Xbox 360 Failure Rate Now Less Than 4%

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.

[FishCake9T4]

Thats really good. I might just have to pick me up a new Elite. I wonder what the PS3 fanboys will argue about now?

[randomwiz]

well, you shouldn't really worry about failure rate if you're getting a 360 today, the 3 year warranty is a nice cushion, since next gen will come out by the time the warranty is over.

but, this 4% failure rate is only within one year of purchasing the console
Within 2 years, the failure rate becomes 23.7%

AGAIN - this is a survey of 2500 ps3's, 2500 360's, and 11000 wii's, so these numbers should not be taken for fact.

[komp]

This is what we will argue about now....

4% failure rate is because no one is buying the device anymore.

Less sales = less failures.

/disagree shield up

[kaveti6616]

500 units is not a large enough sample to make an accurate prediction of the whole population. 3,000 wasn't enough either.

I doubt the 360s failure rate is 4 percent, and I doubt its 54 percent or even 33 percent at this point. At most, I think it's at 15 percent, but I have nothing to back that up, just a feeling. At best, 12 percent.

[GOWIII3]

They will say

-bu bu bu bu it's fake!
-my blog says their research is wrong and our speculation is right
-but the word of my angry ignorant rant is right because we need it to be
-bu bu what about the older ones, what's the percentages on those right now
-Lets find some RROD on youtube to prove their findings are false.
-LOL
-Sure
-Yeah right!
-hmmmm
-MSFT payed
-Bots lie

Just kidding, great news.

[jib]

"4% failure rate is because no one is buying the device anymore. "

that made no sense. do you know how percentages work?

[Why o why]

i know you dont believe this any more than you believe the 60% one...lets be real.

[ukilnme]

Hey Why.

I believe this 4% crap as much as I believe my Oakland Raiders will win the Superbowl this season.

[Lifendz]

this many years after launch the RROD is still a prevalent problem. Hope MS finally got it right.

[kws1065]

there was not many games to play this year.

I mean how it can be broken if you don't use it.

[tatotiburon]

1.11@

Did you know that if i turn on my xbox 360 without the video cable it will get RROD?...and wow do you believe any crap that youtube shows?....i can have an old xbox 360 with RROD and simple change the case.

[HolyOrangeCows]

It's so low by their findings because the customers send it in to MICROSOFT for repair for free. SquareTrade just ends up being a middleman that is easier to avoid.

And from my findings between me and my friends, the 360 seems to tend to get the RROD 1 and a part of a year in, not often in less than a year.

And the funny part is that the title of the article he's sourcing starts:
"Xbox 360 failure rate 23.7%...."
It's only the sub-heading that says:
"first-year 360 failure rates now under 4%"

[HolyOrangeCows]

4 rings = Improper connection/Loose or broken or not connected cables.
3 rings = Red Rings of Death.

[Blaze929]

lol @ all the reports on this submission. Trying to block the truth?

[ukilnme]

@ kws1065

Multiplatform titles don't count now?

[mikeslemonade]

Well considering more people play PS3 and Wiis a lot more it's not going to red ring as much. If you play 360 more than a few hours a day then it will red ring.

[GUNS N SWORDS]

@ 1.11

4% of old ratio would still translate to something, so you're still going to see people post vids on youtube.

i mean people make youtube vids of dead wiis, ps3s, and DSlights yet their failure rates were low to begin with.

[HolyOrangeCows]

Let's see...
-Deceptive title (It's 4% for first year, 23% overall)
-Duplicate story (It's just a blog bringing up an old article and spinning it and falsifying it)
-Old (The article is from September)

Yep, nothing to report here....if you like Old, deceptive, duplicate, spun stories as your "News"

[-Seven-]

Well, this is indeed hopeful. Now MS, consider this in your future console, reliability is right up there with game quality.
If these figures are indeed accurate, it's good to know that new 360 owners are far less likely to encounter HW problems.

(wow at the disagree, i'm being completely positive here kids, why somebody would disagree with somebody saying that this article is a good sign of improvements is beyond any logic or reason)

[ukilnme]

@ HolyOrangeCows

Old, deceptive, duplicate and spun stories as news has been the N4G way for years now. Haven't you approved some of it when it was to your liking?

@ darkride66

It does not happen often but I agree with you. As for the Wii, it's a phenomenon.

[Anon1974]

However, if it's true, Microsoft should confirm it. I know plenty of people who have bought PS3's since the price came down who may have gone for the 360 if it weren't for the hardware issues.

That being said, I still think the PS3 is the better value, but if you don't have the extra hundred bucks and don't care about the fees for online, the 360's a nice little system for $200. It's ten times the gaming console the Wii is for the same cost. Still mystifies me why anyone would pick a Wii over the 360 at this price.

[-Seven-]

With percentages reports, it has always been only that site with supposed hard numbers, so to speak. Funny gamers are choosing what is real or not, or saying "well that's just them" when the percentage they don't like are being reported.
Lets believe that "one report" from that "one site" as fact, because it has the high percentage we're looking for. Lets chose random polls done by bloggish sites and ignore the research or warrenty companies.

[4Sh0w]

Well I didn't know it was this low, but either way everybody except fanboys knew the 360 reliability has been significantly better over the last year. Great news for gamers.

[Tinted Eyes]

Only 500? Wow talk about a huge sample, lmfao only in xbox fanboys dreams the failure rate will be that low.

[sikbeta]

Instead of say something positive about this article, they start with:

"-I wonder what the PS3 fanboys will argue about now?"

WOW, you can't live without PS3 owners, don't you guys

Well, if make you feel better...

[badz149]

wow, just wow! defending a console with proven high failure rates to THAT extent...what are you? M$ PR team?

"...and wow do you believe any crap that youtube shows?....i can have an old xbox 360 with RROD and simple change the case."

for what? to be cool? RRoD is a new cool trend now?

I'm a PS fan (fanboy? maybe...) myself but will never ever defend Sony for any misconduct if any! I've got YLoD once with my launch 60GB and I was upset! although I've fixed it myself and it's working like usual now, I'll never ever say that anyone with a YLoD is fake and am glad to offer help if needed. just stop the blind fanboyism already if you may!

[kws1065]

I said "Not many games" not "No game."

