PS1/2 Why does Sony make shoddy hardware?

[duskfall]

Sony made some of the best products of all time, the PS2 being arguably the best of them all. But at the same time, their hardware was so shoddy. Why do you think that is? It can't be cost cutting because this is obviously costing them money to repair. I know that the inevitable argument will be "But these consoles were not meant to be used for 20 years". Keep in mind that the disk drive problems were occurring even then. Ask any repairman who was around at the time.

Here's some examples from my experience:

A) The Playstation 2 slim disk reader needs replacement for most consoles.

B) PS2 slim ribbon is at such a place that after a while it scratches the disk (horrible design flaw, it blows my mind how this was allowed even by sony standards)

C) The PS3 phat models have a design flaw that even if you never use the console, it will eventually brick itself once you play games. The console will overheat no matter what you do. Even if you leave it in storage for 14 years and it's brand new, it will still break once you try playing games on it.

D) Sony disk drives are universally the worst in the world, regardless if it's a console, a laptop drive or a DVD burner. I've had the first bluray laptop from the vaio brand and it sometimes wouldn't read disks it had written. And keep in mind this technology was co-developed by Sony themselves!

So, why do you think this is? Is it a designer problem, an engineer problem, or a manufacturer problem?

 

[Exidous]

Fourth option: planned obsolescence. Intentional, rather than a mistake.

Sony knows it's a content company. And like any other content company without scruples, it knows it would likely make more money from subscriptions to, rather than sales of, the same content.

Sony, ever the innovator in commercial depravity (but not in game design, of course), likely just projected that insight onto hardware. Sony can take more of your money by selling products that will cease functioning sooner, as long as you're foolish enough to keep buying Sony products.

 

[Kraken_X]

It can't be cost cutting because this is obviously costing them money to repair.

I think that's an incorrect assessment. It only costs them money to repair if it breaks during the warranty period and you get them to fix it under warranty. If it breaks after the warranty, you pay them to fix it and they make profit off that. If you fix it yourself or get someone local to do it, then it's profit neutral.

Realistically most people don't claim the warranty and just buy another console (especially in a situation like when a phat console dies after ~2 years and now there is now a slim version), which actually increases not just sales, but perceived market share which affects third parties deciding which platforms to make games for. The shoddy build quality is probably part of the reason why PS2 was the best selling console. I know I had two.

Side note: The rest of Sony's electronics outside of gaming hasn't been doing great for a long time. I wonder if their brand is becoming synonymous with shoddy hardware and so people avoid their TVs, receivers, etc.

Side Note 2: Aside from the heat controversy with launch PS5 models,which didn't seem to cause any problems, I haven't really heard of many issues with the PS4 and PS5, so maybe they fixed their issues?

 

[rantex92]

I think that's an incorrect assessment. It only costs them money to repair if it breaks during the warranty period and you get them to fix it under warranty. If it breaks after the warranty, you pay them to fix it and they make profit off that. If you fix it yourself or get someone local to do it, then it's profit neutral.

Realistically most people don't claim the warranty and just buy another console (especially in a situation like when a phat console dies after ~2 years and now there is now a slim version), which actually increases not just sales, but perceived market share which affects third parties deciding which platforms to make games for. The shoddy build quality is probably part of the reason why PS2 was the best selling console. I know I had two.

Side note: The rest of Sony's electronics outside of gaming hasn't been doing great for a long time. I wonder if their brand is becoming synonymous with shoddy hardware and so people avoid their TVs, receivers, etc.

Side Note 2: Aside from the heat controversy with launch PS5 models,which didn't seem to cause any problems, I haven't really heard of many issues with the PS4 and PS5, so maybe they fixed their issues?

Maybe youre right with their tvs but sony headphones are still rock solid especially wh-1000xm line