The Problem With Being In The Lead

Every new generation is a clean slate for all the companies that make the consoles we love. What happens the generation before never matters once that generation ends, and we've seen it happen time and again. There is one constant though, one thing that has never changed, and that's the arrogance that being the "winner" brings. That arrogance may shift to the next console, or it may exist within the same generation, but it's always there. The idea that you can do whatever you want, cut whatever corners you want, and have terrible customer service because you're in the lead and can get away with it is always a problem.

This has happened with Nintendo, most recently with the Wii U but also with the N64. Nintendo thought that they could use the success of the SNES to dictate the trends moving into the 64 bit era and were hammered by Sony because Nintendo were unwilling to give up cartridges and Sony used the much easier and cheaper CDs. Nintendo thought that they could endlessly cash in on the Wii name and retain the attention of the enthralled casual audience that they built up with the Wii when they moved on to the Wii U, but they learned that casual gamers are fickle at best and only core gamers stick with products and brands for the long haul.

This happened with Microsoft, where their success with the Xbox 360 made them believe they could dictate the trends of online gaming and game sharing with the Xbox One. They forgot who made the Xbox 360 a huge success and decided they were going to make the Xbox One focus more on non-gaming initially when the Xbox One was revealed and for a while after its launch. They learned that gamers don't take kindly to not being able to play their games even when offline, and that they don't care about tv, tv, tv.

It's happened, and still is happening, with Sony. The PS1 was a massive success, and Sony moved that on to the PS2 which was the most successful console in the history of the industry. Two generations of absolute dominance led Sony to believe they literally could do anything they wanted, so they released the PS3 at a stupidly high price thinking people would just eat it up, all while making it the most difficult to program for thinking they owned the generation and developers would simply flock to work longer to make games for the PS3. Sure, everything you got with the launch PS3s was impressive, but it was still arrogant.

Now it's the PS4 and Sony launched the console off right, but Sony is still arrogant. Outselling your direct competition consistently by a 2:1 margin is always good for the shareholders moods, but not so good for us gamers in certain, less talked about ways. Yes, being the lead console of the current generation means more games, more developers wanting to make games exclusively for your console, and all the good things that come with being a winner. It also means you stop caring about the little problems, and the little people that have them.

Sony spent a lot of time trying to make the perfect console for developers, but they skimped on other necessary things. For me, one of those things is a well-built, long lasting controller.

A lot of people are complaining about things like DLNA, video codecs, external MP3 playing, and other insignificant (to me anyway) software based "features." I have a left analog stick that prevents or slows forward movement. Guess which one should be more important?

I bought a PS4 at launch, which means my console is almost 1 year and half old. The analog nubs are slightly worn, not enough to complain about so that doesn't bother me, but recently the left analog stick has effectively stopped fully functioning. Looking into it, I found out that I'm not the only one that has experienced this, and some have experienced it with greater severity and with both analog sticks. The general consensus is that the problem isn't hardware based, it's software based as the calibration is off. These people want Sony to include a method of recalibrating the controller through the PS4 console. I've seen other reports though of people fully replacing the analog stick themselves and the same end result occurs. This would suggest a hardware fault, and it's something I'm more inclined to believe due to wear and tear. But... wear and tear after only a year and a half?

What's clear to me is that Sony didn't want to take much of a loss, if any, on the PS4 so they had to cut down on manufacturing costs. The DS4 is generally a decent controller, but the analog sticks are shite. They are the kind of sticks you'd find off a $20 knock off controller, complete with the clicky noise they make when you use them. This is a clear indication of cut corners.

Sony is in the lead now. Try gaining satisfaction from this issue from a company that's in the lead. Customer Support is always hot and cold in any company, but when said company is doing so well it's usually a lot colder. Sony doesn't have to care about my problem. My console is past its warranty so I'm out of luck. Sure, I can hope that Sony would be willing to be generous and replace my controller free of charge if I use some kind of CS magic, but why would they? It's in their best interests for people to buy a new controller rather than replace an out of warranty controller for "free."

Why did I put free in quotations? Because in all the research I've done on this, even in warranty, you get to spend the shipping cost to have a controller that was poorly built from the start fixed by the company that didn't care about the life span of their device. Out of warranty? Well you may as well just buy a new controller, which is what I'm going to be forced to do. That's $65 plus tax for a controller that doesn't cost nearly as much to make and has a good chance of failing again.

But Sony's in the lead. They really don't have to care about this unless enough people make a stink about it, and even when they did/do it gets brushed off as being an isolated problem. Happened with the PS2 and the DRE situation, and it's happening now. Companies in the lead become complacent. Not really their fault if they are a publicly traded company though, it's the shareholders. The suits know nothing of the real world of gaming, or anything for that matter. The suits are used to projections of profit, spreadsheets of sales, and models of money. They deal in things like "If you sell 3 units of product to each person that walks into your store, all at the same price, at the end of the month you can make approx. $125,000 dollars more." The same kind of people that thought it would be a good idea to end their business quarter by releasing Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin in the same month as Bloodborne even though we gamers were telling them that that's a bad idea.

