What is the most unreliable system?

[syd]

With all the talk about how bad the PS2 is, I was wondering what people think the most unreliable system is? For me it would have to be the NES, that thing was always a pain with getting games to work. I always had to blow in them and fiddle with them every time! :/

Apologies if this topic has been asked before, I tried to do a search but it seems like you can only search by author at the moment, which probably wouldn't work out too well! LOL

[Whiskers the Wonder Cat]

I picked the Genesis. I had 3 that broken on me in the past. I started getting paranoid whenever I decided to get a new one. Horrible.

[Rogmeister]

I haven't voted yet and am not sure I will. I've also heard many tales of the PS2 (including the dreaded Cannot Read Disc errors) but have never had any trouble with mine. I haven't had too much trouble with any of my systems though I did have to have a Jaguar worked on once and my very first PS1 eventually gave out. It, of course, had the overheating problem due to poor ventilation design that caused many people (including me) to put it on it's side or even upside down to get around that flaw.

[njiska]

As much as i'd love to say the PS2 i'm actually gonna be honest and say the NES.

As bad as the PS2 DREs are, they're nothing in comparision to the number of blinking NES consoles out there. Hell sticking a cartrage in and getting a blinky screen even feels a bit Nostalgic.

[sharp]

I used three playstation, and the all broke down. I had one PS2 and it broke down in 1 and a half year twice. I voted just other as I heard most bad stories about the first Playstation. Problems of the NES are also common but that is much more an age question.

[Pantechnicon]

NES. Great games, poor design. I've got five or six toasters in the garage and one hooked up barely limping along all as testament to this.

Blink Blink Blink Blink ...

Ironically, the three famicom bootleg consoles I've got have never given me a day of trouble. :roll:

[fishsandwich]

Original Playstation! I've had three or the original models stop working on me (or at leats have to be turned upside down to work.)

I finally had a Saturn go bad on me, but it was a 1st generation model, several owners, lots of abuse including several drops to the floor. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did!

My CDX cd drive is kaput. I understand this is faorly common. :(

[Enixis]

All my consoles have never broken down on me. But for me the NES is probably the most unrealiable in terms of getting games to work, especially after years of non-use.

[zerohero]

PS2 by far. My old NES loads better than it more than half the time.

[Hep038]

Nes by a long shot. I went through 3 Decks as a kid ( and had 2 sent back to nintendo), up until I got a top loader. After the top loader I never had to buy another one. As for my PS2, I have a launch day machine and have never got a DRE. So my choice was easy, I feel bad for the guys that had the DRE PS2 AND the blinking NES.

[johno590]

I had to go with the NES. Gives me trouble some of the time, but usually I can get it working after one or two tries.

Another option I was thinking about was my Xbox. When I will rent certain games it has to be almost perfect or otherwise it wont read it. Sometimes I would have to eject it and put it back in a few times and it would finally work, or I would just turn the Xbox off and on. With all the games I own, I never have problems with them.

[klausien]

The problem I have with putting the NES on top is that these machines we are all talking about have been around for almost 20 years. Even with blinking issues, most NES systems still work or can be repaired easily. Brave Little Toaster indeed. I don't see us saying the same about the PS2 in 20 years.

Yes, it is disc-based, which lowers life expectancy out of the gate, but my first PS2 only lasted a little over a year before crapping out. I must also note that I am EXTREMELY anal about my systems and store them in a well ventilated area. Even if this weren't from personal experience, most of my friends have had to replace theirs so I would feel the same. My new PS2 is now only used to PSX & PS2 games. NOTHING ELSE.

PS2 all the way.

[rotten03]

I guess i've been lucky with my PS2. I've heard all of the stories, but even all of my friends who still have PS2's from the first year still work. Even my first year Xbox has never had any problems. It was that NES that drove me crazy. Trying and trying to line the cartridge up just right, hoping it will work.

[Wester]

My vote goes for the NES. I've yet to have any trouble with my PS2, I even picked one up at a garage sale for $5 thet they thought was broke, after a good cleaning it worked fine.

[n8littlefield]

I voted NES. I haven't had any problems with my PSone or PS2. Even with the issues people have with those, EVERYONE used to get blinking NES even back when they were first released. They just weren't built well.

[chimp69]

come on. Does nobody own an x-box? All my friends x-boxs, started to act up on them a few months after purchase, and now barely read any games. Somebody has to know what Im talking about.

