We thought it was just Xbox 360s that got the Red Ring of Death, but according to BBC’s Watchdog, Sony’s PS3 seems to have a similar problem, but with a different colour.
The Anne Robinson-fronted programme alleged that the reassuringly expensive consoles can be affected by the “Yellow Ring of Death”, which means that it suffers a hardware failure which causes the device to shut down after a reboot.
The programme also alleged that the company wasn’t doing enough to fix the problem for users.
However, Sony fired off a six-page rebuttal against the consumer champion. Sony’s UK MD, Ray Maguire, said: “From the correspondence to date, I have serious concerns as to the accuracy of these allegations and the likely tone of the Watchdog report.”
The company said that instead of testing out a large quantity of PS3 machines, it only looked at three. The programme featured telly person Iain Lee outside of Sony’s UK HQ with a van marked “PlayStation Repair Action Team”. (Geddit!)
While the gaming company admits there have been a few problems with some consoles, these number fewer than half of on per cent.
“As Watchdog has a very high awareness among the UK audience, it isn’t surprising that some people have contacted you with regard to this issue,” said the statement. “However we think it is highly unfair to suggest that from an installed base of 2.5 million that the numbers you mention somehow are evidence of a ‘manufacturing defect’.”
If you have suffered a problem with your PS3, we’d like to hear from you. Although we think we’ll be waiting a long time for anyone to come forward.