Electronic warranties firm SquareTrade reckon the failure rate for the console is 16.4%.

1UP.com report that this figure is based on a survey of 1,000 consoles, while samples selections of several hundred put the respective and failure rates at 3%.

The 360's heat-related 'issues' look to set to climb as the console ages, according to SquareTrade boss Steve Abernethy.

"It is reasonable to believe these failure rates will increase over time, since the Xbox 360 failure tend to increase with prolonged use where overheating appears the main culprit," he offered.

The "red ring of death" was estimated to be to blame for 60% of the failures noted.

Responding to these problems, last year extended Xbox 360 warranties to three years, admitting that problems were "unacceptable".

More on this soon.

By Luke Guttridge