No issues here...

Can't say I've ever had problems.

I have heard of no problems from any of my friends/family. I do not have my own yet but to not hear about any problems out of 20 people is pretty good. I expect the 40GB to be the worst but not bad at all. If you compare it to how many of my friends with 360's that have had problems, then its even better for the PS3. It would be 0 failures to about 10 failures that i have actually seen myself. I have an sexbox360 with no problems but i also waited for the latest one with the new smaller chip die.

No problems here

The blu-ray laser failed for my 80GB PS3, a little bit before two months of having it (Bought October 15/2008). I suspect that is the most common problem

My PS3 occasionally freezes, but that's if I have a hardcore COD4 gaming session. And I have a lot of those, and it doesn't happen that much. So, can't say I really have a problem here as well.

WTF Brian?! You don't get enough flame wars? Or are Gizmodo's smugma levels low? Either way, I'm ducking out the back before the zombies arrive.

Are the 40GB units made with lower quality BD-ROM drives or other components than the old 20 and 60GB units? I wouldn't know.

@OMG! Ponies!: There are TONS of disclaimers above, and look the commenters have chimed in with reasonable responses. I've never had an issue with my ps3...but that's because I never use my ps3. *ducks*

My cousin and I have first gen 60GB PS3s...no problems.

My friend and uncle got 40GB PS3s...both have had to send theirs back once.

*zips up flame suit*

Your lack of sources is disturbing.

My 40gb model failed 2 days after I bought it. I took it back to Costco. I called Sony and the wanted me to send it back. It was hardware failure they said. I was so pissed less then 48 and it was fucked already.

None for me. I have the 40gb Spidey version. UT3 crashes periodically but i think its due to user created content... at least thats the message that generates after reboot.

I know 7 people with PS3s and none of us have had any problems.

My 80GB model has been scratching my discs. It's funny (because I have a 360 that doesn't do that) but sad at the same time. I didn't want to send it in to get a possible refurbished model because it started 5 days after the store's 30 days were up.

What it does (it's laying flat and I do not move it at all). Is the scratches seem to be from the part that sucks it in. It is like a straight brush mark from the very top of the disc just to middle, on only one side. I was told to blow compressed air into it and I did and it scratched another disc, but differently. Since then I did more compressed air and it seems to be getting better but I'm pretty sure it's an issue I can fix myself.

Right now my major concern is that there arent enough defective consoles being sent back so if i have to send my 60 in for repairs then ill end up having to wait forever.

None whatsoever, but my 360 has broken 5 times.

If only someone could dissect a 40GB unit and compare the build quality of its internals to a 60GB unit...

Haven't heard of any serious PS3 problems except the false rumour about 30% fail rate.

My 60GB is running awesome :) and I've had it on for weeks at a time (games and Folding @ Home).

I've been fairly lucky with my 360, it's only been refurbished once, but I don't use it as often (I play halo once a week and sometimes GOW if I'm in the mood).

Haven't had any issues here - although I haven't played it since there are only 3 games out for it.

2 of my 360's rroded, and my ps3 from january 07 (60gb) is still working. Hasn't frozen or rebooted itself once yet. I play it alot too, especially since prologue.

I haven't had any problems with mine (60). But I do know that the 40GB version does have a self cleaning functions where it gets rid of most, if not all, of the dust from its innards. So, I think the 40GB version will have a smaller chance of breaking down.

My first 20GB...had issues, but I got a 60GB shortly after...so I wouldn't know bout 40GB's

Considering the fact that the PS3 has it's power supply built in, and still managers to keep cool (compared to some... uhh, other console), is pretty impressive. Again, can't say I've had problems with mine, but they're certainly possible.

Once the games come, the console should remain superior. See what I did there?

@JustEaton: "Manages" is a word.

Got me a 60GB PS3 one month after launch. If I am not gaming on it, it runs Folding@Home. The only time I have had to turn it off in over a year has been due to software crashes (Home beta, I'm looking at you!). It hardly gets warm and is very quiet.

My 60gb has been good since launch but I rarely play it.

One thing of note is that it actually gets louder than my 360 if I play for a long time or leave the media center doors closed.

greeeeeat reporting!

I had a friend whose plumber said he thought he heard someone at a party say that they knew a support person who dreamt that the PS3's were unreliable...

I've had my 60GB for about a year and I haven't had any problems. I've accidently left it on for for long periods of time after downloading demos and whatnot. Runs great...*knocks on wood*

This article was pretty convincing:
[www.ps3vault.com]

@whawha: that dreamer was me!

I have a launch PS3 and a Launch 360. Haven't had problems with either of them. 360 has at least 2000 hours on it and the ps3 has about 50 hours on it.

No problems here....still chugging along.

@desktop: Seconded.
No problems with the first gen 60 gb version.

It makes me sad that people are even worried about their new consoles screwing up.

My old SNES could be left on for hours and never had a problem -

I actually need send mine in too. It drops out of the DLNA server 3 times in a row every 30 minutes or so.

if I don't fire up my 80 gig version at least once a day, it doesn't want to start up all the way....the blue and green lights come on but the hard drive activity light and network light do nothing. I have to turn it off, turn it on, turn it off, turn it on....you get the point. I'm pretty sure I talk to Sony about this but I always get it to work...and I don't want to send it in!!

