The Xbox 360 has come under the gun in Britain when the BBC’s “Watchdog” program has questioned the quality of the machine.

It seems the show, which investigates consumer complaints, received about 250 of them from owners of 360s that broke down after the warranty expired.

According to Team Xbox, the show focused in on the “ring of death” red light error.

“The Xbox 360 was a global phenomenon when it was launched in the UK in December 2005. The world's richest man and Microsoft boss Bill Gates called it the Ferrari of home entertainment. But we've had nearly 250 complaints from people who think it's more of a clapped-out old banger.

Worse still, you've been telling us that some of the problems with your faulty Xbox 360 consoles occur when the one-year warranty has run out. That means you have to fork out to get it fixed.”

It seems those gamers were told they’d have to pay about £80 (or USD$160) to get them fixed.

Microsoft responded to the complaint, saying there is “no systemic issue.”

There is a known issue, however, with the initial batch of Xbox consoles that hit the market. An extension in the warranty was granted as a result of early complaints.

Ours went down a few weeks after purchase, but fortunately it was during the warranty period, so it was fixed rather quickly and at no charge. Our second 360 has had no similar problem (knock on wood).

Related:
Xbox 360 Warranty Extension Coming
MS Sued for Faulty Xbox 360's
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Labels: bbc, microsoft, xbox 360, xbox 360 errors