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Six Reasons the Xbox 360 Is In Trouble.

July 20, 2007 in News comments 33

GamePro gave 6 reasons why the Xbox 360 is in trouble and could prove just as harmful as the PS3, but might not be doomed.

The list, in short, is as follows, it's unreliable for all it's problems, it is selling only slightly better than the original Xbox, it was a recent list of bad publicity, it's limited in appeal since it's mainly "hardcore", it's losing money fast due to all it's problems, yet again and it's not selling in Japan.

1. It's unreliable. As Microsoft finally acknowledged this month, Xbox 360s fail more often than the company "is comfortable with." Some reports pin the "Red Ring of Death" failure rates as high as 33%.

2. It only sells marginally better than Xbox. Launch-to-date sales of Xbox 360 in the US are only 200K units more than the original Xbox for the same period.

3. A recent string of bad publicity. Microsoft's long-running denial of Xbox 360 failure rates mentioned above isn't the only public relations gaffe experienced this year.

4. It has limited appeal. You'd be hard pressed to find a better "hardcore gaming" console than the Xbox 360 at the moment.

5. It bleeds money. Microsoft has lost unthinkable amounts of money on its Xbox business. In the six short years it's been in the industry, the company hasn't made a dime.

6. It still doesn't sell in Japan. Can a console achieve ubiquitous success without the support of the second largest video game market in the world, i.e. Japan?
Synergized via gamepro.com »
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  • 1
    Bale Fire* Jul 20, 07
    Most of there problems could have been fixed if they worked on it instead of releasing it so early
  • 1
    Storm Jul 20, 07
    Sigh, some reasons seem...unlogical. The 360 appeals to different gamers, shooter fans, which voids the 6th reason.

    As for the 5th reason, where's the proof that they haven't made a dime? It's business, win some, lose some. They've invested a lot in the gaming industry, and games like Halo have been hits.

    Limited appeal? What the hell does that mean? It appeals to the hardcore shooter fans for the most part, but they are also going other directions, like fighting games (got DoA, Virtua Fighter, and Soul Calibur), some RPG's (Blue Dragon), etc..

    Three also doesn't add up. What exactly are these other problems?

    As for one, it's not like they aren't trying to fix the problem. They already have that three-year extended warranty, which helps both the consumer and the company. They get time to fix the problem, and we don't have to worry about paying for a while to get it fixed.
    • -1
      Final Blade Jul 20, 07
      I think this is what there talking about
      quote
      Microsoft's long-running denial of Xbox 360 failure rates mentioned above isn't the only public relations gaffe experienced this year. Robbie Bach, parent president over the XBox division, dumped $6.2 million in Microsoft stock just weeks before the company announced the costly $1.15 billion warranty extension. It marked the first time Bach had traded stock in eight months at a non-scheduled time, according to filings. Microsoft called the incident "unrelated," but the appearance of an insider selling stock right before a huge loss just looks bad. In addition, having Xbox president Peter Moore leave right before its biggest and most important holiday season doesn't look good either, whether voluntary or not.
      I for see this as a biggest problem ever, and I don't think the ps3 is as bad as MS xbox right now, This is the 4th article about xbox massive problems in 1 day. Shows you whats really happening.
      Is it just me or does this speak volumes, and i mean how it appears to us, this in't a bashing of MS
      quote
      When adding the recently announced $1.9 billion losses incurred in fiscal 2007, total life-to-date Xbox losses are conservatively estimated at somewhere around $6 billion dollars.
      • -1
        Storm Jul 20, 07
        They are all repeating themselves, saying things that's already been said. But like I said, they are trying to fix their faults, it's not like they aren't, and that three-year warranty is a major plus.
  • 0
    TurMoiL911 Jul 20, 07
    quote
    6. It still doesn't sell in Japan. Can a console achieve ubiquitous success without the support of the second largest video game market in the world, i.e. Japan?
    Does that really make that big a difference, though ? It's not like Japan is the only country that has gamers.
    • 1
      FRoGBuster Jul 20, 07
      if you consider that both their rivals are Japanese companies, then it makes a difference. Because the other two can dominate around the globe. While only MS cannot reach Japan, which, as it says, is the second largest video game area. And if it's not doing well in Japan, it's probably also indcative of how well it's doing in the surrounding Asia, like Korea, which also has a huge video game culture.
  • 0
    Mr Sponget Jul 20, 07
    I don't get the whole "hardcore gamer" and low appeal thing. The 360 is probably the best for those into sports games. Everyone loves Gears of War and Halo. You have your very good arcade games. Just because Xbox isn't the home for mediocre licensed games such as Spongebob, Ant Bully, etc. doesn't mean that it's only made for hardcore gamers.
    • 0
      FRoGBuster Jul 20, 07
      actually... that's exactly what it means. none of my cousins or parents can play halo or gears of war.. neither are they interested in those kinds of games. I'm the only hardcore gamer that would appreciate those kinds of games.
  • 4
    bbb7002004 Jul 20, 07
    Japan is the second largest video game market, meaning Microsoft loses a lot of ground to its competitors in that area.