[Whiskers the Wonder Cat]

I had my NES for about 11 years now, and nothing bad happened with it.

[Hep038]

I had my NES for about 11 years now, and nothing bad happened with it.


Is it a top loader? if not that is impressive. 11 years and you never once got the blinking screen? That is like having a windows computer and never getting the blue screen of death. LOL

[swlovinist]

A personal three way tie for me
32X-you have to carefully make sure you have the 100 parts to this death contraption before you hook it up...Otherwise you fry it

Sega CD(model 1) There is a reason they made a model 2 so quickly after trying to sell this piece of crap hardware. Of the Three I have personally owened, I have only one that works. The mylar buttons on the faceplate do not register properly at times. The loading tray was another big mistake, as many have problems. Whose idea was it to have the controller open and close the system tray O_O

Genesis 3-Another really shoddy hardware poo. These things fry really easily, and ports tend to go out on the ones I have owned.

If computers count, then hands down the ADAM computer has to be the biggest letdown ever. Supposedly one in two out of the box does not work right.

[Leo_A]

None of the above, i'd vote Intellivision.

[donkeykong1]

I have to go with the NES. Every other system has worked fine for me. My PS2 never gives me problems.

[Cmosfm]

I don't see how you can choose an NES so quickly, the console is 20 years old! After 20 years problems do arise, such as pins getting dirty from people owning the systems and not taking care of them.

Now, my PS2, which is only 4 years old, doesn't read half the disks I throw at it and I've kept it in top notch condition.

You can't very well compare the reliability of a 20 year old console and a 6 year old console.

[Arkaign]

Had two PS1s and one PS2 and one Xbox, never a problem with any of them.

NES, I hesitate to vote for, but I have had problems with used carts and borrowed carts with the blinking. O well.

[Arkaign]

Had two PS1s and one PS2 and one Xbox, never a problem with any of them.

NES, I hesitate to vote for, but I have had problems with used carts and borrowed carts with the blinking. O well.

[Jumpman Jr.]

Virtual Freaking Boy
I've got 5 of them and they all seem to have some sort of issues.

[syd]

I don't see how you can choose an NES so quickly, the console is 20 years old! After 20 years problems do arise, such as pins getting dirty from people owning the systems and not taking care of them.

Now, my PS2, which is only 4 years old, doesn't read half the disks I throw at it and I've kept it in top notch condition.

You can't very well compare the reliability of a 20 year old console and a 6 year old console.

I agree with you there, but our NES started getting on the fritz not even a year after we got it. With regular use, that thing didn't last very long out of the box. I meant the poll to be for the most unreliable system when it was in its prime. You're right, it's pretty biased to vote for a 20 year old system over a 4 year old one! LOL

Now compare those two systems with my SNES, which I've had for 12 years or so. I've used it constantly all of that time, and it hasn't ever given me any problems. IMO the most stable console ever made, hands down.

[diskoboy]

My NES has only started blinking once... EVER. And I've had mine since '86. But I'd say any Sony system is unreliable. My PS2 started getting disc read errors about 5 months after I got the damn thing. My PSX (original model) lasted about 10 before it just crapped out, altogether.

[NESVIDIOT]

Of course NES has blinking problems- but 99% of them are fixable. Clean the carts, replace or repair the pin in the deck- whatever.... they are usually salvageable. Most of these systems still work somewhat 20 years later.

PS2- the worlds greatest and first video game vacumn cleaner system- now you can play games while you clean the carpet!
Heres testament!
http://videogamecollectors.com/gallery/album75/HPIM0028

In 20 years I don't think there will be as many working PS2 systems or even as much interest in it as there is in NES now.

[diskoboy]

Of course NES has blinking problems- but 99% of them are fixable. Clean the carts, replace or repair the pin in the deck- whatever.... they are usually salvageable. Most of these systems still work somewhat 20 years later.

PS2- the worlds greatest and first video game vacumn cleaner system- now you can play games while you clean the carpet!
Heres testament!
http://videogamecollectors.com/gallery/album75/HPIM0028

In 20 years I don't think there will be as many working PS2 systems or even as much interest in it as there is in NES now.

Jesus Christ, NESVIDIOT! How many PS2's you got there? Do any of those actually work?

[NESVIDIOT]

HAHA! LOL

Actually the pic is in my RoD, I was visiting OSG (omnedon here on DP) He is a repairman extrordinaire. I snapped some pics of his place for fun.

