Microsoft’s woes: US$ 1 billion to repair 360s

Microsoft‘s smile isn’t as wide as it should be. But then, any company shelling out US$ 1 billion in repairs to the Xbox 360 would have very little to smile about. General hardware failures, glitches, and bad publicity handicaps the company as it tries to fight for market share in the highly competitive console market.

Analysts estimate that the company has lost more than US$ 6 billion since 2002, and it doesn’t seem to end there. Microsoft extended their warranties again last Thursday, and announced that they will be shouldering shipping and repairs on consoles hit by hardware failure indicated by the “red ring of death” for a period up to three years.

Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, announced that the company would be implementing changes to manufacturing and production processes which he expects will reduce the number of hardware lockups. However, he failed to identify the problems or comment on which ones might persist.

With just a few days away from E3, news like this could potentially dampen the spirit people have for the much-awaited Halo 3. While the news may be bleak, at least we’re seeing efforts to address the problem.

Via Yahoo! News

Microsoft‘s smile isn’t as wide as it should be. But then, any company shelling out US$ 1 billion in repairs to the Xbox 360 would have very little to smile about. General hardware failures, glitches, and bad publicity handicaps the company as it tries to fight for market share in the highly competitive console market.

Analysts estimate that the company has lost more than US$ 6 billion since 2002, and it doesn’t seem to end there. Microsoft extended their warranties again last Thursday, and announced that they will be shouldering shipping and repairs on consoles hit by hardware failure indicated by the “red ring of death” for a period up to three years.

Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, announced that the company would be implementing changes to manufacturing and production processes which he expects will reduce the number of hardware lockups. However, he failed to identify the problems or comment on which ones might persist.

With just a few days away from E3, news like this could potentially dampen the spirit people have for the much-awaited Halo 3. While the news may be bleak, at least we’re seeing efforts to address the problem.

Via Yahoo! News