Yellow Lights and £131
Say goodbye to my PS3, folks, along with my patience.Published 07/01/2010 at 16:20 by Gamoc
I saw yellow on my PS3 yesterday. Then a flashing red. Ironically, this is the Yellow Light of Death that signals the demise of a Playstation 3. It is unrecoverable, so I called Sony to see just how they would screw me over in my quest to get it fixed. £131 and everything on my hardrive. That’s not some weird change system Sony use, they are going to replace my PS3 so I won’t be getting the same PS3 back, which means that, when I stick my hardrive into the new PS3, the new PS3 will automatically treat the wonderful thing to a free formatting. It’s a 320gb hardrive, with only 40gb free.
Putting aside for a moment the ridiculousness of having to pay almost half what I paid for my brand new PS3 when I bought it only to have it replaced by a refurbished machine a year and a half later, let me explain what annoys me the most. Don’t get me wrong, I can not afford £131, so that annoys me, but money is just money. I can download all of my games again and probably even watch the recorded programmes I have from PlayTV online somewhere, but what I can’t replace are my saved games. I have a played a great many games on my PS3. I’ve had it since April 2008, which is a year and 8/9 months. So it lasted about 21 months, which isn’t so good for a console with a 10 year lifespan.
Saying the PS3 will last 10 years is all well and good, but if I have to keep paying £131 to get my single unit replaced every 21 months it’s going to cost me so much money that it simply isn’t worth it – no amount of awesome games are going to convince me it’s worth the price of the console, 4 or so payments to replace it and the price of the games, too.
Now let’s bring back the price of a refurbished replacement. Sony, you made this console, then I paid for it under the assumption that it wasn’t a pile of waste in a black box and wouldn’t have to have it replaced. Twice. This is the second time I’ve had a PS3 die on me, the first time being in April of 2008, when I simply took my 60gb back to Game and got a refund, then bought the 40gb I use now. I used my PS3 properly, I bought games, I have had direct contact with Sony’s themselves and written reviews for them, but my console has screwed me over, closely followed by Sony screwing me over with extortionate costs for replacing the console I had already bought.
This isn’t a great time for you to screw me over at all, Sony. I bought an Xbox 360 a few months before Christmas. You may have heard of them – you know, your biggest rival? Since then I haven’t bought any PS3 games short of Pixeljunk Eden. I even bought multiplatform titles on my 360, some with reason and some I wasn’t even sure why (when I bought Assassin’s Creed 2, for example, I only realised I was buying it for the 360 when I had left Game). My 360 is running perfectly, if a little loud. Sure, I can’t use iPlayer or PlayTV on it, nor can I play any of the PS3 exclusives, and whilst the only 360 exclusive that appeals to me is Left 4 Dead 2, I am considering switching to supporting Microsoft.
I have always maintained that I would be a devout Playstation-prefering guy for my entire life. I did maintain that until this happened, anyway. This is not a great time for you to be testing my patience, Sony. Not a great time at all.
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.« Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
« Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
Cathaloh | 07/01/2010 16:54
Member
121 TSA Points | Member since: Jun 2009
I must be very lucky, I’ve used the same 60gb PS3 now nearly three years (I got it since it came out) I have two now though a 250gb slim and the old 60gb, I must be really lucky to never get neither of them replaced!
I got all my saves backed up though.
Tuffcub | 07/01/2010 16:57
Team TSA: Writer
4070 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
Yup my launch model still going strong, as is the second PS3 I bought last xmas.
Tuffcub | 07/01/2010 16:55
Team TSA: Writer
4070 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
I shall laugh heartily when your Xbox dies within the first year.
Tuffcub | 07/01/2010 16:56
Team TSA: Writer
4070 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
Sorry that’s a bit cruel.. what i was trying to point out is Xbox has a much bigger fail rate than PS3, I wouldnt count you consoles before they hatched. or something.
