Over the weekend, new Xbox One owners started posting scattered reports of problems with their consoles' disc drives, which were making loud grinding noises and refusing to play games on disc. Microsoft has now responded to these reports, telling IGN that the issue affects "a very small number of Xbox One customers."
"We’re working directly with those affected to get a replacement console to them as soon as possible through our advance exchange program," the Microsoft statement continued. "Rest assured, we are taking care of our customers."
Reports of faulty Microsoft console hardware, however limited, of course bring back memories of the infamous red ring of death issue that plagued a sizable proportion of early Xbox 360 units (and led to over $1 billion in warranty extensions for Microsoft). There's no reason yet to believe that the Xbox One's disc drive problems are nearly so widespread.
For its part, Sony said last week that "less than 0.4 percent of shipped PS4 units to date" had hardware issues. The company later amended that statement to say that less than 1 percent of shipped units were affected by problems, which was still "within the expected range for a new product introduction," according to the company.