190°

Why does it seem like game hardware doesn't have a long lifespan?

Geek-Grotto: Like most gamers, I have more than one console. Like few gamers, I have consoles that span decades! I have been gaming since the 80's, and with the exception of an Atari 5200 destroyed by a hurricane, I still own them all. A working Atari 2600, NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Sega Genesis, multiple working Saturns, Dreamcasts, PS Ones, Turbo Duo, TG-16 /w CD, 2 Neo-Geo MVS units and more! All with dozens of games, all work. What I have noticed is that with the last 2 generations aren't as "durable" as the consoles of the past.

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geek-grotto.com
Godmars2904091d ago (Edited 4091d ago )

The Lynx and several other early entries into CD tech were pretty much crap from what I recall.

And I've actually gone through two YLOD which were two too many. I did switch PS2s twice but only once because it was a bad launch system. Second time was just because the slim was a better DVD player.

koehler834091d ago (Edited 4091d ago )

I've never had a system completely die on me in my life.

I replaced one SNES because of a broken AC connection that I could probably fix today. I had a couple PS2s with nagging disc read issues that could always be fixed by opening it up and cleaning the lens. I used them for years playing FFXI which didn't need a disc so it was likely caused by extended periods of inactivity.

I just got rid of my NES a couple years ago but it still worked. I gave the second SNES away years ago still working. My N64 and PS1 got traded up. My 60GB PS3 purchased July 07 still runs perfectly. I'm even still on my first 360.. not that I would replace it at this point.

All in all, I'd say I haven't noticed much of a change in hardware quality over the years. Maybe it's just the quality of the users that's changed as represented by a percentage of a vastly larger population today.

Tzuno4091d ago

Some people are irresponsible they put their consoles in bad places with no ventilation like over blankets or small spaces and then they cry about ylod :)

Servbot414090d ago

My PS3 was on a shelf by itself with no wall behind it for a good 3 feet and a foot of space between the side vent and a shelf. It was also dusted weekly and rarely used. YLOD. Twice.

darthv724091d ago

i went to play my turboexpress the other day and there was no video. I looked it up and the problem i am having is from old capacitors (one in particular related to the video signal). Same thing happened to my gamegear.

Older electronics....they dry up. It just happens. Im sure the batteries in the various devices that cant be replaced as easily (like the dreamcast or carts with battery backup) go dead and any save information you have is lost.

Nothing lasts forever. Even if well cared for. It comes down to how its made and if the build quality exceeds the design limits for durability. The "old days" of doing things, there was more effort put into them. Then companies changed to save $$ and as a result, we get components that dont last as long.

The difficult part of any extreme collector is when something does die....getting it fixed could be more expensive than what its worth. My jaguar CD drive no longer works and I cant find replacement parts as easily. My laseractive cd drive no longer works and the same holds true.

If it were my 360 or ps3 then yeah...parts for those are far easier to obtain. Older retro systems....good luck with that.

Persistantthug4091d ago

-Atari 2600
-NES
-Genesis
-PS1
-N64
-Dreamcast
-PS3

I've also owned 2 computers and a Laptop, and they all work, even the 1 I gave to Goodwill 3 months ago.

I guess my secret is, is I never buy until said console is between 1 - 2 years on the market.

I didn't buy my FAT PS3 until it was 2 years 1 month old. I changed the thermal paste myself Sept 2011 as a preventative measure, and I expect it to last until about 2015 or so when I'll probably upgrade to PS4 or maybe something different.

dangert124091d ago

Yes thats one thing i have been thinking about, i played the N64 all the way up until 2006 and the only reason i dont play it no more was cause i didnt take it when i moved out, if i could of i would of lol.

I've gone through 5Ps3s and 2 xbox360's and i don't see any of them lasting the span the n64 lasted me which is a shame the ps3 has some classic games, but im not going to keep buying old ps3's which will break when sony pack them in

k-dillinger4091d ago

@dangert12

5 ps3 and only 2 xboxes your either lying or you just counting all the ps3s you have and ps2s and ps1 because we all know xbox breaks down more then any system in history so ya try again

dangert124091d ago

Different people go through different things simply really i prefer the ps3 to all current gen consoles and i will say it 1000 times proudly.
but that does not change the fact the ps3 broke on ME more times then the xbox did...the failures i have do not account for the failures of the hole console gen so those statistic can and have been turned on there head in my personal experience

4091d ago
BlackTar1874091d ago

5 ps3's must be playing outside in the desert. i've had 1 ps3 3 xbox's to be fair 2 of the xbox were launch and the ps3 that died was a fat 20 gig launch . It lasted forever but DCUO killed it. I played xbox for about 2 years after ps3 came out like 20:1 ratio with the ps3.

theWB274091d ago

Why not??? Cause tech is awesome and people are steadily trying to push the boundries of said tech. Keep it up...I want to see virtual helmets that put me IN THE GAME...360 degree immersed gaming before I die. Im 27...lets get it : )

Sucitta4091d ago

I'm happy to be the one to inform you that you won't have to wait that long = )

Google "oculus rift"

I have dreamt of this for quite some time now. After this, bring me the holodeck before my passing

theWB274091d ago

Googled-diggin it- holodeck is even better.

Ryto4091d ago (Edited 4091d ago )

I think game hardware lasts quite a while in terms of consoles.
Think of phones or laptops, I replace my phone every year and get a new laptop every few years, had my console a lot lot longer.

Aggesan4091d ago

Mechanical parts and increased temperatures, that's why.

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220°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

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theverge.com
darthv7218h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle5h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic18813h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio2h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Cacabunga5h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

shinoff21834h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga3h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

purple1018h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos7h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

XBManiac6h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad6h ago(Edited 6h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple1016h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic4h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

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150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos1d 8h ago (Edited 1d 7h ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers1d 4h ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken14h ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g1d ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing1d ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H91d ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola20h ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn66923h ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle23h ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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300°

Microsoft Seemingly Closes Bethesda France

As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people

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insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere1d 15h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 12h ago

If they are let go, they can be whatever they want. They ARE 3rd party now... 🤦

Barlos1d 10h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN1d 3h ago

They can form a company if they want, they are just as jobless as if "Microsoft had left them as 3rd party".

peppeaccardo1d 5h ago

"MIcrosoft leaves Bethesda do what they know how to do best" ... close! Oh the irony ....
(Citation from a week old article)

ChasterMies1d 1h ago

I think Microsoft and other game publishers are letting people go because they think ai will replace them. Doesn’t matter how much profit they make. They were always going to be let go.

PassNextquestion1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much

Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region

blacktiger1d 12h ago

that's a shame for you to say that, i'm sure Elite loves hearing what you just said.

Mr Logic23h ago

What a stupid thing to say. The elites give 0 fucks what we say on an obscure website in the comments section.

Crows9022h ago

You can always reach out and give them jobs at your company man. Don't wait

Profchaos1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.

I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games

Tacoboto1d 14h ago

It's France too, there's a high likelihood only 1-2 people on the team even had an Xbox.

Profchaos1d 14h ago

Possibly guven all the leaks we know the Xbox brand is really struggling in the region.

Yi-Long1d 11h ago

Well, if your consoles and games are barely found in any stores any more, of course you're gonna struggle finding consumers ...

XiNatsuDragnel1d 13h ago

Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo

Profchaos1d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

I think it would have been better for all parties really especially gamers

TheColbertinator1d 12h ago

The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.

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