Not-Many-Games including multiplatform, and you do know that 360 doesn't have games in 2009 as many as 2007 or 2008, don't you? Less operation less failure.

[R6ex]

Careful!

My Jasper Elite died within 9 months.

Same goes for my '05 360 i.e. within a year.

So, statistically, its 100% 1st-year failure rate for me so far. :(

[ukilnme]

@ kws1065

Sure there weren't too many 360 exclusives but there were plenty of multiplatform games.

[Guitarded]

I have never had any disc based system last me more than a year and a half before having to repair or replace it at my own cost. That includes two PS2s in less than a year.(PS2 fat 90 day warranty FTL) I have had 3 360s in three years and only paid for one. As far as I am concerned RRoD saved me money. How could anyone possibly be angry about or not understand that?

[ShadowCK]

Lol at the PS3 Fanboy comments. They need the Xbox 360 failure rate to be high for the sake of their own sanity because then they wouldn't be able to bash it as much as they normally could.

Fun Fact: New Xbox Live Experience + Better cooling systems = Reduced Failure Rate.

[wxer]

4% my @ss

so what the 360 now is more reliable than the wii ???

lol

[Why o why]

lol at ur reply....good sport...as usual

[whothedog]

@1.11

That sucks majorly, I would have a hard time justify getting another one.

[WildArmed]

lol they'll think of something.

But thats great to hear.
I think i may have to send my 360 in before my warranty dies for the jasper chipset.
sounds bloody awesome.
(but nevertheless, the sample size is rather small)

[caladbolg777]

I say this as an employee of Microsoft Game Studios since 2006.

It's not that 360s are more reliable (they aren't), it's that the RRoD, which signifies a general hardware failure, has been replaced by an E74 error screen

"General hardware failure" wasn't fixed. People aren't getting RRoDs nowadays because Jasper chip 360s no longer red ring. They E74. Same error, different display.

This article faceplants because it's not asking the right question. They're asking "How many current model (Jasper) 360s are red-ringing?" The answer: none of them. The question should be "How many current model (Jasper) 360s are failing due to general hardware errors?" The answer: just as many as previous models.

[FACTUAL evidence]

But i'll sum it up for you. 4% RROD, 56% E-74. Oh yeah, almost forgot! I'll believe this when MS actually puts up a survey, or if Aaron greenburg blabs it out. Ciao!

[jadenkorri]

its just another website doing a survey, last time i recalled the last survey to be trash and everything when they said it was like 50 % and a larger number of 360s.... oh yeah this is news and accurate because it looks better at 4%...

[fear88]

I find it hard to believe that the 360 wasn't made to break. If you look at the design of the system itself, namely the xbracket that holds the heatsink, its clear that it was made to bend the board due to excessive play. Disagree all you want but after fixing my 360's RROD I know for a fact it is true.

[DevastationEve]

Good to know :) PS3 fanboys will disagree...

[wpggamer]

Do you guys know anything about sample sizes and testing in general? Without knowing the mfg process and lot sizes, there is no way you can make statements about what an appropriate sample size is. There needs to be repeatability or SPC done in order to determine this stuff. Stat's and QA testing is much more than just a feeling, it's a science. Not saying this sample is large enough, but it might be. You really have to know what you're talking about, not just guessing. That's the differnce between science and opinion.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

No survey should be taken as fact!

[vhero]

If its true then good for MS but I doubt they will ever shake off the RROD now. It's gonna live with the console till it dies. I have still had 3 360's die on me and swore to never buy one again (1 DVD drive failure, 1 RROD) and I won't. In games shops now I see the main reason people buying PS3's has changed from RROD fears to free online gaming instead. So it's not as bad as it used to be for MS. But the silly high RROD rates will always be part of the 360's history and will always hold it back in the future. Just not as much now :p. Maybe now they will stop with the fake PS3 and Wii death rates now they not giving fake 360 death rates??? I doubt it though...

[edgeofblade]

I'm sure a 500 unit test would be sufficient for you if it showed the failure rate going up...

Statistically speaking, a 500 unit test is plenty valid.

@ASSASSYN 36o: Don't these casual surveys usually bias toward failure? Isn't everyone looking for a chance to stick it to Microsoft? For all I know, this could be the first valid study, while everything else has been an internet poll...

[Anon1974]

A few posts above a good point was brought up. I had a look at the graphs for this study and they were only concerned about RROD. What about E74? New models may not suffer from rrod as much, but if Microsoft simply replaced one error with another and Squaretrade didn't bother to track the new error - well that's just plain old misleading.

With that survey that Cnet did recently, out of the amount of respondents that complained about 360 hardware failure, 25% of those respondents reported that they had bought newer, Jasper models indicating that the bulk of the problem was certainly with older models but the Jasper boards certainly weren't error free.

I think Microsoft should come clean with this if they fixed this issue so gamers who are concerned about hardware can view the 360 as a serious choice, but I realize why they don't. By releasing stats on hardware failures, Microsoft can kiss those 360 lawsuits against them goodbye. I assume that's why we've never seen numbers on this. Microsoft has a history of repressing data they aren't happy with. We've seen it when 360 sales drop year over year and Microsoft stops reporting that data on quarterly reports until things pick up again. By releasing actual 360 failure numbers, it would show just how bad the problem is. I imagine soon we'll find out though, as the courts will eventually force them to reveal these numbers in one of the many pending lawsuits.

[syanara]

it's ABOUT GOD DAM TIME! this FAILURE rate problem of the RROD is FINALLY at 4% this problem that should never have existed in the first place. of course that is the RRoD not even E74 so the RRoD is at 4% then where is E74 at? cause to my knowledge that is still a bigger problem then the RRoD

[robep3]

.....they sample 500 units lol thats as bad a make up and shampoo companies you cant judge it from such a small sample LOL.

Rob.

[ThanatosDMC]

^ Actually a sample size of one 500 units from 30 or so million units is too small. You need several 500 unit sample sizes to get a legit survey. Population genetics 101.

[kalebgray92]

they catch up

[ipwnall]

500 consoles and only about 6-8 months (maybe less). Let me conduct another experiment. My PS3 hasn't broken since launch, and I know thousands who also have a perfect PS3, this PS3 failure rate = 0%

[Snake Raiser]

Ya something has got to be wrong with a least one, more likely both polls that have come out recently. The 360 either has a failure rate of 4% or 52%. Obviously someone messed up their poll.

