Sony tackles BBC over 'PS3 failure' report

September 17th, 2009, 17:00 Posted By: wraggster

Sony has issued an unprecedented defence of its PlayStation 3 console amid claims that it is suffering from inherent hardware failure issues, and that Sony's out of warranty repairs service is inadequate.

The BBC's Watchdog programme will tonight air a report claiming Sony "refuses to fix" systems suffering from the so-called 'yellow light of death', which forces the console to shut down immediately after booting up.

In response, Sony's has issued a detailed six page document, reprinted in full on GamesIndustry.biz, questioning the accuracy and research of the Watchdog report.

"From the correspondence to date, I have serious concerns as to the accuracy of these allegations and the likely tone of the Watchdog report," wrote Ray Maguire, MD of Sony UK, in response to Watchdog's allegations.

"The information that you have provided suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of the technical issues and a mis-characterisation of SCEUK’s Out of Warranty repairs policy."

As a stunt for the show, Watchdog set up a van outside Sony's UK headquarters – dubbed the PlayStation Repair Action Team – earlier this month and offered to fix consoles suffering from the hardware problem for free.

Watchdog received 155 complaints from viewers, with 10 viewers showing up for the street stunt. Watchdog also issued a technical report to Sony, based on only three home consoles, one of which had already been subject to an attempted repair by a user.

"The testing concerned a sample of only three PS3s, which cannot, on any basis, be deemed to be representative of a UK user base of 2.5 million," stated Sony. "One of these had in addition been materially altered by the owner."

A third-party refurbishing company repaired consoles for Watchdog, with the firm usually charging around GBP 103 for repairs on a PlayStation 3, compared to Sony's cost of GBP 128, charged once a console is out of its one-year warranty.

"Importantly, it is clear that third party repairers will profit from any public concern that is raised about the reliability of the PS3, and have an interest in criticising SCEUK’s after sales service (despite the relatively small price differential in their own service offering). "The BBC will therefore doubtless wish to exercise caution before relying on anecdotal evidence, provided by them, concerning the extent or cause of these issues," offered Maguire.

It's expected Watchdog will attempt to compare Sony's issues to Microsoft's now infamous Xbox 360 'red ring of death' problem, which prompted the company to extend the warranty of the home console to three years from the purchase date.

The show will air this evening in the UK at 8pm. The official website explains that "Iain Lee solves a problem with one of the best known gadgets in the world - which the manufacturers refuse to fix."

Presenter Iain Lee is no stranger to the videogame business, having fronted corporate events for the likes of Capcom and Microsoft. He has also been employed on a freelance basis by Microsoft, according to his work for MSN's Tech and Gadget site.

Maguire concluded his correspondence by warning the BBC that it will take "all necessary steps" to protect the business and the PlayStation brand

"I regret to say that neither the correspondence to date, nor the 'PlayStation Repair Action Team 'stunt, have given me much confidence that you are treating this issue fairly. If the report is broadcast in what appears to be its current form, SCEUK will scrutinise its accuracy and will take all necessary steps to protect its reputation and that of the PS3."

A spokesperson for the BBC told GamesIndustry.biz that "Watchdog is investigating this matter, but the programme makers will not comment on stories before transmission as it can jeopardise the investigation".

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...failure-report

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