Has Sony Lost the Console War?
I was very surprised when my Sony Playstation 3 suddenly quit working nearly four months ago. The blu-ray drive had ceased to read any type of disc. Since then it has mainly collected dust. Apparently I am not alone in my lament, as two people have filed a class action lawsuit claiming that a software update "bricked" their PS3s (bricked is a term that means that their PS3 is rendered inoperable due to a hardware/software malfunction). There have also been many claims of similar problems and Sony refuses to address them. Proponents of Xbox will no doubt remember the RROD ("red ring of death") that bricked their consoles. It took a little dragging of feet, but eventually Microsoft took in all consoles that experienced RROD and fixed it free of charge... warranty or no.
Sony has so far denied any problems and continues to go on as if nothing has changed. Last week my sister asked me if she thought she should get a PS3 or blu-ray player. She (who is far from a video game enthusiast) had heard that there were problems with the PS3. I told her what had happened to me and advised her to just get a blu-ray player. It appears that word of mouth is slowly destroying the PS3 brand.
When I initially purchased my PS3 I had thought that I would have been able to enjoy it for many years. I still have a 36-inch Sony Trinitron TV with a picture that actually rivals my 50-inch Samsung HDTV. I have had it for nearly 10 years, and it has worked perfectly. Sony was once known for having not only top of the line products, but products that would also last for a very long time. I don't doubt that their TVs are still top of the line or that they have a long shelf life, but I feel that the general public has lost a lot of faith in the company and have serious doubts that they will be able to correctly address these problems.
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