Gamoc | 07/01/2010 16:57
Team TSA: Content Manager
1216 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
My first PS3 died in 5 months.
Raen | 07/01/2010 17:46
Team TSA: Writer
3721 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
And when it dies within the first year it’ll be replaced for free. Or in the first 3 in fact. Yes it fails, at least I didn’t shell out for mine when it went.
Cathaloh | 07/01/2010 18:03
Member
121 TSA Points | Member since: Jun 2009
My 360 has crashed twice now. I just got it back recently but when it broke the first time was the launch day of Halo 3, so I was quite annoyed. A friend had his Xbox break two years ago and he got it back four months later. And it was the wrong hard drive he had to send it back again.
Microsoft do have better warrenty with the 360, but it takes ages to come back which is the only problem.
Raen | 07/01/2010 20:50
Team TSA: Writer
3721 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
Really? My turn around (and the average turnaround I was given when I asked other 360 owners) was under a week. And you’re not supposed to send the HDD back are you? I know it def said I wasn’t with mine.
Cathaloh | 08/01/2010 01:26
Member
121 TSA Points | Member since: Jun 2009
Yeah I never returned my hard drive back because apparently it was the mother board that was damaged. I thought my friend was just making an excuse at that time though, because I just recently got an Xbox and I just thought he didn’t want to bother playing Xbox Live with me. Because he is quite lazy.
Hodgi92 | 07/01/2010 17:00
The Thumb
1059 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
I have a YLOD PS3 sitting in my cupboard. Waiting for a place to offer a £50 fix or something.
gazzagb | 07/01/2010 17:18
Master of speling mitakse
2760 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2010/01/07/yellow-lights-and-131/comment-page-2/#comment-125993 Almost £50
markglynne | 07/01/2010 17:00
Member
334 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
i got sony to repair my ps3 yellow light and the one that came back after 3 days had another yellow light and waiting for my next one to come now
gazzagb | 07/01/2010 17:06
Master of speling mitakse
2760 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
Gamoc, use console doctors, YLOD is only £69.99! They replaced my laser in th ps3 and i had it back in under a week! Great customer service too.
http://www.consoledoctor.co.uk/
Lorcan | 07/01/2010 17:56
Team TSA: Writer
1248 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008
I’m using them too. They also don’t format your Hard Drive so you get to keep all your saves!
morbo1993 | 07/01/2010 17:09
Member
144 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
I got a free replacement of my original 60GB here in Norway, was about one year in, took me 1 month, got a new one, crashed in a day, sent it back in, got a new one, and it’s still running… yeah the saves are a bitch… but a few months after you get it back it’s not that annoying
TURNER-F1-42 | 07/01/2010 17:18
Member
42 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
a couple of weeks ago, my ps3 ylod’d. however, i found something called the gilksy fix. it wil void your warranty, but beleive me, it works. just type in gilksy fix on youtube. all u need is a heat gun and thermal compound, and it only takes an hour. well worth it!
pawski | 07/01/2010 17:27
Member
194 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
gamoc, was it a 60gb? mine went last year, now i have an 80gb one. can the 80gb ones get the ylod? i bloody hope not.
pawski | 07/01/2010 17:28
Member
194 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2009
sorry just noticed it was a 40gb. but my question still stands. anyone had ylod on 80gb ps3?
cheekyMcB | 07/01/2010 19:17
Member
730 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
All PS3s can YLOD. It’s just a case of how long before they do it. All electrical equipment fails eventually, some quicker than others. The yellow light is just an indicator for a specific fail that Sony has designed into the system, different plashes and colours mean different things.
aerobes | 07/01/2010 17:30
Member
710 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
I’m currently on my 4th PS3 so I feel your pain.
The first PS3 it happened with, I went with an independent company and it went back and forth 3 times to london from Cumbria over a period of 11 months and once to Dundee.
Its a good job I’m a placid person because that was a reasonably aggravating time.
