Microsoft pays out 5 billion *kroner* in repair bills for the Xbox360

[SPM]

http://translate.google.co.uk/trans...refox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=7mv

One third of XBox 360s have been returned under warranty according to this website, costing Microsoft $5 billion.

XBOX is too hot, because Microsoft wanted to design its graphics chip to save the millions.

Result: A payment of five billion dollars for warranty repairs and thousands of sure consumers. The problem has been so large that Microsoft has had to extend the guarantee to last for three years to maintain credibility.

 

[AlphaWolf]

someone in denmark failed math.

 

[slider]

$5 billion seems awfully high. Have there been previous estimates?

If that article is correct (I'm usually wary of translated works!) I'd be interested to know if MS thought the gamble* was worth it.

*There are lots of ways you could interpret this "news" - depending on your agenda.

 

[silhouette]

If each 360 costs 300$ to MS and they have replaced all the faulty boxes with new ones, 5B$ translated to 16.6M replaced boxes

 

[slider]

If each 360 costs 300$ to MS and they have replaced all the faulty boxes with new ones, 5B$ translated to 16.6M replaced boxes

Don't forget the helpful folks working at call centres.

 

[DrJay24]

And shipping, and phone support, etc. I'm not saying it's $5B, but there are a lot of hidden cost.

 

[AlphaWolf]

but the simple fact is that it's likely nowhere near $300/repair as they are able to reuse most of the parts.

 

[LordNerevar]

5 billion US dollars?
That sounds way too high...
3 billion maybe...buy 5?!

 

[arhra]

someone in denmark failed math.

No, someone at Google* failed at translation. The original Danish article says:

Resultat: En regning på fem milliarder kroner for garanti-reparationer samt tusindvis af sure forbrugere

"fem milliarder kroner" = "five billion kroner", but Google for some insane reason translates "kroner" as "dollars" (that's not even a literal translation, which would be "crowns").

$1US = 4.8DKK

5b DKK ~ $1b US = the cash MS put aside to cover warranty costs ...last year. God knows why this is just now being reported on a Danish site.


* or more likely, someone using the "suggest a better translation" feature. Upside: anyone can suggest a better translation. Downside: anyone can suggest a "better" translation.

 

[AlphaWolf]

And that solves that mystery.

 

[vazel]

Didn't know Denmark is still using their own currency. Thought everyone in western Europe except UK and Switzerland moved to Euro.

 

[Dominik D]

Western Europe is a weasel word (e.g. according to CIA World Factbook Germany are not part of Western Europe). There are 50 countries in Europe of which 27 are part of EU of which 15 are in Eurozone (use Euro as their currency).

 

[2real4tv]

what about re-furbished units, not saying it is $5B

 

[RobertR1]

DNS error? Am I on gamefaqs???

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Sorry Alpha, but I didn't know there was a mystery to be figured out.

Did you think that somehow this news outlet had gotten information that wasn't available to the MS shareholders?

This story is merely taking the money that MS already declared as designated for warranty repairs (old news) and trying to put the blame on the recent story from 'an insider' that it was a result of MS's insistence not to go with a reputable GPU manufacturer and instead get the chips on the cheap.

That story has been making rounds this past week on nearly every other website except for this one, and I thought the reason for that is because everybody here knows that MS commissioned ATI to make the GPU very early on and the story had no merit.

The 360's RROD problems have nothing to do with MS cutting corners on Xenos.

This report is merely somebody believing an incorrect rumor and tying it to MS's own reported numbers from a year ago.

Clearly, the 360 had manufacturing and design problems.

Also clearly, the problem was NOT that MS decided to take the 'cheap route' on the GPU.

 

[-tkf-]

Clearly, the 360 had manufacturing and design problems.

Also clearly, the problem was NOT that MS decided to take the 'cheap route' on the GPU.

Hmm "Clearly" it was a factor.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Sorry Alpha, but I didn't know there was a mystery to be figured out.

Did you think that somehow this news outlet had gotten information that wasn't available to the MS shareholders?

The mystery was how someone had managed to turn MS's 1 billion dollar charge into a 5 billion dollar charge. That being said why should we be discussing a 1 year old news story?

frankly a mod should close this thread, its not news.

 

[-tkf-]

The mystery was how someone had managed to turn MS's 1 billion dollar charge into a 5 billion dollar charge. That being said why should we be discussing a 1 year old news story?

frankly a mod should close this thread, its not news.

Its not a 1 year old history, the article says that Microsoft tried to save millions and ended up paying billions (the billion is old). And frankly, i wouldnt be suprised if that billion didnt cover all the expenses.

On the other hand, with arrogant statements like this:

http://venturebeat.com/2008/06/13/interview-with-microsofts-robbie-bach-part-2-on-xbox-360/

The amazing part of that whole situation is that when we look at brand preference, customer satisfaction, willingness to recommend, none of that data has moved through that whole process. The No. 1 complaint I get from people is that it is taking you too long to fix the console.

I shouldnt be surprised.

 

[rekator]

Remember, first ATI unified shaders for PC heated a lot, and is close than one year after Xenos come.

 

[SPM]

Has the claim that one in three Xbox 360 have been returned on warranty been made before, and would that be accurate? That is a hell of a lot and has to qualify as a serious design fault and one that has been allowed to continue too long.