DS Daily: Reliability

The only unreliable console I have is my NES which is almost to be expected.

That includes my DS.

Ok, technically me PS2 has trouble playing disks with a blue tint on the back like Frequency.

I don't have an iPod (GASP! :O) so I can't really compare my DS (which is still out for repairs, though expected back tomorrow) to other major electronics out there. Though my cellphone might be a good contender, it's "newer" than my DS, and half of each of it's hinges are actually speakers, but it looks like a Humvee compared to my Lite (Making the DS Phat still a Tank, for comparison).

I'm on my third PS2. My DS Phat and Lite are OK. My broken GBA is even more broken since it was usable for GB and FFCC before. My NES died due to no maintenance, or it was working but games weren't. Genesis lying around. GCN is thinking the cover is open. Wii is doing good.

I had a decent experience with Nintendo's customer service. Both hinges broke off my DS, and they replaced it with a refurbished one. The unit is in okay condition-- the screen had some distortion, discolouration in some parts-- which was disappointing. The biggest disappointment was that despite my attempts to keep those hinges safe-- they've already started to crack on the new unit.

I own a number of consoles released since the famicom. I've only had one console that had to be rebought since it consistently had hardware problems. That's the original playstation. I haven't had problems with my ps2....but I dont own any next gen system yet either.

Sad to say, my DS lite is the second console I have where I experienced problems. It has the crack hinge, shifting screen...and the touch screen on the extreme upper right corner can't be calibrated properly.

Interestingly, the PS and the DS lite where bought almost immediately as they were released.

In general, older systems seem to be more "reliable"...but I guess that's expected since they don't have as much sensitive parts.

NINTENDO
My first DS lite had a tiny crack at the Hinge. When I took it back to Nintendo, the guy swapping it for the refurbished system really manhandled the sytem before the crack actually opened up.
My super nes is still workin awesome...

SONY
My first gen PSP has had a stuck pixel from day one. When I tried to swap it for a new one, all the other had even more dead pixels!
my PSone with LCD screen is starting to get a bit wonky...

I bought my DS Lite at launch, and it developed a hinge crack almost immediately. No big deal, since it's more cosmetic than anything else. But about a month ago one of the shoulder buttons stopped working, which is a much bigger deal since it's pretty difficult to play Mario Kart DS without items. I'm not the world's most careful guy when it comes to any of my systems, but I don't feel like I've manhandled it or treated it any worse than ought to be expected.

I'm not really sure what I want to do about the problem at this point. I really love my DS and it's saved me from boredom during my work commute, but I'm not really fond of the idea of dropping another $130 on a system I already own.

I bought by DS Phat, used from a pawn shop like 3 years ago. The thing was obviosly used and abused. It has worked for me for all these years. The right button stopped working but I fixed that when I bought a 5 dollar replacement case for it, to make it look new again. now if only i can fix the scratches EBA left on my touch screen..

Well, 2 things so far with my ds lite (bought on launch day) :

1) I got the crack at the hinge...

2) Listen to this : My "R" Button doesn't work anymore. That is VERY VERY annoying. Since I bought the system a year and a couple of months ago (launch was on June), they wouldn't replace it for free. Instead, they told me it would cost 90$ to get it fixed.

I am very angry about this, and looking forward to solutions that you guys (and girls :P) could think of to help a brother out. (I DON'T WANNA PAY!!)

I've owned a nes, super nes, 64, gamecube, gameboy and a ds lite and bought many games on all of them...

I think I've earned the right to get it fixed for free, don't you think so? ... :*(

I've had a lot of Nintendo Consoles. Right now, they're prolly happy at all the money i'm handing over to them considering I bought almost every Nintendo Console. NES, N64, 2 Gamecubes, Wii, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Gameboy Micro, Nintendo DS, DS Lite. Etc.

Well, it's a lot of consoles but it's missing a few of them. ;P

Anyways, for some odd reason i've had problems with my handhelds but besides that every other thing works fine. They break however during the warranty period which doesn't bother me. They fix it in like a very short time. Nintendo Customer Service = Amazing.

