PS2s have automatic self-destruct??

[sezen0atacan]

Hello, after awhile of searching for faqs and reviews it seems that I am comming across more and more people who had their PS2 go haywire anywhere from after 6 months to 1 year of playing. Its also suspicious that warranty in most stores are about the same time too.

Have you had your PS2 for more than a year and its still healthy?? I only recently brought mines and I fear it is going to go down in less than a year after reading some horror stories on the net.

When I play, I usually play RPGs so solving some puzzles and stuff usually get me sitting playing for 6-8 hours straight. Is this too much stress for the PS2??

What is the meaning of this anyway? about newer consoles self-destructing on its own. I mean my SNES, Turbo-Duo, NES etc. is still working fine after 10+ years.

What are your recommendations for extending the life-span of a PS2. Or are they internally programed to self-destruct?

[Ryle]

Ive had my PS2 for about 3 years and it works great. In fact I use it to watch some movies of mine that are scratched that my dvd player wont play. I wouldnt worry too much about it most likely some Nintendo Fanbois posting lies. One thing if your not going to play your ps2 for awhile unplug it. might help who knows.

[Inochi 命]

Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen with anyone else.

I've had my original PS2 for 3 years and it messed up. DREs all the time. After a while it wouldn't even turn on anymore. So I was forced to buy a flat PS2. My fat one wasn't even a launch unit, I bought mine over a year after launch. I did leave it running for days a couple of times, but I've done worse with other systems and they've never messed up. I've smashed my NES like hell since 1990 and it still plays like a dream...

I've heard, even from Sony fans, that if you cut PS2's total sales world wide in half you'll get the true number of how many people own a PS2 because most people who've bought one have to buy another one down the road. For course, this is said probably jokingly but the truth is that many people feel Sony's products aren't quality when it comes to longevity compared to other consoles. Ironically, so far the PS3 seems to be the strongest system with the least amount of technical problems this generation, and it damn well better be with its price tag. I'd say so far the worst console in history (that has sold well) as far as longevity goes, would be the 360. The PS2's gotten a lot of common DRE talk among all kinds of gamers, but the majority of 360 owners I know have had a dead 360 at least three times over since launch.

About your PS2 going down in a year... It's probably possible but highly unlikely. Especially with the newer models, I suppose, they won't got down that easily, even with all the old talk about PS2s being weak.

[Falcom Director of Fanservice]

Damn, seriously Deuce? I have never heard the launch details of the 2600. Were the 2600's games priced like that, though?

Also: I've had a PS2 since...I dunno...since Wild ARMs 3 came out. It's not in tops condition anymore, but it's alive. I don't think they travel very well at all.

[Ryle]

inochi said:

Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen with anyone else.

I've had my original PS2 for 3 years and it messed up. DREs all the time. After a while it wouldn't even turn on anymore. So I was forced to buy a flat PS2. My fat one wasn't even a launch unit, I bought mine over a year after launch. I did leave it running for days a couple of times, but I've done worse with other systems and they've never messed up. I've smashed my NES like hell since 1990 and it still plays like a dream...

I've heard, even from Sony fans, that if you cut PS2's total sales world wide in half you'll get the true number of how many people own a PS2 because most people who've bought one have to buy another one down the road. For course, this is said probably jokingly but the truth is that many people feel Sony's products aren't quality when it comes to longevity compared to other consoles. Ironically, so far the PS3 seems to be the strongest system with the least amount of technical problems this generation, and it damn well better be with its price tag. I'd say so far the worst console in history (that has sold well) as far as longevity goes, would be the 360. The PS2's gotten a lot of common DRE talk among all kinds of gamers, but the majority of 360 owners I know have had a dead 360 at least three times over since launch.

About your PS2 going down in a year... It's probably possible but highly unlikely. Especially with the newer models, I suppose, they won't got down that easily, even with all the old talk about PS2s being weak.

