The reason we have not offered an extended warranty in the past is because the Microsoft XBOX 360 controller quality is terrible. For XBOX 360, and extended warranty = pissed off customers. Let me explain why this is the case A lot of kids that buy are hardcore gamers, logging literally up to 40, 50, 60 hours a week. The current XBOX 360 controllers (the new gen that they have been selling since about 2010, the new ones with all black sticks and chrome guide button - not the good old gen which were the white ones or the old black ones with grey sticks) are not built for heavy use like this. The average life of a thumbstick mechanism under heavy use is something like 6-12 months. If you get a year out of an XBOX 360 controller these days under heavy use, it's a miracle and consider yourself lucky. If we offer an extended warranty, customers will be under the false assumption that we will cover their controller from regular wear and tear. We consider heavy use of an XBOX 360 controller to be regular wear and tear and not a manufacturing defect, because the controllers just aren't designed for heavy use like this.
So a customer would buy this 12 month extended warranty thinking they are covered. And then at 11 1/2 months their thumbstick wears out and they write in telling us they want a thumbstick warranty repair, and we tell them the warranty doesn't actually cover wear and tear, and that the thumbstick replacement would be at their cost (which runs over $100 in most cases because it's a huge pain in the ass to completely uninstall the mod, uninstall triggers to access the thumbsticks, desolder the thumbsticks, replace them, re-install triggers, and then re-install the entire mod). 99 times out of 100 the customer in this scenario is going to be super pissed off. This warranty coverage is on par with other mod shops who also do not cover worn out thumbstick mechanisms in their base or extended warranties.
Thanks to the low quality controllers Microsoft and Sony are pumping out, extended warranties do nothing but line my pocketbook with extra profits. If you have a legitimate problem with the modchip, modchip installation, USB jack or tac switches coming loose we have performed plenty of free repairs even outside the warranty, so long as it's an obvious problem with our workmanship and the problem has not exacerbated by tinkering (trying to repair yourself) or getting frustrated with the broken part and damaging the controller further (ramming the usb jack into the controller in and out in frustration). We are a stricter on customers who notice the problem in the first few weeks, but decide to wait until 5 3/4 months expecting a new replacement and a renewed 6 month warranty.
It doesn't work that way. If you have a problem you need to send it in right away to get it addressed before it gets worse. Don't attempt to repair the problem yourself (you will only make it harder for our people to fix the problem and in some cases we will not honor your warranty because of this), don't wait until 1 week is left on your warranty (or worse, don't wait until after your warranty is expired and then complain to us when we won't do a free repair and you say "but I had the problem before"). Send it in as soon as possible so we can take care of the problem for you and prevent further damage from developing on your controller.
With XBOX One if these controllers prove to be of higher quality we will offer an extended warranty. We did offer an extended warranty to all Berserker pre-order customers (since it's a new product we felt it was important to give first time buyers of the new product extended coverage).
Hope my logic sounds o.k. to you guys, on my reasoning for not offering extended warranty until Sony and Microsoft can get the quality of their units improved. I don't want to set false expectations that the extended warranty would do any good, because at this point in time it won't, any extended warranty we offer would basically just cover the modchip and modchip installation (including jack, tac switches etc.) and historically we have always re-attached tac switches for free if you just pay shipping. USB jack problems are the same way, we have covered plenty of USB jack repairs for free outside of the base six-month warranty.
