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Sony PSP Defects Reported

Posted by Zonk on from the psp-means-please-send-parts? dept.

Among many to report on this issue, OneHungLo writes "GamesAreFun.com is reporting that several defective PSP units have been shipped, suffering from problems such as dead pixels, broken UMD drives, air bubbles in the screens, dust in the screens, and the analog "nubs" not working, or actually falling off. They also have a video of a UMD popping out of the PSP as it's running, due to the unit being twisted/turned. I wonder how long it will be until Sony issues an official statement about this?"

22 of 439 comments (clear)

  1. Playstation 2 by damicatz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Didn't the new Playstation 2 also have defects?

    1. Re:Playstation 2 by mordors9 · · Score: 3, Informative

      We had a problem with our PS2. I have to give Sony credit. They had us ship the old one to them and had it repaired and back to us in a matter of weeks. They were very courteous on the phone and made everything easy for us.

    2. Re:Playstation 2 by SoCalChris · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That sounds pretty lousy to me.

      They should have shipped you a new one right away, and had you ship in your old one. They could even take a hold on your credit card for the new one until your old one was received.

      To me, not being able to use a brand new item for weeks is totally unacceptable.

    3. Re:Playstation 2 by Jimmy+The+Leper · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You shouldn't give sony credit for that... A good response for sony would have been to over-night you a box to ship it back in. Then, as soon as they get word of it hitting the tracking system, over-night you a new replacement.

      That's what apple did when my iPod died. What you describe is barely acceptable support.

      --
      -You're only as clean as your towel.
    4. Re:Playstation 2 by SetupWeasel · · Score: 3, Interesting

      A DS was fixed in 4 days.

      Nintendo payed for shipping, and the man sent it out on November 29, just 8 days after release.

      This kind of service you get with Nintendo for one dead pixel.

  2. Isn't it about time by antifoidulus · · Score: 4, Funny

    That slashdot gets a psp icon? Kind of strange having the ps2 controller and the gameboy represent the psp....

    --
    Monstar L
  3. Sony Quality? by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sony use to be known for the quality of their products. With mistakes like this and running to save costs will hurt them in the long run. After a while I will rather get my Sorney or a Genuine Penophonix version which has better quality.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  4. Ouch, my nubs! by Tackhead · · Score: 4, Funny
    > and the analog "nubs" not working, or actually falling off.

    I hate when that happens. So much for the nipple being the only natural interface.

  5. Stop the presses! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Version 1.0 of product xxx has problems!

  6. Aren't most 1st gen portable products similar? by francisew · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Isn't buying a 1st gen. protable electronics device just begging for this kind of trouble?
    Why poeple buy bleeding edge products is beyond me.

    1. Re:Aren't most 1st gen portable products similar? by badasscat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Isn't buying a 1st gen. protable electronics device just begging for this kind of trouble?
      Why poeple buy bleeding edge products is beyond me.

      I don't understand this mentality. Why would buying a product that's presumably been tested and deemed ready for the marketplace be "begging for trouble", whatever "generation" it is?

      In fact, going back through history you can find just as many examples where the first generation of something is built significantly better than the later generations. The Atari VCS, for example; the early models had 1/4" thick plastic and actual metal armor plating on the bottom of the casing - later models had much thinner plastic and no armor plating, they were much more prone to cracking.

      I don't see why portables need to be any different. Companies build products, they market test them, and then they put them out there. The public is not a bunch of beta testers; they're supposed to be building in certain tolerances and you would hope that if they're going to err, they'll err on the side of caution (as Atari did with the early VCS).

      I guess my point is twofold:

      a) Our expectations for "first generation" products these days are too low, and
      b) I think it's just as likely as not that later generation models will be worse as it is that they'll be better. You can't just look at the PS2 and Xbox as representative as the entire history of home and portable electronics; many devices do become less reliable as their production costs are cut back to save money down the line.

      I have no idea if these PSP defects are widespread or if they're isolated incidents. There does seem to be a pattern, though, that suggests that in general, the PSP's build quality is probably not quite as good as many had expected, and I doubt that's ever going to change. Sony does not really have a history of redesigning products to be tougher. If there's an actual defect in the laser mechanism or something like that, then yes, they may do a minor redesign to correct errors (as they did with the PS2), but build quality is a different issue. They're not going to start using thicker plastic or reinforcing the unit with carbonized steel or do away with the "analog" nub - build quality issues are probably issues you'll just have to learn to live with. I'm sure Sony would tell you to just be more careful with the PSP.