Im not saying it doesnt happen, but Deuce pretty much sumed it up. Also it wouldnt suprise me if most of those people were modding thier ps2 and mucked them up somehow. Personally i think the PS2 is a great system overall. Especially for playing DVDs as it will play DVDs that are even cracked were as my dvd player wont

[Inochi 命]

I've seen the charts on console prices and inflation and all that a long while back, but that doesn't change the fact that today the majority of consumers consider $599 to be too expensive for a console. Different perspectives can be used to justify or not justify just about anything. Every analyst's answer is the same when it comes to why the PS3 isn't selling as well as predicted and that's price.

And it's not just with the NES, but generally I find more people consider the PS2 to be the most problematic of the last generation consoles. But I know that message boarders are a minority of PS2 owners. Still, the only console I've seen people complain about more is the 360 (and by a large margin at that). But yeah, sezen, the statement in your title is quite far fetched even if it's figuratively speaking.

and I really don't have much against the PS2, although I did find the PSX better. The games is all that really matters to me in the end. But this is about hardware and I never modded my fat PS2 or anything yet it's the only console that's broken down on me. My PSX from 98 was modded and I got a lot more game out of it, it still works today. That's my personal experiance with it.

[CrazyJo82]

mine is ver10 and probably have it for over 3 years now... but i'm not a heavy user and i have no modchip... just a HDD...

i tend to think the console breakdown because of heavy use and player abuse...

[macirex]

crazyjo82 said:

i tend to think the console breakdown because of heavy use and player abuse...

You are quite right... mine broke because it fall down when i accidentally pulled the control to hard... hehe... anyway many players abuse their consoles, no wonder they crack down after a year

[Inochi 命]

Most core gamers who want a PS3, from my experiance, seem to be not getting a PS3 for reasons beyond price: a system selling game. The PS3 has a couple of huge games for certain people, but Sony has yet to release a good, strong game with wide spread appeal in any region (like MGS4 and FFXIII, and others who are losing their exclusivity to 360 now: GTA4 being the absolute biggest). Resistance wasn't strong enough to do it in the west, but it did what it could. Virtua Fighter 5 may be a great game, but it appeals to what is more of a niche group these days (yes, even 3D fighters are struggling to keep Fighters afloat these days). Gundam Musou, while highly anticipated in Japan, still wasn't strong enough to make a landmark in system sales. Still, all these games did their part and did get some systems off shelves. Why they could have done better but didn't is the next thing:

It's the majority of gamers, the casuals (the guys who brought the PS2's units sold to it's current number), who are looking at price tags before anything else. Even if they want a game for it, the over all price is keeping them from it. They don't look into what you get for your buck, they just see a video game console, not a "center of the living room entertainment center", like Sony is trying so hard to promote. They made these flimsy signs to put outside major outlets in the UK before its launch there explaining why the PS3 is worth the price, complete with a great abundance of exclamations marks, as well as made signs saying something to the effect of "BUY THE SONY BLU RAY PLAYER/game system for only £425", which a few people actually took as an act of desperation (I don't know about casuals, but it was taken as a joke around the internet). Right now people aren't looking for BluRay players, they see three consoles that play video games and the other two are allowing them to play it for much cheaper. The past doesn't matter, who cares about inflation? it's all about the present and casuals don't do their research, the price is high for a console today and the majority says "no way". Things will only change once Sony lowers the price to something that can compete with it's rivals, or once consumers see more of the selling points of the PS3 as things they can really gain something from.

And if you think about it, the majority of people (especially in the UK), still don't have what it takes to take full advantage of a PS3. They need HD televisions with 1080p and all that jazz. So many see it as more than just the $599 US. Those signs outside of UK outlets made a mistake in how highly they emphasized the HD aspects, although it did probably help catch the tech savvy consumers.

I see nothing silly going on over here. I personally find the PS3 to be on the expensive side as well as I don't care for the majority of the extra features on the PS3. But if a game (or preferably, more than just one) comes out for it that I want badly enough (which has yet to happen with the PSP as well), I can definitely see myself saving up for it even at its current price. Same thing happened with the PSX and PS2, now I'm waiting to see if PS3 can bait me the same way. But it'll take more from the PS3 than it did with it's predecessors to woo me this time.

