A Japanese government agency is apparently looking into cases of PS Vitas overheating and burning up during the recharge cycle, according to reports.
Whilst Sony is adamant that there’s no reason for a recall, 31 cases of the connection between the charging unit and the Vita have been reported – there have been 23 in Japan, the rest have been split across America, Europe and Australia.
Sony’s PR department claim that it’s not a malfunction and it’s to do with people “having liquids or other objects” inserted into the connection, which sounds like a recipe for disaster. If a connector gets fried, it’s up to the consumer to pay to get it fixed.
monkeyspoon
I wonder how much Nintendo paid for these news stories.
TSBonyman
One thing i’ve noticed from the beginning with the Vita’s proprietary charge/data connector is that it isn’t a very snug fit (unlike the ipod for instance) and allows the plug too much ‘play’ and will often suffer a connection error if you are holding the Vita while transferring data from PS3. Whether that’s related to the overheating issue i’m not sure but it might be another factor besides spilt liquid.
bigbaldwolf
I noticed that the charger doesn’t slip out but it doesn’t seem to ‘fit’ properly. Strange design for the charger anyway
Jakster123x
Is the subtitle a Scooter reference? :)
Tuffcub
I doubt it very much
Jakster123x
Ah well :(
mugsybalone
Crazy World of Arthur Brown?
cam the man
On that very hot weekend we had a while ago (yes we had one ;-}) my Vita stopped working a couple of times after about 1 1/2 – 2 hours play. Haven’t had any problems since
colmshan1990
I’ve played my Vita for 10 hours straight with it plugged in the entire time and it only got slightly warm…
I’d say that the liquid would have a lot more to do with any overheating issues than anything else.
fs
If you don’t look after things then you can expect them to break, overheat, explode whatever – its not Sony’s fault !
bmg_123
“What do you mean it’s not waterproof?!”
I don’t see how only 40 or so incidents could incite a recall…that’s just too low a ratio.
yogh_wayne
23 of how many hundred thousands of units in Japan? But if some of these 23 users complain to a consumer protection agency, they will of course “look into the cases”. Sadly that’s enough to make some nice negative headlines all across the gaming press.
a inferior race
23 users might have complained to the agency but many more might have complained to Sony or the retailer.
BAZ1307
I don’t know but I’m onto my 5th Vita, and I’m having problems with this one too. Feels to me like Sony’s signature quality is no longer there. You can really tell the Vita is made to be as cheap as possible with the parts available. :(