Xbox 360 failure rate = 54.2%?

Game Informer's survey of 5,000 console owners finds over half Microsoft's machines fail once, 41.2% fail twice; 10.6% of PS3s, 6.8% of Wiis also reported defective.

When it extended the Xbox 360's warranty to three years, Microsoft admitted the Xbox 360's failure rate was unacceptable. However, despite covering both the "Red Ring of Death" and E74 errors, the company has never admitted exactly how often its console suffers from technical problems or manufacturing defects.

The Red Ring of Death is apparently an all-too familiar sight...

Now, Game Informer magazine has conducted a survey of 5,000 subscribers to find out how often consoles conk out. The September issue of the Minnesota-based, GameStop-owned magazine features the results of the survey, which found that a whopping 54.2 percent of Xbox 360 owners surveyed reported having the console fail on them once. Were that figure applied to the platform's 30 million-unit installed base, the result would be 15.72 million failed consoles.

Perhaps more damning, 41.2 percent of 360 owners had a second hardware malfunction--meaning that potentially 12.36 million people have had their consoles fail again. Some 36.4 percent of 360 owners reported having to buy a second console, versus 13.4 percent of PlayStation 3 owners and 8.4 percent of Wii owners. Also, Game Informer found that 69.9 percent of respondents said they had at least one friend who had an Xbox 360 cease working. Nonetheless, only 3.8 percent of respondents said that the 360's hardware failures convinced them to not buy a replacement console from Microsoft.

By comparison, 10.6 percent of PlayStation 3 owners reported a failure, with 14.7 percent reporting a second hardware problem. The Wii was the most reliable, with a 6.8 percent failure rate and an 11 percent secondary failure rate. However, the Wii's low numbers may also be due to the fact it's the least played of the three consoles. Some 41.4 percent of Wii owners said they played it for less than an hour per day on average. By contrast, 40.3 percent of Xbox 360 owners played for three to five hours per day, and 37.3 percent of PS3 owners played three to five hours per day.

Game Informer also asked respondents about their experiences with the three platform-holders' customer service departments. Again, Nintendo came out on top, with 56.1 percent of respondents saying they were "very satisfied" with their experiences. Sony was close behind with a 51.1 percent satisfaction rate, followed by Microsoft with a 37.7 percent satisfaction rate.

CONSOLE FAILURE RATE
PlayStation 3 - 10.6 percent
Wii - 6.8 percent
Xbox 360 - 54.2 percent

SECOND CONSOLE FAILURE RATE
PlayStation 3 - 14.7 percent
Wii - 11 percent
Xbox 360 - 41.2 percent

GAMERS WITH FRIENDS WHO HAVE HAD A CONSOLE FAILURE
PlayStation 3 - 12.4 percent
Wii - 6 percent
Xbox 360 - 69.9 percent

"VERY HELPUL" CUSTOMER SUPPORT RATING
Sony - 51.1 percent
Nintendo - 56.1 percent
Microsoft - 37.7 percent

1346 Comments

  • albatrossdrums

    Posted Jan 23, 2010 2:23 pm GMT

    Well I have one of each, both 360 and PS3, that failed. The important difference though is my PS3 failed because of something I did, namely shutting the power off in the middle of The Saboteur because a cheap death pissed me off. The blu ray stopped working, and it's my fault because I already knew you weren't supposed to power down when a game is active without quitting first etc. My 360 failed because it's a cheaply built machine. The flimsy loading tray became more and more of a problem, til if finally would not close and insert games properly, I had two instances where inserted games resulted in a horrible sound and my then discovering the discs had been scratched inside the machine to the point that they were ruined. And I finally got the RROD. These are all clear manufacturing problems and had nothing to do with me. I kept the hard drive, bought a new arcade and after about 2 years of not playing 360 games I finally have a working console again. But just seeing the "plastic" construction of the thing, and that damn loading tray again, it irks me still. I'm treating it like it's made of glass. MS is lucky I couldn't pass up ME2. : )

  • Divina_Commedia

    Posted Jan 18, 2010 12:40 pm GMT

    @ Darth_Slayer

    23.7% sounds like wishful thinking considering I have replaced my 360 4 times now. I bought one of the newer models that supposedly doesn't get the dreaded RROD but lo and behold 2 months later I get it. And everyone with friends on XBL it seems knows at least 5 people who've had hardware failures. Hell, right now I have 6 people who have something along the lines of "RROD!!!" as their mottos.

