Xbox

Microsoft Refuses to Admit the Xbox 360's Failure Rate

All they do is 'get on it and address it as quickly as possible'

By Filip Truta, Games Editor

18th of June 2007, 13:56 GMT

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The Xbox 360 is a great piece of machinery, no one can argue on that, but throughout its life, it has had the biggest percentage of failure. They heat up and burn, scratch discs or die upon patch installation, yet Microsoft says everything is all right. Recently, Dean Takahashi from the San Jose Mercury News had a nice talk with Microsoft's Todd Holmdahl (he's in charge of the 360's quality). Posted below, you have the reporter's failed attempts to get a

straight answer from Holmdahl, on the 360's failure rate. Unbelievable...!

These are just a few excerpts of the interview, showing just how Microsoft has trained its staff to cover every possible bad aspect surrounding their beloved Xbox 360. My question is, wouldn't it be better if they just admitted to the fact that it's a problematic machine? It's not like sales are just going to drop if they do that.

"Takahashi: Your returns as a category. Is there any No. 1 reason for a return?
Holmdahl: There are no systematic issues. The vast majority of the people just love the product, have a great experience with it. When there is an issue, we get on it and address it as quickly as possible.

Takahashi: I've heard varying accounts of what is considered a normal return rate. Some people say that 2 percent is normal. Sometimes 3 percent to 5 percent is considered normal. Back to that question, can you address whether you are within those rates or within a normal rate.
Holmdahl: We don't disclose the actual number.

Takahashi: What explains this anecdotal evidence that it's out of whack, compared to the Wii or the PlayStation 3 or other consoles.
Holmdahl: I would go back and say the vast majority of people love their experience. We continue to go back and address all of these issues on a case by case basis. There is a vocal minority out there. We go off and try to address their issues as quickly and as pain free as possible."

As you can see, all Takahashi's attempts in getting Holmdahl to just admit that there are some issues, have failed. Again, everyone knows what the reality is - Xbox 360 owners have even gone back to the store three times and still couldn't get a decently working machine. It's true that all of the issues surrounding the 360 were isolated cases, but if you add them all up, you get one big one: the Xbox 360.

TAGS:

Microsoft | Xbox 360 | Todd Holmdahl | Failure Rate

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