| Legend11 said: In taking statistics, the two most important factors are sample size and randomness. By using a pool of over 1000 redeemed warranties, the report's sample size is sufficient. On the other hand, since the sampling was taken from people who have to seek SquareTrade's warranty service out, the possibility exists that the randomness factor could be skewed, leaning towards heavy system users who are more likely to overheat their 360s. This doesn't invalidate the report by any means, but it is worth keeping mind. 1UP has contacted Microsoft for comment, but as of press time we haven't received a response." |
I can't be the only one that thinks those comments are outrageous. This 1up guy is actually trying to convince readers that the failure rate is lower than suggested! I think the estimate of 16% is being incredibly generous to MS. Among the people I know, the failure rate is over 100% (yes, that is possible). I know 2 people that have their original 360 (received this xmas) and all the rest are on at least their second, some on their fourth. In contrast, I don't know a single person with a PS3 or Wii that has experienced any hardware failure. That is obviously anecdotal, but it seems to chime with the experiences of others.
You have to ask yourself why 1up would suggest it is lower than 16%, when that is in direct contradiction to the experiences of most people.