[Bungie]

360 = 4%
ps3 = 12%

here comes the tears

[Mr Face Creamer]

You know thousands who have a perfect PS3? Been playing too much Home and with the Facebook app little droid?

[cereal_killa]

I believe that as much as I believe that you think you work for bungie. both of those predictions are very delusional the 360 is no where near 54% anymore but it's certainly not that low either.

[nightelfmohawk]

SquareTrade only analyzes Xbox 360 warranty claims submitted to them. They acknowledged in their other study that the vast majority of Xbox 3FixMe owners send their 360s directly to M$ and not SquareTrade when their 360s inevitably break down.

That means SquareTrade doesn't even know how many broken 360s are sent to M$. Also, these new Jaspers are too new to draw any conclusions about any alleged reliability. Remember the massive influx of broken 360s right when the first 3 year warranties expired?

[ZippyZapper]

Cry more PS3 girls you cant use RROD anymore... to bad... so sad... now it's back to playing the only 2 games you got coming out in 2010.

[DonCorneo]

we still have:
1. blu-ray
2. best exclusives
3. better looking multiplatform games
4. free online
and, just rececntly TEH SALEZ!

failure rate dropped because bots aren't turning on the 3fixme anymore. mainly because bots have no games..

LMAO!!1!

[user3915800]

PS3 = 17% FAILURE hardware, but BLU RAY its 100% failure
360 = < 1% failure rate

PS3 owners are still on denial stage for the rest off their fandroid life.

[Aquarius]

""the first 5 months of 2010 are pathetic for M$ in comparison to SONY's"

you clearly can't read between the lines ;)
FF?
HAHAHAHAHA- where is the fanbase for FF on 360? where is it?

Oh and btw-
ME2 gimped now its an average 360 port
SCC gimped now its an average 360 port ( for all we know M$ could have been playing SCC on a high-end Pc at E3 )
Alan Wake hasn't got the name HALO in it so expect FLOP because 360 owners don't like to branch out of the FPS genre. Forza 3 says Hi"

MODS WHY ISN'T 1.5'S COMMENT IN THE GAMERZONE DELETED?

[arsenal55]

they forgot the 5 in front of the 4.. lol still tons of people getting rrods... only a matter of time until all you bots here get it again.

play behind.. wait.. after the rrod you wont be able to PLAY at all!! LOLOLOLOLOL

[arsenal55]

" (after all they did only look at 500 Jasper consoles, not a very large sample size)"

lol fail

54% rrod worldwide

[wxer]

4% ?

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
bots can dream

[r0s3b0wl23]

This article is ridiculous. Multiple trusted third parties like GamePro and many others have confirmed the 360's failure rate to be 20% to over 50% in their own case studies. The people who made this article have zero credibility, smells fishy to me.

[TengkuAmir10]

360 sucks. i had a 360. no. i had 6 actually. all of them were brand new. and ALL of them came from different shops and ALL of them died of RROD. the last two were Jasper set. and did i mention that all of them were elites? it costs me so much. now, i'm waiting for my PS3 this Christmas along with 5 other games. MS WARRANTY you say? forget it. my country (MALAYSIA) doesn't support that. and to add, i bought the Quick charge kit, play n charge kit, battery packs but now, im just gonna give it away for free.

[Pirateogta]

So 5,000 fanboys responding to a Game Informer survey where you don't actually have to prove you even own the console that you claim broke down on you is more reliable than an actual scientific study? I guess you get pretty delusional when you've been with the last place console for 3 years and counting now. Only 7 million more units to go to catch up to the 360 and steal SECOND PLACE! A few more $100 price drops and complete remodelings of the system (think: PS3 Lite, PS3 Trim, PS3 Even Slimmer, PS3 Anorexic) should do the trick by 2015.

[cliffbo]

Bungie you are a sad sad man and i will fully enjoy it next year when MS get their ass kicked by Sony. and don't doubt it my friend, this year has shown you that

[Serjikal_Strike]

yeah right...LMAO..lololol

[Noob]

That's only with SquareTrade.com. Nice try.

[GOWIII3]

With percentages reports, it has always been only that site with supposed hard numbers, so to speak. Funny gamers are choosing what is real or not, or saying "well that's just them" when the percentage they don't like are being reported.
Lets believe that "one report" from that "one site" as fact, because it has the high percentage we're looking for. Lets chose random polls done by bloggish sites and ignore the research or warrenty companies.

[Immortal321]

but something missing....
xbl should not be the reason to get a 360, it should be a bonus.

but what's missing...?
right games the 360 doesn't seem to have console defining games

[Zeevious]

It's covered by a three year warranty...why would SquareTrade see any of the 2007, 2008 or 2009 models with this failure?

Where are the polling details? 500 New units purchased by SquareTrade or some third party? Actively used or sitting on a shelf, or a distributors warehouse?

This is as misleading as the Yellow Light Of Death sweeping the PS3 community. Microsoft & Sony both know these numbers, to the console. Sony immediately provided facts for theirs...fewer than 1/2 of a single percent.

http://www.gamesindustry.bi...

The actual, accurate failure numbers are no mystery to Microsoft, Sony, or SquareTrade.

SquareTrade or Microsoft could also -- with a click, release the ACTUAL numbers & percentages of units receive and why...

...Without the smoke and mirrors statistics.

[DevastationEve]

Well all the other studies were "just" from one website or source study as well.

Nice try.

Actually each previous attempt at PS3 fanboys further besmirching Xbox 360 were also nice tries.

[Dirk Benedict]

Then you woke up.

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

4 + 50.2 = see username

[kaveti6616]

That statistical survey was just as inaccurate as this one. The 360 failure rate was never that bad, not even at launch.

[AliTheBrit19]

Kaveti you are one of the few people on this website with any common sense, props to you buddy.

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

There are repair services specifically for RROD throughout Craigslist. That right there tells me its a widespread well known problem. You can't deny that.

[ZombieAutopsy]

lol AliTheBot talking about common sense.

"Looking at 500 units purchased in 2009"...should say "Looking at the only 500 units purchased in 2009"

[Pirateogta]

But there have been 7,294,105 Xbox 360 consoles bought so far in 2009, so that would not make much sense, now would it?