And NO, none of those PS2 are repairable ever again- only good for parts now. There is at least 50 PS2's in that pic.

[Truffle]

Bleh...I caved and voted NES. I recently perchased my first Toaster-style that *gasp!* booted up, and functions flawlessly!! X_x But I would have to say %80 are'nt working properly.

The PS1 comes in a close second. :angry: That system really made me despise disc media for years. Its probably the reason I love classic games so much actually! LOL
I'd get so bent out of shape when new games I just bought refused to work, I'd just go back to my NES/ SNES.

[Retsudo]

I voted for the nes hands down. Blinky blinky blink. But easy to fix with a new 72 pin.

[Hep038]

Oh and when I voted for the NES is was not for its reliability today but when I played it the most back in the 80's. I know I will be shot, stabbed and dragged through the street for saying this, BUT it seems that the PS2 and NES have similar stories. Each have a group where all they have ever had is problems and a group where theirs have worked flawlessly.

P.S. did anybody notice the stack of NES units in the background of the picture, behind the Xbox stack? Its like that picture was taken for this poll! LOL

[AMG]

Even though all my NES consoles work with some fiddling, it get's my vote. Blank screens, blinking and freezing are common.

For the record I never had any problems with either the PS1 or PS2. Both my original units work fine.

[TurboGenesis]

Xbox Thompson drive = junk. My 18 year old NES toaster works better than my 4 year old Xbox. I have 2 friends with dead Thompson drives and another colleague at work with a dead Xbox. My Xbox does work once in a blue moon but sometimes it takes up to 20 minutes to get it to start up a disc. Such a hassel I don't even play it much anymore and have not been motivated to purchased another drive.

All my other consoles perform with out a hitch though my NES does take a few(2-3) tries before it runs.

[FantasiaWHT]

PS2 definitely.

Worked at EB and we had to turn away approximately 1/4 of all people trying to trade in their PS2's because of DRE's on blue discs. Even on the slim ones... So much for Sony claiming they fixed THAT problem.

[alec006]

NES Due to the Connector

[Valhalla]

NES, It was a bitch to get working all those years ago and is even worse now. It may be easy to fix, but it is a problem in every NES I have or friends have.

[sabre2922]

I voted for Xbox my first Xbox was a Thompson drive model and that thing started going straight to shit within 9 months.

I have to add myself to the seamingly very small list of the few gamers here that never had any (or very little) problems with my PS2's yeah Ive owned 3 new PS2 systems but only becuase I either had to sell my first when it was new and expensive to pay bills and buy diapers for my first born or simply traded to upgrade to a newer model.

I currently have the Slimline model that is closing in on its 6 month and have had NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER.

I wanted to vote for the NES but the first one I had for 3 years and it rarely gave into the BLINKING SYNDROME.

As for all the current and future DVD machines heres a common knowledge suggestion that does extend the life of a PS2,Xbox,360,PS3 GREATLY =DO NOT USE YOUR SYSTEMS TO WATCH DVD MOVIES 8-) or if you do keep it to a very minimum WATCHING DVD MOVIES ON YOUR GAME SYSTEMS WEARS AND TEARS THE DRIVE MORE THAN HUNREDS OF HOURS OF GAMEPLAY.

[The Brown Eye]

The one that went quickest for me was Xbox. I was having problems a few months after I got it. PS2 sucks as I'm on my third one, and I also had 3 PS1 units. I had blinking NES problems too but those didn't occur as quickly after purchase as the problems above did.

On the other side, I think SNES, Saturn, FZ-1 3DO, and N64 (not the controllers) are all pretty reliable.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Oooo Ooooo NES....Ahh,that felt better.. :D

[alm0stfinished]

I've had two dreamcasts go out on me. same problem with both of them. every time i played them, the sound of the motor got louder and louder, until one day it sounded like they were screaming at me. Well, not really, but it was pretty damn loud. And all the while, the load times got slower and slower. Now when i try to use them, they sit and make terrible noises and don't load the games.

[njiska]

Virtual Freaking Boy
I've got 5 of them and they all seem to have some sort of issues.

Ah that doesn't count. The Virtual Boy is flawed by basic design. LOL

[evildead2099]

I've had two dreamcasts go out on me. same problem with both of them. every time i played them, the sound of the motor got louder and louder, until one day it sounded like they were screaming at me. Well, not really, but it was pretty damn loud. And all the while, the load times got slower and slower. Now when i try to use them, they sit and make terrible noises and don't load the games.

