Microsoft's console historically less reliable, concludes 16,000-console survey by warranty firm SquareTrade; first-year 360 failure rates now under 4%.
The Red Ring of Death remains an all-too-common sight for 360 owners.
Hot on the heels of a controversial Game Informer survey comes a new study that also pegs the Xbox 360 as the least reliable console on the market. Electronics-warranty company SquareTrade has issued a survey of 16,000 game consoles it serviced from the second quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2009. The report analyzed approximately 2,500 PlayStation 3s, 2,500 Xbox 360s and 11,000 Wiis selected at random. (The company found Wii owners much more likely to buy warranties.) All consoles had been purchased new and had not been damaged by their owners.
As with the Game Informer study, SquareTrade found that the Xbox 360's failure rate was far higher than its rivals. Some 23.7 percent of those surveyed failed within two years of purchase: 12 percent from the infamous "Red Ring of Death" and 11.7 percent from other problems, including the "E74" error. Both problems are covered by the 360's three-year manufacturer's warranty, which the company began offering in 2007 for a cost of over $1 billion.
Historically, the 360 is more than twice as likely to fail as its rivals.
By contrast, the study found 10 percent of PlayStation 3s surveyed failed within two years of purchase, as did 2.7 percent of Wiis. However, SquareTrade pointed out an April survey by media-research firm Nielsen that concluded the Wii is the least played of the three major consoles, being used for only 516 minutes per month. By contrast, the Xbox 360 is played over twice as much (1,191 minutes per month), with the PS3 lagging slightly behind it (1,053 minutes per month).
Also to its credit, SquareTrade released a timeline for Xbox 360s that failed in their first year. Up until 2007, the 360 "Xenon" and "Zephyr" models were equipped with a 90nm-process CPU and GPU that generated considerable heat--a likely culprit in the still officially unexplained Red Ring of Death failures. Their replacement, called "Falcon," was released in the fourth quarter of 2007 with a cooler 65nm-process CPU and a 90nm GPU, several months after the launch of the Xbox 360 Elite.
However, the Falcon introduction had an adverse immediate effect, with the first two quarters of 2008 seeing first-year 360 failures spike to 10 percent. However, the study points out that a sell-off of older consoles in the fourth quarter of 2007, which then met their maker the following year, could also be a factor.
Since Q3 2008, first-year 360 failure rates have plummeted.
Fortunately, SquareTrade found that Xbox 360 quality has improved dramatically since the third quarter of 2008, shortly before the 65nm CPU/GPU "Jasper" model was introduced. Since then, first-year failure rates have plummeted to below the 4 percent the company projected. Looking at 500 units purchased in 2009, SquareTrade found that less than 1 percent had suffered the Red Ring of Death.
SquareTrade's analysis of recently purchased 360s appears to back up statements made by Xbox 360 and Xbox Live director of product management Aaron Greenberg. In an interview with GameSpot just before the Xbox 360 Elite $299 price drop, the executive said that Microsoft has made great improvements in the console's quality control.
"I think we've made it clear we stand by the quality of our product, and we will make it right by fixing the problem at no extra cost to you," declared Greenberg. "But at the same time, we've been working hard to make improvements in the products we're currently making, so I really feel like most of this is well behind us."
Big difference from the numbers a couple weeks ago. Yay Jasper I suppose :)
A cheer from the guy that still has a first generation PS2 that is running fine :)
I guess it helps if you poll more than a few people in Seattle. And I still have a working first gen ps2. Had to clean the lens a few times, but still works great.
I bought my elite late 2008 around the Halo 3 lauch and have had it break 3 times on me. Even the last one they sent back to me started up with E64, 65, and 68 on it. It is not my harddrive because I have tried it on a number of other consoles.
I never listen to these statistics, I go by what has happened to me.
My stats
NES - blinking blue screen of death
Genesis never died
Odyssey 2- never died METAL JOYSTICKS FTW BUILT IN KEYBOARD FTW!~
Atari 2600 - dozens of broken joysticks
Colecovision -never died
SNES - never died
PS2 fat OG - DRE
2nd PS2 fat OG - DRE
3rd PS2 fat "network bundle version" - still going strong
PS2 slim -doing fine
XBOX1 - DDE
2nd XBOX1 - weird video output problems
PS3 OG 60gb - going strong
Dreamcast - never died
N64 never died
Gamestop refurbished N64- died
Playstation 1 launch model - Overheated Willy
Playstation 1 revamped hardware -worked fine
Sega Saturn - seemed ok for the 7 days I owned it
Hexpane: Sega Saturn - seemed ok for the 7 days I owned it
LOL yep, that's pretty much the length I had mine too before selling it off. What a disapointement...
If the Xbox is only 23%, then I have to feel the PS3 numbers are a little inflated. I'm not ignorant of PS3's own issues, but to say it's half of the epic 360 issue seems a bit high.
Given the number of Wii's sold, nearly 3% of those going bad seems a bit high too; I haven't heard many Wii woes at all yet (probably helpful that its the least played).
*Also has a still working launch PS2.*
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GreenManGaming
Kenny007: If the Xbox is only 23%, then I have to feel the PS3 numbers are a little inflated. I'm not ignorant of PS3's own issues, but to say it's half of the epic 360 issue seems a bit high. Given the number of Wii's sold, nearly 3% of those going bad seems a bit high too; I haven't heard many Wii woes at all yet (probably helpful that its the least played). *Also has a still working launch PS2.*
At GS I have seen quite a few Wiis with disc drive problems, so 3% is probably dead on.
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Interesting article Hexpane, seems a little more trustworthy than the reader poll
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Kenny007: If the Xbox is only 23%, then I have to feel the PS3 numbers are a little inflated. I'm not ignorant of PS3's own issues, but to say it's half of the epic 360 issue seems a bit high.
Why?
Black Fox Zulu: Kenny007: If the Xbox is only 23%, then I have to feel the PS3 numbers are a little inflated. I'm not ignorant of PS3's own issues, but to say it's half of the epic 360 issue seems a bit high. Why?
While the PS3 has it's issues, they've gone no where near the epic failure of the 360s yet. Maybe they're just quieter about it?
cheeznrice: Interesting article Hexpane, seems a little more trustworthy than the reader poll
Well for those who may not realize, I ;) I have absolutely NOTHING to do w/ either article, I'm just cutting and pasting like any monkey w/ a keyboard can!
I'm far more inclined to believe these statistics than the "statistics" from the GI survey.
Has anyone ever used SquareTrade? They tried selling me a warranty with my new PS3, but for one reason or another, I declined.
It appears that microsoft has a timer set to kill your box.