[SilverSlug]

Issue is that the new 'hardware failure' is components like the DVD drive (mine) and is not covered by Microsoft.

Also, yeah.... this should never have been approved.

[Guitarded]

Wrap it in a towel. turn it on for 15-20 minutes. Check for RRoD. Repeat if necessary.

[bigrudowsky]

yup very easy to make it get the rrod ive done it to a few xboxes my self to get them repaired and they even fix the dvd drive and anything thats wrong with it

[xcox]

time to buy a new toaster xb!tches!

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

.___.......___......___....._ __
||.....||....||.....||...||.. ...||..||.....\\
||___||....||___||..||...... ||..||......\\
||......\\...||.....\\..||... . ||..||.......||
||.......||..||......||..||__ _||..||___// ;-D

Oooops another Bubble is going!!! ;-D Like i give a...

[Serjikal_Strike]

i'm feeling generous

[Lookbehind]

Have a bubble......................

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

Bubbles for every PS3 Fans on this to;)

[Narutone66]

have another bubble.

[bujasem_89]

just got another bubble

[Serjikal_Strike]

An outrageous number of RRODs as soon as project natal comes out...trust me!

the UPS drivers will be busy...lol

[Solid_Snake666]

i dont think thats accurate

[Zeevious]

Example:
For 2 years I've run a console repair service with a flat-rate $100 repair fee. We cover everything outside Microsoft's warranty.

I can factually state that for 3 years no one has ever sent in even a single unit for repair that had suffered a Red Ring or E-74 error!

This must be directly related to the hardware improvements and new revisions because we don't get any units for these issues at all! *

* See my point...of manufacturing numbers with some tiny 500 unit carefully controlled 'polling'?

Why this limited sample when SquareTrade knows exactly what the actual numbers are, so does Microsoft, so does Sony...

So why has only Sony released theirs?

[GeoramA]

I had the same dream last night.

[Parapraxis]

Well, this is indeed hopeful. Now MS, consider this in your future console, reliability is right up there with game quality.
If these figures are indeed accurate, it's good to know that new 360 owners are far less likely to encounter HW problems.

(wow at the disagree, i'm being completely positive here kids, why somebody would disagree with somebody saying that this article is a good sign of improvements is beyond any logic or reason)

[DarkBlood]

well im been a new owner since 04/11/09 a month old me thinks so this is good news for me as i almost went for the extra 2 year warranty by futureshop and was puzzled by it cuz i thought the 360 had a 3 year warranty but its 1 year warranty now so i opted to just stick with that i aint forking over 50 dollars when it can go towards a game plus the fact i take care of my consoles anyways

now i can enjoy those great exclusives plus bought mass effect for 360 to prepare for me2 knowing that how big of a improvement me2 will be my pc barely wont be able to handle unlike the first one which i was lucky to be able to play decently

[insomnium]

Give them a year and they'll fail much more. What is this? "I bought my x360 yesterday and it still hasn't RROD'd so it must be 100% reliable". Really?

[BubbleSniper]

give bubbles to all ps3 owner!!! this experiment is joke of the year and i laugh

very hard at 4% failure rate

what more funny that this site try to be credible and just end up fail

like atomicbox360

how many times do we gotta tellem??!

you wanna jump in?? RROD is wait for you and right behind that you got

ms strategic business plan to rape you every last pence/cent/yen/e.t.c

flop in

jump out

slim down noobs!!

[djtek184]

is it April fools already?

[Dirk Benedict]

Going by this comment, I am inclined to think so.

[Neo604]

I'll take game informer words over this.
nice try.

[Arnon]

Game Informer's is worse than this. It consisted of asking people who knew other people who had the RROD.

Like Game Informer would have access to sales allowing them to make an accurate failure rate speculation.

[Golfcoachh]

from 500-1500 people, and that is for a country of 300+ millions, so statisticly this is a rather high percentage of people sampled for the amount of 360's out there. Zogby, Rasmunsen, gallup, most of the major polling companies routinely use a lower percentage of people in their sample for the whole country than this one did, so go figure.

[mephixto]

The damage is already done to the xbox brand, many people have this in his mind Xbox360=RROD

[Brock Danger]

Maybe on blogs and in game magazines, but most normal people know as much about it as they know the difference between the eleventy million SKU's sony and microsoft have thrown at us.

I have plenty of coworkers who ask me about what console they should buy, and none of them (and they've owned consoles before) ever bring up the RROD. FYI, I'm a huge fan of the 360, but I pretty much tell them the PS3 Slim is probably your best bet (bluray, free online). Although two people have ignored my advice and bought 360's, which is baffling to me.

[gamingisnotacrime]

Amazon reviews of the recent Elite and Arcade models AKA Jasper units are solid. Maybe the 2nd year units are a different story, but still MS covers the RROD for 3 years, i would prefer if they fis the console, but warranty is what they did. The 360 should not have been launched with such major faults, an after 4 years the best a 360 fan can do is buy another 360 hoping that the Jasper unit puts an end to all this ordeal with faulty hardware.

[colossi16]

Mine didn't die yet, haven't been playing it as much.

[Rocco Siffredi]

gamespot already posted that news in September!!

http://www.gamespot.com/new...

The PS3s blu ray failure rates including with the YLOD are at 12% while the Jasper boards are below 4%!

Of course i also have to agree that nearly ALL OLD 360 modells suffer from the RROD problem but this has already been fixed!

Not to mention that you still get 3 year warranty for FREE while sony want 130 Euro/ pouns for your broken blu ray drive after just 12 months!

RIGHT now 360 > PS3.. thats a fact!

[baum]

"...in my bot world"

[ZombieAutopsy]

blu-ray failure 12%

dvd-rom failures (from my own expierence) over 75%
and the way the 360 i have now sounds itll be 100% by february.

[Rocco Siffredi]

the only ppl who dont agree are the droids here on n4g! They just cant get it that the 360 is right now the better choice!

Wait till next year.. the PS3s failure rate will be at 20% cause the SLIM has a cheap blu ray drive!

[ZombieAutopsy]

yes 4 years of constant RRoD, disc scratching, disc read errors and now you say its a better value...GTFO

[Agheil]

GENERATION!

[bjornbear]

http://cdn3.knowyourmeme.co...

