Is the Xbox 360 getting any more reliable?

The Xbox 360 is less reliable than other games consoles, according to our reliability survey published last week. But the big question is whether consoles bought today can be expected to be any more reliable than the ones bought years ago. We broke out the office scientific calculator and took another look at the data we gathered in our survey to find out.

[Capt CHAOS]

I've got three of them and had two faulties (though much older models, one is a release model).

J

[Guido]

Compare 2008 console reliability numbers of the 360 with the 2006 and up data for the PS3 and Wii. If you look at it in the same light, the PS3 and Wii numbers for 2008 are more than likely less than 16 percent as we see the 360 number is slightly lower. Maybe the Wii and PS3 are around 11 percent and the 360 is 21 percent?

[The Meerkat]

I got a launch and it broke, its been replaced 6 times now.
But the most recent replacement has lasted over a year.
So I think the answer is yes.

And MS customer services have been great during the problem times.
They sent me a free game, free controller, and a free xbox (which I gave to a friend). And each time they repair a console they give you a 30 day xbox live card too.

[Guido]

No number of butt kissing attempts from MS could persuade me from enjoying the reliability of the PS3. I would not wish for unreliability just so I could get a free game or controller. They can do whatever they want as a residual effect to their incompetence in making a reliable console but int he end, not all gets the treatment you received and those that did not have the attitude I have, MS stands for shoddy hardware and silly excuses. I will stick with the reliable consoles, the Wii and the PS3 for most of the games and when it comes to exclusives, I will turn on my 360 in hopes it will not die on me again for a sixth time.

[Raf1k1]

Does MS have a courier to pick up the broken Xbox? I'm thinking of getting one sometime but I don't really want to be paying to post something to MS's repair services.

If it breaks on me I'll still have my PS3 and PC to play on.

[sikbeta]

Off-topic:
I don't know who in HELL can disagree with a person who got a console that broke

When something brake you can't disagree with the owner, is not an opinion, dumb disagree fairy

On-topic:

I read somewhere that M$ put another Motherboard in the new models to prevent the issues or at least make them less easy to break

[Serial_EDX]

Every time I say my ps3 broke I get negatives?

So I wonder why.

[mint royale]

It damn better be if its been out this long. If it hasn't then its a disgrace.

[Anon1974]

Meerkat's experience has been the polar opposite from mine. My launch 360 has been replaced 4 times. Twice I had to pay $170 (cdn) for the repair because they hadn't extended the warranty. Both times I had to fight to get that money back when they extended the warranty. Once they sent me a replacement console that gouged disks so bad it ruined 3 of my titles until I figured out what was going wrong, and then they refused to replace that unit because "disk scratching isn't covered" until I pointed out I have an extended warranty, through them!

Twice they gave me a 30 day XBL card. That's it. No free console. No free game. All I got was $8 worth of XBL and hours and hours of my time wasted with their maddening customer support.

[Disccordia]

As someone who works for a game retail shop, I would have to say that yes, they are getting more reliable. In fact, since the elite came out, there has been a steady decrease in the number of faulties coming back so well done MS.

[mastiffchild]

My latest 360 elite is nearly a year old now and I haven't had ANY problems with it yet(touch pretend wood desk)apart from it scratching up a disc or two at the start if it's life(but not since, in fairness)and being honest it's much quieter than most people's that I know and all of mt previous, now dead, 360s.

But the point isn't if they're getting more reliable but moreif they're now reliable ENOUGH. Have they reached industry accepted rates like both the other consoles? I doubt it or we'd have had great trumpeting from MS and, no doubt, the court case saving(and way short of watertight)warranty would have been scrapped by now.

Another thing is that when my old 360s were dying on me I was using them more than I've ever used this new one. Because I've less faith in it I rarely use it and only ever for exclusives if I'm being truthful so , really, it sahould still be fine when the PS3 has had both more exclusives that I've bought and played this year AND all the multiplats because of it's controller and better reliability. I know I'm not alone in multiple owners in doing this as well so we might be even further from knowing the exact situation with them.