EDIT: before I get attacked for it, yes those UK signs (or at least, the majority of them?) were an act of desperation by those gaming outlets and Sony had asked for them to be removed.

[Inochi 命]

I have heard about heat issues, but that it's not as bad as 360's (noise-wise too). And soon after launch I read about kiosk units getting bricked, that's about it. I think it was proven that PS3 is the most durable of this gen's consoles, though, so I may have gotten confused with that when I said PS3 is the least problematic console this gen.

[Inochi 命]

I don't know a single soul online or offline who owns a PS3, so I can't speak for myself nor no one else

[Falcom Director of Fanservice]

Of course, I whine about gas and console prices becaue 600$; hell, 300$, is a major, major investiment for me and pretty much anyone in my family. You gotta remember, not all gamers are on the happy side of the poverty line.

[CrazyJo82]

£425 for ps3 in UK?!?!?! that's almost $1000CAD for the damn thing...

Is there a ps3 game that is worth buying? I dont think ONE game would make me buy a ps3... maybe at least 5 games...

Don't get me started on gas prices...

[CrazyJo82]

currently over $1/L... if the avg car has 55L for the tank... I'd say it's about $47USD... sorry, dunno you gallon thing

the station outside my house is sitting at $1.043/L

[Inochi 命]

Yeah, but when I visited england we barely ever drove anywhere. We took the London Underground to get to London and then walked everywhere, no hassle. I was actually happy we didn't have to take a car everywhere. I mean, you have to pay even more just to get your car into London, right? Other means of transportation over there are 10 times better than here in Canada, but a car makes more sense here because almost nothing is usually walking distance around here. I'm guessing Japan, being so small, is probably like UK in that sense too. So other factors probably come into play when you're looking at gas prices of different countries.

but the gas prices here seem to be trying to stay under the dollar at the moment, last I saw, at least for now.

[Stan]

Given how obnoxious we Americans can be about gas prices, I don't think the Canadian price of $1/L is very much at all higher than U.S. prices. Converting to gallons and USD, that price is only 50 cents above the current national average.

But I whole-heartedly agree that we have been spoiled with console prices. If I recall correctly (which I probably don't, given my younger age), when our family upgraded from the TG-16 to the Duo, it cost around $200 or $300. That was some time ago. While production costs have been greatly reduced, there is a lot more R&D going into the current next-gen consoles. It would be foolish to expect similar prices on a weaker dollar. But the customer is always right, isn't he?

[CrazyJo82]

hahaha, Inochi's right... transit system in the Greater Toronto Area is HORRIBLE!

drakono... that 50¢ is a HUGE difference... at least $5 diff each fillup!

hey, what happened to ps2 self destruct topic? lol

[Stan]

Well, yeah , the difference whould be big to most people, particularly in America where many are spoiled. But these days, the price fluctuates more than that amount by season, or even within a month if there's a holiday. I'm not saying people wouldn't notice the difference, but given how addicted America is to oil, how much we would go through to keep the price low, that amount is very small.

Back on topic, I've only owned a PS2 for about 9 months. I am definitely a late adapter. I only recently have become what you might call "financially stable" to any degree. But it's been fine. I have, however, had a college roommate who had to replace his unit because the laser failed. I don't know how old it was, though. But I'm on Deuce's side. It's ridiculous to extrapolate a few stories into a global trend, or even to compare the PS2's reliability to that of a Super Nintendo. Moving parts = more failures. Maybe the rate of failure is higher than it should be to pass six sigma (and it likely is), but I just don't have any data on that. I doubt anyone does, even Sony. And many failures can rightly be attributed to user abuse.

[Stan]

Yes. I attend Virginia Tech, and during breaks stay at my parents' place in Manassas. Though, I won't be there much anymore. I'm staying at school this summer to try to finish my MS, and then I'll move to Columbia, MD for work.

[SkyeWelse]

I'm on my third PS2 and it is making the same odd noises the first two made before the end.

-SkyeWelse