      As for the dead pixel issue, it's always a possibility in an LCD-based product, especially one with a fairly high-resolution display like this. You'd hope the warranty and/or return policy would cover it, but I guess the supply is such that stores in Japan are not accepting returns right now because of it. I doubt this problem is more widespread than on other LCD-based devices, though - this is a screen made by Sharp, which is one of the world's largest LCD producers. It's not as if they don't have experience making LCD displays.

  7. its simple by asv108 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you choose to buy the first release of any consumer electronic, you are playing Russian roulette, especially with portable electronics such as (game handhelds and mp3 players). Not that a stern warning will deter the mindless herds from waiting outside of electronic retail conglomerates in the cold, in order to buy a product at the highest possible retail price.

  8. Got to be careful with some of these reports... by iapetus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Some of them have already been debunked as fakes. Others are real enough, including the flying UMDs and dead pixels (though that seems to be an issue on just about any similar device - DS suffered from these as well, for example).

    --
    ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
    Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
    1. Re:Got to be careful with some of these reports... by dmayle · · Score: 4, Informative

      DS suffered from these as well, for example

      Way to defelect attention. It should be noted that Nintendo has vowed to fix any dead pixel problems that occur within the the warranty period...

  9. I take it with a grain of salt... by GearType2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've seen the video... and read the articles... but I still don't believe it that much. Dead Pixels I believe. Even the DS has this problem(as did the GBA and GBASP). But I have yet to see anyone report problems of the nubs not working or their psp not turning on except on this one small site linking to another small site.
    If this is an issue, I put it in the barrel of consumers causing the problem, or just being a very small number of people, below 1%.
    The UMD popping out, seems a little odd. Twisting the unit, I can understand, I mean, it's a small portable device, I could do the same with my old walkman. But during normal play? I doubt it.

  10. Sony = crap by Le+Marteau · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sony used to have a good reputation in the electronics business. They built their business on quality.

    Now, like many businesses, they are in it for the short term profits. They build for the latest fads, with the latest dumbass useless 'features' the 'bling bling' crowd is looking for. They now build hardware aiming for people who are attracted to flashy shiny things rather than people who want qualty.

    Mod me down, but for their consumer grade stuff, it's true.

    --
    Mod down people who tell people how to mod in their sigs
  11. Oranges to Oranges by American+AC+in+Paris · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Company A releases a sweet little handheld gaming system in time for Christmas. The system is truly innovative and well-designed. The system has a few issues, but for the most part it meets or exceeds most people's expectataions.

    Company B releases a sweet little handheld gaming system in time for Christmas. The system isn't particularly revolutionary; its biggest selling point is that it features very powerful components for a handheld system. The system has a variety of issues, several of which should have been caught in the design/development phase.

    Which of these systems would you rather own?

    --

    Obliteracy: Words with explosions

  12. video screenshots by Wakkow · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here's some screenshots from the video, in case it gets slashdotted:

    |O|

    |O|

    1. Re:video screenshots by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh no! The screenshots must have gotten blown up by those two TIE Fighters!

  13. More Evidence by bi11 · · Score: 5, Informative

    (1) Square button's problem
    It makes a creaking noise and stucks
    because there is a gap between the button and its rubber (and, of course, the board)
    http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cf6y-oot/controller/ka nbotsu_001.jpg
    http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cf6y-oot/controller/ka nbotsu_genin_002.jpg

    (3) Power failure and/or Chip defect
    Power indicator light illuminates, but...
    http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cf6y-oot/system/power_ 001.mpg

  14. Limited release / Beta testing by tji · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Isn't this basically what many Japanese companies do? They get the product to beta quality, then do a limited release in the Japanese market. They work out the bugs there, then have a much better quality product for the international release.

    The only difference here is that the PSP is so well known that they can't keep the status quiet. People here find out about it, and write comments as if the PSP was a product they could go purchase at Best Buy. It's not... and by the time it is, the PSP will be very high quality.

  15. Re:And this is why I won't purchase a PSP. by diamondsw · · Score: 3, Informative

    The network adapter is not compatible because now it's built into the unit. As for the hard drive, the only game that used it was Final Fantasy XI, which wasn't exactly a raging success.

    --
    I don't know what kind of crack I was on, but I suspect it was decaf.