Warranty firm SquareTrade has amassed over 1000 warranty claims for the Xbox 360 and come up with some interesting findings. They have found that the failure rate of Xbox 360 systems is at 16.4%, compared to a 3% rate for the PS3 or the Wii with sample sizes in the high hundreds. The Red ring of Death accounted for 60% of their Xbox 360 failures. The CEO for SquareTade said that in the future we may see an even higher percentage due to prolonged use.

SquareTrade CEO Steve Abernethy speculated that the future may see an even higher percentage. "It is reasonable to believe these failure rates will increase over time, since the Xbox 360 failure issues tend to increase with prolonged use where overheating appears the main culprit," he said. Abernethy went on to note that while the company didn't track the different variations of the 360, he "would estimate most if not all were the original motherboard."

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.