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Gamers Say Microsoft Understates Xbox Problems

Even Microsoft Spokesmen Ask for Anonymity

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 29, 2006

Xbox • Microsoft To Spend $1 Billion On Xbox Repairs • Microsoft Extends Xbox 360 Warranty to One Year • Angry Xbox Owners Signing Recall Petition • Gamers Complain "Dead Rising" Fatal to Microsoft Xbox • Gamers Say Microsoft Understates Xbox Problems • Xbox Failures Irk Gamers • Class Action Charges Xbox Overheats • Problems Plague Xbox 360 Users • Xbox Midnight Madness Casualties • Consumer Complaints • Power Cord Recall

An insider from Electronic Arts, Inc. is saying that the failure rate of Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console is actually ten times higher than what Microsoft spokespeople have admitted.

Game Daily BIZ, a gaming industry publication, reported that the anonymous source tallied that of the 300 consoles EA has received, 30-50 percent of them have failed.

Jason Michael, a spokesperson from Edelman, a public relations company that represents Microsoft told ConsumerAffairs.com that the failure rate is between 3 and 5 percent. Michael later asked that we not use his name.

That 3-5 percent would not correspond with the nearly 40 complaints ConsumerAffairs.com has received and the growing chorus of blogs and forums saturating the Internet on the topic. Even Microsoft's moderated www.Xbox.com forum has complaints about the system's failure.

The consumer complaints are mostly about the "three rings of death" that indicate that the Xbox is no longer functional. It seems the system is failing when it overheats.

When Microsoft released the 360 in November 2005, reports of the power supply generating too much heat and causing the system to crash began circulating on the Internet. Now it appears that certain video games that use all of the system's three CPU's simultaneously might be adding to that heat generated by the power supply and causing an even higher system failure rate.

Capcom's "Dead Rising" has been the latest source of Xbox grumblings; it uses all three system processors.

PC enthusiast site Ars Technica, writes, "Dead Rising is making zombies of 360 systems. This game killed my system last night; thankfully, I have a one-year product replacement plan so I already have a replacement, and apparently the demo did the same thing to another member of our forums. This could simply be coincidence, but as always make sure your 360 is well ventilated and nothing is blocking the vents. This game seems to put the hardware through its paces."

A Capcom spokesperson told Game Daily Biz, "The game works under the specs of the 360 system and was approved by Microsoft. For anyone having issues with hardware, we have referred them to contact Microsoft for hardware support."

Michael's advice for consumers with faulty Xboxes is to call 1-800-4myxbox (469-9269) where if the machine is past warranty, they will be forced to pay $129 plus shipping for a refurbished machine.

EA could not be reached for comment.

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