Over the past couple months PlanetXbox360.com has been conducting a massive comprehensive study (online, via the phone, and in person), in an attempt to find out once and for all how many of the Microsoft loyalists have experienced the dreaded red ring of death. There has been a recent study that found 50% of all Xbox 360’s had the issue, our findings did not fall in line with those results. If you’re not familiar with this phenomenon that has plagued the Xbox 360 since it’s successful release in 2005 the RRoD happens because of a console hardware failure (from a number of different possibilities). Many supposed “fixes” have been posted along the way via the internet (anyone ever try the towel trick) but most of the time they just made things worse. Thankfully Microsoft has gone above and beyond to support the issue, offering a free-of-charge replacement to any console (within a three-year purchase window) that is cursed by the flashing red lights. However we have heard horror stories of people sending off their defective unit only to receive another defective unit in return, overall though 80% of our gamers surveyed who had experienced the RRoD were satisfied with the solution Microsoft provided.
Only 10% of the entire survey stated that they did not return to the Xbox 360 after getting a ring of death, showing that even with the failure Xbox 360 fans stick by their favorite console, through the good and the ugly. Our survey showed that 1 in every 3 gamers who currently entertain themselves on the Xbox 360 has, at one time or another personally experienced a red ring of death. That means approximately 33% of all Xbox 360 consoles ever released had defective hardware, in some form or fashion to cause the RRoD. This statistic results in nearly 10 million of the approximate 31 million Xbox 360 consoles sold worldwide having the red ring of death issue (whether it was traded in, re-sold, sent from MS, or purchased brand new). Either way we have to give props to Microsoft for spending the money and making an effort to solve the problem; because of technical advancements our survey showed that 75% of the RRoD cases happened on an Xbox 360 console that did not have the new chipset (available in all current models). Considering 90% of gamers came back to the system even after being hit with the console killing ring of death – it’s apparent that the public supports the Xbox 360, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.
Aaron Greenberg Responds to PlanetXbox360's RRoD Study - PlanetXbox360.com (click here)
*This study was completed over the past three months, across multiple states, thousands of phone calls, and countless online survey entries; however no study of this type can be exact without official RRoD repair numbers from Microsoft – take this information as is, with no warranty.*
