On November 22, the Xbox One launched across 13 markets and sold more than one million units in a day. In short, it was a good day at Microsoft. That good day did have a small blemish on it, however, thanks to a small number of defective units.
On Friday, reports started to emerge that some Xbox One units had broken disc drives. Videos began popping up on YouTube of Xbox One owners popping in a disc only to hear a guttural grind that sounded like it came from the bowels of a demon. It wasn’t pretty, but it was assumed that only a small number of consoles were affected. According to Microsoft, that is indeed the case.
Speaking to the BBC, Microsoft says that the broken disc drives are “affecting a very small number of Xbox One customers.” The company wouldn’t give a rough estimation of how many consoles it thinks were affected, but it says that it’s “working directly with those affected to get a replacement console to them as soon as possible through our advance exchange program.”
There are always a few duds at any console launch. So, why do these issues seem more pronounced than the launch woes that affected previous console generations? IDC analyst Spencer Izard told the BBC that social media will make mountains out of anthills for this console generation:
“Overall, I do not believe we will see significant manufacturing problems with either the Microsoft or Sony console but due to social media the relatively few that do occur will become more apparent to those looking to purchase over this holiday season.”
In short, the majority of consoles from both Sony and Microsoft will be fine. People are just letting a few YouTube videos and tweets inform their opinions and biases. Even if you do end up with a broken console, it looks like Sony, Microsoft and retailers are doing everything they can to get those affected set up with new consoles.
[Image: Xbox Wire]