Official: M&S refuse to sell Xbox 360 because of reliability issues

Marks & Spencers have taken the decision to not stock the Xbox 360 because of its 'poor reliability.'

In an effort to gain market share in this new market for them they are offering a free 2 year guarantee on ALL their technology products. However after examining the reliability of the Xbox 360 and the widely reported number of returns they felt they would not be able to offer this service for the console.

Marks & Spencers are currently stocking Sony PlayStation 3 and the PSP. A spokesman said they are looking forward to stocking the Nintendo DS and Wii when Nintendo are able to guarantee a consistent stock supply.

[Brian360]

Their loss

[Wotbot]

It doesn't make snese. M&S don't have to repair them.

I didn't even know M&S stockedgames machines?

[amerz]

That's what you get for rushing to market. I remember pathetic arguments saying MS didn't rush at all. Well, looks like Xbots were wrong again.

What an amazing turnaround in mindshare at the very least. Let's see if this translates into more sales for Sony, because it sure as hell translated into plummeting Xbox 360 sales.

[JHFKDFNFGJKFHDKF]

your talking out your ass - xbox 360 is still outselling PS3 LOLZ!

and who in their right mind buys electronics from M & S? its a clothes and food store....

[SuperSaiyan4]

Out of the box not only does it offer a headset and HD cables 9 (premium version) it also does soo much more than what the PS3 can do for the FULL HD and gaming experience offline and online.

M&S is the last place I would ever buy this amazing product.

[Blankman]

You don't seem to understand 33% failure rates is a high issue. M&S wants to guarantee their customers reliable high end tech gear and it wouldnt be financially wise for them to include the 360 in their 2 yr reliability plan. So instead of saying we promise wnt break for 2 yrs or ur money back or wateva but we cnt promise for the 360 you can take that up with Msoft with their 3 yr warranty they just decided to not stock it at all. Its that simple and at least that way they maintain their image of providing reliable tech gear

[sonarus]

dude the 360 sucks period. Sure it has the most games and sure it has great online but at the end of the day its still a flawed product because of its high failure rate. In fact 360 should be recalled and the 10 million who bought it given their money back or jst recalled without money back and redesigned and sent back in proper workin condition. However if this happened it will definetly be the end for them so i doubt it will but seriously how did msoft release a product with 33% failure rates in the first place. I mean i know they are not a hardware company but common

Edit @ all the people hating on marks and spence for not catering for your precious xbox. If msoft cannot guarantee a quality product whose fault is that. Msoft reputation will go down with its failure rates and marks and spence dosent want theirs to go down with it. While it is unlikely walmart and other stores will stop carryin the 360 however stores like marks and spence who offer top of the line quality products will. Its that simple so apparently their sales off xbox products simply wasnt worth their reputational hit. so booyah

[Blankman]

this could mean a decline in xbox sales. I mean as a consumer even if i get 3yrs free warranty a 33% chance of failure is just too much of a risk for me. I am pretty sure other retailers refused to stock them or at least threatened because if i buy a 360 from lets say target and it breaks it not only makes msoft look bad but target too. This am sure is the real reason behind that 3 yr warranty. If not msoft will still be brushing it aside as nothing. However there is nothing they can do about it now and msoft is taking the necessary steps to improve.

[young7yang]

whatever

the 360 is cool

M&S will be at a loss in the future...

in the meantime.. get one from wallmart, game stop, kmart, are any other video game or electronics retailer... their losss

[SimmoUK]

taking it off the shelves I don't know what to say, it's obvious that the failure rate is having a big effect, could this be the start of other chains doing it?

[FirstknighT]

Mark and who???

[SimmoUK]

huge retailer in the UK...

[Andronix]

M&S have a reputation for being a very 'British' company with top quality reputation. (It's food is really nice, but expensive!)

Their technology departments are new but expanding. They are not the sort of company to compete with the rest of the high street on price, they compete on reputation and service. Customers who buy technology there may pay a bit more wont mind because that 2 year guarantee backs up the M&S reputation.

Personally Id like the best price possible.

[gnothe1]

you guys have nothing better to do than to sit here as bash the 360 day in an day out!! regardless of what you guys say the 360 still gives you more fun for you cash!! an a better GAMING experience.if this was Wal-mart THEN there might be a problem. but this place M&S who the hell are they!!

[SimmoUK]

A well known retailer in the UK, is this the start of things to come though the reliability is turning into a big issue, imagine if this gets on the BBC or another huge channel...

[THAMMER1]

They think they are helping the PS3 with all this crap. You know how it is, when the ship is sinking every one grabs a bucket type of B.S.

LOL SimmoUK you should be playing Sigma it really is good.

