A Jinx to the Past

On 04/11/2013 at 12:20 PM by Raised_on_Nintendo

Predicting the durability of future consoles by examining where they've been.

With Nintendo's Wii U already available, and respective models from Microsoft and Sony soon upon us, the next gen of consoles is slowly drudging its way into the present. As such, buzz phrases like "always online", "console exclusivity", "cloud streaming" and "all-inclusive multimedia" are making their rounds, stoking heated discussion, sometimes resulting in hefty repercussions.

The murky video games retail model has people worried. Heck, I'll admit I'm worried. I'm an econo-gamer. I do purchase some games new, but depend on the used market to help stretch my dollars. What else has me worried, though, hasn't been mentioned much at all, at least that I've seen.

Durability. Aren't we still in the generation that gave us the RROD? Arguably the most damaging defect to reach such a wide swath of gamers en masse, many folks were displeased with how quickly their console deteriorated, in many cases within less than a year. The cases may have spiked and tailed off a few years ago, but that might as well be yesterday when measured within the context of the ongoing progression of game consoles, spanning almost a half-century. This was a serious botch on Microsoft's part which screwed many consumers, including myself.

The Wii U hasn't necessarily blown our pants off, either. It's actually done the opposite, sucking our pants in, riddled with slow bootups, and random unplug-the-power-brick-because-the-console-won't-shut-off bugs. Nintendo promises a solution in future updates, but really, I haven't even gotten to try the TVii feature because it won't work for me at all.

While designing this blog in my head, I came to realize that most launch-day loyalists who stick with their system from beginning to end usually wind up replacing a broken launch model partway through the cycle. I can personally attest to this. In turn, I went back and evaluated each console I've owned based solely on the merits of its launch model's durability. I've owned most popular systems over the years, not all, so a few consoles won't appear in this list. Also, the likes of Sega no longer makes consoles, but I included some anyway.

List of Consoles

Aboboisdaman

04/11/2013 at 12:27 PM

Nes games can be cleaned easily enough. I wouldn't say the original PS3 was reliable. I'm on my second PS3. I paid $600 for the first one. It lasted about 2 years. If this one breaks I'm not buying another. If there's always online DRM bullcrap in the new systems than I'll just be skipping next gen.

Raised_on_Nintendo

04/11/2013 at 12:49 PM

Thanks for the info. I bought a PS3 in 2010, so it's pretty solid. My friends and I tried to salvage dying NES sytems and games, and we could for awhile, but some were too much hastle to keep trying. I hate to knock on an NES, but the blinking light of death was just a pain. I liked the loading system, although it's partly responsible for the trouble.

04/11/2013 at 12:57 PM

I'm sorry if the tone of my comment was overtly negative. I do have a NES and sometimes the light blinks. You can replace the 72 PIN, but it is a hassle doing that. Taking NES games apart and cleaning the contacts is easy though. Most of the time I play NES and SNES games through a clone system. I don't know about the PS3 Slim, but so far so good. I guess electronics are prone to failure sometimes. Hopefully these new systems won't suffer the same fate.

04/11/2013 at 01:33 PM

Don't worry, the blog has a negative tone, actually. This is all based on my experience, which I admit is my own. I did change the PS3 verdict, though, after reading a couple comments.

bullet656

I had serious issues getting any NES games to play towards the end. The blowing method would no longer work, but I could sometimes get games to work by wedging a wooden block in the slot so that it mashed the game down as far as it would go. My SNES, N64, gamecube, and Wii all worked well up until the moment I unplugged them for the last time. My PSX and PS2 both quit reading games after several years.

I'm currently on my 2nd playstation 3. My day 1 $600 one lasted a few years but eventually saw the blinking light of death. The hard drive of the one I currently own started dying after a little over a year and I had to replace it, but I can't really say if that's playstations fault or not.

In the two or so weeks that I played my Wii U I was scared I was going to kill it with the amount of times I had to unplug it to shut it off. Hopefully by the time they actually come out with another game I want to play (the thing has already collected alot of dust) they'll have that problem fixed.

04/11/2013 at 12:53 PM

Hmmm, seems like I missed the mark on the PS3. It was hard to be objective with that, because I've had no issues so far.

edit - the image was updated to reflect PS3 feedback, and to fix a couple typos.

BrokenH

04/11/2013 at 01:04 PM

I actually had no problems with the playstation 1, playstation 2, snes, or nes. The only system I had to send back for maintenance was my 360. In its' defense it's run like a champ since then.

transmet2033

04/11/2013 at 01:55 PM

I got my ps3 the year after it was released. So, when the ps2 compatability was stripped from the console. It lasted just over 4 years, then that damn yellow light came on...

My controller port on my ps2 broke, but i was able to swap it out from a broken model my brother found. Unless I am mistekn, it still works.

I believe that my psone is still alive and kicking. I do not remember when I got it though.

Super Step Contributing Writer

04/11/2013 at 05:31 PM

I don't recall us ever having problems with the NES or SNES that blowing didn't fix, can't remember for PSX, and disc-read errors were very common for PS2, but could usually be solved. Usually. There were A LOT of disc-read errors.

As for N64 and Gamecube, my controllers aren't the best, but the GCN itself runs fine (it's a launch model), but my N64 glitches out randomly, and is not a launch model, having received it in December '97. In its defense, though, that glitching only came into play a couple weeks ago, might just be a problem with pins, and I played it earlier this year for a long period of time, no problem, so it's lasted pretty damn long, regardless.

But RROD is the main reason I no longer adopt consoles early, and I won't be starting again this next generation.

04/11/2013 at 10:50 PM

I appreciate the feedback. The PS3 verdict was changed to rejected after reading the responses from people who owned one. The original wording of that paragraph admitted that I didn't have experience with launch day models, and I figured they didn't fair to well, but to be honest, PS3 wasn't on my radar until I bought one in '10, the very same week their whole security breech scandal went down (not a nice introduction to a new console, having to wait a few weeks to play online).

Also, while console revisions were usually more durable and longer lasting, this list covers the launch day variety, and isn't intended to reflect their respective brand's longterm sales performance.

04/13/2013 at 11:09 PM

It's true, I didn't get my PS2 until there was already an extensive library for it. I bit it had its' "launch jitters" too!

smartcelt

04/11/2013 at 11:44 PM

These were all right on the money. I had those problems with those very consoles. However,I did have a launch day PS3 that only died 3 months ago. Definitely got my $600 out of it. I've had a PS1,PS2,and an XBOX die on me as well. But my Nintendo systems are champs. Still have my original Gamecube. I have one of the newer Wii's and it is going strong. Never had a single problem with any Nintendo handheld either.

Coolsetzer

04/12/2013 at 01:46 AM

Never had much of a problem with the Nintendo consoles. The Sony ones definitely stop reading discs after a few years. The first XBox was alright for me, but the 360 is the most cheaply made console I've ever seen. I hope that next generation they can treat their customers better.

PixlBit