[CryofSilence]

500 consoles is a comically low number to make statements and estimates like this. They need way more (and more time) to fully give failure rates. However, I do hope the failure rate has gone down.

[Zeevious]

But they've had all this time to release accurate specific failure rates. They actually knew them before launch, just as they know them now.

The question is why parade around a 500 unit sample, out of more than 30 MILLION?

I hope the reliability figures have improved but the transparently manufactured 'facts' are still just as bad as they ever where.

[Spike47]

It use to be the PS3 had no games. Now you rely on multiplatforms and throw crazy "facts" around that multiplats are better on the xbox360.

[OhMyGandhi]

why are 360 fanboys trying to speak for ps3 fanboys? have you all somehow learned to use telepathy?

for me, I say good for Microsoft.
But my god, it should of been at this rate from the start.

[Brock Danger]

Much like the PS3 should have been the slim from the start, as opposed to the 600 dollar fat that "people will get a second job to pay for."

Both systems screwed themselves over out of the gate. And both companies are working to correct that. Video games have exploded into a massive market, going up against other entertainment industries that have been around for several decades longer. And gaming is still in its infancy.

There will be screw-ups.

[aaronisbla]

Sony releasing the system at $600 was a dumb decision, but it shouldnt have started at $299 from a business standpoint.

Don't try to compare it with the failure ratings of the 360 original models. Microsoft is truly lucky that this thing didnt blow up in their faces like it could have rightfully done so.

Its great if the newer systems are working better cuz no one should invest into something that cost what it cost and have it break down on them and for it to be so common.

But far too often, people buy into these stats from these sites as if its solid proof. Ps3 fanboys flocked to the 54.2 failure rating while you will see some 360 fanboys flocking to this. Sad that both can be so gullible about stats since 112% of stats are just flawed anyways

[xabmol]

I still have a working NES. Crazy, huh?

What happened to the days when a console was made to last longer then half a gen?

[bjornbear]

Now there's Obsolescence which means products are made to last "x" time so eventually who ever bought that item will have to buy it again, leaving that control to the company, and not to you.

For example the RROD was obsolescence taken to the next level =)

MS doing what they do best: abusing its customers

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

How was your original ps2?

[FACTUAL evidence]

How's your original xbox? At least i could say it's more reliable than the last four 360's you've owned.

[Brock Danger]

I lost two PS2's in two years, if we're openly sharing console scars.

And don't compare NES to modern consoles. It's like complaining that your laptop is bricked yet your 20 year old calculator still works. I bet people complained that their calculator broke yet their 20 year old abacus is just fine.

And also, don't throw obsolescence into the mix. Everything is obviously designed to be replaced (hell, that's how humans and every other organism works), the 360 failure rates are an error, not a plan.

[cyberwaffles]

i'll just use my normal methods of seeing if the 360 is still breaking down: wait till my friends buy another 360. i told a friend of mine named chris his 360 was going to break down soon and he wouldn't believe me, but 2 weeks ago it happened. he's getting it fixed now, but it's just going to break again later i told him. experience speaks louder than words.

[timestoby]

i doubt that. i just think if ur getn a 360 then expect to have it sent in only to get some other console,so why not buy used lol. buy at least two for when you have to send in the sent in one

[FACTUAL evidence]

But what happens if they both break in the same week? OWch? Yup i know, it sucks.

[blue7xx7]

That's good to hear that Microsoft is atleast doing something about this and atleast have reduced the problem drastically that's good news overall. 4% is really good.

[proudly_X]

what a waste of bandwidth!

[Wrathman]

rocco you are bang on.if you bougt a 360 at launch then there is a massive chance that you got and will be gettin RROD.but now its rare to here of a new 360 doin it. my 1st 360 lasted 14 months after launch.then i bought an elite, it lasted a year.both fixed for free and working to this day.i even gave my original arcade away.still no problems.

my friend is a sony fanboy.and has had 2 failures on the bluray drives.the 1st time the insurance coverd it.then the repair only extended the warranty to 90days.so bang 130£ to repair again.so he never turns it off incase it does it again.blue-ray failure and YLOD isnt as common as RROD but i think they are tickin time bomds.as time goes on the higher the failure rate will be.thats just common sense.

[steveballmer360]

its is because of the new Jasper Chipset works fine in 360... all the new 360's wont die because of rrrod...

360 elite these days is the thing that microsoft has guaranteed that.

[cpt_kaos]

Why wasn't I included in that 500 console survey oh wait my 4 dud 360's might have made the 360 failure rate look bad.

[NoOoB101]

I find it funny that the article rocco posted states that the tests they did to find a little less than 4% is for one year, not 2 years like there other tests. So for one year your 360 is likely to live but the second year? who knows since all the the other tests were done for the first two years and there failure rates were much higher.
Also why did they only do 500? they did 2500 for 2 years so they should do 1250 for one year.

[Blow Out Your Brains]

It was made in June 2009, most definitely has the Jasper chip. I have been playing MW2 and L4D2 nonstop and the system barely ever gets warm. I make sure it has good ventilation and I clean dust off it every other day. I have had no problems and don't anticipate any, this article certainly reinforces that.

[ninetailfox]

What's the Confidence interval? + or - 95%?

They only tested 500 consoles c'mon now. I don't mean to sound like a "PS3 Fanboy" but the RROD is the reason I switched over to PS3. Now before everyone tells me MS fixes it for free...uh yeah, but it takes a month every time. It starts to get really annoying after the second time. I'm more of a disgruntled customer.

Maybe when MS release their next console and prove it to be reliable then I'll switch back. Until then sorry MS, you lost me this generation.

[Brock Danger]

Ironically, I bought my original xbox because I lost my second PS2. Naturally stuck with them for the next generation, and have enjoyed the last four years of gaming more than any other generation (genesis/SNES being second).

The PS3 is included in those four years of awesome, but only for the exclusives - MGS4, KZ2, and UC2. I admittedly spend much more time with the 360, just preference for multiplats because I've got much more invested in the system (online, achievements, downloaded content, friends). Could totally understand having the same experience with the PS3. F*cking great time to be a gamer, better than ever.

[SUPREME RULER]

The 32x is better faction then the 360!!!!!!! lol

[Brock Danger]

I guess you didn't own a 32X. Or a 360. Or a book on how to make sentences.

