360 Failure rate is Huge

While I would love to tell you that Microsoft is kicking Sony ass with no faults on their end, I can't. The simple fact is that while the 360 is still the leading console in terms of sales, and if you ask be games and online abilities, it doesn't mean theres not a huge problem thats not getting enough attention. After doing some extensive surveys of various retailers, DailyTech found an estimated 33% failure rate for the Xbox 360. Thats well beyond the realm of the estimated 3-5% by Microsoft. As a result of such high failure rates a lot of retailers have had to rethink their warranty coverage:
As a result of the high failure rate of the Xbox 360, EB Games corporate nearly doubled the prices of its one-year, over-the-counter warranty. While the previous warranty would give a customer a brand new console in exchange for the broken one, the new policy now states that the customer will receive a refurbished console instead. The move was made because it was becoming too costly for the retailer to give the customer a brand-new machine, which still carries a store cost close to the MSRP. The price increase and policy change wasn’t exclusive to only the Xbox 360, however, as it also applies to all other Sony and Nintendo consoles sold.
As if the failure rate for the 360 wasn't enough however, it would seem the lack of failures in the other consoles is very present as well:
When compared against other systems, the Xbox 360 is failing at higher rates than its current competitors and predecessors. Former EB Games worker Matthieu G. said that the failure rates for all other consoles were not high enough for the retailer to consider revising its policies, and guesses that most other console systems have a failure rate of less than one percent, including the PlayStation 3. Another EB Games manager, when asked if the store warranty was worth it, conceded that in the hundreds of Wii units sold at that location thus far, zero have come back as defective.
For those of you interested I really suggest you check out the entire piece over at DailyTech, while I admit my 360 experience has been second to none, I know that maybe of my friends are reluctant to even purchase the console for issues like the "Ring of Death."