Xbox 360 Brand Unfazed by Hardware Failure Rates, Microsoft Says

Despite a staggering volume of hardware failure reports and a billion dollar warranty extension, Microsoft president of entertainment and devices Robbie Bach says that Xbox 360 brand has remained largely intact.

"[Damage to the Xbox 360 brand is] something we have absolutely tracked," Bach told VentureBeat. "The amazing part of that whole situation is that when we look at brand preference, customer satisfaction, willingness to recommend, none of that data has moved through that whole process.

"The No. 1 complaint I get from people is that it is taking you too long to fix the console," Bach added.

Since the launch of the console, the Xbox 360's failure rate—reportedly stemming from cost-cutting modifications made to the system by Microsoft—has affected a broad range of consumers. While the company estimates hardware failure volume around 3%, other reports have suggested as high as 16%.

"In the ordinary course of something like this, you would expect it to show up in the customer reaction data. We just haven't seen that," Bach continued. "It speaks to the fact that they love their games and Xbox Live. Does it frustrate them? Yes. On the other hand, they know we're taking care of them. People have a certain amount of respect for that."