This is an interview done with an (apparent) insider at Microsoft regarding the 360 and the failure rate. There are many points of interest regarding the RRoD and the failing 360s.

Please click "source" for the complete story.

Q: How many times does an Xbox 360 unit have to be sent in and repaired before they will replace it with a completely new unit?
That's not how it works. You send in a broken box, you get back a working box (hopefully). So there is a rotating stock of the original units that get repaired and returned to service. Plus, they keep finding these cashes of launch units here and there and using them too. Didn't you hear during the holidays that bundles were found with units made in 06? Those were pulled back from the retail channel last spring when the new heatsink was done, and had the new heatsink placed on them and then put into the shipping flow like any other box.

Back to the rotating inventory of launch units. You risk getting one of those back until the last one is out of the system. I imagine the next big outrage will be when some of the folks who waited till Falcon to buy a console for reliability reasons, and has to send it in for service, gets a Xenon back! Even when all of the Xenons are gone, you will likely get a newer gen repaired one back rather than new. Unless the fail rate gets so low there are none available. I'm holding my breath...
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  • 0
    Guticb Jan 20, 08
    Ouch. So they knew about all the hardware issues but launched anyways.
    • 0
      Krunal Jan 20, 08
      And that surprises you? It's pretty much what I expected.
  • 0
    Cdemon Jan 20, 08
    "This is a P-I Reader Blog. P-I Reader Blogs are not written or edited by the P-I. They are written by readers, for readers. The authors are solely responsible for content."

    I think it's funny how you guys are still reading into this shit like crazy. Initially, the PS2 had the highest failure rate out of the Xbox and Gamecube, but I guess that doesn't matter because it came from your headmasters at Sony. People love to hate Microsoft.



    Aside from that, pretty good read.
    • 0
      Guticb Jan 20, 08
      Sony's disc read errors didn't lead to a 30% failure rate, and Sony didn't completely deny that it was a problem.
      • 0
        Cdemon Jan 21, 08
        I'm not talking about the DRE's; I'm talking about the entire CD drive ceasing to function. And it's funny... I believe they didn't address the problem 'till like '03 or '04. Microsoft issued a brand spankin' new 3-year warranty for every console in 07, only about a year before the problem became apparent.
    • 1
      SS4Gogeta Jan 20, 08
      Yeah I had three PS2s to fail on me. I found this to be an accurate detailed event of what happened. I don't consider this a rip on Microsoft at all. This is big business and it sounds just like Microsoft to want to take the lead over Sony. And it worked!
  • 0
    IAMJOB56 Jan 20, 08
    lol. Thye new about the hardware issues, they launched, but I doubt they thought that it would have gotten so ugly so fast.
  • 0
    Dance Floor Killah Jan 20, 08
    I've never had the RROD. The A/V feed crapped out on me basically.

    Hopefully by the time they release the next console, they'd have done enough testing and put compatible parts together to make an even better system.

    Aside from all that, I still love my Xbox 360.
  • -2
    shaka Jan 20, 08
    My cousin got an x360 couple of months ago, he got the RROD a little before xmas he got a PS3 instead.

    such a same we all know of hanrdcore xbox fans who have gotten from 4-5 different x360s already pretty sad situation when a company milks their fanbase to the max and the fans are so blind they dont do anthing about it.
    • 1
      BANDITO ATTACK Jan 20, 08
      this is because the 360 is worth buying multiple times. not to mention m$ fixes the mother*bleep*ers for free anyway.
  • -1
    IAMJOB56 Jan 20, 08
    quote shaka
    My cousin got an x360 couple of months ago, he got the RROD a little before xmas he got a PS3 instead.

    such a same we all know of hanrdcore xbox fans who have gotten from 4-5 different x360s already pretty sad situation when a company milks their fanbase to the max and the fans are so blind they dont do anthing about it.
    *cough*SONY!*cough*

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