Another thing is that MS customer support haven't been great with me or my missus in the past and Meercat is lucky to have had such great service. On different occasions I've waited for three weeks for them to replace a console so a months free Live when I'd already payed didn't make up for the time I'd missed when, by the time it had run out I didn't have a 360 anyway after they told my missus she was a liar when she rrported a replacement we'd had for under a month had failed to power up. We were left to dry on that one and until the rude bloke got caught doing it to others in recorded phone calls and MS finally apologised(but offered me nothing)I wouldn't buy another one. That said I'm only pointing out that yuo CAN get a tosser and sometimes the company backs them and not innocent consumers./ Definitely I've had crap service from other companies in the past and from Sony this gen-with their moving of the goalposts over things depending who you talk to.

Whatever, there's no way of knowing just how reliable they are just now but I doubt they've got near the other two yet and they should never have caused all this in the first place by rushing it out without enough QA.

[Reibooi]

I don't think it is. I have been through about 5 of them so far all under warranty so didn't have to pay a cent.

6 months ago I did finally get annoyed and bought a Elite with the newest chipset thinking it would make a difference.

Oh how i was wrong. I hardly use it and already it's having disk drive problems and sounds like a jet airplane taking off inside my room. It's a matter of time until it red rings on me.(Or the disc drive just totally breaks).

I don't think it's getting more reliable and it makes me wonder why MS plans on sticking it out with the 360 when it still has such a high failure rate. They really should be trying to make a new version like a slim(or in this case a fatter model to reduce heat) Or just hurry up and start trying to get the Next Xbox on track instead of trying to keep the 360 alive with Natal.

[RealityCheck]

For people that have the newer motherboards, yes, the 360 is more reliable now.

My first unit was replaced a few times but the last time they changed the motherboard and it has been fine since. I also bought a second one (latest motherboard) for another setup and it's been running great.

I still hear friends who have problems from time to time but they are are almost always older consoles or refurbished.

So in short I feel I can recommend again to family and friends to consider a 360 along with a PS3. For a while before they did the redesign I just couldn't do it.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

My oldest 360 is one of the earliest Falcons and is used the most since it is in the living room. Never had a single issue with any of them. Initially, I went as far as buying a 3-year warranty at Target, but never got to use it so far.

However, my cousin had a launch that went south. He had it fixed and sold it. His second Xbox 360, a non-falcon also went bad. His DVD-drive went out and was replaced. It has working fine since, but just got banned!

So from personal experience, I would say the newer models are vastly improved. Going from Falcon forward, I would say the problem is probably non-existant for most users.

If anything, I think a 360 is most likely to succumb to Disc Read Errors and that is why I bought the warranty. With the hard drive installation, this is no longer an issue. In fact, with all consoles this is probably the most common problem. If there is one to fear, it is the DRE.

[Leathersoup]

All I know is that I've gone through several Xboxes lately. Every time I play a game that I'm relatively interested in and my Xbox stays running for say 12 hrs straight, the dvd drive starts getting read errors. This happens whether or not I have the game installed to the HDD or not. As a matter of fact this last box survived until Dragon Age came out. Played extensively over the weekend and when I next turned on my Xbox... tadaaa the DVD drive wouldn't recognize the discs properly anymore.

[StanLee]

Never had one problem with my XBox 360. (*knocks on wood*)

[clonerz]

Lets see two Xbox 360 pro failed within two week span less than year old at the time.So i returned them to Best Buy swapped em out for Playstation 3. At the time i already had one ps3. Well after a year one of those ps3 shuts down during certain games called Sony they said don't know whats wrong but will fix for 150.00 Well lets see i paid 500.00 for that one {60gb} so i paid all this money for something i got a little over a year of use out of and this one is my daughters who put about 60-70 hrs tops of use on that console.Well in October my ps3 {60gb} model i paid 600.00 for it had about 300 hours on it gave me the dreaded YLOD. The thing is i really can't believe i have gone through this many consoles this generation. I think in a race to one up each other Ms and Sony didn't do enough to curb the heat problem in these powerful consoles. To say i am disappointed is an understatement without a doubt for all the great games this gen. These console issues just leaves a bad taste in my mouth

[Sarcasm]

My 360 is still going strong.