Overall, even if I've had to replace my DS Phat 3 times and my Lite once and soon to be my Micro once due to the L button being a bit unresponsive, I am ultimately pleased with my consoles because they handle their defective returns in a very pleasing way. I'm not connected to someone in India I can't understand, I'm not on hold for three hours, most for me was 3 minutes on hold.

Nintendo, you're doing a great job, keep it up! =D

Overall, my Nintendo consoles have held up extremely well when compared to other electronics. I think that recently they've started to let that reputation die down (hinge cracks and shoulder problems with the Lite, overheating problems with the Wii), but right up through when the DS Phat came out, you could count on a Nintendo product to be built for what was probably going to happen to a fair number of them: they were going to be manhandled and thrown around by a child.

My old iPod died from a short fall (hard drive scratched) and my current iPod is on its last breath due to leaving it in a hot car for a day. So yeah, Nintendo products stack up almost incomparably to other electronics in terms of durability.

My launch day DS Phat still works perfectly and is in perfect cosmetic shape. Lucky me.

The only video game system that I ever bought new that has died on me is my Gamecube, which I got about a month after it came out. About two years ago, it began to play games for about five minutes before giving me disc read errors, then shortly after that the motor that spins the disc burned out. Fortunately, a couple of months after that I got another one at a yard sale for free--paid $50 but it came with the Game Boy Player which I sold on ebay for just that amount because I already had one.

My N64, PS1, PS2 slim, GBA, GBA SP, GBA Micro, and launch day DS Phat all work perfectly. Every other system I own I bought secondhand, so I won't list those.

The only thing that I've every owned that broke was the old PSP. My Ds, iPod and PS2 are all in great condition. Maybe that's because I try really hard to keep them in perfect shape.

CC, I'm in exactly the same position as you. Launch day, right trigger not working. I'm considering just plonking down the cash for a new one, and maybe changing colors.

I've been a pc gamer for most of my gaming life and only about 2 years ago started buying consoles. i did own an nes when i was a kid and aside from constant button mashing that broke the gamepads every couple of weeks, it never failed on me. So far i own an xbox, a ps2, a ds lite and a psp. none have failed on me yet and work as new. the portable ones are the ones i use the most and treasure the most. after a year of use psp is in perfect condition except minor barely visible scratches on the screen and back after a year of use(it was a while before i decided to buy some protection for the fragile psp). the ds i owned for almost a year and everything's in tact so far requiring almost no maintenance. my only complaints is a single dead pixel on the upper screen but it's only really noticeable during the loading screens. i have to clean it once in a while since it's a white ds and becomes dirty pretty easily. hinges aren't cracked and shoulder buttons work without any problems. only two scratches are on the bottom screen from the time one of my friends stupidly used a mechanical pencil as a stylus.

everyone of my consoles are as reliable as the next one(i guess i'm one of the lucky people), though walking around with a ds in my pocket i feel like i could be more careless with it than a psp.

I actually replaced the tact switches in my GBASP.

http://rememberthe8bit.blogspot.com/2007/07/shoulder-button-fixing.html

(Sorry that the pictures suck, but my only camera is a Palm Zire 71. :P)

I haven't had any console to break on me yet, (knock on wood, lulz.) other than my GameCube way back. And Nintendo did well with the repair and all. The only problems I have with my DS is the calibration, on BOTH my DS Phat and Lite. I seriously think it's from pressing down too hard while spinning on EBA, lol. My PS2 is still the original one, my Wii has done wonderfully, and no problems with my 360, then again I bought that a couple of months ago, lol. My brother's red light'd about a year and a half after launch.

I've been a Nintendo fan ever since SNES. (I'd have been one earlier if I had been born earlier...)
I purhased my DS lite 2 years ago and have so far changed it 2 times. The first time was due to the ds speakers which had just stopped working, and the second time was due to my left shoulder button which stopped working. I've been lucky all three times to have purchased the 3 year warranty (although I know nintendo provides a very good 1 year warranty). I have not purchased a new warranty on the newest DS in hopes that if this one breaks I can just go out and purchase a sweet new black and red one.

