I have a dead 360.....

[Wolfman Walt]

and that puts it at over 30%

It's a pretty good guess. Many people who estimated it put it around here, although with the new board it's probably slightly less. I say probably becuase my own personal experience leads me to believe that it's still just as high.

[Sirgin]

That's bullcrap, almost everyone on this site owns decade+ old systems that still run flawlessly. Yet the current generation 360 has a 30% failure rate and we're just supposed to accept it? No, it's shoddy workmanship, and that's that.

I didn't want to argue PS3 vs. 360 so much as I wanted to suggest we shouldn't take shoddy electronics laying down. What Rob suggests is true, sure, everything fails at some point; but from refrigerators to consoles nothing seems to last anymore.

I totally agree with Leon.

And while I'm at it, I'll pull another great quote of him out of the archives:

What a pitiful state our consoles are in. I could wear two NESs as shoes to work and still play SMB when I got home. But you get a modern dream machine for a billion dollars and it is pretty much a given that it's going to die within 6 months. These things will not hold up in the years to come.

I'm still delaying the purchase of a PS3 further and further away. Somehow I hope I'll get a more reliable model, the longer I wait. I can buy one at the end of the generation for like €200 and get all the good games cheap, anyway.
Meanwhile, with the tons of money saved on not buying new systems/games I can buy a lot more good games from the past that I don't have yet.

[Tan]

These things will not hold up in the years to come.

I'm just glad that a lot of my nostalgia and collection is geared towards simpler, cartridge based machines. Anything with a CD drive has an expiry date on it. I mean sure, the PS1 is my pride and joy, but I have several PS1's, several spare PS2's and my PS3 to play them on because I know these systems will die on me. Hopefully I'll be set for decades to come with all of my backups as I'm in this for the long term.

[Cobra]

Oh bugger off you two. Also, remember that all electronics will fail sometimes, but it is the company's job to make them fail LESS QUICKLY. So cut them all some slack, after all, they are the 2 most powerful home consoles to date.

That's bullcrap, almost everyone on this site owns decade+ old systems that still run flawlessly. Yet the current generation 360 has a 30% failure rate and we're just supposed to accept it? No, it's shoddy workmanship, and that's that.

Too true, I completely agree. I remember a time I didn't have to worry about the life expectancy of a system.

[Izret101]

Both systems have a had a huge downturn in failrure rates.
And of the two.
Sony has had every system crap out since they started. People have just come to expect it.

I want a system when it first comes out but i (almost)always wait a year or more so that all the bugs (hopefully) get worked out.
If everyone played it safe like i did the console wouldn't get revised and wouldn't be there for me to buy down the road.

So i appreciate everyone who buys systems shortly after they get released. Even if you are/feel like your just another percentage to the RROD

[Tondog]

Sony has had every system crap out since they started. People have just come to expect it.

Actually, from what I can tell, PS3 has been rock solid for the most part. I've heard very few instances of it dying.

[Izret101]

Sony has had every system crap out since they started. People have just come to expect it.

Actually, from what I can tell, PS3 has been rock solid for the most part. I've heard very few instances of it dying.

When it was first released out of the initial 10 we sold 8 came back defective.
PS1 died laser arm motor would burnout/lock up
PS2 died or DREd different color DVDs or CDs sheild and on DVD tray would fall off.
PSP ejected UMDs and the inner button would jame and thumbsticks fell off.
PS3 came DOA or died or in one instance lit on fire (walmart store display)

Xbox power cables shorted and were replaced(xbox put a prevention plan into effect replacing them for free), HDs died, DVD drives died(can't remember which ones i think the samsung)
360 RRoD

GCN reading laser burnouts(not very common)
Wii VERY small number arrived DOA (something wrong with the chips?) also one or more of the dloadable updates were recalled, after causing systems to lock up, fixed and rereleased.

DC same as GCN but i believe more common.

Those are the problems i have encountered first hand or have seen getting worked on in shops. PS2 issues being the most common GCN being the least.

Systems are just more complex then they were years ago so problems are more prevalent. As for wires shorting out that there is no excuse for in my mind though.

If carts were cheaper than CD/DVD based media everyone would still be using it. There is much less that can go wrong just because there are so many fewer moving parts.

[Tynstar]

...But I have 1 PS3 knowing it WON'T die

Because they have to be used in order to die.

[Wolfman Walt]

...But I have 1 PS3 knowing it WON'T die

Because they have to be used in order to die.

You should write for Leno.

When it was first released out of the initial 10 we sold 8 came back defective.

Anecdotal evidence does not an argument make as I can say the opposite in that within any given year of my store, I've only seen 1 come back defective. That has just as much weight. On the other hand, studies show less than 1% of Wii's and PS3's have a hardware failure.

Source 1
Source 2

[Tynstar]

I love fanboys

[Wolfman Walt]

I love fanboys

Biblically?

[Izret101]

@ Wolfman

I can agree with you on the anecdotal evidence i guess. But when possible i try to use personal experience. I worked at one of the top grossing stores in our region and one of the top 300-500 (depending on the week) out of nearly 2k stores nation wide.
I just don't see a store in your area bringing down the same kinds of sales figures.

Source one has figures varying between 30-61% on the 360 and says right in the article that the numbers are hardly scientific (do they mean factual)

Source 2 is Sony of Europe.
I don't know how well it did in Europe if their failure rate was comparable or what facts he had to back up his own statement. Plus seeing as he is the head of SCEE i don't think he wanted to smear his own product.

In all reality the arguments don't matter to me i've been lucky so far.
I have all but one of the systems mentioned and none of mine have died. (PS3)
My cuz has all but one of the systems mentioned with the same outcome.(360 there was one in his house but it was stolen.)

Neither of us have had trouble with anything other than the PS2. And i have 2 or 3 lying around somewhere so if need be i always have a backup.

Also Scott don't call me a fanboy. My allegence is with the games i like to play NOT the systems/manufacterers of said systems. I will have a PS3 its just a matter of time. Took me forever to get a 360 as it is.

[NES_Rules]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather have a console break in the first couple months I own it while it's still under warranty and it can be fixed at no cost to me. Rather than having it break in 5 years when it's hard to find a new replacement and it's not under any kind of warranty.

Also, something I feel should be added to this discussion, the 360 is cheap (and from what I understand easy) to fix. On any given day, there are ads on Craigslist for the repair for around $20 and I don't think a "professional" repair center charges much more. But what does the PS3 (or even the Wii) cost to repair? I never hear of 3rd parties repairing either system so it leads me to believe it's usually a complicated process which would cost more to fix.

So maybe it's better to have a console that will break and will cost $20-50 to fix than a system that may break and costs as much to fix as a new system.

[Tan]

In 2004 when I decided to buy a PS2, a local EB couldn't find a working one in their stock to sell me. First I ended up taking two dead ones home before they checked the rest of them after my second return. None of them worked reliably, we were there for like an hour. I finally just broke down and bought a new Slim model.

Over four years of heavy use later it still works perfectly. Meanwhile I've read so many testimonies of Slims being shitty machines over the years. Personal experience doesn't mean shit as a quotable average. If it did then the DS is as bad as any system I've ever seen. Both my DS and my wife's had to be replaced because of hardware problems. The one that she got as a replacement had dead pixels out of the box. Fortunately our screens never turned yellow nor did our hinges crack!

[Tan]

So maybe it's better to have a console that will break and will cost $20-50 to fix than a system that may break and costs as much to fix as a new system.

You know, I'm more paranoid about firmware bricking my systems than I am hardware failures. Just about every system with upgradeable firmware has had major problems. Every new update I wait a few days and see what the general consensus is before I update.