Hrm. My 60GB only got 'hot' whenever my fiance closed it within the media cabinet while it was on. I took it out, put it beside the TV...and haven't turned it off since then.

Of course, I've only played Warhawk and Puzzle Fighter. Maybe that'll all change whenever I get my grubby paws on MGS4.

Or maybe I'll talk to that plumber who overheard that conversation...

My first 40gb I had to be returned to bestbuy because it had some hard drive issues. The replacement has been fine.

For what it's worth I have the original 60GB that sits in a cabinet whenever it's on. It does get pretty warm but no more so than some notebooks do. My buddy's Xbox360 on the other hand was hot to the touch in comparison.

Was the 40GB model the one with the smaller 65nm chips in them? I bet they made some concessions to the cooling system to save costs.

I have a 60gb and it's still working well. It had a few minor issues but it wasn't an epidemic. I would rely on a PS3 more than a 360 now (Though I may buy a 360 once I'm assured it's failure rate is taken care of).

Nope, 40GB with no issues here.

kylo4, what a load of lies, a blu-ray disc does not scratch unless you direct force at it, every blu-ray disc including the ones for games are hard coated with scratch-resistant and antistatic coating, this isn't a dvd9 disc, so its not as likely to happen.

My 60GB is a door stop while my launch 360 keeps on ticking.

no problem here. launch 60 gb running solid.

40GB failed and is at Sony right now... BlueRay drive failure (stopped reading discs). If you google, you'll see a large number of people with this problem. Support person after hearing the problem immediately asked me to send it in; no diagnostics, no questions asked. Also mentioned he's handled untold number of cases with similar failures.

My launch 60GB is running fine. It does crash occasionally, mostly when I'm in Home, but I leave it on for weeks at a time with no issues.

Anybody else having issues with the Warhawk servers lately?

I run my PS3 24/7 where it gets about 2-4 hours of non-F@H use (Team Engadget) per day either playing movies or games. I have never once (since November '07) had so much as a hiccup with the hardware. It's excellent.

@Gilbert: 80GB, BTW...

@desktop: I fully disclaimed this post, asshole. Banned.

@whawha: Likewise. Banned. Check full disclaimers above.

Three of my friends and I each have PS3s from the Japanese launch date in November 2006. All four consoles have been without problems from day one despite gaming AND and Blu-ray movie usage. Since the recent DTS-MA upgrade, they've been seeing even more use than usual lately. Three of us also own Blu-ray/HDD recorders (which are more popular in Japan than standalone players) and only use them for recording HD programs. We still prefer the PS3 for playback-only because of its performance, speed and reliability.

No problems here, I use it to play PS3, PS2, and PS1 games.
I also watch DVDs and BDs on it.

I know 3 PS3's in the wild 2 - 60 gig and 1 - 40

60 gig march 07 build - bought July 07 & failed Nov 07.
This was my unit. The warranty refurb is going strong.

60 gig march build -- bought in July 07 & still going strong. Belongs to a friend

40 gig build unknown -- bought new Dec 07 & failed March 08.

Both of the failed units died from continual shutting the console down due to overheat.

I use mine lightly for DVD/Blu-Ray playback, not for games. I've had it since early Feb. or so. Works fine so far...

40gb PS3 here. I have about 5 friends who purchased a PS3 in the last 3 months (80gb and 40gb), and they aren't having any freezing problems. We've had 1 or 2 overnight COD4 sessions, but everyone's PS3 is located in well-ventilated areas (not that there's a known issue with overheating), and no problems to date.

Haven't had any issues w/ my 40GB yet. Of course, the only games I really play are MLB The Show '08 & the GT demo i downloaded.

I watch BluRay's all the time.

60GB runs folding 24/7 and games regularly. I do have a graphics problem where there are weird spikes all over the place. Some come from the character and follow you around others are on other characters. Also sometimes they project like a giant rainbow wall across the screen that can be walked through. If you're interested I can send in videos. I'm currently waiting and hoping that Bestbuy will have 80GB models when the MGS edition comes out so that they can honor their replacement guaranty I paid for.

I bought a 20GB one back in December 2006 and around March 2007 the HDMI out no longer worked.. I changed cables and changed TVs and it still would not work, so I had to send it in.. The interesting thing with Sony customer support was that they seemed to want to blame me, my HDMI cable, TV etc for the failure and it really wasn't my fault, they did fix it and it was hardware failure, I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this specific issue... When some problems arose with my blu-ray burning Vaio, again customer support tried to pin problems on me, very rude, obnoxious overseas customer support, tier 2 support isn't any better either, just be very sure and adamant when speaking to anyone at support.

My father's 40 gig crapped out with GT5 Prologue the other night, it was well ventilated, and on the pause menu.

He's disappointed, but sony is taking care of it.

Brian, you fully disclosed your post, yes. How about your friend or you get the number/name of said CS rep. they usually give this out, I always ask for it so if I have to call back, I get the same person. A Q&A might be in order for said rep. Would be a great story for giz if you break it!

@Nintenboy01: Yes and no. Usually with new technology in the beginning they overbuilt, because they want to make sure it really really works.

Once that has been put into production and seems to work well they start to "optimize" which means, making it cheaper to build which means "cutting corners".

So yeah, it's possible that the 40GB model is using cheaper components, they didn't just drop the price to make you happy.

My 60GB version works like a charm :)