  • Darth_Slayer

    Posted Jan 9, 2010 7:19 pm GMT

    The GI survey fails because it does not specify a) what time the 360 was purchased and b) what model it is that failed. So it makes no attempts to distinguish a 360 purchased in 2005 to one purchased in 2009, when a more reliable chipset is introduced. I'm sure that if they're to conduct such a dishonest survery towards the PS2, the DRE figures would skyrocket despite the fact that later models eliminated the problem

    And here's a survey by a console repairer of 16,000 consoles that showed the average 360 failure rate is 23.7%, less than half of what the GI poll claimed.

    http://www.gamespot.com/news/6216691.html

    Fortunately, SquareTrade found that Xbox 360 quality has improved dramatically since the third quarter of 2008, shortly before the 65nm CPU/GPU "Jasper" model was introduced. Since then, first-year failure rates have plummeted to below the 4 percent the company projected. Looking at 500 units purchased in 2009, SquareTrade found that less than 1 percent had suffered the Red Ring of Death. .

  • NyGin07

    Posted Jan 9, 2010 12:13 pm GMT

    "Sony PS3 Failure Rate = 100%

    At having good games."

    uncharted 2? metal gear 4? rachet and clank? killzone 2? littlebigplanet? jesus man get your facts straight, 360 and ps3 have good games, ps3s was awful, but now their getting their line up straight.

    damn you metacritic for linking me here

  • redskinStu

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 2:32 pm GMT

    It's gotta be higher than 50 per cent, gotta be.

    Every fool I know who bought that lemon has had to replace it at least once, usually twice. Some I know are on #3, and you know it's true.

  • ash2197

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 10:14 am GMT

    Snipes_2 said "I have a 360 that got the Red Ring. It was replaced in 2 Weeks. The only reason I'd get a Ps3 is because of all the exclusives. God Of War 3, Little Big Planet, Heavy Rain, MAG, etc."

    Dude haven't you heard of halo, crackdown, splinter cell conviction, trials HD, Shadow Complex? You say ps3 has great exclusives but do they have a series of 4 games(fifth on the way) that all got a 9 or higher? seriously step back and look and be satisfied with what you have.

  • deathx160

    Posted Jan 1, 2010 7:44 pm GMT

    Xbox 360 failure rate are just way too high for me, ps3 for life! sony for life! reliable consoles and excellent systems for life! guess that excludes xbox, but thats my opinion

  • mechicken57

    Posted Jan 1, 2010 2:14 pm GMT

    Sony PS3 Failure Rate = 100%

    At having good games.

  • XanderMercury

    Posted Jan 1, 2010 8:06 am GMT

    This is purely just another way to fan the flames of war between the consoles. The survey only used 5,000 people (all subscribers to Game Informer, mind you), but we are talking about a business in which over 100 million people all over the world purchase and play these systems. It seems that Game Informer picked 5,000 of those with either the worst experience with the 360, or the most hate for the 360. Either way, it seems biased, to say the least. I understand the importance of "Customer Support Ratings" and such, but I'm not impressed with hearing about the friends of those surveyed. It's easy to bs about yourself, but it is easier to bs about other people. I'm not worried about these statistics. I own a 360, I am happy with my 360, and I will be happy with it until the day the motherboard melts.