Let's see of all my consoles/handhelds
My most unreliable console was my playstation 1. The GPU fried itself and the audio normally had static at times. It was awful. My PSP and DS both have that diagonals problem. My DS also has a stuck pixel anomaly whenever you drop it, wherein this annoying pixel stays green and somehow disappears when you stop caring. Other than that no big problem.

No problems at all for me, I had a ds lite for little over a year now and im absolutely not carefull with it. It dropped from my jacket pocket while I was cycling and listening to some music on it 3 weeks ago, hit the concrete, bounced three times and when I picked it up it was still playing :)

The Ds and the PSP were the first consoles that I have ever had any problems with to the point I had to send them in for repairs.

I've sent my PSP in twice and my Ds Lite Once (Cracked Hinge and non working L Button). Other than that no problems with any of my systems.

Don't have many things to compare it to, but my DS is in decent shape. I swapped out my launch DS because of a weird screen thing (sand or dust got under it), and even though the new one has a dead pixel, I rarely notice it. Works good as any other.

Compared to my iPod, it's a lot better. I never drop, manhandle, or otherwise the iPod; nothing has spilled on it; nothing has crushed it; etc. Yet the dang thing will freeze up every few weeks...

I have never had a single issue with any nintendo system. My Gamecube and n64 still work fine, Wii is perfect so far, and the only reason my original Game Boy doesn't work is because I left the batteries in it for like a year and they leaked. Anyway, my DS Phat has taken all the abuse I have thrown at it and never given me any problems, I love it.

My 360 has given me the Red Ring once.

My DS works fine, zero problems. Hell, even my original Gameboy still works.

I have bought most all of my consoles used. The reasoning behind this is if the thing hasn't broke after a couple of years than it probably wont ever break. So far this has proven the case (knock on wood.) As far as troublesome hardware goes nothing beets the original Playstation, I've had to open that thing to adjust it so many times it's not funny.

I currently own a DSLite,PSP, and iPod Video. My black DS seems a bit...less well built than other colored ds lites. My friends with black ds lites all have problems with the hardware (squeaky d-pads, hinges that make different noises than the other kinds, softer screens) while the my friends with different colored ds lites have no such problems; I think this has something to do with wen it was manufactured more than anything else; by black ds shows USG-001 on the bottom and I think those models are somehow defective, or at least less well built. My PSP is solidly built, but I think my iPod is going to come apart at the "seam". Do any of you with black ds lites have problems?

Meh, my DS lite has the shoulder button issue, I'm going to send it in again as soon as I finish Puzzle Quest because the first time I don't think they actually did anything to my DS.

I've had my ds lite for maybe a year or so now i had the small hinge crack for a while and then one time i opened it up to play and i heard a cracking sound and when i looked down the other hinge had a giant crack in it and now the top screen is floppy, its ok though i bought a shock case to replace it with. also after the hinge cracked the second time, the r button seemed to stop working, although now the r button works and the l button doesn't so i don't know what is going on there. none of my other consoles from Nintendo or anyone else have really gotten messed up though except for my game cube (its not a good idea to run electricity through it backwards)

sorry for the length, i guess i got carried away

-v

Ive never had a system die on me, and I own a lot of systems.
SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, GB, GBC, GBA, DS, PS1, PS2, n-gage qd, and a Dreamcast.

All of my Nintendo consoles (NES, SNES, N64, GB, GBA, GBA SP, DS, Wii) work as well as the day I got it

My first DS phat died when I had it in my pocket and I jump up on a bar and hit the DS...needless to say it made a giant crack on the top screen (which still worked, with a huge black spot on it) So I got it replaced with another DS phat (blue one!) and it worked great, until I traded it for a lite (well, I still had to pay a little for the lite).

