Failure Rates of Classic Systems: Any ideas?

[YoshiM]

Today I received the cardboard coffin for my 7-month old PS3. As I left the container on my dining room table in preparations for plastic-n-silicon cadaver transport, I got to wondering about if there were similar problems of hardware malfunction back when the NES or even the VCS reigned supreme. Of course, there probably wasn't a situation that remotely comes close to a 360 RROD issue but I sure that had to be something of note.

So, can anyone remember anything major issues with console from the days of old?

[jperryss]

I certainly don't remember anyone having a NES, SNES, Atari, Genesis, etc. just stop working or shut itself off due to overheating. I even have an original Gameboy still kicking around somewhere that works perfectly.

The oldest system I've personally had issues with (that weren't due to abuse/neglect) was my original XBOX that I bought new in 2001. Though I did take a 'break' of sorts between the SNES and the XBOX.

Although it certainly seems like "they don't make 'em like the used to", admittedly all of the newer consoles (let's say PS2 and onward) are WAY more complex than anything we played in the 80s. Optical drives, complex board layouts, HDDs, fans, etc. were basically non-existent 20 years ago. Even the original Playstation had tons of optical drive issues.

I think there's just so much more that can go wrong with the newer systems.

[izarate]

From the top of my head:

NES - loose connectors...but that ussually happened after a few yeras of use, so it's unlikely that somebody experienced that in the NES era. PPU sudden death (not very common).

SNES - nothing that I can recall, maybe distorted colors or sound but usually because the owner was using an aftermarket AC adapter (those "LUCKY" brand 17w adapters)

PS1 - DREs, specially with launch units. Melted optical pickups due to overheat (launch units too). Blown parallel connectors (usually while using a Gameshark).

Saturn - DREs. Not because of console failure thought. Saturn games had their copy protection in the outer edge of the disc and was prone to scratches. I must say that Saturns had the most resilient optical pickup I've ever seen (JVC Optima6). I've found Saturns in the trash, full or dirt, grime and whatnot and after cleaning them a little the laser still reads games. Althought the last revision (rev. 2C) used some lame Sanyo lasers.

N64 - crashes but not really that common.

Dreamcast - crashes, burned lens, usually Samsungs or those generic pickups used in the last batch (rev. 2)

PS2 - DREs, blown controller ports, not recognizing official PS1 memory cards.

GCN - DREs

Xbox - power cord failure (there was a class action suit about this), optical pickup failure (usually Thompson drives), hard disk failure.

[Clownzilla]

I think the introduction of optics in game systems marked the beginning of drastically lower quality builds. More moving parts, more required precision, more produced heat, etc.

[PSony]

I've had Dreamcasts resetting themselves on a few occasions, but it's an easy fix.

[Baloo]

NES - NES10 Lockout chip and wrong type of metal used in 72-pin connectors causing bad connections between the cart and the system.

Sega CD (Mainly Model 1) - Laser won't read, disc wont spin, gears coming off inside and one of the following: disc drive not opening, disc drive opening and closing, etc. etc.

Game Gear - Cheap capacitators possibly leaking cause faulty screens and audio output.

SNES - Yellowing of outside casing due to oxygen exposure.

N64 - Overheating (Happened to my original N64, thing kept overheating and wouldn't turn back on until 20-30 mins later)

Older cart-based systems don't really have any problems due to the lack of moving parts inside the console, which gives it a much longer overall life. CD-based systems will always have problems with one thing or another, cart-based consoles save for the NES rarely have problems.

[j_factor]

The original Playstation had a lot of problems. I'm not sure if it was actually the laser itself, but in many cases, the console would gradually get worse and worse with reading games (ie, start skipping, etc.) and then eventually stop working. Remember the "turn it upside-down" trick? My own Playstation stopped working in this manner, although it did last longer than many. I ended up replacing it with a PS2.

The NES of course had the blinking light problem, but that was caused by the silly design of the system. I've heard that the Colecovision and Atari 5200 are prone to failure.

I've had problems with the Saturn failing to recognize cartridges, but that doesn't really count I guess.

Oh yeah, and the Game Gear is awful. They don't often stop working outright, but the screen gets worse with age, the audio goes bad easily, and sometimes you'll come across units that get a googly effect on the screen when you press button 1.

[Tempest]

Early Intellivisions had a bad habit of overheating and frying. They fixed that early on though.

Turbo Expresses and Turbo Duo's both have problems with bad caps. My Turbo Express currently has no sound because of this.

Tempest

[adam_devry]

I know the slim Ps2 had over heating problems I think the Phillps CDI has problems also

[jb143]

The NES of course had the blinking light problem, but that was caused by the silly design of the system.

Would they have blinked near as much though, if people took care of their stuff as recomended, and didn't blow in the carts? I know was asking too much of us all as kids but still.

I know Game Boy's have lines go out on them but I'm not sure if that was really a common problem durring it's heyday. Probally the same with most cap problems.