  • d100la

    Posted Dec 27, 2009 6:36 pm GMT

    Stats can be made to fit a consensus. There are a lot of fallacies involved in statistics, and having a 5000 person survey out of the installed base of 30,000,000 plus all the other consoles just does not cut it for me. All i see is a negative correlation of 360 failure vs. subscribers of game informer

  • Wyleia

    Posted Dec 19, 2009 3:11 am GMT

    Oh yeah,and my wii 8 months and know problem,but truth be told I hardly ever use it.

  • Wyleia

    Posted Dec 19, 2009 3:07 am GMT

    PS3 FOREVER and when the games like GOW 3 start comming out,there'll be know looking back,Let face it the 360 came out to face trying to beat out the PS3 well they did that,but at the cost of the comsumer.

  • Wyleia

    Posted Dec 19, 2009 3:03 am GMT

    Look I know how you 360 owners are about your console,but lets face it,the369 sucks abd big time,how to be honest,always had a ps from day one never had a problem with it,got the ps2 and ps3 from day one ,KNOW problem X-box two months later,360 two weeks later ,not only the ring of death, it could'nt even play a dvd without freezing, 360 arcade the same,but I got it back two wks ago and seems to be playing alright now.

  • lukav

    Posted Dec 18, 2009 7:55 pm GMT

    54% Failure FTW!

  • sebetai

    Posted Dec 17, 2009 9:39 pm GMT

    i was thinking of either getting a ps3 or 360 and now i'm completely convinced to get a ps3. i already have the wii and it still works. i also have a ps2 slim that still works so i can just switch consosles when i want to play ps2 games. does ps3 play dvd's?

  • Vyse-the-Legend

    Posted Dec 17, 2009 9:11 am GMT

    Good Lord what is up with M$. I bought a 360 Arcade in Feb and it has yet to fail. Oh wait, I've only played 5 games with any type of seriousness, and have probably not put 20+ hours on any of those games (except sonic genesis collection). Both of my friends had their xbox's FAIL. Luckily, I don't have XBLive and I don't download anything so my 256MB harddrive is still 75 percent empty, which means I have gotten my moneys worth with buying an Arcade rather than anything else. On a seperate note, I bought an N64 in 2000 and recieved a gamecube in 2002 and neither have failed and I have put 1000+ hours on both. I've had my Wii since 2007, but I have not played it much, it also hasn't failed. I don't own a sony system. This is really depressing news because whoever said Microsoft has better games is absolutely correct. I believe that the 360 has more good games than the Wii and PS3 combined, but this is complete BS if the fail rate is really that high.

  • dark_surge

    Posted Dec 17, 2009 9:11 am GMT

    Mine red ringed on me for the second time just two days ago and I treat that thing like a baby . I haven't had my PS3 or Wii die on me, yet, but my first gen PS2 finally started getting disk read errors about a year and a half ago.

    Ah the good ol' days of the NES. You could throw it down a flight of stairs and it still worked. Of course we have too many moving parts now but who knows, maybe in the future time will repeat itself.

  • lr1101

    Posted Dec 10, 2009 6:00 pm GMT

    DON'T BUY AN XBOX. the only good thing is that the online game play is better than ps3. My xbox got the open tray error the day after i bought mw2. i called microsoft and my warrenty was three weeks up so i had to pay $100 to get it fixed.

  • jeffv541

    Posted Nov 27, 2009 7:20 pm GMT

    @DeathByRhapsody

    Inferior hardware, the games are what counts. I would rather have a crappy system with great games then a well built system with cheap ports and gimmicky exclusives.

  • DeathByRhapsody

    Posted Nov 23, 2009 3:09 pm GMT

    thats what you get for buying an inferior product

  • dyaballikl

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 2:49 pm GMT

    "Game Informer magazine has conducted a survey of 5,000 subscribers to find out how often consoles conk out."

    i think the lesson here is: don't subscribe to game informer, or your 360 will fail!