Yes, that's coming from someone labeled as a hardcore PS3 fanboy.

[Millah]

360 just has a fundamental design flaw, all MS has been doing is patching their wounds but not truly fixing the design problem. The 360 will always be a higher than normal unreliable console until they completely change the design of the hardware. Especially for gamers who play their 360s a lot for extended periods of time, they'll always be at high risk for failure.

I just had another 360 red ring on me and now I'm giving up and playing everything on PS3 from now on. I'll be turning my 360 on only for exclusives and thats it, all my multiplayer and multiconsole games will be played on PS3. Free online PSN pwns Live, I don't care how many gimmick features it has like Twitter or Facebook, I care about playing games online not posting status updates.

Basically this is what happens when you rush to get your console out to be first in the market.

[PS3PCFTW]

3 x 50 = 150-200 rrod 360s.

thats just between me and my friends in garden city, NEW YORK.

I can only imagine how many people got the rrod. its kind of like a plague now. it will never go away, those of you that deny it need to get ms' shlong out of your throats. Its funny that microsoft no longer flaunts their "hardware sales lead". Its pretty obvious that half of those sales are replacements....meaning the 360 has not been in the lead for quite some time now.

needless to say, my friends and i pretty much migrated to the ps3 and left the 360 behind. Of all of us that own ps3s now, only 3 ps3s broke. 2 of them stopped reading discs(movies and games) and 1 ylod and just wouldnt boot. Personally, my ps3 is almost always on. It is basically the center of my home theater and everyone enjoys its functions in 1 form or another. we have tons of blurays and games, downloaded films, music discographies.

my sister has a wii, and that thing never broke.... of course noone in my house really plays with that crap anymore though. It kind of just sits there looking sleek and gets dusted every once in a while because it really is a nice looking console. Even if the wii had games or bluray playback..i doubt it would break. I really cant remember the last time nintendo had hw problems.

speaking of sleek, i like the new slims. Im thinking i will get one this weekend and reduce the load on my launch ps3.

[Anon1974]

The 360 needed a whole new redesign, not just a change here and there. There's no excuse for not redesigning the console when people are going through 3, 4 and sometimes 5 consoles. If they fixed it and relaunched they'd probably be a contender instead of being outsold by a console that was twice the price for 3 years.

[blogz4fanboyzz]

most of the people i know are not having the problems they had before. but if you talk to any sony fanboy on n4g, and it seems that the 360 is even worse....

[syanara]

It shouldn't have had the problem in the first place so if it became 100% reliable it still like I said should not have had the problem in the first place

[4Sh0w]

My launch 360 broke on me, I got it repaired and about 3 months later gave it to my sister and brought an Elite, both me and my sister play regularly and neither of us have had any problems. I know quite a a lot of 360 owners and most of them had RROD within a year after launch, but the good news is that I rarely hear any of them say their 360 has any problems lately. Of course 360's still break, but its a lot more reliable so I'm just glad to see more gamers enjoying their consoles these days without having to put up with annoying hardware failures.

[DevastationEve]

At the Best Buy I work at I've seen maybe 2-4 Xbox 360s come in for us to exchange/send to service in the last month. I don't know where the 54% failure rate myth came from but I've been all around and up and down and it seems only PS3 fanboys really have an issue with it, since they want to use it to paint a worse picture than it really is.

I don't mean to imply that it doesn't exist or that it's never happened to anyone, but fanboys played it out way too much. For the people who HAVE had this issue I hope Microsoft did what they could to make things right. If not then they lost a valuable customer didn't they :O

[HolyOrangeCows]

The first 25+ million 360s are still faulty. They aren't going away any time soon. And the new models have shown to only be a bit more reliable.

[MNicholas]

But the overall pattern roughly matches past estimates.

Nevertheless it's fun to play around with the numbers.

According to the study, these are the overall hardware failure rates for Xbox360s during first 24 months of ownership. These are listed by year of purchase.