[Shendow]

Sega 32X isn't a system, it is a upgrade to the Sega Genesis, I know this because I got one and I did a history on Sega.

[The_Nameless_One]

Tell that to my refurbished 360 that I just got from repairs. Fact of the matter is that 360 is still has a higher then usual failure rate because of a certain design flow that MS still has not addressed and all the CPU/GPU shrinking in world won't help unless that issue is fixed.

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

This is coming from SquareTrade you dumb bots, don't you know anything. Just like what nightelfmohawk said above they only analyse Xbox 360 warranty claims submitted to them.

MS said themselves that the 360's failure rate is 68% and they have yet to give an update on that number so no one knows if the number has dropped or increased.

Which means:

360 - 68%
PS3 - 10%

I can here lots of bots crying over this one.

Oh and 'Rocco Homo' the Gamspot article said that the 360's failure rate has 'DROPPED' by 4% it never said it currently 'IS' at 4%, can you read or are you just retarded? I say retarded.

[AliTheBrit19]

LMFAO

The double standards of the Fanboys is so hilarious

They will call this inaccurate, yet the Bullsh*t used to call the 360 failure rate 54.2% - they will accept that and trout it off like its a Fact.

They need to get over this whole failure rate with consoles thing, seriously.

My Launch Day PS3 is just fine, never had a problem with it, my 360 elite bought in 2008 broke on me, and now I have a super elite, but you don't see me b*tching about it

In the same regard I have around 3 or 4 friends who have had their PS3's fail on them, I think one of them has had it happen twice, and one of them had to pay Sony to repair it.

[DaChinPin]

I just wonder why is it that your 360 is a SUPER elite?

[BennoBladeZ]

I wonder as well... oh yeah maybe because he bought a Xbox super elite.

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/p...

Also this survey is absolute bullsh*t. Did you know 'red' doesn't mean 'on' on a xbox squaretrade.

[NoOoB101]

I don't use the failure rate against 360 at all, all I'm doing is pointing out how stupid and inaccurate this article is. The fact that this article is doing its best to show 360 in a good light when it comes to hardware is stupid. I don't think 360 failure is 54.2 or whatever but its still high and i estimate around 25%.

[onanie]

Read "1st year failure rates". Are we to expect the console to last more than a year, so much so that we do not care to contemplate what the second year failure rate is?

[Premonition]

the only failure is this article.

[Empire X]

LoL @ all those that really believe it has drop to 4%

[DevastationEve]

Lol at those who really thought is was 54%...you guys don't have any more solid evidence than we do. You guys say this study is "small" when the last one that you guys got the 54% quote from was of about 2000.

[jeffesco1]

SquareTrade found that Xbox 360 quality has improved dramatically since the third quarter of 2008. Not even Microsoft knows this lol. Because it aint true. You dont drop 50% on failure rate console in less then a year. They have not sold that many good 360 this year to drop the failure rate percent based on the total sales from past 3 years.

[ticklechamp]

quit fooling around and turn on the other 96% we can get the real numbers.

[DigitalAnalog]

How come every time I window shop for games, I see Xbox360's getting their "refurbished" Jasper chips installed again and again? This is why I am NEVER secure in buying this system.

I'm calling on BS on this article.

-End statement

[Odreus]

and I am happy with it. Ive been a Playstationfan since the Ps1, but with all the great games coming it isnt a bad thing to own all next-generation consoles. Alan Wake, Forza 3, Fable 3, Majin: the fallen realm and so on for the ps3: God of War 3, The Last Guardian, Gran Turismo 5 and many others and lets not forget the many multiplatform titles. Hard times for my pocket ... :1

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Seriously, what will the sony fanboys argue about now?

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

yeah yeah yeah this article is full of fail but that silly poll that showed 54% failure rate was correct, right??? You guys are to predictable.

[bigrudowsky]

Yup those numbers after the first year are still way too high it's better but far from good, however i highly doubt "fanboys" are going to keep on buying consoles I'm sure most of them are aware of the warranty and if they're like me would much rather spend the money buying a games.

[MagicAccent]

4%?

Lol, I'll belive it when I--
..

Well, never.

[bigrudowsky]

500 consoles isnt enough to determine but neither is that little survey that G.I. did, but everybody still quotes that 54% percent article so who cares. If this is somewhat accurate then it's going to be good news for new adopters of the console i still have the old version so it doesnt help but i still have a good warranty so i'm set.

[baum]

Why take the risk? Get a PS3, that's a sure deal, not a "bet" like the 360 POS hardware.

[Duki2Lime]

M$ lost my trust a long time ago

[stuna1]

I don't think people are looking at this in a logically sound way. For one if it were true, then that would mean that the xbox 360 has a lower failure rate than the nintendo wii! Which might I add has fewer moving parts making up the console, which translates to less wear and tear on vital components. Last I heard the wii boast the lowest failure rate out of all the consoles at 6%.

[robotnik]

Fake

[ultimolu]

Fail article is fail. :<

[lonix]

I also have sold 0 xboxes

[GigaGaia]

Right, I bet this was made up by Microsoft.

[gumgum99]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[teto83]

seriously man.

[Sigh]

and I excitedly await early morning of Dec 25th that Santa is gonna give me the presents I always wanted! All listed down and written to him! O GOOD GOLLY I CAN'T WAIT!!! /s

[whatis]

My theory is that people have just been throwing their 360s in the bin when they *eventually* break and then buying PS3s instead.

AKA not bothering with warranty repairs/reporting the failure.

[ExposingLames]

LOL nice joke....i personally know more people that this has happened to then this whole survey says.....fanboy more?

they just say screw it and get a PS3

[Advari]

If it is 4% then why is mine t Microsoft getting fixed while i get a refurb

[mjcrow33]

Hope they got it figured out. I would love to get my son his own for Christmas, but it would break his heart if it failed a week later.

[blazed13]

why worry youre covered for 3 yrs.

[ReBurn]

Not to mention that if it failed a week later you could just return it to the store you bought it from. Most don't fail that quickly anyway.

[keysy420]

look systems fail period so to say you went from 64% TO 4% ISNT EVEN Believable

[LiquifiedArt]

they just bought it. Let them get worn in alittle.