  • duraxx

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 1:28 pm GMT

    What's odd is that this survey found completely different numbers than another survey done just two months before (seen on gamespot at http://www.gamespot.com/news/6216691.html?tag=other-user-related-content;1). That study found a 23% failure rate, which, while high, is nowhere near a 50%+ failure rate, and is about 2x the PS3 rate, which all sounds about right. There are a bunch of other disparity between the two studies. The general consensus is 360 is the least reliable console (I think we knew this), but any stat can be used to show a very high, or relatively low rate.

  • Cloud737

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 11:26 am GMT

    Oh wow, major failure rate. The previous report I read (close to 360's launch) said it had a 30% failure rate, and I thought THAT was high.

    I'm really curious why it's 55% for the Xbox and why not 99%, at this rate? Should I take it the other 45% of consoles are paperweights (i.e.: rarely used)?

    What intrigues me the most is that while M$ had a 30% failure rate at launch, instead of it decreasing over time as M$ fixes problems, it actually seems to be increasing! What the heck are they doing, phasing out their console for the Xbox 720, or just trying to inflate the user base/consoles sold?

    Can I say now that Xbox 360 = BIG EPIC FAIL? (pun intended)

  • Reiken37

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 6:53 am GMT

    360 fail. And the reason no one plays obsidianzero 's wii is because he is a fanboy and his wife probally isn't that much of a huge video game fan. I have like 10 friends with a 360, every single one of them has gotton the red ring and most of them have gotton it twice, just like the survey. Out of everyone I know with a Wii (including myself) no break downs. However, it said 54.2% of xboxs are terrible. That tehre are 45.8% xboxs are just as fail as designed to be. Well actually, to be more accurate, since there have been many second/third 360 returns, I'd say closer to 30% of xboxs are not broken.

  • demonlord6696

    Posted Oct 27, 2009 9:24 pm GMT

    did i miss all the 360 fanboys makin up excuses?

  • obsidianzero

    Posted Oct 27, 2009 10:06 am GMT

    My friend and I are statistical freaks.. he loves his 360, and it's been doing fine.. I love my ps3, and it's died twice. (Thankfully, the 2nd time, I called in time to claim on my warranty on the VERY LAST MINUTE of the warranty... So, the two of us are proof that not all 360s die, and not all ps3s are immortal... and then there's my wife's Wii... it never breaks because NO ONE PLAYS IT.

  • Jango-Man

    Posted Oct 26, 2009 1:49 pm GMT

    It's alarming how many problems Microsoft has has with the 360. But the funny thing is how many people would still prefer an XBOX 360 over most other consoles. I am on my second one because I burnt out the motor in the CD drive in my 1st one. I'm getting another one too, the COD MW2 edition, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my 360, and maybe one day, I will get a PS3. But the games is what keeps me coming back.

  • MikauBodom

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 2:46 pm GMT

    My Snes: 14 years later and still kicking ass.
    My Nes still works perfectly too, 19 years later.
    And my NDS (original one) is 4 years old and I never ever had a single problem with it.
    Of the new generation I only tried Wii and never gave me a problem in 2 months

  • Locutus_Picard

    Posted Oct 15, 2009 6:44 am GMT

    @ Tyrant
    Wow, you're actually DEFENDING the fact you have to pay up to play online? If anything, the PS3 is far harder to hack than a xbox360...and since PS3 has sold less...guess which system has the most hackers?
    Really, M$ doesn't care about it's gamers...they have ignored and refused to accept this problem...but what's even worse, they STILL haven't provided it's gamers with a fail-proof console, the rates of failure of the newest xbox360 consoles are STILL high.
    Yes, and you pay up 50 to 60$ a year for M$. Cheers.

  • blargX

    Posted Oct 15, 2009 5:54 am GMT

    Failure Rate on PS2s is still higher. Much higher.