[k8track]

By all accounts, Bally Professional Systems/Astrocades would really overheat and die if you put them directly on a carpet. Anyone ever have that happen?

Atari 2600s, on the other hand, were built like TANKS and are the cockroaches of the console scene; they'll still be around and working long after everything else has gone kaput.

[tom]

Atari 2600s, on the other hand, were built like TANKS and are the cockroaches of the console scene; they'll still be around and working long after everything else has gone kaput.

As proven by Wall-E

[Enigmus]

As proven by Wall-E

And his little COCKROACH friend.
Still, the survival rate of 2600s would be good for a post-nuked Earth- it'd be an easy and simple way to get the technology evolution started up again. You get nuked, so play Combat.

[icbrkr]

By all accounts, Bally Professional Systems/Astrocades would really overheat and die if you put them directly on a carpet. Anyone ever have that happen?

They also die even if they're not due to overheating on carpet. Mine died at the OVGE 2003 after 4 hours of continuous use.

[Gameguy]

Game Gear - Cheap transistors possibly leaking cause faulty screens and audio output.

It's caused by bad capacitors, not transistors. It's repairable.

I've had an NES system go bad on me. It wasn't the connector, the system actually worked the best with games until it got screwed up. The graphics are glitched up now, I don't know what caused it to happen but now no game looks right with it.

I've had a Vectrex go bad on me within an hour of playing it. I just bought it and tried out all the games and it died right after I tried out the last game(blank screen and no sound). I sold everything off and I was later informed that it was repaired, a lot of the solder joints needed to be redone.

The Turbo Duo has been mentioned, the sound goes bad because of the bad capacitors.

[jperryss]

NES - NES10 Lockout chip and wrong type of metal used in 72-pin connectors causing bad connections between the cart and the system.

Not sure if I'd blame the metal used as much as the stupid press-the-cart-down-for-no-good-reason-and-therefore-loosen-the-contact-pins-over-time ZIF design. I've had great luck 're-aligning' the cart slot pins and rarely had trouble due to them being dirty/corroded. And once they've been corrected back into position (courtesy of some bending with a safety pin) I've had just about every cart boot up perfectly without pressing the cartridge down.

Would they have blinked near as much though, if people took care of their stuff as recomended, and didn't blow in the carts? I know was asking too much of us all as kids but still.

Again, I think the bigger problem was the tension (or lack thereof) on the cart slot pins from being bent down all the time. And who didn't leave a cartridge in the 'down' position for weeks or sometimes months at a time?

And did you have ANY reason to not blow in the carts? I don't remember any Nintendo documentation stating it was bad to blow in the cartridges to try to get them working.

Ironically enough, every cartridge DID say to not clean the contacts with alcohol. How many of us have been doing that for years with no issues?

[BetaWolf47]

The flourescent light on the GameGear can pop. I don't know if this is a widespread issue, however. All I know is that my first GameGear, which I got in 2007, gets hot as heck when I'm using the AC adapter, and that caused the light to break.

Many consoles will overheat if played on the carpet too.

Again, I think the bigger problem was the tension (or lack thereof) on the cart slot pins from being bent down all the time. And who didn't leave a cartridge in the 'down' position for weeks or sometimes months at a time?

The problem is actually a combination of both dirt and bent pins. My NES crapped out around 1993 or 1994 and I got it working again in 2006. The pins that everyone thinks they need to replace will actually work if they are perfectly clean... however, keeping them in working condition is a hassle.

[Greg2600]

I've never had one of my original Atari, Nintendo, or Sega cartridge-based consoles break on me (knock on wood). I've had AC Adapters crap out. Colecovision's don't hold up that well after all this time, but I would concur with others that the original Playstation was the first console with widespread failures. That was simply the CD piece, though. You can't really do a whole lot with optical drives failing after many years, and a lot of spinning. Failures like Xbox 360 though, never used to happen. That is a straight design flaw/defect.

[Baloo]

It's caused by bad capacitors, not transistors. It's repairable.

I've had an NES system go bad on me. It wasn't the connector, the system actually worked the best with games until it got screwed up. The graphics are glitched up now, I don't know what caused it to happen but now no game looks right with it.

I've had a Vectrex go bad on me within an hour of playing it. I just bought it and tried out all the games and it died right after I tried out the last game(blank screen and no sound). I sold everything off and I was later informed that it was repaired, a lot of the solder joints needed to be redone.

The Turbo Duo has been mentioned, the sound goes bad because of the bad capacitors.

Yeah, just realized that, sorry.

[roushimsx]

Controller ports like to die out on Dreamcasts for some reason.

TurboDuos/PC Engine CDs CD drives are kind of crummy. My poor Duo R

SegaCD motors were crap. Had a couple die on me (model 2s; never owned a model 1)

PS1's could be (temporarily) fixed if you adjusted that little bias/gain screw inside. Pain in the ass.