The PS3 and the 'Yellow Light of Death'

[Kilo24]

I'm sure someone here has a broken NES. I know I've got 3 that all work fine, but someone here HAS to have a broken one. *Eyes his Atari* Oh hai...you work too.

Well, my NES doesn't catch the cartridges when you push them down, so I have to use the Game Genie.
I've had two consecutive bad copies of Mario Party 5 and one of Ico, but no other console problems than that. Heck, even the SNES I picked up quite a few years ago for $5 without any games for it actually works. No current gen consoles however.

I would say that they just don't make them like they used to, but I do have to put a good bit of blame on Microsoft's QA department for the RROD. The online aspect to current gen consoles also complicates the issues quite a bit, especially with firmware updates.

 

[theultimateend]

I'm sure someone here has a broken NES. I know I've got 3 that all work fine, but someone here HAS to have a broken one. *Eyes his Atari* Oh hai...you work too.

Well, my NES doesn't catch the cartridges when you push them down, so I have to use the Game Genie.
I've had two consecutive bad copies of Mario Party 5 and one of Ico, but no other console problems than that. Heck, even the SNES I picked up quite a few years ago for $5 without any games for it actually works. No current gen consoles however.

I would say that they just don't make them like they used to, but I do have to put a good bit of blame on Microsoft's QA department for the RROD. The online aspect to current gen consoles also complicates the issues quite a bit, especially with firmware updates.

As technology gets more advanced and integrated more parts have to work flawlessly or fail miserably.

I'd say in the gaming world we have run far in front of our comfortable understanding of the technology. As long as consumers buy the "uber leet" they'll keep seeing high levels of utter defeat.

I tried to make it rhyme a bit for effect, hopefully it held.

 

[TPiddy]

TPiddy your arguments always consist of subjective nonsense - you are just another xbox fanboy who dismisses logical thought for Sony bashing. Hopefully your stay here won't be too long.
Fact is, the 360 technicians admitted it was released a year earlier than it should have been.
Fact is, the 360's failure rate is far, far higher than that of the PS3.
Fact is, if the PS3 hardware fails, BY LAW, the retailer have to replace it as long as you can show you haven't been smashing it against walls etc (This applies to the UK's Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994).

Oh and to add to s69's comments, out of the 3 360 owners I know, one has not had his break, one has had his break twice (GPU broke and RROD), and the third is on his fourth.
Out of the 6 PS3 owners I know, none have had theirs have any hardware problems.
And you think this can just be dismissed?
Naive no?

I've never once said that 360 wasn't released to early for it's own good or that RROD was not a big problem for them. I've never said that the 360's failure rate is nothing but way higher than PS3.

I have never argued AGAINST 360's hardware problems. They are well documented and thrown in my face on a regular basis.

My argument here has been twofold. The first, original argument was that Microsoft has owned up to it's problem and is now providing 3 year warranties on everything related to RROD or E74 and the new Elites have acceptable failure rates (on par with PS3), whereas the OP's article seemed to point to Sony not wanting to own up to a potential problem of it's own. Whether you feel they should or not is a matter of opinion and is really what this whole thread has been about. Not once have I ever implied that this makes the PS3's hardware anywhere near as bad as 360's.

My second argument was against all the PS3 fanboys who tout the "54%" failure rate survey as though it were a hard fact, when it is simply an opinion. How can you even quote this number when many of the people surveyed had never owned 360's to begin with?

The FACT that the 360 has hardware problems has not stopped it from being more popular than the PS3. It never stopped me from buying one and it didn't stop me from upgrading to an Elite.

And yes, whether it's you, s69-5 or any other PS3 fanboy that's out there, you can quote how many 'friends' you have with 360's that broke and 'friends' you have with PS3's that didn't break all you want. I really don't give a fuck whose system broke and whose did not, it can easily be dismissed for exactly what it is, a useless statistic that will not influence anyone's opinion on the systems in any way.

