Microsoft is extending the warranty on Xbox 360 consoles to three years.  I know a couple of people, including my brother, who have been plagued by hardware failures and the Red Ring of Death.

Three years is a long time for a consumer electronics product.  It feels like Microsoft is doing the right thing here.  Certainly part of the strategy is to make sure gamers feel confident about the platform before the release of Halo 3.  And I suppose Microsoft needs working consoles out there so it can make money off licensing and Xbox Live.  Nevertheless, it’s great to see that the Xbox 360 owners are not getting screwed - Microsoft is going to take good care of them.  I wish my Wii had a three year warranty.

Peter Moore of Microsoft published an open letter to the Xbox community this week about the extended warranty:

If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience.

According to foxnews.com, the cost of the extended warranty will be north of $1 billion:

Microsoft said it will record a charge of up to $1.15 billion for its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended June 30, to cover the additional costs associated with the warranty extension.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288313,00.html

I’m sure my brother will be happy to hear about the extended coverage.  He just got his Xbox 360 from its second round of repairs.