Microsoft expands 360 warranty coverage to 3 years

[CoinReturn]

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it will expand its global Xbox 360 warranty coverage. Any Xbox 360 customer who experiences a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights will now be covered by a three year warranty from date of purchase. All other existing Xbox 360 warranty policies remain in place.

As a result of what Microsoft views as an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles, the company conducted extensive investigations into potential sources of general hardware failures. Having identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures indicated by three red flashing lights on the console, Microsoft has made improvements to the console and is enhancing its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers.

Microsoft stands behind its products and is taking responsibility to repair or replace any Xbox 360 console that experiences the "three flashing red lights" error message within three years from time of purchase free of charge, including shipping costs. Microsoft will take a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs under its current and enhanced Xbox 360 policies.

"The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division. "We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come."

For any customer who has previously paid for repair expenses related to the three flashing lights error message on the Xbox 360 console, Microsoft will retroactively reimburse them.
http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2007/7/5-14
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/petermooreletter.htm

Finally! They admit they have a problem with their consoles, and fully reimburses those they charged for repairs. Makes me feel at ease knowing I'm still under warranty, even though I have a launch system. Good job, Microsoft.

[darth los]

http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2007/7/5-14
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/petermooreletter.htm

Finally! They admit they have a problem with their consoles, and fully reimburses those they charged for repairs. Makes me feel at ease knowing I'm still under warranty, even though I have a launch system. Good job, Microsoft.

It is refreshing but don't think for a second that they didn't spend millions trying to see if they were really liable. They did like any good politician would do. They got out in front of it as to look like they are being agressive with the problem. If they didn't do this i'll bet anything that a class action lawsuit and thus horrible publicity was not far off. Very savvy on their part.

[Danny]

uhh...cool, my warranty ran out in may so ,uh yeah, good.

[MinionZombie]

I wonder how this affects my extended warranty that I paid for to take me to three years...does this mean I now have 5 years cover? I'm confused. I only just got my SexBox in May - so it was 1 year warranty off the bat, but then paid for 2 extra years (wisely, I'm a firm believer in insurance policies)...so what does this mean, is my default 1 year now 3 years even though I bought it a couple of months ago - i.e. is it retro-active? Or ... wait ... I'm confused...:lol:

It's good that they're solving the issue now, and by the sounds of it they have identified the issues, so hopefully the repeat-breaks some people have been having (no doubt down to refurbished units going out as replacements) will cease ... mind you, if you don't treat the tech with respect, then it's gonna break...no doubt that is part of the problem out there and people aren't owning up, or manipulating/deliberately leaving out information when they forum-shout.

I feel more confident now if anything goes wrong, because it appears that they accept they have an issue so they're solving the problem...and yeah, they probably did spent money finding out if they were liable - but to be honest, that's normal business practice, so it's understandable...when you're talking millions, you wanna know where you truly stand.

Anyway, I feel more confident with this news, but I still treat my console like a king, especially as I believe in respecting your technology. :)

[Eyebiter]

Microsoft said it will record a charge of up to $1.15 billion for the fourth quarter to cover the additional costs associated with the warranty extension. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070705/D8Q6NLV80.html

[MinionZombie]

I still haven't found out if my additional 2 years I paid for will start in May 2008, or in May 2010...a lot of people are asking that question I've seen online, so I assume it'll be addressed soon by someone out there, perhaps even Microsoft.

As for the 1.15 billion dollars, now surely that's going to cover the current Xbox units out there - but also those to come?

That's a crucial point there as I saw Joystiq (I think, or maybe it was Game Politics) doing some maths and putting the failure rate between 20 and 40 percent based on the 1.15 billion dollars cover thingy and that there are 11.6 million 360's currently shipped and various possible costs of repairs...I think that's some dodgy math, because surely the 1.15 billion is there to cover those out there now, but also future 360s that are shipped.

Also, the 1.15 billion is "expected" to be the amount, so again, that's not clear either, so I think the maths I saw online are a bit ropey. I think the future units aspect is a crucial aspect here. It might be that the actual rate is "only" around 10%, which to MS is unacceptable as they say it should be around 3 to 5 percent. So double or more than double is indeed unacceptable. They have owned up to the fact they've dropped the ball a bit on this one, so they're making up for it, because you have to look at this move from a business perspective - and losing a billion dollars over a cock up is about as nice a gesture from a big corporation as you'll ever get, so especially when considered in business terms, it's a positive out reach to the community.

I've seen less vitriol on GP and Joystiq after this announcement, but there's still some whingers, many of whom aren't understanding the business part of the announcement...or are just rabidly anti-MS.

