a new 360 because of hardware failures.

    From eldavojohn

    only 3.8% said they would buy another Xbox

    This is a pretty significant difference, and owing to Slashdot's frequent editorial errors, I'd say trust eldavojohn.

  2. Re:Wow, shocking news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    No, there is no control provided by the other response rates.
    Go learn what a selection bias is and report back. This survey is meaningless.

  3. Re:Missing Details by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Eldavojohn is a toadie-ass karma whore who has his head so far up Taco's ass I don't know where he begins and Taco ends!

    He is the king bitch among bitches and the kind of Slashdot poster who made me shit myself in disgust and throw away my excellent karma at the realization that almost all Slashdot readers actually were the annoying little fat kid who tattle-taled on everybody in class and then hid behind mommy's leg when the classmates went to kick his ass.

    Bitches beware -- the men are taking Slashdot back!

    -- Ethanol-fueled

  4. Quality of the failure not just quantity by SgtChaireBourne · · Score: -1, Troll

    Seeing as how heat is the predominate cause of these machines giving up the ghost (whether it be heat killing components, heat changes warping solder, or cheap solder being affected by predictable heat), it would be interesting to compare the failure rate of small form factor computers, laptops, or pre-built gaming computers.

    We've all known for a long time what happens when you let a computer run for 3 years and let the case fans get caked up...

    It's not just the quantity of the epic failure of the M$ console, it's the quality and duration of the failure. It's been four or five years of property damage and even injury and death.

    To be fair, the buyers were warned: The boxes did have the M$ brand clearly marked on the packaging. The fault lies with those who decided to deploy xbox instead of one of the top-selling game consoles like Wii, PS2, or PS3. It's a can of worms to be sure, just wait till courts ask how hospitals decided to deploy M$ products like C# or XP on the desktop or server instead of Solaris / Linux or Java / Python. Who goes to the gas chamber for multiple counts of { voluntary | criminally negligent } manslaughter, the techs deploying the known defective technology or the administrators who bullied them into doing so? "Just following orders" is not a valid defense.

    --
    Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
    1. Re:Quality of the failure not just quantity by Bigjeff5 · · Score: -1, Troll

      The only reason for buying an XBOX 360 I can think of is when they include a year's worth of crack or meth. You know that two thirds of those consoles die within a year or two. You know that after three years, the thing is out of warranty and you're out of luck. You know that it's damn loud. You know there's a few consoles out there that last much longer, make less noise, cost less money and don't require a serverfarm-sized air condition to not overheat. And you know there's a tremendous array of laptop and desktop computers that can run PC versions of most console games and much much more, including every piece of USB equipment ever made in the last decade.

      Now, what's the kicker on the 360 to throw all that aside?

      I tried to find the sarcasm, but I couldn't. It must be there, seeing as how every single statement you made was incorrect.

      A.) Not quite 2/3 of people never have a problem with thier 360. Of the unfortunate 39% who do, about 40% of those people will have another problem, and 40% of the people who have a second problem will have a third, etc. It works out to a 54% TOTAL fail rate, and the second and third passes are usually refurbished machines which are slightly less reliable (kinda shitty of MS, but understandable given the cost).

      B.) True, the warranty is only good for 3 years, but that's three times better than the PS3's and the Wii's one year warranty. That's right, one year and you're out of luck for the competition.

      C.) It's a hell of a lot quieter than the gaming PC you want to replace it with, and I've heard conflicting reports of whether the PS3 or 360 is louder when playing games. Unless your an audiophile, neither is distracting when you've got the stereo turned on at even a low volume.

      D.) Which console costs less money? The cheapest PS3 is just coming out, at $300. The cheapest 360 is almost half that, at $179. The Wii is still $250. (all prices are from Amazon.com) Which console is cheaper again? It's only when you move to the mid-range 360 that the Wii gets cheaper, and the PS3 is only now the same price, and if you're smart you'll buy the arcade version and the hard drive separately and save yourself up to $50 off of THAT price (only difference between pro and arcade is the HDD). So, PS3 for $300, or XBOX 360 for $250? Which is cheaper again? Which has more games, including all of the best ones? Thought so.

      E.) All you need to keep it cool is not block the vent holes. They put half them on top, which is a terrible idea, but as long as you keep those free it does not overheat, and your chances of failure will be in line with the other consoles.

      F.) Any laptop or PC that can run "PC versions of most console games and much much more" is going to be 3-5x more expensive than a console - a $600 laptop won't let you play games like Gears of War or Fallout 3 (well, maybe F3, with low settings). Desktops are a little better about that, you could probably get by with a $400 desktop and a $100 video card, but it's still a hell of a lot more than ~$200. Consoles are in the price range of nettops and netbooks, which can't run any but the oldest PC games, console port or no. Why would I spend 5x as much just to play games?

      Of course, the kicker is the 360 is now the cheapest console with the 2nd best graphics (by a very small margin) and all the best games (the ones that are PS3 only are, frankly, shit). I hear PS3's home is great, but XBOX live has tons of extra content available, including Netflix (my primary use of my xbox, actually).

      No dope required.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
  5. Re:Missing Details by schon · · Score: 0, Troll

    people concerned about whether the hardware still functions in 30 years are not Microsoft's core demographic

    How about people who are concerned whether it will function after 3 years, which is what the OP said? Do they care about them?

    I highly doubt any console maker cares about you, in fact.

    Then either they are idiots, or you are a moron, because three years is a very short time.