I'm afraid I must admit that could've been better built. They are noisy consoles, but the nice thing about them is that it's not often that they have to stop to load so much data at once that they produce loud noises. Most of my DC problems are related to the lid; the system cannot tell if the lid is open or closed unless you keep it open within an inch of being closed. :angry:

[KingCobra]

By far Playstation's and PS2's, no excuse for PS2's as a post 2000 system to be such turds.

Sega CD's were JUNK! Saved for quite some time to have mine fail after a month :angry:

NES suck'd if you played it hard.

Atari 5200, not the console but the controllers! Ohhh... dear! Ohh... My! Nothing worse than staring at that new Cadillac with a set of flat tires.

[Snapple]

This one is really, really hard for me.

I've gone through normal PS1s. My PS2 broke in less than a year. I lost count of the Gameboys. However, I have to say the NES.

Yes, it's 20 years old NOW, but it was practically fresh out of the box when my first one started going heywire. The blinking screens just got worse and worse. Then, the A/C adapter connector started going on the fritz, randomly turning off my games with no provokation if I was lucky enough to get it working at all that is. So that one stopped working, plus I had another NES stop working on top of that.

It's just... well, I put up with it at the time and thought nothing of it because it was my first system, but in hindsight, those things break too easily.

[robotriot]

NES for me as well. It's just not really working. Also, I don't let the argument count that it's a 20 year old machine. My 6-switch VCS never had any problems, nor does my Vectrex. This is also reflected in the current poll outcome I guess ;)

I destroyed a PS2 myself, but I never got any DREs. My V1.0 Xbox doesn't act up either.

[MrSmiley381]

I've only had a Master System, a Gameboy Color, and a Dreamcast die on me. My NES is usually OK because I clean the crap out of it, literally and figuratively. The Master System died because the DP member who traded to me FAILED TO MENTION IT WAS SHOT TO HELL. It died the day I got Rampage. The Dreamcast's controller ports stopped functioning when I went to play Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

I'd have to say the PC, if anything. But it's not a console, so Dreamcast it is.

[kevin_psx]

PC power supplies. Two died in two years! Paid $2000 shouldn't have a cheap korean power supply.


NES - never owned one but when I visited my friend in the 80s it never worked right - would quit in the middle of games et cetera!


PS2 - 3 years old and still works great.

[Scoots]

PC by a mile

[googlefest1]

I had to choose the PS2
the NES would be in second place in my book

While ive had had more problems with the stinking NES blinking problem, It is a simple problem and an easy fix. The PS2 problem on the other hand is much more dificult to fix and a more complicatied peice of hardware to fiddle with. I personaly have had no problems with my PS2s (becasue i dont play them as offten as many others) but i have seen a large number people bringing in non working PS2s to be fixed in the shops i frequent.

[Ed Oscuro]

I have a hell of a time getting some SNES and Genesis games to work - I went to play Super Mario RPG again the other day and constant resetting zapped all the save files :O

I'd forgotten that I have to hold the cartridge forward up to the load screen. Don't know why it's picky then.

On the plus side, I get to play through it again... :D

[aaron7]

Dreamcast!! I've gone thru 3, and my friend as well. The damn things stop seeing discs.

Or the NES. As much as I love it, there isn't a single well used deck that works fine.

I think to be reliable a deck has to be bomb proof and kid proof. Both are very different attributes ;)

My SNES has been stepped on, thrown, dropped down stairs, etc, and works like new.

Oh, also the PS2's with their dust inhalation problems. That's a bitch.

[rpepper9]

Yer Mom is the most unreliable system LOL LOL LOL

[MrSmiley381]

Yer Mom is the most unreliable system LOL LOL LOL

Wow. How fucking original. You just tarnished an otherwise interesting thread. Thanks.

EDIT:

Keeping on topic, I noticed a lot of people mentioning computers as unreliable. Yeah, I kinda have that problem too. Only I think it's because of some of my internet activities.

You know, those internet activities.

[Damion]

I vote PSX (though it's not an option on the poll) that was the only system EVER to crap out on me in the first six months. I paid 200 hundred dollars (right after it's first price drop) and played it like a demon. which I came to find out was the reason it died. Because of the heat from the internal AC had warped the CD gear track from extended play.