My ds lite has NO PROBLEMS. No hinge crack (ever) no loud noises when opening. Only issue is that the volume switch can be pushed in a little, but other than that, awesome. I keep it in a plastic case which also stores 3 ds games and a stylus, and I've noticed the case take some scratches (and falls) so I REALLY recommend it, heres a link:

http://0188bf0.netsolhost.com/inteclink/products/ds/ds.asp#1837
Look for Clear Armor

Except for a few columns of pixels on the left-hand side, my ORIGINAL Gameboy is still going strong. :)

Both my DS Phat and my DS Lite are in fine shape, despite a fair amount of (accidental) abuse. I remember this one time I was playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in my room, when there was a knock on the door. Naturally, I jumped up to answer it as quick as I could, but because the charger was still plugged in, my foot caught on the cable and flung my precious DS across the room and into a wall. I couldn't believe it was still working fine afterwards. Still no signs of hinge crack or anything else either which is nice :)

DS Lite is cracked on the left hinge
DS is doing fine just fading silver paint.
Dreamcast still working since launch
Saturn still working after long sessions of beating NiGHTs repeatedly
Genesis working after how many years?
Game Gear works great! Tails Adventure here I come.

My DS Lite was bought used in Japan. It has the revised hinge, so while the hinge hasn't cracked, it DOES feels a little loose (the whole top hinge will slide left and right a bit). Also, the touch screen no longer calibrates (EXTREMELY irritating). I really wish I COULD deal with Nintendo customer service on this, but my unit is both out of warranty and not supported in the US.

The only other Nintendo system I could compare it to is the Wii, and the only part of that I move around are the Wiimotes, which are crazy sturdy.

And since everyone ELSE is comparing the DS to the iPod... my iPod is twice as old as the DS and survived many drops (including one down a flight of concrete stairs). I have to take it apart occasionally to retighten the hard drive cable, but every part of it still works correctly. So... I think I'm going to say the iPod's sturdier, since I'm afraid to drop my DS at this point.

I have a Gameboy Colour, it's never died, lasted forever! I also have a GBA SP, it's lasted forever.. We also have a Wii, which died. Well, it got all these fuzzy lines on it so we sent it back and got it fixed. That was easy and didn't take long.. Though we would have liked something free as compensation! I dunno.. And my DS Lite is lasting. Good overall though :)

I have owned an Atari 2600, Atari 7800, NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, GB, GBA, GBA SP, DS, Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, PSX, PS2, Xbox, and 360.

The Atari stuff held up pretty well, although the joysticks for the 7800 broke fairly quickly.

The Sega stuff lasted fine, but to be fair, the only one of the three that got any serious play was the DC... which still works GREAT considering it's been used quite a lot in the past seven years.

I still have my original PlayStation, the only thing that went was the A/V cable, oddly enough, and my first DualShock had to be replaced as well. I'm on my 2nd PS2, probably will be 3rd within the next few months. The first one was the original and the 2nd is a Slimline, both seemed to enjoy numerous trips to DRE Land.

My Xbox is #2 as well, first one also stopped reading discs (after only 8 months!), but so far the new one's doing alright, and I've had it for close to 2 years now. The 360 has done okay SO FAR... no RRoD, but it does occassionally misread a disc (what's the point of having a "you need to put in a 360 disc" error message that only comes up with 360 discs?!) and the drawer opening function's a little wonky.

But by far my best experience has been the Nintendo stuff. Every one of them still works great, only minor issues after all these years... SNES doesn't quite contact cartridges 100% all the time, GameCube door has to be shut a couple of times before it stays shut. But ALL of my controllers have held up fine, and my handhelds, which have gone through considerable abuse, all work FLAWLESSLY. My family has 3 Phats and 1 Lite, and we have had ZERO problems with any of them.

As you can tell, I'm not exactly discriminatory when it comes to which companies I'll buy consoles from, but for my money, I have the most confidence in the Nintendo stuff, as they seem to be a lot less delicate.

DSPhat: I have had it since a few months after release and never experienced the cracked hinge and my screens have been through alot, but any existing scratches are only visible from a certain angle and require close observation. The outer shell however is a different story, the sticker on the back is fully intact but it has no black barcode ink on it. The top of the DS is really scratched up but it gives it a nice color with the undercoat. My buttons all work fine (I have cleaned it out a few times via opening) and since I have opened it the little goops in the top screen are gone.
Inside, one of the bus seat clips broke and it just sits there, hopefully not falling out any time soon.
I don't plan on switching to a DSLite anytime soon.
I have called Nintendo repair a long time ago to try and get a certain problem fixed (Which never happened, they said they would send me a new one instead at one point but things just fell through) that involved little light loving bugs getting under my screen and crawling around while I played games. It happens to this day, but since I moved out of the house where I lived in the basement it has seemed to stop.

my DS Lite experienced the hinge crack after a couple of months. It took another couple of months to get a replacement (I had to drop it off at a depot but they didn't have any replacements at the time).

