Microsoft Won't Discuss Failure Rates - As though they don't exist

The failure rate of the Xbox 360 is a very touchy subject for Microsoft. They won't talk about it at all. With quotes like this from Peter Moore it is no wonder that more and more people are asking questions about the long term quality of the Xbox 360 as a console.

"I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something - it's a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right now. I'm not going to comment on individual failure rates because I'm shipping in 36 countries and it's a complex business."

I have been involved in retail for a long time and I understand that there is a specific reason that Microsoft take such a point of view with this and that is that they don't deal with customers on a day-to-day basis. How about he go to EB and ask some of the sales staff (who are selling their product) whether they have the same opinion? Peter's point of view is a legitimate one, and I think one that many wholesalers (especially with Notebook computers) do not take. But, if they have a product which is repeatedly failing then no matter how friendly your customer service representatives are on the phone customers, ultimately, are not particularly going to care whether it is a good experience. Having a product fail potentially multiple times is not fixed by friendly customer service. It is fixed by making a product that works the way it was intended.