The Playstation 4 hasn’t even been released officially yet, but some lucky users have received the console early. We’re already getting reports that a limited number of those users are suffering from PS4 hardware failures, from a range of issues.
Shuhei Yoshida has put out a tweet “Be assured we are investigating reported PS4 issues. The number is very small compared to shipped, we believe they are isolated incidents.”
So the question is must be asked, should we worry? Well, honestly, not yet is the simple answer. It’s unfortunate but there will always be a failure rate for consoles. Sony’s previous console, the Playstation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii managed a failure rate of 3 percent. The Xbox 360 from Microsoft was around the 16 percent mark. So far, the Playstation 4 failure rate is less than 0.2 percent. As of the time I’m writing this article, there have been several confirmed consoles that have been bricked.
One of the consoles was from IGN – they reported the problem arose when they updated their system to 1.5. After the update they tried numerous fixes, including hard resetting the PS4 (holding the power button for 7 seconds), different cables and TV – but it wouldn’t play ball.
Kotaku meanwhile have reported a faulty HDMI connection – with the output refusing to display any signal. Two PS4 owners on the internet forum Neogaf have also reported the same problem.
Another user had been given a console free as a promotion from Taco Bell – as part of the prize, he received the system early. The PS4 console would turn on, but he was just greeted with a pulsing blue light – and nothing more. He’d contacted Sony’s support, and they have already arranged a replacement.
So the key is not to panic just yet, hardware and software failures are part and parcel of each console launch. For me, I’ll be curious about the reports in 6 – 9 months from now, after the systems have suffered from long play sessions. With winter starting to grip the US and Europe, the Playstation 4 won’t have to deal with the heat waves of the summer just yet. But time will tell. So just to clarify – don’t panic just yet. But of course, do keep up with the news!