[JHFKDFNFGJKFHDKF]

N0-ONE buys consoles from M & S

[Daewoodrow]

M&S sell consoles?

[JHFKDFNFGJKFHDKF]

exactly.

[THAMMER1]

SimmoUK says they are popular. Classic LOL

[FirstknighT]

Mark & Spencers sounds like a place where they sell shoes.

[Watkins]

Hmm, I thought all stores wanted to sell X360s, don't they earn a LOT on the insurances ppl "have" to buy with their 360s?

[masterg]

Why do all Americans say M&S who?
90% of you never left your borders.

I was in London last year and M&S is the only store name I can remember.

[FeralPhoenix]

I read this site alot and I never heard this UK retailer M&S? mentioned until this story was dugg up, now I haven't been to London(one day I'll visit)so it could be a nice retailer but their logic seems suspect IMO but really I'm sure there are plenty of other stores like Game and others where you can buy a 360, I don't see other retailers following suit when in fact the new warranty actually is helpful to retailers since they can assure customers if their console is defective then M$ will replace it free of charge. Either way lets just see what affect all this has on sales. I'm betting not much.

[BoneMagnus]

and the consoles Halo 3 will sell...Poor business decision.

[Firewire]

Marks & Spencer, was in Canada to, although I'm not sure if they have any stores here anymore. There were known as a more high end retailer.

[cdzie1]

Marks & Spencers is selling PS3 and not Xbox 360. Actually, selling is the wrong word, they carry PS3, nobody's buying them, but yeah, they do carry them.

[xbox360elitegamer]

That's crap!

[P4KY B]

I cant recall seeing an electronics department in my local M&S
All i've ever bought from them is underwear and shirts.

[Bullseye]

My point exactly.

[Bullseye]

Firstly, it may well be that M&S are refusing to stock 360's due to reliability problems, i have no inside knowledge of that.however, lets get thing in perspective.M&S is not a 'huge' retailer, in fact they where on the verge of bankruptcy a couple of years ago.Next they are not primarily an electrical retailer, they are mostly a clothing retailer with a much smaller electrical dept.I felt the need to correct this information for the benefit of my American cousins who have been misled by some of the more excitable members on this site!M&S is not the first store that would come to mind when considering an electrical purchase,never mind a games console.I'd be surprised if they sold many consoles at all.And to the U.K people trying to make big of this,stop exaggerating for effect.

[deepio]

Who buys their game consoles from a retailer famous for clothes and food anyway?? Especially one that on the most part targets a female consumer base.

M&S can ride their high horse if they want, if someone wants a 360, they can line some other retailers pockets instead...

[Shadow Flare]

hehe...cpffffhahahahaHAHAHAHAH A....ahahahaha, oh man...hehe

[Odion]

33% is not a proven rate of failure its freaking based on anicdotale evidence

[Rims]

Not trailer trash xbox 360's

[Lex Luthor]

M&S is a food and clothes store in england. I had no idea that they sell electronics and hardly any anyone buys games from their anyway. If it was asda,tesco or woolworths then fair enough but frankly no one cares. There's plenty of other places to buy 360s.

Marks and spencers is no way in hell the first store you would go to to purchase a console, i had no idea they even sell them. M&S is mainly for female consumers with the clothes on sale, nice food though.

[Bigmac573]

Sorry!

[Lex Luthor]

Then the PS3 must be rotting in it's grave.

[Lex Luthor]

I live in herne hill, south london and there's a M&S down the road in brixton. All the times i have been there i have not seen an electronics department EVER. This article is the first time i found that M&S has an electronics department.

They won't be missed, nice food though.

[nobizlikesnowbiz]

Oh well we all know 360 isn't the most popular in the UK. If people actually want a 360 there, they know where to look...

[tehcellownu]

xbots need to give it a rest already ..the 360 is horrible designed system..they may have the games for the moment..but it will all change around the end of this year and next..ps3 will dominate with games..and sony dropping the price to 499 for the ps3 mean more sales for sony..

[MaximusPrime]

woohoooo fantastic news!

[Extra Guy]

I didn't know that M&S sold consoles, i only knew about their food, clothes, kitchenware and bedroom/living room stuff.

[sandip787]

lol although i usually defend ps3, i have to laugh at this, i never knew M&S even did electronics.

[dale1]

i can see there point if they take on the 2 year guarantee and microsoft only offers 1 year unless rrod when you get three what happens to disc scratching and other issues they get stuffed and marks customers don,t take lightly to having thinks sent back they want a replacement there and then

[darkdoom3000]

then again ive only been to austraila and newzealand

ah well, this aint hurting the ps3 in any way,

go PS3