I may be doing this under strong emotion, but it’s valid nevertheless. I have a question: raise your hand if your Playstation 3, Xbox 360 or Wii has died? I can be quite sure a vast majority have your hand raised as we all know this is a large issue these days; however, not as bad as earlier this generation. Another question: how many of your Playstation 2’s, Xbox’s or purple green lunchboxes (Gamecube) died. I cannot raise my hand. My Playstation 2, which I purchased second hand is running fine after a year of use. My Gamecube has been running without a hitch ever since launch, yet I’ve gone through two Playstation 3’s and waiting for my third.
I have not owned an Xbox 360, but we all know its reputation of the infamous RRoD (red rings of death/doom); however, it seems the YLoD (yellow lights of death/doom) may possibly be just as bad. I personally am quite fortunate that I did foresee something like this coming and purchased a five-year extended warranty for my PS3, so I do not need to pay for my repairs. The fact that I have to wait a couple of weeks while having the possibly of losing all my saves and games which I downloaded from other peoples account still remains.
Another thought, the standard warranty is only a year for the Playstation, which really isn’t long. If you pay your hard earned cash on a system, it really should last you for a good five years and at least should assure you that it has a fair amount of gametime in it. I certainly did not fear of any breakage while playing my PS1 or PS2; it did not even cross my mind. One strong piece of advice, if you are buying a PS3/360 buy an extended warranty and don’t buy a second hand console without warranty, you are only asking for trouble. I really do think it’s sad that it has come to this. I personally do not know how it got to this, whether it’s cutting costs during manufacturing or pure design flaw. I may have to try my chances with a slim. Gamers should not need to use the towel trick or soldering the inside of a Playstation. Chances are that those consoles are only waiting to break down in the near future anyhow. I just have hopes that next generation focuses on reliability and does not frustrate consumers.
Let me know any of your experiences with consoles breaking or your opinion on the subject.