2005: 58% (635k) failed within 24 months
2006: 64% (4.3M) failed within 24 months
2007: 57% (4.5M) failed within 24 months
2008: 40% (4.4M) failed within 24 months (partial data)

Total sold between 2005 and 2008: 26.5 Million
Total failed within 24 months: 14 Million (52%)

52% failure rate within 2 years is shocking. That doesn't even include consoles that failed in year 3 or 4! As other data sources have shown the real net failure rate is well over 60 percent or about 2 out of 3.

[NewZealander]

two consoles, one a launch the other about a year old, no problems what so ever, i did force a red ring on my console so i could get new parts before the 3yr warranty ran out, ill admit it though unlike some people i know:D

[Guido]

Only difference is that they both are PS3's. My fifth Xbox 360 died a year ago and I have turned it on for exclusives only since then. If I keep it off as much as possible it seems to last longer...

[Ninji]

It's a flop as usual. I can still play my SNES...I bet you can't say that about the 360 after 18 years. In fact, the 360 will break after about a year anyways.

[ultimolu]

I miss Super Mario World and U.N Squadron...;~;

Dammit, I blame my uncle for giving the SNES away.

[Knightofelemia]

Getting my 360 back in January from Microsoft and I think I'll just use it for exclusives most multy plats i just buy for my PS3. I don't think the Xbox is reliable yet persay but it sure doesn't RROD or E74 as fast like they use to. If Jasper can last 2 yrs without an incident then yse they have become more reliable.

[Mista T]

It's hard to believe a company can't make hardware reliable through a whole generation

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

The failbox reliable? Nice joke.

[ultimolu]

I don't know about that...

[lordkemp007]

Putting Xbox 360 and the word reliable in the same sentence is about as fitting as making George Bush peace envoy to the Middle East.

[PatDH]

*Off-topic reply*

What if I say "The Xbox 360 is not reliable"

:|

[ReBurn]

My launch 360 RROD'd after a year and a half and the replacement has been good for the last 2 and a half years. That's my experience. So in 4 years I've been without it for less than 10 days. Overall I'm happy. However my PS3 and Wii are still doing fine. Wii is launch and my PS3 is a 60GB model I bought when Sony cut the price from $599 to $499.

I do think that these websites that do their own unscientific and uncontrolled polls and then release reliability data are misleading people. I doubt that Microsoft ever releases the true percentage. I can say that people I know who purchased in 2008 and beyond haven't had nearly the problems that friends who purchased in 2006 have seen.

[Exias]

I'm really on the fence about getting an XBox for Xmas. This has been one of the many reasons why I have held out from buying the XBox for so long.

[Redlogic]

you should get one. Yes, the RRoD stinks, but i think you will be okay if you don't use it as a primary machine. I only use it for exclusives and shooters. Otherwise, I get all the other games on ps3. I have actually thought about cleansing myself of the Xbox but i still like to play it every once in a while. Its a good console, its just the most unreliable piece of machinery ever created. Its clear that MS is a software company, not a hardware. That's why Live is so good but the console stinks.

[Anon1974]

I won't sell my 360. At this point I'm $900 into my 360 between controllers, wireless, console, extended warranty, charge and play kits, replacement batteries, a couple of years worth of XBL. I'll never get even close to that if I sold it so even though I don't really play it anymore because I've had so many problems with it I might as well hold on. There's still the odd game I'm interested in.

Gears 2 and Fable 2 were two of my favorite games last year and I ole blinkey lasts long enough for me to play Alan Wake and Halo Reach when they come out but I don't agree with paying extra for online and I don't trust my hardware. I get my gaming fix primarily from my PS3 because I don't worry about the hardware failing on me if I play more than 40 minutes in a sitting. I know, that's unrealistic, but after 4 consoles you wonder. I hate gaming and always worrying in the back of my head "Is that too long? It's been an hour. Should I push it just a bit more? I don't want to risk it. Maybe I'll turn it off. But I'm having so much fun!"
That's no way to game. Thankfully, I'm in the minority of 360 owners this happens to, but that doesn't make it suck any less. Every single 360 owner I personally know has had at least 1 rrod.