  • CrimsonMaher

    Posted Oct 15, 2009 1:57 am GMT

    This is just proof that the 360 is a 100% Microsoft product. Ever heard of M$ producing anything that wasn't buggy?

  • halfassedcomics

    Posted Sep 21, 2009 11:28 pm GMT

    lol MS always bad customer service rating. Wii is fine though

  • Snipes_2

    Posted Sep 21, 2009 10:32 am GMT

    I have a 360 that got the Red Ring. It was replaced in 2 Weeks. The only reason I'd get a Ps3 is because of all the exclusives. God Of War 3, Little Big Planet, Heavy Rain, MAG, etc..

  • jogeekid

    Posted Sep 13, 2009 8:03 pm GMT

    My Xbox hasn't failed on me yet, but the controller randomly cuts out (I have 5 and they all do the same thing.) Also sometimes buttons just stop working. I have had one PS3 whose Blu-ray laser gave up on me, but my second one hasn't given my any problems at all.

    Now I still prefer my PS3 over the 360 just because I do. I like the controller more than the 360, which I know some people don't understand. Also I like to play japanese games sometimes, which the 360 can not do. Now, I know some people will say that the ps3 doesnt have halo 3 and gears of war. Well to be honest, I don't like Halo 3 at all and gears kinda fun multiplayer. Of course this is all my opinion and should have no affect on your decisions and life... at least I hope it doesn't.

  • andypipkin85

    Posted Sep 3, 2009 4:46 am GMT

    My 360 has failed twice now too. Once when GTA4 came out, i gott he E74 error, at the time they hadnt extended the warrenty for it yet so i had to pay to get it fixed which sucked. Now, last thursday it failed AGAIN i got the RROD, just after i bought two new games to play on it. Thankfully that was covered under the extended warrenty and according to the site it has already been repaired or replaced and is on its way back to me less than a week later. Thats great customer service, but the fact remains it shouldnt frickin happen in the first place! Why cant MS make a product that lasts? Im not defecting to the PS3 though as i still love the 360 and think its a better console, but i do hope to get a PS3 for xmas so i have a backup to play when my 360 inevitably dies again and goes off for repair. Oh i also had a friend whose 360 suffered a malfunction as well.

  • TheAcejoel99

    Posted Sep 2, 2009 4:40 pm GMT

    These numbers are off.......but not by much I'm sure. EVERYONE I know with a 360 (5 people) including myself have had there 360 break. EVERYONE I know with a PS3 (6 people) including myself have had none of there systems break (or show any sign of them breaking) Proof is proof. If you want reliability, the wii and PS3 are FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR more reliable. But 360 is still far better than the wii, not in quality of hardware failure, but of quality of software. I own all three consoles and play them all.

  • SenseSoCa

    Posted Sep 2, 2009 1:54 am GMT

    Has an1 heard of the nomore xbox 360 elite fix of the red ring of death,is it true??

  • kazstar23

    Posted Aug 31, 2009 11:53 pm GMT

    This was a 5000 user Game Informer poll with no proof that they ever owned, had a friend, etc when it involves the Xbox and besides you can not sell a product with a 54% failrate, that is im sure the law.

  • ffviiifreak

    Posted Aug 30, 2009 11:02 pm GMT

    customer service rating is jacked up and in a teency tiny bit the friends one too but the rate one's are just fine

  • frazzle00

    Posted Aug 27, 2009 1:49 am GMT

    @samsterzemaster

    Yes you did and we both agreed that when it comes to lists it is purely subjective and hence not worth arguing about. People have a right to prefer any console they like. But to actively HATE a console is silly. A PS3 owner would be silly to turn down a free 360, and vice versa .

  • samsterzemaster

    Posted Aug 27, 2009 12:03 am GMT

    @frazzle00 Didn't i count exclusive games last time we had this discussion. Nothing is fresh anymore at the gamespot comments, somehow everything leads to the number of exclusives.