These issues are problems with all of The Big 3. They will remain in the future as they always have. So now I have to spend $73 not because I threw my controller against the wall, or snapped it somehow, or dropped anything on it. No, I get to spend that money I really shouldn't be spending because after 1 year and 5 months of use (not even that as for awhile I was still playing PS3 a lot more and that controller still works perfectly) the analog stick decided it didn't like registering forward movement and because I'm past the warranty period Sony doesn't have to give a damn that their controller is defective, all they will give a damn about is the money they want me to pay to have it replaced with a new one which will be more than just going to my local Walmart and buying a new one myself, and take longer.

The saying "Pride comes before a fall" seems to be an alien concept to console makers in a lead position, and they also seem to suffer from selective amnesia because it's something all 3 of them tend to forget.

[GaminGuys]

Great little post bro really enjoyed it and I have X1

Just a little typo near the end

and because I'm passed the warranty period 'passed' should be 'past'

nice one. I approved your blog keep writing really liked it.

[DragonKnight]

I always mix those two up. I figured it was passed as in "passed by" and not past as in "the past." Thanks for the correction, will fix it now.

[mikeslemonade]

Only that the gamers messed up by choosing the 360 over the PS3. People should just forked $500 or $600 for a PS3. THat would had led to a better generation.

The gamers don't always get it right. Wii was wrong. 360 is arguably wrong. Yes the generation was great last year but everything pretty much was multiplat, rehash, and shooters.

[Pogmathoin]

Take the lesson lemonade... Your being the perfect example of everything wrong.... I have owned PS1 up to 4 today, but would never limit myself by blindly sticking to a brand. PS4 is what it is because of the 360... Sony learned a humble message, never ever take our pockets for granted... As the story above states, all 3 have made the big mistake.... Xbox is still recovering from ot right now...take the opportunity to move on....

[NewMonday]

so this is all about the thumb sticks?

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

I don't think Sony is as arrogant as they used to. The PS3 taught them a lot, and the success of the PS4 proves it. They've done pretty much the opposite of what they did with PS3 with PS4, including announcing games way ahead of their time. Every company at some point has become arrogant, but they also learn from their mistakes. Being #1 won't change them. It will keep them doing the good work to keep the momentum. Sony is still releasing games and committed to improve the PS4( At a slower pace than MS, but still every update is solid and worth the wait). There will always be some kind of issue around anything we come across.

I had the same issue with the controller, but now I have the White controller for couple of months and it's still like new. Maybe it was for the Christmas rush that that happened. I don't know. But considering that Both PS4 and Xbone were rushed to market and had issues day 1, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt

PS3's Cell processor was like a double edge sword. It was hard to develop, but also it was built to last. I'm willing to bet it still has some juice left, but with the easy-to-develop PS4 already here, devs won't bother.

Love both PS4 and Sony, but I know they have their issues. Don't really care about customer service because I have never had to deal with that. There's till so much room for improvement. And that's why they need us: To report and give feedback to improve PS4.

[rainslacker]

Just some advice as someone who used to repair consoles and stuff like that.

The problem isn't calibration, it's the contacts used within the controller itself to register that the pads or buttons are being pressed. People's hands are oily, and in some cases very dirty but more often than not hands have micro-particles of dirt. Over time, that oil and dirt gets down into the controller, and effects the contact points of the controller.

The simplest way to fix it is to look up a video or article on how to dismantle the controller, get a qtip and some rubbing alcohol, and gently wipe the contacts clean.

Some further advice if you wish to try this before dropping $70 on a new controller...although I'd trade it in before your analog grips start to tear which will happen if they're already worn...probably during a game that requires intense analog movement where you press harder...anyhow this advice is to be very careful when opening the controller with the shoulder buttons. They can be fickle to put back together, so do the disassembly on a table and try to keep the shoulder buttons in place at all times.

You will not have to disassemble the whole controller to get to the contacts.

The above advice is true for any modern style controller.

It sucks it happened, but user calibration IMO would be a bad idea on a console. Developers expect the controller to work a specific way, and calibration tends to screw things up. More often than not, the fewer options the better for the average consumer....as much as it pains me to say that.

Otherwise, maybe just put in your two cents over on the requests forums. Sony is getting to things, but I imagine they have so many requests that they can't get to everything right away, and there may be reasons that have nothing to do with arrogance why something isn't offered.

[DragonKnight]

Oh I wouldn't have bought a new controller before looking up what I could do about fixing the problem with the original one. Quite simply, there was nothing I could do and I know the problem would just get worse over time.