I can’t even give a good reason as to why I have persisted with Sony. I once owned a 360 in the past and it never RROD thankfully, Although I would have been pretty disappointed if it had done in the space of about 13 days but thats besides the point.
Good luck with your 360 Gamoc and should the worst happen I hope Microsoft don’t let you down the way Sony clearly have.
tom_lord | 07/01/2010 17:34
Team TSA: Writer
580 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
Like you, my PS3 has died, however an independent game shop near me claims he can fix it by Saturday for £30. Worth a punt I reckon, if it doesn’t work I’ll buy a new Slim
mynameisblair | 07/01/2010 17:38
Member
3879 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
Exact same thing happened here two months ago.
Sure, it made me play the 360 a bit more… but it didn’t make me love it any more.. I still couldn’t wait to get my PlayStation back.
I missed PlayTV so much that week.
LycanGav | 07/01/2010 17:48
Member
592 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
Baffled why folks are willing to shell out a single penny to have a YLOD console repaired when the Sale of Goods Act means you can get a new console for free.
Kevling | 07/01/2010 17:56
Member
2038 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
It doesn’t mean you can get a new one for free, the retailer is only obliged to pay for a repair or free you a partial refund (depending on how old it is). There’s a thing called “betterment” – you’re not technically supposed to end up in a better position than if you’d never bought the faulty item in the first place, which replacing a, say, 2 year old item with a brand new one would do. Of course, the retailer might offer you a new replacement but you’re not entitled to one… (one of my best friends is a Tradings Standards manager)
Kevling | 07/01/2010 17:58
Member
2038 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
“free you a partial refund”? I meant “give”, stupid iPhone autocorrect…
LycanGav | 07/01/2010 19:07
Member
592 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
Through work and friends I’ve known 19 people who have gone down this route with a PS3, and 4 who have done so with a Wii, and all but one have been offered a new console with minimal fuss from a variety of retailers once a letter was received by Head Office, usually within a week. The one who wasn’t bought from Woolworths and so lost out when they went belly up. 22 out of 23 seems like tasty odds too me, I’d take the risk.
Kevling | 07/01/2010 19:19
Member
2038 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
That’s great, I wasn’t sayng you won’t get one, just that legally you’re not entitled to one. It’s good to know that retailers do go above and beyond what is legally required on some occasions.
CrowGoblin | 07/01/2010 17:49
Member
29 TSA Points | Member since: Jan 2010
This is exactly the problem, I’d backup my ps3 everyday if there were an easy way to do that, but its very time consuming and even then doesn’t properly backup everything, like leaving out copy locked save games, so what’s the point?! I live in fear of losing all my save games each day. Hence, considering the switch to MS permanently, I’ve already got x2 xboxes and have all my save games on a memory stick, which I just take with me from one box to the other, depending on where I want to be playing my games.
Kevling | 07/01/2010 17:50
Member
2038 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
Bought my PS3 at launch from M&S as they did a free 2 year warranty, but got the YLOD last month. Currently battling with M&S who are refusing to budgedespite what the SoGA says.
Last night I fired off my final ultimatum: pay repair costs within 14 days or I’m taking legal action.
Posted my console off to ConsoleDoctor.co.uk today (£13.99 parcel force) for their £69.99 repair.
Whatever happens with M&S, as soon as I get my console back and salvaged my saves (and my 320gb hard drive and Ratchet and Clank disc!) I’m selling it to cover te cost of te repair and part of the cost of my Slim. ConsoleDoctor offer a 6 month warranty (better than Sony) which should help resell value in eBay anyway…
Jamie123 | 07/01/2010 17:52
Member
45 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
i had YLOD on my 40GB. it was 1/2 months out of warranty and Sony replaced it for free, came to my door in about 3 days with a replacement. Were nice about it, just asked for proof of purchase. I did lose evrythng though, but just made a new PSN username and replayed my games.
Deathbrin | 07/01/2010 19:28
Member
949 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
Why’d you need a new username?