[rawd]

Aw i love these heart warming Bot cheer up threads. So cute

[kenpachi]

i need something to keep warm of the winter and with the failbox now at 60% i will by a cheap heater that works

[divideby0]

I am on my third one...and its way better than the previous 2. The DVD drive is still the loudest drive I ever ever heard...
Last game I bought was GeOW 2 and havent played the 360 since..its a dust collector. If you own all the consoles you know what I mean..

[RadientFlux]

I own both and PS3 and 360, no I don't know what you mean.

I guess the 360 can be a dust collector if you only play multi-platform games on the PS3. But than you can also say the same thing about the PS3 if you only buy multi-platform games on the 360.

[ReBurn]

Wow, none of my consoles collect dust. But I tend to take a long time to finish games and I have four or five going at one time.

[Seven_ate_Nine]

The only systems of mine that are collecting dust are my PS1 and my PC :P

I use my N64 more than I use my PC :'(

[divideby0]

my wallet tells me what system and I have not seen a 360 game since GeOW last year that I had to buy..conversely....DemonsSouls , Uncharted 2, RnC all have filled my time.....and since Multi Plat games are now = no sense to pay for live to play games.

still waiting for the 360 game to buy...MassEffect and AlanWake are the next 2...

[Anon1974]

Since Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 I haven't played a 360 game other then dabbling with Sam and Max. I see no reason to pay for XBL so most games are bought on my PS3, and the PS3 exclusives this year have been fantastic. I'm looking forward to Alan Wake and the next Halo (skipped ODST) but other than those two I don't really see anything on the horizon that I feel are "must buys" on my 360.

[bozebo]

my jasper died last week. ms expect me to pay for shipping to them for repair

[gamingisnotacrime]

is just a gimmick to give hope that MS is doing something about their low quality console. Too bad because i really wanted to play Mass Effect 1 and 2, but the 360 is unbearable

[RadientFlux]

My launch console had RROD, a year after launch. I received my replacement console from MS a few weeks later and never had a problem since. Never had an issue with my PS3, and I didn't own my Wii long enough to notice any issues (6 months).

The only console I had major issues with was the PS2. Where I had two systems die on me. One a launch system and the other a slim. Though to be fair my original Xbox system disc drive was also close to death before the system was discontinued.

My PS1 and Dreamcast are collecting dust somewhere in my basement. I assume that they both still work.

[Pennywise]

Has anyone had their 360 break and decided not to support MS anymore?

Just wondering...

[gamingisnotacrime]

that was the moment i turned my PS3 into my main console, and then later sold my 360 (while it still worked). Got ashamed of supporting a console that can break at any instance with no good reason.

[divideby0]

Me...wont buy another 360 and the next MS console is the FIRST console since SNES I will not buy on launch day.

on my 3rd and final 360.

I look at the must buy games and the PS3 is where its at, especially since multiplat. titles are =....

[agentOFchaos]

I am one of the smart ones that don't support this piece of crap.after the second one failed,the support I gave failed.its a good thing I will always have a reliable ps3. And I think this question should be saved for April 1st or a stand up comic night. I was laughing.....

[madpuppy]

I own 2 PS3's and will NEVER buy another MS console again. I really should have expected as much from a company that thinks that you can fix faulty hardware with a software patch. Also, looking back at what MS excels at. ( unreliable, unsafe Operating Systems) I should have known better.

[Advari]

XBOX 360 and reliable in the same sentence never thought I would see the day. My jasper red ringed with a copy of brutal legend still inside of it maybe i will get my game back from M$. As soon as I get the system back its hi ho hi ho its off to the pawnshop it goes.

[JANF]

You can still get the game out if your console RROD on you. RROD does not have anything to do with the DVD drive. Do you really have a X360?

[Redgehammer]

it is MS's policy to return the game. My friend sent her xbox in with my Oblivion Disc and they promptly returned it.

[Redgehammer]

My current 360 runs 17- 18 hours a day on average and barely has a heat signature emanating from the console (11 months). My previous two consoles lasted a few months 1 was 2 flashing lights (replaced for free), and the other was my stupid fault (yanked network cable) again replaced for free. I am extremely happy with my 360 (and XBL), and have been very pleased with MS customer service. I understand other peoples issues with the 360 leaving them with a bad taste in their mouths; but each person has their own tolerances of what they will accept from a product or company. To me MS has taken care of my issues, and also provide a service that I really enjoy, so that is why I am still a customer.