Also, Sony already knows about this as they've addressed the problem with controllers already. They consider the problem small and isolated, but apparently newer controllers are sturdier. My point is that their response initially was "play carefully" then later it moved to isolated which they maintain. It's not a secret that the DS4, while a great controller all around in terms of design, is very poorly built with substandard parts to save money. The controller is way too important to phone in when building it. You can't use the hardware without the controller and can't play games.

I have a new controller now, it had better last longer than a year and a half is all I have to say about it. I love Playstation, always have, but I'm not going to let Sony get a pass on shoddy devices.

But thank you for the advice. Hopefully it will be more useful in the future. In truth, I think Dragonball Xenoverse is what pushed my controller over the edge as every other game I have doesn't require as much intense button use.

[rainslacker]

I hadn't heard of the problem of unresponsive analog sticks needing calibration, and if it's faulty parts, I doubt calibration would work anyhow. Was just my experience that those things get dirty on the contact points, or there's may be something preventing the mechanics of the analog stick to not function properly, which is often caused by dirt and body oil.

Me personally, one of my DS4 controllers started having the rubber wearing off like some of the earlier complaints were a few weeks ago while trying to get the training trophy for DOA5:LR. I really need to break out my fight stick.:)

Anyhow, best of luck on the new one. I know that one shouldn't have to go through the process of cleaning a controller, or fixing it or whatever, just thought I'd throw it out there to save some aggravation and money.

On a side note, I think the sturdiest controller in my PS arsenal that I actually use is the original sixaxis that came with my launch PS3. My other 2 DS3's and a 2nd SixAxis that I actually use(not the ones still in packages for collecting) have all had to have some maintenance on them. I think every controller for every system I've had has had to have a cleaning at some point, and I'm glad I know how to do that stuff, because replacements can get quite costly.

You mention battery life below, and it does suck overall depending on the game. I'd recommend buying an aftermarket battery, but it's something Sony should remedy and stop trying to save the 50-75 cents it probably saves them to not go with the 2000mA batter instead of the 1500Ma one they use now.

[Persistantthug]

Quick question....

If you buy an extended warranty for your console from Walmart, Target, etc.....do they replace controllers?

[rainslacker]

Not sure. I never buy those. But I think they'd replace the whole thing if any part is broken. The manager there may replace just the controller though, but you'd have to verify with them.

[Concertoine]

I'm assuming you used a launch controller? The newer ones seem to be built better. I got my ps4 in september 2014, and my friend brought over a controller last week from launch and it just didn't feel as good. It's probably seen more use, but it felt like more than that. It's crazy how expensive controllers are these days. Gotta make money somehow, i guess.

The battery life is my main gripe with the DS4. It feels great, but i went from using AA's on the 360 to using the Wii U pro controller which has roughly 70 hours of battery life so i'm used to not even bothering charging my controllers lol.

The whole "in the lead thing" has always had a weird affect on me. I guess i just like rooting for the under dog. It sounds hipsterish but the cult-y feeling is refreshing. The PS2 has always felt like an overrated console to me just because it's all people talk about, all three of the other systems are arguably the best out of their companies. I'd say the PS1 was sony's best, personally.

[DragonKnight]

Yeah, the battery life is atrocious too. I've had to charge my controller multiple times in a single day. That's just sad.

[NewMonday]

jest get a long USB cable, used one from the PS3 days

[star_lancer]

You forgot about the most arrogant of all - Atari. An Atari exec was once heard saying something to the effect of "We could put s..t in a cartridge and people would buy it". That's not the exact quote, but I've heard this story numerous times so I'm pretty sure it's mostly accurate.

Of course, we all know that Atari treated their best programmers like dirt, released horrible high-profile games like E.T & Pac-Man, and for several years brought the entire industry down with them. Fortunately, there was a small contingent of gamers who kept video games alive on computers until Nintendo came along and correctly realized that there was still a market for home consoles.

[Concertoine]

And then they got arrogant. Then Sony. Then MS for some reason.

Props to these companies though, they've proven that their best sides come out at the worst of times.

[DragonKnight]

I remember the quote you're talking about. Atari was so arrogant they caused the gaming market crash of the 80s. An unequaled feat since then. The Big 3 are coming close to doing that themselves, Sony and Microsoft more than Nintendo but still.

[Pogmathoin]

I find Nintendo the most arrogant actually. MS and Sony seem to take in the feedback, look for it, and you see that in updates. With Nintendo though, they always seem to stick to the the Nintendo way, and they will tell you how things will be, should be....they seem like a closed shop.

