I suspect the actual failure rate over the expected lifespan of the console (say five years) would be more than 33%. These things are notorious and I know people who are on their third replacement console now. As has been said, if it breaks down within the Microsoft warranty period you get a replacement pretty quickly, however it is a litle disturbing. Reports are coming in that a couple of hardware revisions have been made on refurbished consoles that people are starting to get from Microsoft, hopefully should fix the issue. At this point though you would have to be insane to buy a second hand 360 unless it was being given to you for free.
From what i have seen it's around 25-30% for the first run 360's. PS3's so far are around 5-9% in the US. This is from an ep of EG.
I'd argue that those who bought extended warranties are far more likely to need the warranties. For example, my mom and dad don't ever buy extended warranties. My aunt and uncle always do. The difference? My brother and I don't treat stuff like disposable shit. My aunt and uncle's kids do. I still agree that the failures are above average though. And I will say this about the PS3 hardware - it's far more fault-tolerant than the PS2s - the processor can run just fine with half of its cores nonfunctioning.
In the case of the 360 it isn't even wear and tear that is causing these problems- it is just faulty hardware. So your cousins may take a hammer to theirs and you and your brother might keep yours hermetically sealed, it is still gonna break if you plug it into a power strip instead of a wall which is one of the major causes of the red circle of death.
That's one of the main causes?.... Please, go on...I've no idea about any of this, and I don't believe I have an extended warranty.
I haven't heard the power supply one. From what I understand most of the red rings are being caused by a faulty solder joint on the board that can pop out as a result of movement caused by the 360 heating and cooling.
I don't know the originating source, but my friend Dave was the one who told me about it. Basically, when on a power strip with multiple other electronics, the current changes intermittently and damages the power supply in some way. I don't know if it is that it causes overheating and thus adds to the problem you mentioned, but its stands to reason since the system is becoming more and more computer that you would ideally want to have it plugged into an UPS (uninterrupted power supply) to maintain steady current and voltage.
http://www.wordforge.net/showthread.php?p=1299017#post1299017 Microsoft is extending the 360 warranty to three years. I created a new thread about it as there could be 360 owners on the board who wouldn't open this thread.
Ours died last week. It's gone away for repairs. I'm very glad to hear the warranty has been extended to three years. Mind you, if they made them properly in the first place I wouldn't damn well need it.
NO!!!!!!!! It has been found that most of them can cause them to overheat even faster. People are also a lot more safe if they didn't buy a first run 360. I bought a 2nd one after my first one died and it hasn't given me a single problem. The first one I should have sent in (for the 2nd time) but I got lazy and forgot to, letting the warranty run out completely... but now that it's extended to three years, I'll now be able to send it in.
First run meaning the first ones that were shipped to stores? If so, that's good news for me cause I only got one this past Christmas. Whew.
Looks like I'll be waiting longer yet to pick one up. Perhaps by then the issues will be resolved and anything I can do to keep it intact will be better known. I tend to wait before jumping into something new and limited in testing, I prefer to let real world use come forth for a report before diving in. Hell, I'll put it in a mini frig if I need to. Variants in voltage should not have the effect that is being claimed if common sense is being used but if you're running the washer/garage lights/stereo/microwave and the 360 on the same circuit than I could see it as a real problem. There's only so much that will flow through those wires in the wall. In truth, a dedicated circuit would be best. All too often though the wiring used in houses are of the minimum requirements of the time, and thirty-forty years ago, the concept of the electronics we use today were only envisioned by few. At Ma's, I'm going to have to replace the service in her place later this summer because it is so outdated when you kick on a vac it dims the lights. It's crapola. At any rate, H3 will evidently have to wait a bit longer for me to kill Truth and save the world....
Extended warranties are dumb. Sure, they pan out nicely for products that are peices of shit. However, service plans (extended warranties) are a HUGE source of profit for retailers. Just go work at one of those places and see how much the management is always pushing people to sell service plans and rewarding people who sell a lot. Basically, it's like any insurance, except a LOT higher profit margin, and it deals with items that are not as important (like a video game vs a house), and are way less expensive to replace. Common sense tells you that service plans are a losing proposition if you buy them all the time. The only way you can win is if you are really unlucky on your stuff breaking. It's much easier/cheaper to replace electronics than things like your car or home, or paying for expensive medical procedures. Plus, if you can't afford it, you DON'T NEED IT. Furthermore, you ALREADY get a short term manufacturer warranty. Most issues that would be covered by a service plan are likely to go wrong during the initial warranty period. (electronics generally go bad early or last for a very long time if they are not abused). What's more, if any product has a high failure rate after the initial warranty (see: original ipod, xbox 360), a class action lawsuit will get kicked up and you will be eligible for either a partial refund or for free repairs. In my opinion, service plans are definitely a waste of money.
Seriously, if you've not bought the 360 yet, I'd wait for the 65nm version, which should release (hopefully) around the same time as Halo 3.
