Microsoft tackles Xbox crashes with 3-year warranty

Responding to complaints and its own research into the high Xbox 360 failure rate, Microsoft today has expanded its warranty to address specific problems reported by users. Those whose systems fail with three red lights -- also known as the "red ring of death" -- can contact Microsoft for a free replacement up to three years from the day they purchased their consoles. Gamers who have paid for repairs in the past can also seek out refunds, Microsoft says.

"You've spoken, and we’ve heard you," said Microsoft's Xbox division executive, Peter Moore when justifying the change. "Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we've not been doing a good enough job."

The failures are generally said to have resulted from inadequate cooling for systems built using the current 90-nanometer CPU and GPU chips, which in some cases have overheated to the point where chips fail outright or pop out of their sockets. Some receiving repaired systems have noticed extra cooling that helps curb the issue, while all systems should run more efficiently in fall of this year thanks to cooler 65nm chips.