Man I had never been so pissed. I had to postpone paying some bills to get a new one. I was sooo jonesing after about three weeks I just had to. LOL

[Atarian75]

I have to vote for the ColecoVision. I just got my third ColecoVision today and I still can't play any of my games without some kind of graphical glitch. Atleast with the NES, I can get the games to work eventually. What does a guy have to do to play some Pepper II around here? Cripes.

-Atarian75

[Ze_ro]

My vote goes for the Atari 5200.... the controllers on that thing fall apart at the drop of a hat.

--Zero

[Snapple]

My NES is usually OK because I clean the crap out of it, literally and figuratively.

When you say you clean the 'crap' out of it LITERALLY... uh... you know what I'm trying to ask.

I got a very unpleasant mental image.

[Porkchop]

I vote for Other - the Atari 5200 with the controllers that failed early and often.

[Uzi 9mm]

I know it has been said too many times, but PS2. I had to buy one twice, and my second one is already dying on me. :angry:

[Push Upstairs]

Oh the NES....how many times i had to blow into the machine to get it to play games.

How many times i had to apply cleaner to the carts to get them to read.

And knowing that everyday use of carts will eventually lead my my replacement connector down the same road as before.

I still love my NES though. :love:

[chrisbid]

while 5200 would win worst controllers, the system itself is a tank

and though i did vote for the NES, i suspect if you age the PS2 20 years, it will be far worse than the NES is right now

[Crush Crawfish]

PS2. God, in the span of about 5 years I'm on my fourth or possibly fifth system. And yet my toaster NES is still kickin' like it's 1990 all over again. LOL

[EricRyan34]

NES! My first Playstation 2 didnt work out to well for me, but nothing tops the good ole NINTENDO. I put a new pin connector in mine and it still dosnt work all that great, so I finally gave up, put er back in the box, and went to my local game store and picked up a Famicon :P That works EVERY time!

[drewbrim]

I voted for the dreamcast and it wasn't even close. I've gone through 5 so far and the first one I got was only about a year and a half ago. Not even factored into the 5 I've used are the two I have given as presents that have died. It's too bad really since I love the games. I guess I'm lucky they only cost $10.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

May sound like bias to you, but I've never had a sega console fail on me. Ever.

I vote NES, I have three, and all of them like to blink at me, and one of them requires me to use pliers to get cartridges out.

[MegaDrive20XX]

NES by a landslide. Blue in the face, blowing in the cart to make it work. Simply pitiful.

PS2, I never really had a problem with it. *knock on wood*

3rd, Xbox. I always hear the THOMPSON story. Yet I have only had one with that issue.

[Ed Oscuro]

NES by a landslide. Blue in the face, blowing in the cart to make it work. Simply pitiful.
I vote User Error on this one.

[Dimitri]

I picked the Genesis. I had 3 that broken on me in the past. I started getting paranoid whenever I decided to get a new one. Horrible.
If you want a reliable Genny, get yourself a model 1 system. Genesis 2 and 3s just feel extremely light and cheaply made, like they're actually clone systems repackaged by Sega (or Majesco). The original systems can take a ton of abuse and keep on chugging. I'd know. :)

I voted PS2, as mine went out about four times before the laser became unrepairable. Though I'd have to say the NES and the SEGA CD rank just below. Yes, even the second model Sega CD. You accidentaly bump that drive out of alignment just once and you're getting audio skips fo-EVAH! At least for a PS1 it's quite simple to replace the laser...

[Tron 2.0]

PS1/PS2 by the most.. sony just doesn't mean quality any more :angry:

Btw why is the, NeoGeo on this poll any ways? Only problem that, system will have is the slot getting worn out wich can be replaced np.

[Ed Oscuro]

Genesis 2 and 3s just feel extremely light and cheaply made, like they're actually clone systems repackaged by Sega (or Majesco).
Well, if you strip away the "official" criteria, the Genesis 3 definitely shows the hallmarks of being a clone: Genesis-on-a-chip, lacking one of the sound processors, really bad video circuitry...

[Fuyukaze]

I'm going to go with the PS1 (which oddly doesnt look to be listed) as I've gone thru 2 of them and had both die on me. The first one, I admit, I played the hell out of. The second, I played at tops 60 hours before it died on me as well. Never had a NES go completely out on me. Sure, the blink was an annoyance, but it never prevented me from figuring a way to get it working. The PS1 on the other hand, that thing just wouldnt work! Didnt know the upside down trick, I'll have to try it though.