My Red-Ringed Xbox 360 Elite showed back up at my house when I was in Leipzig. The majestic black console was cloaked in bubble wrap, stuffed between two pads and placed in a box along with a letter of apology from Microsoft.

The letter apologized for the inconvenience of having to ship my console off to have it repaired and said they were going to give me a free month of Xbox Live Gold membership. Sure enough, there was a plastic card taped to the bag protecting the Elite good for one free month.

Of course I'd prefer that Microsoft get to the bottom of their RROD issues, but this certainly is a step in the right direction.

But it turns out that Bach had already unloaded an additional $3 million in Microsoft stock on May 1st. (A late SEC filing caused many to overlook this number before.) So that brings the total to $9.2 million shady stock practices by Robbie Bach. Ironically, the stock didn't plummet and all is good in the world. Other than, you know, Bach being front page news on MarketWatch.

Microsoft's Bach sold more stock before Xbox news [via maxconsole]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

As of last night I have officially had nine Xbox 360s die on me, which means when I get this replacement, I will be on my eleventh Xbox 360 (counting debugs and retails).

Over the weekend we had a little neighborhood party at my house and in the midst of it I decided to show off Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360. We played it for a bit, maybe 30 minutes and then I went to turn the 360 off and turn the music back on. When I pressed the power button on my Xbox 360 Elite it started making sounds like a blender. This lasted about 10 seconds and then it powered off. I found the news a little bizarre, but didn't think anything of it until Sunday night.

Last night I found a bit of free time on my hands and went down to the 360 to finally check out Vampire Rain (which should totally be better than Chocolate Rain). I turned the 360 on and popped the disc in. The console made a whirring noise for a second and that was it, just sat their displaying the Xbox 360 menu. I hopped over to the game blade and down to the place where it should say "Play Game". No dice. It just had an option to open the DVD tray. I tried a different game. I tried a DVD, No luck.

Then I hopped onto the Xbox 360 forums and discovered I had just become a member of the broken DVD player club. So that's eight dead because of a Red Ring and one dead because of a bad DVD player. Microsoft really needs to get their shit together. As I pointed out to Peter Moore back when they announced the new warranty for the 360, warranty or no, customers are still going to be annoyed if their new or relatively new consoles keep dying. It's an inconvenience and certainly shakes confidence.

Whoops, this wasn't our justify your warranty piece at all. Instead it's me asking Peter Moore why they didn't just jump in with two feet and do a recall instead of an extended warranty. I don't think he liked the question.

Any customer who has previously paid for repairs for that error will be reimbursed. Much more importantly, Microsoft says they have tracked down the issues that have been causing the "unacceptable number of repairs" and have made improvements to the console. Why does this sound like deja vu.

Microsoft Expands Xbox 360 Warranty Coverage

REDMOND, Wash. — July 5, 2007 —Microsoft Corp. today announced that it will expand its global Xbox 360™ warranty coverage. Any Xbox 360 customer who experiences a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights will now be covered by a three year warranty from date of purchase. All other existing Xbox 360 warranty policies remain in place.
As a result of what Microsoft views as an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles, the company conducted extensive investigations into potential sources of general hardware failures. Having identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures indicated by three red flashing lights on the console, Microsoft has made improvements to the console and is enhancing its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers.
Microsoft stands behind its products and is taking responsibility to repair or replace any Xbox 360 console that experiences the "three flashing red lights" error message within three years from time of purchase free of charge, including shipping costs. Microsoft will take a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs under its current and enhanced Xbox 360 policies.
"The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division. "We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come."

For any customer who has previously paid for repair expenses related to the three flashing lights error message on the Xbox 360 console, Microsoft will retroactively reimburse them.

Peter Moore's Open Letter [Xbox]

If you should be unlucky enough to have your 360 choke on a red ring of death, Microsoft will ease your faulty console suffering in a few new ways. One, shipping for all repairs is now free. Two, should your console need a paid repair after your warranty has expired, you'll receive a new one year warranty guarantee on that repaired console. Three, you'll probably get your original console shipped back to you. Four, soothing massages from J Allard.

Additional bonuses on the service front include faster returns—within five business days upon receipt of your dead Xbox—and an increase in and better training for customer service reps.

Killer. Now, please fix the hardware so this is all unnecessary, and I'll buy one. Michael McWhertor

Xbox 360 Warranty and Service Enhancements [Xbox.com]

"How can they only have a 90 day warranty? They must realize their machines don't last."

Then he started contemplating buying the extended warranty, then he decided if his second crapped out on him he'd just return it and buy another system.

This should cheer him up: Microsoft today announced that they are extending their warranty for the console to one year and they will reimburse anyone who paid out-of-warrant repair charges within their first year of ownership.

Now that's how you do things.

Hit the jump for the Word-fucked-up version of the press release. Brian Crecente

For Release 6 a.m. PST

Dec. 22, 2006

Microsoft Extends Xbox 360 Warranty to One Year

Shoppers can buy with added confidence this holiday season as Microsoft expands its warranty for Xbox 360 from 90 days to one year.

REDMOND, Wash. Dec. 22, 2006 In a move to benefit customers, Microsoft Corp. announced today that it will change the Xbox 360 warranty from 90 days to one year from the date of purchase in the United States and Canada. Microsoft extended the warranty in these territories to be consistent with the standard one-year Xbox 360 warranty that is available throughout most of the world. The news is reason to celebrate this holiday season; it applies to both would-be purchasers and those who already have Xbox 360 and are still within their first year of ownership.

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 catalog 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-US/support/contact where they can check their warranty status, find troubleshooting information for common issues and find Xbox support contact information.

About Xbox 360

Xbox 360 is the most powerful video game and entertainment system, delivering the best games, the next generation of the premier Xbox Live online gaming network and unique digital entertainment experiences that revolve around gamers. Xbox 360 is expected to have a catalog of 160 high-definition games by the end of 2006 and to be available in nearly 40 countries by the end of 2007. More information can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/xbox360.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq MSFT ) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Merry Christmas from Microsoft: 360 Warranty extended to 1 year [NeoGAF]

Since we're getting reports of a few Wii's petering out here and there, including the "fatal" Error Code 110213, it's not such a bad idea.

P.S. Sorry for the pseudo dick joke headline. I really should be above that at my age, but I'm not. Michael McWhertor

Wii 90 Warranty Extension - More Information

UPDATE: This has been confirmed in a statement over on Mercury News: "We've made the decision to comp repairs for consoles manufactured before January 1, 2006, and provide refunds to the small group of customers who have already paid for repairs." I've also heard informally that you may not need to produce a receipt after all. The serial number probably tells them everything they need to know about the unit.

Extreme distrust reigns in this Xbox.com forum thread about a brand new decision from on high: all Xboxen purchased prior to January 1st, 2006 are getting a free one-year warranty extension, but that's not all. Anyone who paid to have one of the older units repaired will be refunded their $140 via a fat check from Microsoft.

Call 1-800-4my-xbox to cash in. Have your console on your lap so you can give them the serial numbers. However, you must have your original receipt.

We're not 100% certain that this is for real, but multiple posters in the thread seem to confirm it. Kotaku Scouts, now is your time to shine. Report your findings to Tips@ or in the comments.

The thread goes on for five pages while internet detectives pick apart the original poster's story, instead of just calling Microsoft and asking a customer service rep.

Apparently today is when this news breaks officially, so expect an announcement from MS to start filtering up through all channels sooner or later. Until then, the customer service reps are reputedly a little confused. Expect to be put on hold.

Special thanks to David and Victor for tipping this one! Eliza Gauger

Complete thread here [Xbox]