[blazed13]

ive owned a 360 since 07 and it has only rrod on me once and it been working great since no problems. ive read alot of posts here from people that have stated they have gone through 5 or 6 360 which i know for a fact that its complete bull sh!t. i dont think any one is stupid enough to invest so much on it. they are just fanboys bashing... lets remember people devolpers make great games not the consoles.

[ReBurn]

My story is similar to yours. My launch 360 got RROD after 18 months and the replacement is going strong. I can see maybe a very small percentage of owners sending it back more than twice, but all of the "my friend's cousin's neighbor went through 8 of them" stories should always be taken with a grain of salt. I'd hate to see the conditions they play in.

[aaronisbla]

You guys say they fix it for free right? So its not like they are investing so much into it.

Its rarer now to go thru that many in 3 years but thats a case by case situation. Just because it hasn't happened to you as many times doesn't make it complete bull sh!t. Hell, i know some guys whose original models still work, doesn't mean that all those whose did break are lying

You can bury your head in the sand if you want to but that doesn't make what you are hiding from disappear.

I hope yours doesn't fail on you but if it does, try not to be too surprised. God forbid it happens after the 3 years is up on your warranty.

[AshleyRiot]

Glad to here how much things have improved because it is terrible for consumers to have to deal with these type of things. I can only hope Sony decides to take care of the YLOD problem.

[ReBurn]

It only makes sense that models purchases within the last year are more reliable. They don't have the heat issues that earlier models had due to smaller, more efficient chips, redesigned cooling systems and rework to the motherboard.

Everyone knows that Microsoft had egg on their face for RROD. But they handled it well by fixing them for free. Can we just move on now?

[Captain Tuttle]

Now ReBurn, you know better than that.

[ReBurn]

We can always hope.

[TheTeam06]

ROFLMFAO

[Midgard228]

to bad i have an old 360 lol. now to fix the laser burning, the disc read errors and error E74 and we will be set. tho rrod was the worst. 2nd is laser burn, i mean how mad r u when u multi circle scratch ur modern warfare 2? or madden lol. and i dnt care if people shud know by now not to move the system or w/e fact is i shudnt have to worry like i dont with my ps3. im so scared when playing my 360 that im gonna scratch halo cuz someone jumped in the room lol.

[Captain Tuttle]

But I really think it's definitely improved. The Jasper set combined with the ability to install games has made a big difference.

[Manberg900]

Failure rate is easily over 70%. Great job M$

[Dogswithguns]

Good news.... if true.

[TukkerIntensity]

4% of 500 consoles that were bought yesterday.

[GIJeff]

My 2 month old elite has already RROD. Not to mention it has always made a horrible sound when vertical. POS rate is still >50%.

[Shendow]

True 4% for 500, but if you want to go worldwide, yeah -_- think the number be bigger.

[Drake64]

this article is total BS> im not believing anything about quality when it comes to microsoft and xbox.

[kasasensei]

"Xbox 360 Failure Rate Now Less Than 4%"
Stay serious gentlemen....
What about a 0% failure?
hahaha

[PhoenixDevil]

dnt change the fact that i dnt kno 1 person whos on there 1st 360, all broken in somway

if its had a 4% failure rate since september last year n that was tru then surly people who bought in in the last year, theres prob wouldn't die, duno sounds a little fishy. good if tru no 1 deserves there console to brake on them happy gaming :)

[notpill]

Fake, wrong, duplicate, old.

http://www.n4g.com/Search.a...

[Obama]

hahahaha and pigs can fly. Who seriously believes this crap? Delusional bots?

[Obama]

Thanks for the joke. This is the joke of the day.

[TengkuAmir10]

And everyone can afford a Ferrari. oh no, better yet, pigs can now fly.

[BoBo-]

This pretty much takes away the sony fanboys biggest weapon.

[Gobuz]

No we still have these weapons for you and more.

1. No games
2. It looks like a Dell mini pc
3. It has a power supply the size of a house brick
4. It's noisy
5. No blu-ray drive
6. cd-tray rattles like a broken wagon wheel
7. Poor exclusives
8. I can't play online for free
9. No internet browser
10. No wi-fi as standard
11. No HD as standard

Jesus i could just go on, all day.

[Gobuz]

Didn't realise it was April the 1st already.

Most X-box owners think it's a blessing when they have only gone through their 2nd or 3rd Xbox 360? I'm on my 1st PS3 and i've had since launch.

And i also don't understand why Microsoft thinks they are 2nd in the console war when like 30% of those numbers are broken ones. Isn't their numbers boosted by people replacing their broken ones?

[devilhunterx]

So do we disregard all the previous failed xb2?

[Automat]

The failure rate in the FIRST year has to be much lower than 4% for me to fork over my money.
Somehow I trust the Japanese technology a lot more than American software....

[Platinum_k]

SquareTrade is only one of the third party company's sponsored by Microsoft. Therefore they only counted what ever they recieved from the consumers and NOT considering the failure rate of other Third party marketers from Microsoft; not to mention Microsoft itself!

[SKUD]

LOL

[Gun_Senshi]

that RROD will never go away, its viral marketing by MS to sell multiple consoles to same user

[YogiBear]

I've had 11 RROD on me so forgive me if I don't find the truth in this statement.

[squallsoft]

Prop to Microsoft for finally getting it under control

[Deathcakes]

Oh alright, good enough, way to improve (if it's accurate numbers). But does it matter when they allowed it to happen in the first place? I bought my machine in '06 and it broke twice, once it was covered by the warranty but the second time it was not. So i'm sitting here with a bricked 360 because apparently I was foolish enough to get the system early. My confidence in MS as a gaming company and the machine itself has been destroyed.

Never more...

[thehitman]

Tell that to my friends don't think they will believe that they landed in a tiny 4%. What next "The sky is raining pigs" article?

[dragonelite]

Wow i found only 2 friends had a rrod from the 20 with a 360.I would say its more like 10% to 15%.

[Faaking]

Only 4% for the new Jasper boards. Great job Microsoft:)!

[Faaking]

The new Jasper boards are the way to go. Microsoft finally fixed the RRoD. Great job MS!

[NotSoSilentBob]

Nice trying to parody Saaking?

[ps12&3lover]

they forgot to mention this was based on a survey of about 3 people..so that 4% is high

[Faaking]

no, it was based on a survey of 500 people and the faulure rate was BELOW 1%!!

