The Video Game Critic

I say this because where is the fall out for their catastrophic console defect rate?
 
When I first heard 30%, I thought, no way, MS will blow this out of the water, no way it could be true. But then they waffle, won't realease an official number, and only say a majority of users don't have a problem yet.

Imagine if PS3 had a 30% defection rate, they would be torn to pieces in the media! As far as I am concerned, Sony has earned much of their bad press, but why isn't MS getting blasted now?! I thought media in America was unbiased !(well, no I didn't, but can't they drop the smuggness at least?) Why is this even close to acceptable, warranty be damned? It's stil a pain in the butt to mail in hundreds of thousands of consoles to fix them. People are going to be waiting a long time to get their Xboxes back, I will guarantee you that.

I wonder how this is being covered in Japan, probably with a little scorn mixed with a lot of indifference, as in , "This is why they sit on the store shelf's in the first place! BTW, have you played in-law training for your DS yet, hahaha?"

Well, I'll tell you why Microsoft isn't getting hammered on the failure rate.  First of all, people have been complaining about this for months already and the press has reported it, so it's not exactly a secret anymore (and MS has certainly taken a bit of criticism over it).  The second reason is much more important, and that's Microsoft's decision regarding the matter.

Along with bumping up the warranty to 3 years, they're also willingly taking a $1 billion hit to fix the problem.  As you probably heard, they've said that any system that's had failure problems in the past will be fixed for free, and that if consumers paied money in the past for such services, they'll all be refunded.  And by the way, that applies to he entire world, not just the US.

To put all this into proper perspective, there hasn't ever been a worldwide recall, if you will, of a video game console (as far as I can tell).  Not only have there never been console problems as widespread as this before, but even if there were, as a big a move as Microsoft took here would obviously cost the company a lot of money. 

In the case of Microsoft, money isn't as big a problem for them as some other companies, but regardless, it took them real courage to take such a bold step here.  And do you want to know why they did this?  Because they don't want to lose the consumer confidence in their company, which has helped sell all of their big products over the years, not just Xbox stuff. 

To answer the question of why people aren't giving Microsoft a hard time anymore, I think its because people (like myself, who also had a system failure issue with my 360) recognize what a selfless and compassionate act this was.  Many big companies (this isn't limited to the game industry) tend to claim that they have their consumers interests in mind, but tend to be driven by greed and do whatever they can to make ever so slightly more money than the large sum they may have made in previous years.  Unlike some companies, Microsoft's decision has them doing the exact opposite, which in effect, humanizes the company, proving that they care about their customers. 

If you haven't read read Gamespot's interview with Peter Moore yet (he's the head of the Xbox division), I suggest you do so at the link below. 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6173660.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;11

Compared to some earlier interviews I've read of his, where he came off as slightly cocky, here, you really get a sense that he's very serious about the problems they're having and that for him personally, he's deeply dissapointed that people have been having such problems with their systems. 

In this interview, just like in his press release about the cancelling of the Dreamcast version of Shenmue 2 in the US (this occured when he was the head of Sega), Moore comes off as very understanding of the gamers' frustrations, which in turn helps him be trusted by the consumers in his respective position, but also helps the Microsoft company as a whole.

And although it may be annoying to have to send your system back through the mail, ask yourself this question?  Which is worse?  Having to send your system back without being sure that it'll work fine from then on out, or sending it out, waiting a bit, and then being able to get back to playing again (and if not, they'll give you money back, if applicable, and keep working to fix the problem)?

First off, I think the "failure rate" is very overblown.  I have never had any problems with my 360, and no 360 owners that I've talked to have mentioned anything about problems.

But I think Microsoft is learning from Sony's mistakes.  We've seen how easy it is to blow 10 years of goodwill in just a few months, and Sony's denial of its problems has made matters worse.  Microsoft realizes it's best to be up front about problems and take care of its customers. 

The 30 percent failure rate is probably not true.  That stat comes from one store, and is the highest one on the internet, so it is the one they use to get the most exposure.  In truth, the actual defection rate is probably smaller than that, but probably still above the industry standard.   I predict around 15 percent, which is still too high.   The reason that microsoft is able to survive this is because of the 3 year warranty. (which even includes free shipping)   Yeah, the defections of the 360 have been a disaster,  but Microsoft has shown a commitment to the system, and thats probably why they arent getting slaughtered in the media.

[QUOTE=math #2]

30% Seems about right from my calculations. I can't say that I'm suprised in the least. The problems are obvious, in my opinion. The whole fate of the future of gaming lies in the hands of an evil so great not even the American media dares to interfere.

[/QUOTE]

Well I believe the 30% rate is accurate.  Still, this talk about your calculations is pretty interesting.  Would you care to share these calculations in detail on this forum?

Is it wrong that I was reminded of a little known Green Day song when I saw the title of this forum?

And no, I do not think that MS is the favorite. I don't really think there is a favorite. I know Sony is definately the least favorite, but I'd say in terms of fan support, MS and Nintendo are pretty close, with the big N having a slight lead.

[QUOTE=Koopa W.]Is it wrong that I was reminded of a little known Green Day song when I saw the title of this forum?[/QUOTE]

If it's the song I am thinking of, this is no place for your own self-reflection.

[QUOTE=Steerforth]I don't have any calculation, either. I am just going by what has been largely reported, (by a retailer) and oddly, MS has  not denied it or provided a solid number.[/QUOTE]

Yeah but you didn't claim to have any calculations either.  All the evidence in either direction is anecdotal at this point.

So yeah, I'd love to see some calculations by whomever claims they have them.