Are you worried about the longevity of your newer consoles?

[mr.soul]

I know that my systems like the NES and Genesis are going to work until the day I die, because they've been around for god knows how long already, but when I look at the future of my PS2, Xbox 360 and Wii, I don't know if they have the potential to last that long. This leaves me to worry that I'm going to have to deal with them breaking once they aren't being made anymore. I know the PS2 has the DRE problem, and the Xbox 360 has the red rings of death problem, neither of which I would be fully equipped to handle. And I'm damn sure not buying a slim PS2. Does this worry anyone else?

[Lady Jaye]

I've had my PS2 slim for a few years and it's still working perfectly fine...

[carlcarlson]

Not really. By the time mine end up dying I expect the systems to be in the $30 range. I mean I've come across plenty of broken NES, SNES, and Genesis systems too, but it's never a big deal because they're so cheap to replace.

[heybtbm]

This has always been a concern of mine, so I planned accordingly. I bought extra consoles when they were affordable (IMO) to do so. Besides my original units (that all still work thankfully), I have an extra Genesis, Dreamcast, Gamecube (w/component jacks), PS1, and PS2 waiting to take over if my original units ever die. These were all bought brand new and have never been used.

This is also in addition to my extra 360 that patiently waits for the inevitable RRoD from my original unit. I've had the RRoD the past two Augusts...so I'm about due.

It all depends on how much money your willing to spend (or waste depending on your perspective). I've spent, who knows, 30-40 grand on software over the last 26 years. I'll be damned if I can't play a particular game because of hardware issues.

[modest9797]

I already have sent my 360 in for repair once, but I can tell now that my gamecube can last the next 100 years.

[mailman187666]

the only system I'm worried about not lasting is my 360. They are terribly made pieces of hardware. Other than that, I don't see my wii or ps3 shitting the bed anytime in the near future. I know I will not be collecting for 360 because of the system failures.

[otoko]

I already have sent my 360 in for repair once, but I can tell now that my gamecube can last the next 100 years.

Let's not get started on how reliable gamecubes are. Holy, Mine fell off a shelf 6 foot above a concrete floor and bounced twice.

We kept right on going with playing smash bros. No damage.

That leads me to believe that my Wii will last me a long time. Although, I'm not willing to test that to the extreme.

I also see my phatstation 2 lasting me a extremely long time due to the fact that I've played it a grand total of 23 hours during the four years I've owned it. Also so far I had a roommate also break it and it (after minor fiddling) still works like the day I bought it. I figure it'll last me awhile

As for my Xbox (not 360)? I have two and I don't give a shit about them.

I might get a 360 later, and I have a friend who repairs them.

Summary: Not too worried.

[Brian Deuel]

I've got six Dreamcasts, and all work just fine

[megasdkirby]

I will admit that I've thought about this, but not too deeply.

Part of my quest to study electronics is to maintain and repair consoles that will eventually go bad.

The PS2 does have a DRE problem which I've seen going to my local console repair shop (hundreds of DRE PS2's on the wall), but from what I've seen, this is easily replaceable or at least can be repaired with relative ease. I've repaired at least 5 PS2 Phats and one slim in less than 15 minutes (it's usually or a good cleaning or the potentiometer needs tweaking).

But ultimately, I am a tad afraid of what the future can bring. That is why I embrade backward compatibility.

[PapaStu]

The more moveable parts a system has, the greater likelyhood it has of failing. It's just the nature of electronics.

I was incredibly worried about the lifespan of my newer systems and I have purchased backups for most all of them (PS2, Cube, Xbox, DS, GBA sp, 360) over time. I've only lost 2 so far, a launch XBox (drive was dying), which was replaced with a new system and a 360 that had its drive die on me and that was replaced under warranty so I didn't have to open my backup system.


PSTwos are pretty stable now-a-days. The early ones were a little prone to nuking themselves, but I don't hear about those problems now, so I don't know why you'd be worried about getting one.