BREAKING: Microsoft Does the Right Thing About Ring of Death Hardware Failure

July 5, 2007 -

Let's give credit where credit is due.

As recently as this morning, GamePolitics has been beating on Microsoft over the massive Xbox 360 hardware failure rate. But today, in an interview broadcast on the Major Nelson podcast, MS exec Peter Moore announced a stunning - and very consumer-friendly -warranty policy.

Moore has also posted an open letter on the Xbox.com site explaining the new warranty:

You've spoken, and we’ve heard you. Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we've not been doing a good enough job...

...we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message... Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date...

If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience...

I want to thank you, on behalf of all us at Microsoft, for your loyalty.

GP: Aw, Peter, you big tattooed lug, you had us at three year warranty...

Posted in

Comments

Submitted by Goodridd (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 17:10.

Damn you no edit - I meant DVD drives.

Submitted by Freekill (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:45.

Yay! They really do love us after all!

Submitted by chadachada (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:51.

@ E. Zachary Night
i disagree, i think the games for the 360 beat the wii and ps3 and ps2 hands down, but that's just my opinion

Submitted by Timmay! (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:56.

Not FULLY the right thing, but they're close. The right thing would to also admit that, somewhere, there is a problem, they generally know how to fix it, and they've got something in the works in the very near future to stop it on brand new machines.

While the extended warranty is great for anyone who owns, or plans to own, a 360, they're still not directly owning up to the fact that there's a major hardware problem here, which is what really needs to be done. Do they know, in general, what the problem(s) is/are? It can't really be that up in the air, with so many problems being reported. And if they do know what the problem is, they should be rolling something out sometime soon (hopefully) in production that would stop it.

They've got to know something by now, so why can't they just be open and share SOMETHING?

Submitted by PHOENIXZERO (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:58.

This screams of even more "covering our asses so we don't get slapped with a big class-action lawsuit because repairing every RoD XB360 would be a lot cheaper than paying our lawyers and losing". But at least it'll help get some results for the people who have fallen out of the warranty period.

IMO, nobody should bother buying a XB360 until the first real hardware revision is released, which I thought was supposed to be soon.... Hmm...

Submitted by EvilZombie (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:35.

Now I might actually buy one.

Submitted by Jabrwock on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:42.

Hmmm, I wonder if someone in Legal mentioned potential class-actions to upper management. ;)

-- If your wiimote goes snicker-snack, check your wrist-strap...

Submitted by MaskedPixelante (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:28.

This isn't doing anything unless they actually plan on FIXING them so this never happens again... Hey, I wonder, if playing the console for only an hour or so a day will keep it from breaking.

Submitted by Radio Guy (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:21.

I wounder if this failure rate will be seen in the likes of the Wii and PS3

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight (not verified) on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 16:18.

I still don't want one. Probably never will. I just have never liked the game selection.

Submitted by ConsoleGames.com » Blog Archive » Microsoft exte (not verified) on Mon, 11/26/2007 - 22:51.

[...] Just about every gaming site out there is reporting that Microsoft has decided to extend their warranty period on XBOX 360 units that experience the red-ring-o-death to three years. Microsoft’s Peter Moore announced the policy change during an interview on the Major Nelson Podcast, and through an open letter on XBOX.com. From the letter: As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience. [...]

Shout box

Andrew Eisen: Michael Chandra - Unless I overlooked it, we haven't seen how the directive to not talk about whatever he wasn't supposed to talk about was phrased so it’s hard to say if it could have been misconstrued as a suggestion or not.10/20/2014 - 12:35pm

Andrew Eisen: Hey, the second to last link is the relevant one! He actually did say "let them suffer." Although, he didn't say it to the other person he was bickering with.10/20/2014 - 12:29pm

Neo_DrKefka: https://archive.today/F14zZ https://archive.today/SxFas https://archive.today/1upoI https://archive.today/0hu7i https://archive.today/NsPUC https://archive.today/fLTQv https://archive.today/Wpz8S10/20/2014 - 11:21am

Andrew Eisen: Neo_DrKefka - "Attacking"? Interesting choice of words. Also interesting that you quoted something that wasn't actually said. Leaving out a relevant link, are you?10/20/2014 - 11:04am

quiknkold: ugh. I want to know why the hell Mozerella Sticks are 4 dollars at my works cafeteria...are they cooked in Truffle Oil?10/20/2014 - 10:41am

Neo_DrKefka: Anti-Gamergate supporter Robert Caruso attacks female GamerGate supporter by also attacking another cause she support which is the situation happening in Syia “LET SYRIANS SUFFER” https://archive.today/F14zZ https://archive.today/Wpz8S10/20/2014 - 10:18am

Neo_DrKefka: That is correct in an At-Will state you or the employer can part ways at any time. However Florida also has laws on the books about "Wrongful combinations against workers" http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2012/448.04510/20/2014 - 10:07am

james_fudge: he'd die if he couldn't talk about Wii U :)10/20/2014 - 9:16am

Michael Chandra: By the way, I am not saying Andrew should stop talking about Wii-U. I find it quite nice. :)10/20/2014 - 8:53am

Michael Chandra: 'How dare he ignore my wishes and my advice! I am his boss! I could have ordered him but I should be able to say it's advice rather than ordering him directly!'10/20/2014 - 8:52am

Michael Chandra: If GP goes "EZK, do not talk about X publicly for a week, we're preparing a big article on it" and he still tweets about X, they'd have a legitimate reason to be pissed.10/20/2014 - 8:52am

Michael Chandra: If GP tells Andrew "we'd kinda prefer it if you stopped talking about Wii-U for 1 week" and he'd tweet about it anyway, firing him for it would be idiotic.10/20/2014 - 8:51am

Michael Chandra: Legal right, sure. But that doesn't make it any less pathetic of an excuse.10/20/2014 - 8:50am

ZippyDSMlee: You mean right to fire states.10/20/2014 - 8:50am

james_fudge: some states have "at will" employee laws10/20/2014 - 7:50am

quiknkold: It says in the article that being in florida, you can get fired regardless if its a fireable offence10/20/2014 - 7:19am

Michael Chandra: If your employee respectfully disagrees with your advice, that's not a fireable offense. If they ignore your order, THEN you have the right to be pissed.10/20/2014 - 6:49am

Michael Chandra: I... Don't get one thing. If you do not want your employee to do X, why do you tell them it's advice or a wish? Give them a damn order.10/20/2014 - 6:48am

james_fudge: A leak that had me worried about being swatted by Lizard Squad.10/20/2014 - 6:03am

james_fudge: It should be noted that the author leaked the GJP group names online10/20/2014 - 6:03am

All shouts

<< Return To Top

Forgot your password?
Username :
Password :