My 360 just died. It took about a good 10 months for it to die all of a sudden.

I haven't played the ps3 enough to experience any issues.

I had a ps2 but it had the laser issue and then I sold it.

My xbox is running really strong. It's now my divx and old school game console.

My dreamcast is running strong still too.

both my ipods work fine.

I have an NES from 1987 or '88 that still works. My SNES is from the first Christmas they were available, also still works. The Atari 2600 is a little flaky with games where the PCB was exposed (mainly Activision games, the Atari ones had the plastic shield inside). Sega Master System also works fine. My launch day PS2 that still works (and from what I read I feel like I'm the only one). Wii is only a couple months old and I've only had my DS Lite a couple weeks.

The only thing that doesn't work right is my original Game Boy, I have the vertical dead lines in the screen that have gotten worse over time.

NES - wasn't working the greatest, I had to blow in it alot, so I took it appart to try and dust it all out...now it doesn't work.

DSPhat works great, even after a good drop. Both DSLites work well, although I do sometimes feel as if I might snap the top screen off.

PS3 has some issues where the sound skips and cuts out so I have to restart a game to get it to work again. I'm not sure if that is a problem with the console or the HDMI cable though.

Sadly my Wii has been colecting dust for a few months now, but it does still work to my knowledge.

Out of all my electronics though I've never had something break as easy as my N64 thumbstick. It seems like they just snap. Maybe I have some sort of weird super-dexterous left thumbs, but I seem to break them rather easy; and it's kinda difficult to find new 64 controlers. Also, after a lot of SmashBros Melee my Gamecube controlers have started to give up the ghost.

So in general, I would say that if there was one thing that I had a problem with it would be Nintendo controlers.

I'm actually still on my original PS2 - and it's a launch unit, no less. Sure, I've had my problems with it - it doesn't play DVDs for crap anymore and I had some disc read errors which were fixed after cleaning the lens. But those problems didn't start until I'd had the thing for 5 years.

Not sure if this topic deserves its own section, as Nintendo has always been hailed as hardware reliability champion. My Nintendo didn't work so well, everything else has been flawless. Same goes for my original launch ps2, still works perfect. I'd like to replace it with a shiny slim ps2, but it's gotta break first. Original ps1 broke, psone also broke. My original xbox broke, but I got it replaced for free. So all in all, Nintendo's products are holding up just as my other products are, a little better than my ps1 experiences. My DS lite still impresses me the most, especially when I look back at my GB cinder block. My old cinder block still works good after 18 years. I wonder if my DS will do the same?

I do have the infamous cracked hinge on my launch-bought DS Lite. But it's not nearly as bad as the picture above. It's a small, straight fracture that runs straight across. As far as functionality goes, *knocks on wood* all of my buttons still work and I've experienced no screen issues.

Compared to other electronics, I've had two GBA SPs (bought at different times - not replacements of each other). Both worked fine but both did have dead pixels and dust spots on the screen.

My original PS2 was sold in complete working condition 5 years ago. It did start to get a delay in the vertical position when the CD tray would open. My new slimline PS2 works as it did when I bought it (launch).

The only problem I have with my iPod is that if I don't use it in a long time, I have to reset it. Otherwise it gets stuck in the "Do Not Disconnect" screen.

My Samsung t509 mobile phone has been dropped numerous times, and still works perfectly. The only issue I have with it, is downloaded ringtones aren't nearly loud enough. The built-in tones can be heard from a mile away.

Well I had my third Ds Lite for quite a while. (third because I lost the other two) and anyway I recently bought Dk: jungle climber. Very good game but one problem. My L button stopped working. I try to climb on a peg it lets go I fall to my death and I loose. Stupid Ds. I don't want to buy a new one or pay alot to get it fixed either though.