Xbox 360s investigated by <i>Watchdog</i>

It's a well-known cliche--one month out of warranty and whatever has been bought will surely start to develop problems and need to be replaced at a cost to the consumer. And, according to BBC show Watchdog, that's exactly what seems to have been happening with some Xbox 360s.

The show's presenters say that they have received 248 complaints about faulty Xbox 360s, and they believe they will receive more as further items come out of the warranty period.

Watchdog highlighted two cases in which consoles that had just come out of the one-year warranty period had shown the dreaded 'ring of death'--referring to the three red lights which appear on the console to indicate a fatal hardware fault. The two owners had to spend around £80 ($156) each to fix the fault--something they considered to be unreasonable not much more than a year after purchasing the systems.

The popular UK TV series, first aired in 1980, investigates consumer problems including faulty or dangerous goods.

A Microsoft representative did not appear on the show, although presenter Nicky Campbell read out the following statement that the company had sent to them: "Most people who have an Xbox 360 have an outstanding experience and there's no common fault. Each incident is unique, and looked at on a case by case basis."

[UPDATE] A Microsoft spokesperson has responded to the claims made by the show and has told GameSpot in a statement, "The return rate [of the Xbox 360] is significantly lower than the CE industry average of 3-5 percent. Customer satisfaction is our highest priority, and we do everything we can to take care of gamers who may be having problems with their consoles--anybody having an issue with their Xbox 360 console should call customer service immediately so that we can help. Microsoft voluntarily provides customers with a one year manufacturer's warranty in the UK which operates over and above the legally required retailer warranty for all consumer goods."