Tonight’s edition of the BBC’s Watchdog program has aired a report on the PlayStation 3′s alleged lack of reliability. Watchdog apparently received 155 complaints from viewers about the console, leading to tonight’s investigation into the so-called “yellow light of death.”

News of the impending broadcast came out earlier today, prompting Sony to release an impassioned press release, denying Watchdog‘s claims that Sony “refuses to fix” consoles that suffer from the dreaded yellow light. In a lengthy retort (the full version of which can be read here), Sony UK boss Ray Maguire harrumphed:

“From the correspondence to date, I have serious concerns as to the accuracy of these allegations and the likely tone of the Watchdog report. [...] The information that you have provided suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of the technical issues and a mis-characterisation of SCEUK’s Out of Warranty repairs policy.”

Well, the program aired just a couple of hours ago (those in the UK can view the full programme here), and while Sony has yet to respond, its earlier statement contained an ominous message for the BBC:

“If the report is broadcast in what appears to be its current form, SCEUK will scrutinise its accuracy and will take all necessary steps to protect its reputation and that of the PS3.”

Having seen the show myself, I’d suggest Sony actually has a case here. The Watchdog report lacked credibility in my view, drawing conclusions based on very small samples of users.

Furthermore, a stunt on the show (in which Watchdog offered to repair PS3s for free outside Sony’s HQ, to show up Sony charging £128 per repair) backfired spectacularly, with four of the eleven systems no longer working after Watchdog‘s technicians had fiddled with them. Oops. I can hear Sony’s lawyers cracking their knuckles from here.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

BBC broadcasts ‘PS3 failure’ report, Sony not happy is a post from: The Inquisitr

Love them or hate them, Nintendo has historically built consoles that last. My SNES is still going strong, and I’ve lost count of the number of knocks taken by my poor DS Lite. Like a spurned, abused lover, it keeps coming back for more.

Hence, warranty provider SquareTrade’s new study hasn’t surprised me in the least. According to the report, imaginatively titled “Game Console Failure Rates,” the Wii is the most reliable current-gen home console out there, beating Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. SquareTrade used a sample of over 16,000 new consoles covered under its warranties for the study.

The Wii came out especially well, proving to be nine times more reliable than the 360, and four times as reliable as the PS3. This kind of chimes with my personal experience. While this is only anecdotal, I lost two – TWO! – Xbox 360s in one night earlier this week. My Wii – though admittedly less used – simply soldiers on.

Anyway, here’s a man from SquareTrade, saying some words:

“Of the three major 7th generation game consoles, we can safely say that the Wii is the most reliable system on the market, with just one-fourth the malfunctions of the PS3 and Xbox 360. Even when adjusted for the lower rate of usage, the Wii leads the pack by a comfortable margin.

“Our study also found the Xbox 360 to have the highest rate of failure by far, largely due to the Red Ring of Death. While our data indicates that RROD continued to persist as a major problem through 2008, it showed signs of finally abating with the introduction of the latest Jasper chipset in late 2008.”

[Via Edge]

Wii the most reliable console, according to new study is a post from: The Inquisitr