Gaming thoughts... 7/8/11

Console durability.

They sure don't make them like they used to. I think that applies to video game consoles as much as anything, doesn't it? They consoles are bigger, more moving parts, they get hotter, the electronics are both more advanced and sensitive... but let's compare a bit. Systems still bouncing around my house and working with minimal maintenance from me:

Old ones still working:

- Atari
- NES
- SNES
- Sega Genesis w/ CD
- Sega Saturn
- N64
- Game boy color
- Game boy advance

Consoles I've had in the past that are now dead and gone:

- Game boy
- Playstation 1
- Playstation 2
- Gamecube

Modern consoles and how they've fared:

- I've had my Wii die once and had to have a refurbished one sent to me for $75

- I've had 1 Xbox 360 red ring and get fixed by Microsoft and then break down in another way that wasn't covered by warranty

- I have purchased 2 other 360's which are both running

- I have purchased 2 PS3's - one broke down last night and no longer reads any discs (feels like it's not spinning)

- We have purchased 3 DS Lites. These get their own breakdown:

* One's cartridge bay broke and Nintendo fixed for free (it was only 2 weeks old), and then that same thing broke about a year and a half later. $50 to fix so we'll probably just replace eventually. (this is my youngest daughter's)

* One's screen cracked when dropped on its side - not even a direct hit, but broke. We had replacement on it though so for $10 we got a new one that lasted until it was traded in for a DSi which has held up well (my son's)
* The third has worked flawlessly (my oldest daughter's)

PSPs - also get two sub headesr:

* Mine was a 2nd generation run, has worked flawlessly
* My father's was a 2nd generation run and it died about a year ago and he gave it to me for parts

It's sort of amazing that I still have working consoles from two decades ago, and then myself and many other people have had to replace modern consoles in two years (or less). I've heard horror stories ranging from red ring of death for the 360, yellow light of death for the PS3 to Wii black screen of death - I've actually suffered two of these issues myself (the 360 and Wii).

But we invest so much in these systems, we're bound to replace them most of the time, right? I was already set to sell some stuff to one of my buddies for about $400. I suspect I'll get a new PS3 when that happens because my game collection is worth more than that alone and we really do heavily use two of them in two different rooms (yes, at this point I expect no sympathy as I clearly spent far more on gaming systems than I ever have on a good, grownup car). Bummer is I was considering a 3DS or putting the money toward getting my wife a new cpu.

What are your thoughts? Have you had any modern console horror stories of your own? What did you do? replace or sell your game collection after? With the Wii U coming out, I worry about the controller durability as well - now there's an additional, potentially very expensive component to concern yourself with.

Also, I've been hearing rumors of a $50-$100 price drop for the PS3. Anyone else heard this? Since I won't be getting my $400 until Aug 16th, I'm really hoping those rumors come to pass sooner than later!