The average failure rate is at 4%!

You are some kind of stupidness.

[TengkuAmir10]

This is like saying Adriana Lima married a pig. It's so untrue and that so-called failure rate is flawed. BIASED 360 fanboys. I am left with no words. I mean,.... what can i say? these are CrappedBOX 360 fans.

[ps12&3lover]

calm down fangirl it was a joke..dont be mad cause your xbox rrod on you 3 times in a week

[ryguy3309]

More people playing ps3 and wii? I dont know what world your living in but everyone knows more people play 360 more often then the ps3.

[BoBo-]

Way to go microsoft. :)

[RadioactiveTouch]

Speaking as a format 360 fanboy, I say : just give it time, they'll fail soon.

[kenjix]

It is now obvious from my survey of the number of articles posted on N4G that video bloggers and so called - journalist/editors have a 110% failure rate!

This survey was based off of articles posted since 2005 up till now and the results show a steady increase of their lack of professionalism, disregard for facts and logic. Fortunately with recent sales trends from consumers it seems that despite these articles and headlines increasing in numbers, consumers are able to see able to make smart decisions and do the appropriate research.

So there is no harm in articles like these since no one believes them

[VenomCarnage89]

if its even true to begin with.(which i do seriously doubt) i dont think they have fixed the hardware that much or they had the survey get filled out by people walking out of a best buy with new 360s, which in that case a 4% failure rate is probably about right lol.

but even if its true, its too little too late for them to earn back any of my respect fromjust how bad it used to be. i seriously think the failure rate was around 90% because i knew over 30 people with 360s and every single one of them ended up with at least 3 of them or upwards to 6 of them, i may have heard about one person who didnt have one but stopped playing way back.

[L-a-i-n]

What you have to understand with technology you are always going to have a certain % of defects. Using a survey as fact is very stupid, and only using 500 is extremely stupid. For those claiming PS3 fanboys wouldn't believe it. Let me ask you this if the situation was reversed would you? Heck no you wouldn't you would be doing that same thing they are calling out a bs article.

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

depending on what the population they believe it is representative of. Statistical power increases asymptotically with sample size, meaning each additional case, person or console raises statistical power more than the last.

Don't have my charts, but I'd venture to guess 500 might put them somewhere at or just below the 90% confidence level.

[DuneBuggy]

500 should be a decent sample size.Especially considering Polls like Presidential job approval,etc usually have samples in the 900-1400 range.
And that is considered a accurate sample of 300 million Americans.

[densai]

wow at all the arguments over NOTHING

[NotSoSilentBob]

So a third party company is saying what they found I think we need to get the real numbers from MS about their failure rating and then the truth will come out, but if that were to happen then MS would be ruined for sure.

[DeadlyAnGeL91792]

we need a real survey these guys are only going by what people send them of course 98% of broken xbox's are sent to MS why would anyone send them to some random website? wtf lol

these numbers are hardly trustworthy and anyone who believes this is a fool....seriously and my brothers recently bought 360 seems to disagree with that article too btw.

[Raimond]

I call bullshit on this.

It's just damage control (if that is even possible at this point).

[Shrinkwrap]

The failure rate is probly more like 8% now, which ia way better.

The older chipset was around 55% failure.

Microsoft is not real high on my fun list, but they have improved the Xbox RROD.

IT's a Fact!

[Shrinkwrap]

I'm not a Fan of MS, but a corparation will try to improve products, and in this case they did. How could then not with a previous failure rate that high.

Just can't say how.
And no, it's not from a friend of a friend. Frecking Idiot!

[tiamat5]

Yeah. So how much money did Microsoft pay you to make those figures again?

[Shrinkwrap]

Hey MicroSoft, I validated your number's.. Please throw some money my way.

[WLPowell]

They picked a third party, MS owned company, to review 500 consoles, only sold in 2009, for an error that has been overshadowed by e75? To come up with an outlook on the failure rate of a 4 year old console? The spin and fail in this article is gargantuan. Seeing how I've seen a refurbished Jasper Red-ring after a week of getting back from MS, I'm gonna go ahead and believe it's still a very real problem.

[Kluv]

we don't even need to argue. 4 years to finally get the failure rate this low is a failure in itself. It's a little too late, but it's better late than never. But Sony's pretty much going to stay ahead of 360 for the rest of this gen. So they better get it right next time.

[ZBlacktt]

If you believe this story. Then you really are just that gullible. Please, read between the lines and know better. Someone is trying to make up for bad sells figures this Christmas season and get you to buy that console . Last month, 60%, now 4% just like that, lol.... ok.

[Pillage05]

I'm just going to say take this article with a grain of salt. Their sample size was fairly small. And they also state the 4% was only first year failure rate. I don't doubt their numbers are getting better...but this article is far from proof that the any of the consoles are as solid as we would want them to be.

[gtamike123]

Lies

[gtamike123]

Reported

[Odin777]

Maybe I need to get a new xbox then because mine has failed 2 times already.

[Odin777]

This is really good news, though. (wanted to end on a positive note ha ha)

[UP]

500 units is not large enough. There are possible confounding variables skewing the results. SquareTrade should take a statistics class.

[7thNightvolley]

the failure rate has gone down.. but 4 percent is abit to hard to chew..

[EVILDEAD360]

LMAO @ the comments..

This is clearly a better survey than the last 2. At least there were ACTUAL 360s sampled. The worst was a randon readers poll from people who claimed they owned the 360 with no verification. The results were shown and the haters quoted it in EVERY comment they could.

Either way, I own 2 never had a problem with either. Even the 2 I bought for gifts are still running perfectly fine. If the RROD rate was so astronomical the 360 would even be here today. Hopefully, Microsoft continues to build better models in the future to counter the issues. But, the truth is the warranty was the best they could do under the circumstances and now they are still in the game.

[Teh Cell]

Hurry up dorks, make all the 4% accounts as fast as possible!

[Shendow]

Vista came out pretty much the same time 360 did, both had a big fail rate and alots of errors, Linux went up on sales and Macs did to.

So in the end, 360 is Vista, it has problems and errors but everyone that owns it is stuck with it.

[KurdGamer]

lmfao, I haven't seen this much bull since the Bush presidency.

[UltimateSin]

SO MANY COMMENTS AND VIEWS!