Unit cost of 360 getting more expensive
When any console comes out, every company sell it at a loss (yes, even Sony, despite the high price). They do this because it gets them into the market, and they will probably make it up on accessories and other things. Then, as the console gets older, parts get cheaper and thus the console eventually starts making money. Strange then that the 360 is actually getting more expensive as time goes on then.
Releasing their Q1 2007 finance report, Microsoft had a little list of everything that had cost them a fair bit of money. The Zune had unsurprisingly taken it’s toll, as had the increased usage of Xbox Live (subscription costs increasing then?). Near the bottom, read “higher Xbox 360 unit costs”. Huh? That seems strange that it has increased. Kotaku thinks there may be more to it though.
Methinks this was a QA decision: earlier/cheaper consoles may have been easier on the bottom line, but weren’t exactly breaking records for reliability. This would also be the reason we haven’t seen a price drop on the 360, and why we might not see one for a while yet.
Did all these break?
Would Microsoft really get cheaper parts to get their console out before everyone else? Then suffer at a later date? It’s a reasonable assumption, though not something that is partically ethical from a business point of view. It helps to explain why they included a failure system in the console; I don’t remember any other console telling you it was sick.
What I’d like to know is when they began paying more for the parts. Maybe the shortage that followed the release was due to the changeover from suppliers of the parts? I don’t know. I’ve had my 360 since the end of January, and no problems yet. If it does break, I’ll know they changed the parts after January!
I’ve got mine almost from release and it’s working just perfect… :S
same with me
Mine died yesterday
I have a launch 360, and it has died. But it is still going, as I got it repaired by the guy at oldschoolgamer.com
I got mine in February, manufactured on 1/3/06. I dl’d the fall update 10/31 0300 and got three red lights and I have a spent a week with customer service on the phone and all I have is a gears of war game I can not play. The increased unit cost is in repairing the ones that have died
If your system was built prior to 1/16/06(approx date) Microsoft will repair your system free. Happened to me… although the replacement still eats disks!
This would explain why I am on my 3rd unit. At least I had the warranty to get it fixed.
Luckily we in The Netherlands get a two-years warranty free!
i like walmart’s lifetime warranty,,,,,keep the box and receipt and they’ll exchange all you want.
zuh? WalMart has a lifetime warranty? Is that for real? Do you have a hyperlink to docs on their website that state as such?
It’s simple… buy an XBOX 360… when it dies, buy another one from wal-mart. A week later, return the *broken* one to them saying you don’t want it anymore. This is an old retail trick, yet it still seems new to everyone. Dishonest, absolutely. It does work none-the-less.
Yes, holland rules
unfortunaly, we get GoW 5 days later….
But, i’m going to buy my 360 in a hour, yes
Had since launch and no problems!
Well only small problem sometimes the DVD tray gets stuck but no biggie!
and now here in the uk all consoles get xtra 12 months warranty so we get 24 months whoop whoop
What? How do you know that?
My buddy is on his 6th 360, I believe the failure problems go a lot deeper than has been made public so far, this may be the tip of the iceberg as far as the 360 reliability story…and it may be repeated with the ps3! they are packing too much heat in small boxes with these new consoles.
*knocking on wood* I stood out all night in the worst storm ever in front of Best Buy, Santa Rosa CA. last December (2nd release), and mine is still working. However my friend that was right behind me in line had his replaced in August, another friend bought his July has had it replaced in September, and yet another bought his in Feduary and had to take it back to the store two days later for replacment. So go figure.
spelling correction, should be Febuary, err something
that’s funny,,,,misspell in your edited comment
baked, sorry!
PS: maybe its because that stupid power brick with its stupid fans costs $100 by itself…
had mine since 11/22/05….my baby is still going strong
PSS: I think allot of it has to do with where your 360 is operating. For instance I have mine on the top shelf of my media stand, with nothing on all four side or top of it, lots of circulation and fresh air, right next to the window. I have a suspicion anyone that operates it in close quarters, or places it next to other warm/hot electrical equipment is asking for a meltdown.
I’ve had my 360 since day one, it was made in Oct. of 05, and have never had any problems. It’s running perfect!
February
I’m on my 3rd XBOX360. I love the XBOX360 but it certainly is frustrating when they keep dying. I’m a fan and sticking with it. Seems like every 4 months… 1st bought in Dec, died April, replacement dies in Aug, the 4 month mark is coming up soo for my latest console. I’m crossing my fingers!