My argument has, and always will be.... "The PS3 has better hardware and more features but I don't like the games that come out on it so I bought a 360". I'm not sure why you feel the need to convince me otherwise like you're some kind of Sony religious zealot.

 

[KAPTAINmORGANnWo4life]

Any piece of technology can fail, the X-Box just got a lot of bad publicity about their failures. My 360 is an Original Elite (or whatever the really expensive one is) and not only has it not died, but games like Oblivion and Mass Effect chug a lot less now than when I got them (which when you think about it makes no sense, but it's true!).

Now Cartridge-based games, they were the ones who deserved shit. Especially the front-loaded NES. They had a similar fail-rate AND the cartridges didn't always work.

 

[TPiddy]

Can I please see your source for the elites failure rate being on par with the PS3?
The last source I saw said the failure rate in the first year was significantly down. But that was where the chart stopped....
How can people quote 54%? Try:
Because MS did not deny this figure when it was presented to them.
Surely, if ythe figure was way off, MS would have provided their own figures.

And I'm not a PS3 fanboy - I just understand electronics, quality, and when I'm being had by marketing spiel.
I'm not a "Sony zealot". I'd just like to think that when I'm in business, that there is hope for your generation which seems so happy to through logic to the wind, to fill some kind of emotional (?) void.

Surely, MS does not respond to everyone talking shit about them. No companies release their failure rates. Where's Sony's failure rate? Quit talking shit you know nothing about. Do you honestly expect MS to say "No, it's only 30%"? Like that's going to help the situation? God you're dumb.

Nobody will ever have solid numbers on failure rates and it doesn't matter anyhow. Quote whatever failure rates you wish. I had a feeling that you would be into tech porn as most PS3 owners are... more interested in the hardware than the games that come out for it.

What I will regularly criticize Sony for is that they should KNOW better than that. They didn't have the best hardware in the previous two generations and yet they still won the console wars of the previous two generations. Nintendo gets that and so does XBox, but Sony somehow got caught up in selling Blu-Rays instead of making good games.

You remember that little thing called fun? That's what playing games is supposedly about. And I am not going to apologize for having more fun playing as Master Chief than as Sackboy.

 

[TPiddy]

And I'm not a PS3 fanboy - I just understand electronics, quality, and when I'm being had by marketing spiel.
I'm not a "Sony zealot". I'd just like to think that when I'm in business, that there is hope for your generation which seems so happy to through logic to the wind, to fill some kind of emotional (?) void.

Hey Matzy, there's no use arguing with TPiddy as he's just a stubborn fanboy. He likes to call people who disagree with him fanboys (though he tends to be the one to ignore valid points, use name-calling and hyperbole in his arguments [fanboyish behaviour]), so its best to just leave him be. For a more logical and balanced view, see Nieroshai's posts.

**Flameshield activated**

When you make a valid point.... I will concede it... until then...

I freely admit to being a 360 fanboy but at least I can give Sony credit where credit is due.

 

[TheBarefootBandit]

Touch wood this doesn't happen to us.

 

[TPiddy]

*sigh*
Showing your lack of knowledge again? Or just more type happy to say I know "shit"?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.133001?page=1

Just, I don't know, turn off the internet in your house, please?
You seem to know literally nothing about what you are on about, yet are so eager to hurl insults.
Blu-rays = bigger format. Look at Star Oceans. If you knew what you were on about, you'd know that devs hate using multiple DVD's as this dramatically puts up production cost. Therefore, one bluray VS multi-dvds is not just in the lazy gamers interest of not having to swap disc, but also their wallets, and everyone who has been involved in making the game, as one disc means more profit.
Don't bring into this argument the absurd notion of trying to compare how fun a game is, unless you want to score points for subjectivity...