[user8737759]

I bought a 360 it only lasted 4 months then it died Microsofts customer support was full of people who barely spoke english and kept passing me off to other people and screwing up my address after i spelt it out slowly to them. Finally when they asked for me to send my console they phoned me 2 weeks later leaving me a message about my xbox. I phoned them back and they had lost my console and could not find it, 4 days later they phoned me again saying they found it on the work bench and it had not been touched. So they sent me a refurb and I turned around and sold the damn thing for the headache it caused me. I think their customer service sucks I have had better luck with Sony and Nintendo with their customer service. Because of Microsoft I have never yelled at a company before for the amount of screw ups with that many swear words Microsoft should move their call centers to the states.

RedgeHammer I am glad you got great customer service with Microsoft you found some one who actually cares about their job and was willing to help you out. As for me I won't even touch another 360 if the 720 nextgen comes out and is proved it is reilable and won't break down then I might buy a new xbox

[Redgehammer]

I may feel the same way if I had had a similar experience.

[Redgehammer]

lol @ the disagree

[AliTheBrit19]

Lol jesus...I submitted this and I'm called a xbot, the irony!

To the guys who reported this, sorry, I'm not trying to flamebait, it was a story on a very big website..cnet and I posted it

For what its worth, I do think the Xbox 360 has got more reliable with the newer motherboard chipset, Jasper.

[rohail88]

Thats true!

[dredgewalker]

Im sorry Ali but even if you pretend not to be a fanboy your comments always reveal the opposite.

[Lyner Barsett]

The amount of money a person throws into the console with the wifi adaptor, xbox live membership, the cost of the console plus the cost of the game. Why game in fear of your console bricking when your on the last level of a kick ass boss fight. I am on my 2nd xbox i bought an eliete and it died M$ screwed up sent me a regular pro console instead and it died a year later. So again they sent me a refurb i traded it off at Gamestop and bought a brend new Jasper if this one dies I am done with xbox. So far this japser is on its 6th month the odd noise but nothing sierouse yet.

[mauinho]

Ive had a 360 since launch it Red ringed 4 times, Ms fixed it ( or done something to it) 4 times for free but about 2 months ago, finally, the DVD drive decided to pack up, so Ive made the hard decition to get myself a super Elite, (thought about getting a PS3 but my gamerscore made me think twice.
I hope this one lasts the rest of this generation as im not getting another one no mather what. Its much much quieter and it doesnt seem to get as hot as my old one, I believe its one of the new motherboards with manufactured date of september 09.
I also believe that the failure rate for the launch consoles was much higher then 25%, all of them sooner or later would RROd, rubbish hardware MS made, but please be aware the PS3 isnt without its issues got several mates with drive problems on the PS3 and the YLOd its a reality 2, even if not so often as the 360 all my mates had theirs fail one way or another. But Live, Forza 3, Gay tony, mass effect and my 17k gamerscore made me stay and spend another 200 quid. Until GT5 gets in anyway ...

Peace

[no_more_heroes]

if you play it for 6 hours everyday. My first one lasted about a year, but never actually red ringed (sound-but-no-video problem). Essentially, it was red ring lite, and that was because I played FIFA 08 for 4 hours almost everyday. My second one might well be on its way as well, thanks to (sometimes forced) marathons of Star Ocean 4.

[DTClown]

MS does not release the official numbers for defective 360's. Why is that do you think? I bet that at the END of this generation, or even when they release their next system, the numbers will finally come out. Problem is that the numbers will be overall and not year by year. This will help their bottom line percentage making it seem not that high. They will say, "the 360 actually had only 12% failure rate, no where near the 60% reported by fanboys." They will do this to try to regain confidence in buyers so they will do it all over again and invest in their new system. (again early to try to get an edge over Sony)

I would like to see a poll of current 360 owners...how many systems had been replaced, how many disc's damaged, and how many of those people will NOT be buying another MS game console because of their experience with the 360. That would be interesting.

