Microsoft Responds to Staggering 360 Failure Rate Report

A Game Informer report has been circulating across the net that showed -- among their readership, at least -- a staggering 54.6 percent Xbox 360 failure rate. That's bad. So unsurprisingly, Microsoft has stepped in front of the issue to offer an official statement. And unsurprisingly, it's completely devoid of any reference to the report itself:

"Microsoft stands behind the Xbox 360 as a superior entertainment console with one of the best warranties in the industry," a rep said to TG Daily (via Kotaku). "We are constantly improving the design, manufacture and performance of the console through extensive testing of potential sources of any problems. Xbox 360 is pleased to maintain the title of 'most played console' and the vast majority of Xbox 360 customers have enjoyed a terrific gaming and entertainment experience since their first day, and continue to, day in and day out."

Note that although they tout their console as "a superior entertainment" and the "most played," they don't manage to get around to the numbers themselves -- neither disputing them, nor providing any figures of their own. The last time a third party released a report of failure rate figures, it was way back in February of 2008, and it (somewhat incredulously) came in at a relatively low 16 percent -- still far higher than the 3 percent Microsoft was claiming at the time.

Still, a 54.6 percent failure rate isn't necessarily the exact figure either -- although Game Informer did survey nearly 5,000 readers, and assuming they were a random sample (which we're not quite sure it was, but reason would suggest so), that would seem to be a pretty scientifically sound poll. Perhaps even more frightening for Microsoft, though, is that only 37.7 percent of those polled said their customer service hotline was "very helpful."

Speaking from personal experience, that's sad... but not very surprising.