I’m on my 3rd…
still got my launch 360 from nov 22nd.
its running ok..but seems to be gettin worse and worse
Mine lasted from 12/24/05 to 11/06/06. Thanks to that extended warranty on 2005 models I waiting on a refurb from MS. I’m hoping this isn’t going to be a continuing trend with the system. 11 month life span indicates poor manufacturing/components.
could you elaborate more on this extended 2005 model warranty. cause mines causing me problems but microsoft refuses to do anything about it. thanks.
Look here
if had my 360 in january and just like scotty my is also getting worse( it shuts off automaticly and the i have 2 hold off playing for like an hour) but if it dies ill go out and get another ill go crazy if i cant play my GOW
“When any console comes out, every company sell it at a loss”
Didn’t Nintendo say that they’ll make a profit from day one with the first console sold ?.
In the uk your warranty/guarantee is not that important. Even if your warranty is up:
The 1979 sales of goods act:
it is your legal right to choose repair, replacement, partial or full refund, or compensation if a fault appears within 6 years (5 years in scotland) and it is reasonable for goods to last that long.
Goods must be fit for their purpose, if not the retailer is legally obliged to remedy the problem.
WHERE I CAN SEE THAT WHEN MY 360 IS MADE???
I NEED THE YEARNUMBER…
I got my 360 on launch day, then got the rings of death maye a week later. Sent it in, got a new one, and that ones been perfet since. I got a free controller out of it too.
Maybe it’s from the new DVD drives they added in a bit after launch
“WHERE I CAN SEE THAT WHEN MY 360 IS MADE???
I NEED THE YEARNUMBER… ”
At the back of your console, mate
Got mine at the Microsoft Launch Event here in Toronto. Mine still is working great, my other pre-order I had that a friend bought off me has died. I often wonder if Microsoft brought non-defective systems to their Personal/Sale/Event, knowing already about the problems.
Im also one who thinks its all about where you place your 360.
Mine 360 standing up and is on TOP of the TV stand, nothing around it at all, and the power brick also sits all by itself.
I think if you put your 360 into cabnets or even on a shelf, your asking for trouble. It needs clean air from all around… And im sure if your fan fails or fails to output enough airflow, death isnt far away.
Has anyone considered it may just be currency fluctuations?
The 360 has a higher component count that pretty much anything made by MS and its almost all Asian.
Yep or some other accounting BS assumption that makes the “cost” higher when they are actually losing less real cash per consol.
Nintendo DOES NOT sell consoles at a loss. They profit off all hardware.
Nintendo smells
[q]It helps to explain why they included a failure system in the console; I don’t remember any other console telling you it was sick.[/q]
There was this obscure gaming system in the mid ’80s called the Nintendo Entertainment System. When it had a read error, the front mount power LED would flash on and off, indicating a failure. This light could also be used to diagnose hardware problems *rolleyes*
I started getting occasional lock ups with some of the new games. The system seemed very hot. Even the disc was hot. I put the new style intercooler fans on it and it has been fine ever since
I have a launch 360 with no problems.
I pre-ordered my 360 and picked it up the day it launched. Since then, it’s failed (and been replaced) 3 times, each time exhibiting the same symptoms (buzzing audio signal and checkered screen with no error light). Fortunately, I haven’t paid a dime thanks to the extended warranty.
If your console breaks, you won’t have any idea if they changed parts after January, since you have a sample size of 1. Concluding anything about the reliability of the XBox from one unit is silly.
Did anyone sit and think that maybe, just maybe, it was an increase in Xbox360 unit costs because there were more Xbox360 units? Does the report state that it is an increase, or an increase per unit. The article makes it sound like just an increase was stated. I would sure hope that 5 million 360’s would have a higher cost than 1 million.
I have a launch 360 and still going strong! Has anyone thought about using one of those coolers by nyko i believe? If so they any good??
No!! Microsoft said NOT to use the Nyko intercooler. Because it uses the same power supply as the 360, it’s been a lot of the breakdown problems. When a console is made, it goes through a lot of testing, and they know how much cooling it needs. The problem I think with both the 360 and the Ps3 is that they are using too new and untested technologies. The 360 uses a 3.2ghz triple core CPU. Try to find or buy one in the store, even duo-cores cost around $300 for a 2.8ghz. Just wait until the PS3 comes out with it’s 7 cores and bluray. I’m going to doubt microsoft is the only one that is going to have these problems. If you want a safe bet, go for the Wii. It’s using 7 year old technology that is pretty safe. For me, I’ll take my chances, since I’m a Tech Junkie.