I wonder how many people who piss and moan about the 360 actually own one, as in, are some of the complainers people who don't own a 360 and are merely jumping on someone else's bandwagon like someone who flames on a forum...instead of flaming members they're flaming MS? Surely there's gotta be a few at least, has to be...that's the problem with internet anonymity and eleventeen year olds having broadband in their rooms. :lol:

[capncnut]

My console's warranty ran out last November so this makes me double happy. Saying that, this is the first Microsoft launch console I own that still works like it did on day one. It makes me comfortable knowing that I got a couple of years left on it.

[MinionZombie]

One of the main problems is heat it seems. If it gets too hot, the motherboard flexes, the clamps break, and a connection is severed ... or something like that ... that's what I think is one of the main issues...well ... ventilate it ... or don't play so damn long, go watch internet porn or take some fresh air ya shut-in! :lol: OR - put a desk fan blowing on it, just like I do with my laptop which gets insanely hot without it. :p

Just been playing Crackdown again, taken another Volk boss down, the one at the refinery and only just discovered I can select body parts when I lock on (I know, doi :lol:) and then wait for the head to start flashing and BOOM - one shot wonder, boshty as fook ... providing you're close enough.

Now here's a question, how the heck do I zoom in with the sniper rifle beyond the simple D-Pad press, not much of a zoom. :lol:

Anyway, loving it, BIG EXPLOSIONS!!!!!!!! :D Can jump about 25 feet now too, so I'm leaping and bounding everywhere, I've practically forgotten there's cars in the game!

[Danny]

and whislt hes asking what the hell is that world eye thign you need to make 5 kills with to get an achivment?

[acealive1]

thats what the hell they get for rushing a product. they were in such a rush to compete with sony that they sent out bunk systems. wanst even worth it cuz the PS3 sank

[darth los]

thats what the hell they get for rushing a product. they were in such a rush to compete with sony that they sent out bunk systems. wanst even worth it cuz the PS3 sank

I think the only reason the ps3 is behind the 360 is precisely because they rushed it. They couldn't compete on equal footing with them and hope to win this gen. That year head start was absolutely essential to them even being competitve with sony, especially since microsft has to concede japan to sony and nintendo. They probably spent tens of millions researching that fact. These are some of the smartest men on the planet, they knew exactly what they were doing. You don't get that rich by being dumbasses.

[Danny]

very true the rush was essentially a briliant way to get 1-up (bd pun i know) on sony, it was the only net gen console for a year, ergo instant revenue.

[CoinReturn]

This is all very familiar....The Dreamcast had a year head start on PS2. Through nothing more than hype, the PS2 was able to surpass Dreamcast sales within a year of launch.

The difference with this generation is that, I think gamers of today are a bit more savvy than those from 5-6 years ago. Through the internet, many of us have found communities to chat about games, and their respective companies. I think gamers are better informed, with less objective views of hardware and software being given to them. I think people saw through the thinly veiled fibs that Sony was feeding us, starting with the Killzone 2 E3 video that had everyone arguing whether or not it was realtime or CG. I see Sony gaining momentum in '08, though. Maybe enough to level the field.

An ideal situation would be if the 3 companies split the market share at 33% each. That kind of competition would spur great innovation, as stated many times before.

[MinionZombie]

starting with the Killzone 2 E3 video that had everyone arguing whether or not it was realtime or CG.

I lollercoptered at that video, it was so obviously a CG video, not at all in-game. I saw straight away, the very fact that the movement of the "first person" is completely unrealistic to actual in-game console FPS'ing gave it away. It was completely scripted, the graphics were far too ahead of their time, we won't get there until next-next gen at the earliest.

Just look at the way the gun jiggles around, when shooting at something it never seems to actually be properly pointing in the right directly, it moves far too fluidly - hence CGI. It was laughable, I didn't believe it for a second, I was shocked that some people actually fell for it! :eek:

[acealive1]

I think the only reason the ps3 is behind the 360 is precisely because they rushed it. They couldn't compete on equal footing with them and hope to win this gen. That year head start was absolutely essential to them even being competitve with sony, especially since microsft has to concede japan to sony and nintendo. They probably spent tens of millions researching that fact. These are some of the smartest men on the planet, they knew exactly what they were doing. You don't get that rich by being dumbasses.


i think u mean the other way around. 360 was pushed up a full year(bugs included) to try to compete with sony. but the PS3 is sinking because of the blu ray player which no one is going to buy a PS3 for. x box is winning the war cuz theres no competition. just like WWE and the NFL and the NHL...see my pattern? its easy to be the king of the market when ur the only player.

microsoft shoulda learned from sony's mistake with the PS1 when they had bugs galore the first 2 years of its existance. u just cant rush a product out of sheer greed

[erisi236]

If they just get rid of those damn X-Clamps they would have so many problems.

Replace them with iono washers, and bam, problem solved.