    As for a limited lineup, I can agree with that too. The majority of the 360 library is made up of shooting games, which appeal to a specific group of people. It isn't that 360 doesn't have a variety of games, its just that its competitors have a lot more to offer in terms of other genres.
    • 0
      Synergized Jul 20, 07
      The 360 isn't selling because Japan is more into the RPG's whereas the 360 has some RPG's, but not as many. As I mentioned in another comment somewhere, if the 360 get's Final Fantasy and other popular RPG's on it's console, it might sell better in Japan.
      • 0
        Final Blade Jul 20, 07
        Trust me Sqaureenix says there is nothing planned for FF to go on the xbox, and by that means probably wont be for years.
        • 0
          Synergized Jul 20, 07
          I know, I'm just saying that's what they need, but probably won't be getting it, therefore, the 360 won't be popular in Japan.
  • 3
    FRoGBuster Jul 20, 07
    here's why the wii's doing so well:
    1. It is a children's system.
    2. Children don't have money to buy games.
    3. Their parents do.
    4. Parents dish out the cash so that the whole family can play.


    BOX and PS3, on the other hand:

    1. Hardcore and medium gamers = not rich parents
    2. Meaning, they also need to focus their money on school, clothes, food, rent, etc.
    3. Takes a lot longer to save up the cash to buy even the price-dropped version.
    4. Hard to convince parents to buy it for them.
  • -1
    Final Blade Jul 20, 07
    OK by reading this i come to a conclusion that, even though i say the wii is a fad and will die down eventually, the xbox is doing alot worse, given by MS rushing there system out, I can safely say if this continues and we see more problems in a day or so i might change my whole thing about the wii, reason being cause then the xbox will be dying out and the wii will be still here, even though Nintendo and Sony are really successful in the gaming world and made loads of money, while this says MS has lost 6 billion dollars.
  • 0
    Evanster Jul 20, 07
    If Microsoft doesn't straighten up soo then they will bw screwed and Gates will be a peasent.
    • -1
      volacide Jul 20, 07
      Bill doesn't even work for Microsoft anymore.
      • 0
        Final Blade Jul 20, 07
        What! where did you read that, or how do you know.
  • 1
    tidus04 Jul 21, 07
    I though he still did, maybe it is the Microsoft 360 team he means.

    Kinda looking at this makes it well worth it that the Ps3 acturally waited and by 360 having these errors it kinda makes the wait seem for a good reason.
  • 1
    Bale Fire* Jul 21, 07
    Bill Gates said he would retire from his position in two years time, I don't remember when this was said though, it was at least a year ago and probably more
    • 0
      Final Blade Jul 21, 07
      Hmm so Bill isn't losing money than, its just the corporation then, if this is true. Well in that case i do hope that B.G have a great vacation or retirement.
  • -1
    Cdemon Jul 21, 07
    Sony are losing money, too. OH SHIT.

    This article is trash. Microsoft have fixed the hardware problems and backed up their talk with a three year warranty.

    This website seriously lacks legitimate informative articles.
    • 1
      volacide Jul 21, 07
      No... Cdemon they have fixed their hardware problems but that 3 year warranty is KILLING their money. Man you aren't thinking straight lately.

      The fact that they're fixing all of these 360's for free for another 3 years means they're going to be losing more and more money.
      • 0
        Final Blade Jul 21, 07
        I could have sworn i mention that b4, oh well maybe you can convince him. If thats the case Cdemon why come on here and post comments.
  • 2
    Subzer0 Jul 21, 07
    He isn't thinking straight because he's either a 360 fanboy or just a plain sony hater.

    I think MS is pretty screwed. Hopefully they shape up or they might go out of business (Xbox business). Still that doesn't change the fact that they are losing money fast. I'm no accountant but I think they already generated a net loss from what I've been reading lately.
  • 0
    Synergized Jul 21, 07
    I say finish up the 360 quickly and then start working on a new and better console with no problems.
  • 0
    Subzer0 Jul 21, 07
    You make it sound so easy.
    • 0
      Synergized Jul 21, 07
      It won't be easy, but that's what they'd better do to prevent further losses.
  • 0
    Quellilo Jul 21, 07
    Bill Gates is not stupid, he retired on time
  • -4
    Cdemon Jul 21, 07
    "The fact that they're fixing all of these 360's for free for another 3 years means they're going to be losing more and more money."

    I'm talking about from a consumer's standpoint.

    They've already estimated that the new warranty will cost something like 1.8 billion or whatever. It seems like they've fixed the problem, so they're able to issue the extended warranty with the idea that future consoles won't have this problem.

    C'mon, Jimbo.
    • 0
      Final Blade Jul 21, 07
      Apparently not since they lost over 6 billion dollars for 6 years now. And from a chart on another article says its barely doing better than the xbox 360 predecessor
  • 1
    sten mk II Jul 21, 07
    one, three, four, and six are the main reasons.

    Saying that there isn't a problem and covering it up is worse.

    A rate their comfortable with? LOL :_laugh: I'd bet they'd be comfortable with 1%. Being comfortable about it isn't making it better.
  • 0
    Capn Droid Jul 22, 07
    All of the above are so true. At least, all but 2.
    • 0
      Final Blade Jul 22, 07
      IDK i kinda see all of them making points.

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