  • DaGamer444

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 3:07 pm GMT

    sorry for double post.... I bet lots of Xbox 360 owners (like me) will buy a slim PS3 if their 360 breaks one more time....

  • DaGamer444

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 3:06 pm GMT

    @Midnightshade29 if you see people have stopped arguing with each other why do keep on pulling the "fanboy" sh*t?

  • Tyranius2

    Posted Aug 24, 2009 6:27 pm GMT

    x-2tha-z sorry, but I've had my PS3 since release and no problems with it up until now. The 360 is the worst video game in history, I'd prefer a SNES. I miss the old days, when a game didn't start all you had to do was blow the dust away from the videogame and be done with it.

  • Tyrant_o_Terror posted Aug 24, 2009 6:23 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Tyrant_o_Terror

    Posted Aug 24, 2009 6:23 pm GMT (hide)

    The crashes would be much more ridiculous if MS didn't own up, to their mistakes. I don't see anyone saying "OMG IT CAN'T BE THAT HIGH!" That doesn't make the results any less valid. It isn't debatable, statistically speaking this survey isn't Valid. Perhaps reliable, as it seems to be with in 3 SD's of other surveys, but not valid in its own right. Again, if you don't know why I'm right, then don't bother talking to me.

    Midnightshade, I got my 360 refurbished for 200+ less than your PS3 at the same time. 100 dollars for a wifi adapter or 10 dollars for a more reliable ethernet cord? Get off the "50 dollars a year" crap too. I'll GLADLY pay 13 cents a DAY to play my games more reliably and to discourage hackers. If I drink a can of pop during an hour that I play, I'll get my money's worth. (MI 10c deposit). Your name on a PS3 is free, which is why there are 1000% more hackers on COD4:MW for PS3 than 360.

    Like I said earlier, I'll still be ahead of buying a PS3 for another 3/4 years. I'd gladly play MUCH less for less "oh that's cool now, but I doubt I'll use it as often as a gaming system" crap that I don't need. Even if the 360 came with free wifi, I would use a Ethernet cord because it just makes more sense. The way I've always seen it: 360 - More bang for your buck, PS3 - A lot of useless things you may or may not use. Oh, and I can still watch my DVDs on my 360, instead of paying 5 more dollars per movie for slightly better quality. To me, a PS3 wasn't cost efficient.

  • x-2tha-z

    Posted Aug 24, 2009 3:40 pm GMT

    This is my experience with the PS3 and 360,

    360 failures - 1
    PS3 failures - 3

    I've had a 360 since December 2005 and a PS3 since June 2007.

    The 360 has been far more reliable for me than the PS3. The Blu-ray drive has stopped reading discs on two of the PS3's I've owned and the third would read discs but would randomly crash, a lot.

    Google PS3 80029906 and you'll see many people have had the same problems as me. 80029906 is the error code I keep getting when I try to play a Blu-ray disc.

  • Midnightshade29

    Posted Aug 24, 2009 3:34 pm GMT

    Many Xbox owners can't accept the truth of the matter when nearly all of them admit to having to send their console back..to me that speaks for itself. Would you willing buy a product if you knew it had a 54% chance of crapping out on you, when there was another console for the same price that gave you tons more features and offered free online and had 90% the same games + a slew of new 9.0+ rated exclusives? Why would you even think of getting the break down featureless model? It makes no sense to me.





    If you do your research feature per feature ,cost per cost, and see the that the ps3 plays 90% same multiplat games and has the most newer higher rated exclusives plus gives you free online play, and everything out of the box you need. You can even upgrade to a Terrabyte hard drive for $100...that would cost you ...oh wait you couldn't do that on 360 , that same $100 would give you 120gb..add another $100 for wifi, add another $50-75 a year just to play online, add $200(optional for a base arcade unit to replace the 360 when it dies and has to go in shop.) You are paying way more in the long run and in the start for that 360 that you know will just die eventually.

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