[sbstncstllo]

Mine is from 2005 and although it never RROD its a disc eating machine, which caused me to mod the console to play my backup of gears of war 1 when the "play from hard drive" option wasn't available.
And yup now is been banned.

[ichimaru]

Is N4G getting anymore mature?

[borgome]

I think so, I bought an Arcade edition while one of my original 360's was in the repair shop about a year ago, it's still going strong.

I like to keep a spare now though, just in case.

[akaFullMetal]

i find it funny though, that people need spares. I wonder how the xbox 720 or whatever will sell when it first releases, are people going to be weary of it breaking or just by spares, haha? Not trying to knock you down, but really you shouldn't have to get a spare, I hope microsoft design's there next machine a lot better.

[borgome]

Yup, I agree with you, the fact I have a spare is halarious to me. The customer service I recieved from Microsoft has been quite good though, still doesn't make up for the faulty consoles.

Next gen I see myself going with Sony, I've always been Nintendo/Xbox owner, but I think it's time for a change.

[akaFullMetal]

a lot of survey's have said no.

[devilhunterx]

It is amazing how stupid some people are.

The console breaks, you lose money and then you defend it like its your own spoiled brat.

[Blow Out Your Brains]

I bought a 360 recently for L4D and L4D2, it was made in June of 2009 so if it breaks I know that MS hasn't done sh*t about it. It definitely creates less heat than the older ones, that's for sure.

[blazed13]

even if it did fail you got 3 yr. warranty.

[gtamike123]

360 should be in the guinness book of record.
"Most unreliable console of all time"

[Obama]

54.2% to 60%. Yeah the real number shouldn't be that high, but it doesn't change the fact that the 360 is a failbox.

[blazed13]

i find it hard to believe that your 360 broke down 6 times you lying sack of crap. ive had my 360 since jan. 07 and it has only broke once and since my repair i have had no problems with it. i know this for sure if my 360 fails 1 more time im done with it. im not gonna sit around and wait for it to fail 6 times you liar.

[Arcturus]

my xbox died last week! it's my 2nd that Ive had since march of this year...

[BackDoorMoi]

After two of my brand new xbox360 got RROD i quit to PC gaming, in less than 5 month they got RROD, notice that this model were the old ones (Xenon 2005-2006), two friends of mine bought the new model (the Jasper) and neither one of them have had any problem of RROD, and they game a lot. Maybe this is the time to pick up one Xbox360 for Christmas.

[Boty]

Microsoft are the only ones who are going to know how reliable their system is. And of course they're going to want to tell you that their system is the most reliable thing that ever was bestowed upon us all. So to tell you the truth I'm starting to see these articles as pointless. The media can feed you numbers all they want but everyone knows just how reliable the Xbox 360 system really is.
I personally know at lest 4 of my friends who have gone through 3 Xbox 360s. In fact On of my friends have gone through 6 of the systems(all new according to him).

[Bullseye]

I would just like to point out a well known truth about electronic devices.- ANY - electrical/electronic device is more likely to break down in the first year of it's use.If it doesn't break down within the first year, then it's likely to last for it's estimated lifetime. Unless, of course, it has a specific design flaw.So, the only real conclusion you can draw from this article is, the new generation XBOX360 console behaves inline with all other electronic devices! Pathetic maths and unsound statistics used.

[MrCrabPuss]

My system has been fine for over 2 years. I really play the hell out of it. Guess Im just lucky and/or I know how to care for my gear. I treat it like a frail geriatric, blow it out:clean it!, keep it elevated from surface, ensure cool open air space, install ALL games to HD to prevent excess heat (non installed games get HOT!) and anyone who doesnt keep it horizontal is a fool as they are blocking a major source of air intake.

How many of these people dont look after their system PROPERLY? Its covered in dust? or enclosed in some stuffy cabinet? or on the carpet? or a generally filthy area? or using while vertical? I bet a good deal of these people with fails are just too ignorant to properly care for their delicate system.

As far as sending your RRoD system back to MS and paying for it? If you have thumbs and a screwdriver then for christ sakes fix it yourself. Its not rocket science. If you cant read then look it up on Youtube.

