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Xbox 360 gets one-year warranty

December 22, 2006 › Sandy McMurray | comment

Xbox 360 hardware Attention, last-minute Christmas shoppers: the warranty on the Xbox 360 game console has been increased from 90 days to one year!

This change is retroactive -- it applies both to new purchases and to customers in Canada and the U.S. who bought an Xbox 360 in the past year. Better still, customers who paid for out-of-warranty repairs in the past year will be reimbursed.

If you're thinking of buying an Xbox 360 as a gift, please note that there are two different Xbox 360 consoles. The "Core" system is less expensive, but is missing some important features. Follow this link to compare the two.

From the official press release:

Effective today, the one-year warranty is now the standard for the Xbox 360 console. Customers who experience hardware issues with their Xbox 360 within one year of purchase can have their consoles repaired at no cost. Moreover, the new warranty policy is retroactive, so consumers who may have already paid for an out-of-warranty Xbox 360 repair within one year of purchase will be eligible for reimbursement of their console repair charges.

"Customer satisfaction is a central focus and priority for the Xbox 360 system," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "In addition to jaw-dropping features such as high-definition graphics, an amazing variety with a catalogue of over 160 games, and social online and entertainment experiences on Xbox Live®, the Xbox 360 system now offers this extended warranty upgrade. It is truly the industry’s most compelling home entertainment offering."

Customers who have already paid out-of-warranty repair charges within their first year of ownership can expect reimbursement checks for the amount of their console repair in approximately 10 weeks. Reimbursements will be automatically distributed, so customers need not contact Microsoft. Customers who have questions regarding this policy change or experience any hardware issues should visit http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/support/contact/ where they can check their warranty status, find troubleshooting information for common issues and find Xbox support contact information.

This change brings the Xbox 360 warranty in line with the warranties currently offered by Nintendo and Sony for the Wii and the PS3.

December 22, 2006 › Sandy McMurray | comment on this item