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Microsoft has confirmed to Next-Gen that failure rates for the Xbox 360 launch batch were “higher than usual,” but the company is offering free repairs and refunds to make up for it.ImageAlmost immediately after the Xbox 360 launched in November 2005 in the US, message boards lit up—literally. A number of vocal and upset early adopters posted images of red “rings of light” on their consoles, which were freezing up under normal playing circumstances.After well-documented denials, Microsoft is now owning up to the launch unit defects. A Microsoft spokesperson sent Next-Gen the following statement via e-mail: “Yes, it is true. As part of our standard and ongoing process of analyzing repair data, we recently noticed a higher than usual number of units coming in for repair. Upon further investigation, it was further discovered that the bulk of the units were isolated to a group that was part of the initial manufacturing run of the console. Returns for repair are coming in for a variety reasons and it’s a higher rate than we are satisfied with. We’ve made the decision to comp repairs for consoles manufactured before January 1, and provide refunds to the small group of customers who have already paid for repairs.”Back when early adopters began complaining about defects, Microsoft downplayed the allegations. “We’ve received a few isolated reports of consoles not working as expected," Microsoft stated in November 2005. "The call rate is well below what you’d expect for a consumer electronics product of this complexity. As a percentage of the total number of Xbox 360 systems already in the field, these calls represent a very small fraction.”Microsoft originally said that the failure rate was between 3 and 5 percent, an acceptable range. Higher failure rates for the first batch of complex new electronics such as game consoles are common.In December 2005, a Chicago man sued Microsoft for faulty Xbox 360s, accusing the company of rushing the hardware out to market in an attempt to claim a larger stake in the next-generation console war.
