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[XO]众零售商爆Xbox 360真实故障率近1/3 EB店保不堪重负

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1^# 大中小发表于 2007-7-3 11:41 只看该作者

[XO]众零售商爆Xbox 360真实故障率近1/3 EB店保不堪重负

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7892

Gadgets Retailers Estimate Xbox 360 Failure Rate High as 33 Percent

从很多方面来说，Xbox 360都是这一代游戏平台中目前最成功的。先不论Wii现在的追赶速度，Xbox 360仍然拥有全球范围内最高的主机销售数量，最长的游戏名单以及最多的独占游戏。对于一个希望进行网络高清游戏的玩家来说，Xbox 360无疑是最佳选择。但人们在购买主机时容易忽略的一点是可靠性问题，这点正式Xbox 360的软肋。

微软曾经宣称Xbox 360的故障率已经降低到了3%-5%之间，符合业界的普遍状况。但从互联网上用户的报告来看，实际的故障率远高于这一数值。为证实这种状况，Dailytech网站向北美的主要游戏硬件零售商征求了他们的返修数据，得到的结果是：Xbox 360确实是近年来可靠性最差的游戏主机。

著名游戏零售商EB Games和GameStop的员工匿名提供了这些信息，其中EB Games甚至在2007年初专门为Xbox 360修改了自己在加拿大的保修条款。前EB Games员工Matthieu G.透露：“真实的故障率高达30%到33%。”而首发的一批主机故障率更高，“我们在首发日拿到了35台主机，六个月内超过一半已经被拿了回来（三红或者划伤碟片），其中有两台新机就是坏的。”

有趣的是，微软承认过首批Xbox 360质量不佳，并承诺对05年生产的主机全免费维修。玩家们熟知的“三红”故障是最主要的问题，微软专门为此开通了一条“三红热线”1-800-4MY-XBOX 。

为了应对Xbox 360的高故障率，EB Games将其主机附加一年“店保”的价格提升了几乎一倍。并且在旧的保修条款中，送修玩家可以拿到一台全新主机，新条款则只保证一台翻新货。这样做的原因只有一个，用“店保”方式给Xbox 360保修成本实在太高了。

接近1/3的返修率不仅在EB Games出现，一位百思买的客户服务经理表示，他们销售的Xbox 360返修率在“四分之一到三分之一之间”。“我们每天都可以看到成堆的返修主机。平时我们一直鼓励顾客购买额外的保修服务，但对于Xbox 360来说，这点尤为重要。微软将厂商保修期提到一年让我们感到幸运，因为处理首发那批货的返修时，那段时间就像是地狱。现在，只有那些购买了2年店保，并且在第二年才出问题的主机才归我们管。”06年底，微软将Xbox 360的厂房质保时限从90天提高到了一年。超过保修期的顾客送修需要收费140美元。

和其他主机相比，Xbox 360的故障率明显超过所有现在的竞争对手，甚至前辈。Matthieu G.表示，没有任何一款主机的故障率足以让EB Games这样的企业更改质保条款，目前其他游戏主机的故障率应该都在1%以下，包括PS3。另一位EB Games经理曾经表示，该店售出的数百台Wii主机至今还没有一台返修。

尽管各种证据都在指向微软，但他们的官员仍旧拒绝对此事发表评论。微软娱乐部门副总裁Peter Moore在受访时说：“我不能对故障率发表评论，因为这没什么可说的。消费者真正应该关心的是我们对待他们的方式。大家都看得到，如果我们待他们不薄，并且解决了问题，还有什么可说的呢。我不会对单独的故障率发表任何评论，因为我们在36个国家销售Xbox 360，统计它是一个复杂的问题。”同样的含糊回答还来自于Xbox 360的硬件设计师Todd Holmdahl：“我想我们的故障率并不高。大多数消费者都对这款产品感到兴奋，我们明年目标盈利。”被问到故障率是否在正常的3-5%中间时，他表示：“我们不会公布具体的数字，对此我无可奉告。”

当然，所有的最新科技产品都不可避免的存在大大小小的缺陷。关键的问题是，这款产品的故障率是否在业界普遍的可接受范围内。从零售商得到的数据，Xbox 360的故障率比微软公布的数字高6到10倍。而不管这个数字到底是多少，消费者都已经感觉到了Xbox 360的可靠性不如竞争对手。这点应该引起微软的注意，做些什么，不仅仅是“无可奉告”而已。

Nearly one in every three Xbox 360 consoles fail, according to retailer reports
By several metrics, the Xbox 360 is the most successful console so far of this generation. Despite the startling pace of the Wii, the Xbox 360 still has the most consoles sold worldwide and the longest list of games and exclusives. For a gamer looking for online-enabled high-definition gaming today, the Xbox 360 appears to satisfy those needs.