Ok, wait... you're saying that since you posted a link to an article where Microsoft does not release it's failure rates is saying you know "shit"? It actually proves my point. If you knew anything other than what you read on the internet you would realize that no company ever releases their failure rates or percentage of customer service calls or any kind of official QA data. It's just bad business practice. Not knowing this means you know "shit" about how the real world works and you only quote from unreliable sources or distort views to support your argument.

It still does not change the FACT that the "54%" figure comes from a SURVEY of 5000 subscribers of a MAGAZINE who didn't even have to own a 360 to participate in the SURVEY. 5000 is a very small sample size considering 360 is over 34 million in sales at this point. Quoting that number as FACT just makes you a naive fanboy.

It is a completely meaningless statistic that is all too often used as flame war fuel, as this thread has clearly proven. How about you go spread your 360 hatred elsewhere.

 

[SnipErlite]

I also laughed at the PlayStation Repair Action Team (P.R.A.T.). That's some brilliant piece of acronym choosing.

That is actually hilarious

Yeah I haven't had a problem with my PS3 since launch day, except for some hard drive error that sorted itself out when I switched it off/on.

I dread the yellow light of Death, though

 

[TPiddy]

I'll pretend I didn't read that mindless drivel you pretend is a valid argument.
MS were presented the figure of 54%.
If this was an over exaggeration, how the hell would it have been bad practice to say so? Seriously? How did you manage to work that one out?
Mate, you are the naive fanboy/TROLL, and you know it. Please, stay on gamespot or youtube where your lack of logic is more than welcome.

Ok, so because somebody told Microsoft about the survey and Microsoft chose not to respond that makes it valid? How many times has someone said "no comment" in the media. Microsoft took the high road and chose not to acknowledge the bush-league survey. If the data had come from, oh I don't know an actual REPAIR CENTER for 360's MAYBE it would be relevant enough for Microsoft to comment on.

Microsoft knew it was meaningless shit, in fact, almost everyone save for a few PS3 fanboys knows that it's meaningless shit. I would have thought that you, someone who loves to hide behind / abuse / quote facts, would realize that this is not a fact, nor is it even accurate.

I think you do know that, but since it supports your argument you just use it anyways. You take whatever you can get to help you in your little flame wars regardless of the credibility, which in turn ruins your own.

 

[axia777]

I've never even heard of this happening to anyone. Frankly, I think it was just people trying to find the RRoD equivalent for PS3. Frankly, from what I've heard, it's rare and not a big deal

Yup. But this thread has devolved into a fanboy flame war. Exit stage left.....

 

[Megacherv]

I wonder how many PS3's break after warranty or just as the warranty expires. I read somewhere that most Sony products seem to meet a demise just after the coveted warranty expires but is that true?.

I also laughed at the PlayStation Repair Action Team (P.R.A.T.). That's some brilliant piece of acronym choosing.

Nope, mine works fine and dandy.

Well yes, yours would work but you are hardly the entire Sony demographic now are you. There is a term used in Japan for when something breaks just after a warranty, it's called Sony-something I can't remember. At least that tells me that it's a problem that is wide enough to have it's own slang term

No, it's a whole cultural joke about appliances going haywire and breaking the second the warrnties expire. Even Chuck whats-his-face did a Garfield strip about it. The Sony part of the name probably comes from Sony all of the Sony electronics departments. They could've just happened to pick Sony, they could've picked Toshiba, or Panasonic.

The point is that so far the only apparent fuck-ups are from the original 20GB and 60GB models, which were known to have iffy hardware anyway. My PS3 has survived the 2.40 update, the 3.00 update, and even the HDD Restore error when installing a new HDD. It's still going strong. The fact that this is reported to just about 0.5% of consoles shows that it's not really a big deal at all, with it actually being above the average success rate. Compared to the unfortunate 360 failure rate of 54.2%, it's nothing. I'm just glad that Microsoft have such a fantastic customer service so that mine gets repaired-like-new/replaced since it was still under warranty when I bought it off of my friend.