How many of these comments with bloated numbers are coming from PS3 kids who don't even own a 360? They do after all, like to jump on any opportunity to piss all over anything that isn't Sony. Losers.

[Boty]

How many times could Sony fans say that about your X-tards with your bloated sales numbers and all?

[Truth4You]

n4g.com = All I want for X-Mas viral x1000

[Lookbehind]

Ps3 a 16% failure rate,don't fvcken think so...................

[glennc]

another pointless article that we all know the answer to... hence why it is pointless.

[Gago]

had bought a 360 in 2006, it RROD in 2008

bought a 360 pro 60gb jasper in feb 2009, no problems, quieter, less heat

[JJFNIGHTS80]

Looks like M$ still haven't learn their lesson in changing their hardware but only their motherboard they change.

[Action GO FIGURE]

My heater is more reliable than the Xbox 360 and it's not as loud.

[Bigpappy]

I am a 360 only gamer. I have to tell you, we play more games and more often than PS3 or wii gamers. Usage does not determine failure. My launch broke when I turned it on, not while in use. I know own 2 but do use the 2 year old system as my main system. The older one is for guest. It is more reliable. Everyone on my friends list, that use the system daily also share that opinion. Bye Fanboys.

[IRetrouk]

NEW ONES OLD ONES, IT DONT MAKE A DIFFRENCE THEY ARE CRAP, YOU KNOW IT I KNOW IT EVEN THE POPE KNOWS IT. and before you call me a fanboy i have had 4 white ones break on me so im now on number 5, 5 consoles in 3 years is disscusting, take off those glasses and take a closer look at the console you are defending there mate, cause you looking fanboyish defending that shady piece of crap.

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

Oh thank god for humor....

[Petebloodyonion]

I for 1 doubt a bit the 50% failure ratio that seem to steam from N4G comunity. Out of my 6 friends, only 1 had a the e74 error.
But then again I agree that having even a 20% ratio is quite High.

Yet despite that I applaud MS to actually aknowledge the problems and at least extending the warranty to 3 years.

Also I applaud Sony for FINALY making a console that as failure rate ratio around 10%. Perhaps one day they will both reach Nintendo's failure rate that is always under 6%

[IRetrouk]

im on my 5th white one and all of them have went the same way, they get louder and louder and then BAM, they break, my resident evil fred one is also geting louder and louder especialy if im playing forza 3 or assassins creed 2, i think the red one is on its way out,so no they are not getting better they have the same problems.

[HashVille]

broke twice on the same month a year apart,and i enjoy how quiet my PS3 is(not a fanboy just saying)

[jujulolo]

I got 3 rod in 2 years and a half. Each time MS fixed my xbox rapidly and for free.
My 60 Go PS3 broke after 1 year and a half. I had to buy a new one and i lost PS2 compatibility, sacd playing and few other things......

[fOrlOnhOpe57]

that, as an increasing number of gamers are owners of BOTH PS3 and 360 consoles, m any seem to state that multiplats are played on the PS3 (presumably because of the 360s reliability issues) therefore resulting in less playing time for the 360.
Also, with the lack of games out in 2009 on the 360, again, wouldnt that point to reduced 360 usage ?

For the record, Im a PS3 owner (2nd console after my 60 Gb YLOD ' out of warranty) so Im not bashing on the 360. But it does seem to me that it may well be a contributory factor to an apparent improvement .

[Kurt Russell]

Anyone who has used the above terms as a put down I can only assume lives with their parents, and are virgins. Keep trying though chumps.

[snake_eater]

Every single xbox 360 will be broken...and those who are saying that jaspers are more reliable the first jaspers sold are now almost 1 year old and by the end of next year they will start to drop like flies...

Of 30 million consoles sold at this point more than 15 million died and most of them multiple times... the rest 15 million will die too and by 2012 i guarantee you that those 30 million consoles will die at least once.

[dadeisvenm]

Every time I think I'm in the market to get a 360, the RRoD or some random failure scares me off. The question now is, If I can get the same game either for my PS3 (launch 60GB) or on PC, is there a reason to buy a 360?