One often overlooked factor when considering a console purchase is reliability, an area that is becoming apparent where the Xbox 360 falls short. Anecdotal evidence is heavily pointing to Microsoft’s latest console as being significantly more prone to failure than what consumers are accustomed to.

Microsoft has said before that its Xbox 360 failure rate falls within three to five percent, what it believes to be well within industry standards. Internet reports from Xbox 360 owners, however, suggest that the failure rate is much higher than that.
In an effort to gain a more accurate picture of Xbox 360 failure rate, DailyTech decided to poll retail outlets that sell the Xbox 360 and with it the option to purchase an in-store extended warranty. Out of all Xbox 360 extended warranties sold, we wanted to know how many were claimed by consumers with defective consoles, thus giving us a more accurate failures percentage.

After contacting several retailers from various regions in North America, the responses were unanimous: the Xbox 360 is the least reliable gaming console in recent history. Current EB Games or GameStop employees who offered information did so under strict anonymity, as it is against company policy to reveal such information to the public. Furthermore, our sources confirmed that EB Games revised its Canadian warranty policies during early 2007 for consoles solely due to the failure rate of the Xbox 360.

EB Games held conference calls for its Canadian stores informing them of the new policy changes and revealing alarming failure rates of the Xbox 360. “The real numbers were between 30 to 33 percent,” said former EB Games employee Matthieu G., adding that failure rate was even greater for launch consoles. “We had 35 Xbox 360s at launch I know more than half of them broke within the first six months (red lights or making circles under the game discs). Two of them were dead on arrival.”

Interestingly, Microsoft has acknowledged that the initial batch of Xbox 360 consoles made during the launch window suffer from below average reliability. In response to an overwhelming defect rate of launch consoles, Microsoft agreed to repair all machines manufactured in 2005 free of charge, and issue a refund for those who already paid for repairs of launch units up until January 1, 2006.

The three flashing red lights – commonly referred to in gaming communities as the “Red Ring of Death” – is a sign of an Xbox 360 hardware failure. The sign is apparently common enough that Microsoft has added an option to its 1-800-4MY-XBOX support line that names “three flashing red lights” specifically.

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.

The failure rate nearing a third of all Xbox 360 consoles was found at other retailers too. A Best Buy customer service department manager, who wished to remain unnamed, said that failure rates for the console were “between a quarter to a third” of all units sold.

“We see a ton of [Xbox 360s] come back all the time. We strongly push our customers to buy our service plans no matter what they buy, but it is especially important for them with the Xbox 360,” said the manager. “It’s a lucky thing for us that Microsoft extended the factory warranty to one year, because we were having a hell of a time dealing with the launch units. Now we don’t have to deal with those broken [Xbox 360s] until their second year, for those who have purchased the two year plans.”

In late 2006, Microsoft boosted the warranty of all Xbox 360 consoles to one year, up from 90-days previously. For gamers who are out of warranty, however, a replacement or repair will cost Xbox 360 customers $140.

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 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.

Despite the overwhelming evidence that the Xbox 360 is a relatively unreliable games machine, Microsoft officials refuse to comment on its failure rate. Peter Moore, VP of Microsoft’s entertainment division, said to the Mercury News, “I can’t comment on failure rates, because it’s just not something – it’s a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we’ve treated him. Y’know, things break, and if we’ve treated him well and fixed his problem, that’s something that we’re focused on right now. I’m not going to comment on individual failure rates because I’m shipping in 36 countries and it’s a complex business.”

Similar questions regarding the Xbox 360 hardware met with the man responsible for the design of the console, Todd Holmdahl. He too sidestepped the issue with the Mercury News, saying, “I would say we don’t have a high defect rate. The vast majority of people are really excited about their product, and that we are targeting profitability for next year.”

Asked differently about whether or not the Xbox 360 falls into the ‘normal’ three to five percent return rate, Holmdahl said, “We don’t disclose the actual number,” and “We don’t comment on that.”

No piece of technology, no matter how well designed, should be expected to completely free of failure. The key metric is whether or not a product falls within industry standards of acceptable failure rates – and from findings based off retailer-supported warranty returns, the actual rate of failures could be six to ten times greater than what Microsoft is letting on.

Regardless of what the actual failure rate is, there is consumer perception that the Xbox 360 is a less reliable machine than its competitors. That fact alone should encourage Microsoft to do more than just avoid all comments on failures and only preach on the wonderful experience of its consumer base.