[BillytheBarbarian]

I actually enjoyed the N64 more because they didn't go the cd rom route. Most of my memories of 3DO, Saturn, and PS1 are long load times. I just didn't have the patience for it. Especially fighting games when it had to load a character in mid match like Shang Tsung's transformations for example. Being brought up primarily with Sega Genesis and Nintendo cartridges I wanted to turn it on and play. I could play through 2 standard wrestling matches on WWF No Mercy by the time the PS1 loaded the character entrances. Sony just had a cheaper console than Nintendo and beat them to market by a year. I think both Sony and Sega would have gotten crushed if N64 came out the same year. Imagine MGS with no load times...just my opinion.

[Tsubasa-Oozora]

Am I reading this right... Sony is arrogant because you broke your Dualshock left-analog stick?

You was making sense with Nintendo vs Sony CD's, 360 DRM until you stopped at the analog-stick.

Left-Analog stick is a very common problem on Consoles. Do a simple Google Search on "Xbox left-analog stick" or "Sony left-analog sticks" and you will see that the problem exists on all platforms, last-generation and current-gen.

Sony is not arrogant, they actually gave gamers what they want, unlike microsoft... Let's see if Sony turns arrogant in the next round of consoles.

[DragonKnight]

Clearly you're not. They're arrogant because of their response to the issue which I mentioned. Sony has done well with the PS4 overall, but they are showing clear signs of arrogance in the way they handle simple complaints. The problems with the DS4 are well-documented as you said, yet Sony's reply to it was at first to tell people to go easy on their controllers, then later to say that the problem is small and isolated. They said exactly the same thing about DRE on the PS2 and they were hit by a class action lawsuit because of that problem.

You joined this site 2 months ago. Ask around about me. You'll see most people consider me to be a Sony fanboy. I prefer Sony consoles for sure, I wouldn't pay for a Microsoft console to save my life, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let Sony get a pass for cutting corners and then brushing it off simply because they are doing well. In the end, my money and enjoyment will always trump any preference for Sony.

[Tsubasa-Oozora]

I am not questioning your fanboy-ism.

"then later to say that the problem is small and isolated"

The problem IS small and isolated. Stop being so rough with your controller. You do know they make special controllers just for people like you that play rough?

If the problem was at least 10% of ps4 controllers(which it is not) then we would hear about it. This problem is very isolated. You make it seem like 40% of PS4 controllers are damaged. Millions of PS4 users out there and only a handful show problems with their DS4, that's normal.

There is also a lot of trolls online lyng about the DS4 on amazon and whatnot, that's why it makes this problem seem so huge, it's not.

Just like i said, Controller sticks, buttons etc are a common problem on ALL platforms, not just Sony. Do some research.

[DragonKnight]

Dude, it's not about being rough. It's about moving the left analog stick up, forward, to the 12 o'clock position and the character either moving sluggishly slow, or not at all. It has nothing to do with me banging on buttons hard, or throwing around the controller, or anything like that. I've been a gamer for 27 years, I know how to take care of my controllers. The DS4 is built with subpar parts. It's a great controller design, feels good in the hands, but the quality is not there. Sony clearly lowered their quality standards for this controller because it means saving money which equals more revenue overall for them.

The problem is not small or isolated. You yourself said it's a common problem. If it were small and isolated you couldn't call it common. The last figures I heard, unconfirmed as they are, were 1 in 10 controllers. That's 2 million controllers. That's not small, not isolated. When's the last time you heard of the Wii U's pro controller or the Xbox One's controller having the analog stick just not work? Not saying that that's not possible, just saying that it's happening more with the DS4 and Sony doesn't seem to care too much.

I won't give any company a pass on things like this. Sony is a hardware company, they should know better.

[TFJWM]

Kinda of stretch to say that they have gotten compliant because your controller got busted. I use my launch controller on my PS3,4 and PC and have zeros issues with it. Just lucky I guess. As for it not happening to the Xbox 1 controllers searching you see more issues with people going thru 8 controllers in the first year.. https://xbox.uservoice.com/...

[DragonKnight]

"Kinda of stretch to say that they have gotten compliant because your controller got busted."

What? I'm going to assume that you mean complaints, at which case I will question the literacy skills of the entire world, not because of your misused word but because of people insisting on misreading things I write.

[freshslicepizza]

"I wouldn't pay for a Microsoft console to save my life"

i see. so you don't really buy consoles just the enjoyment they can provide and are instead more inclined to support companies who meet your standards. even though by your own admission they are all arrogant. what are you trying to say in this blog, that sony is the lesser of all evils and because of that you will remain loyal to them?

the problem you are having with your controller doesn't have anything to do with sony's arrogance. it needs to be a widespread problem and if the controller broke out of warranty most companies would have the same policy. it's called wear and tear and the only way to be covered outside of warranty is a class action lawsuit. much like what happened with the dre situation and the rrod fiasco. most complaints are not about the sticks breaking but about the rubber nubs wearing fast and the battery life.

we need stop trying to identify with our electronics to that of a big corporation who made it. some of you get way too attached which fuels these console wars to begin with. $400 is not a lot of money for something that may last you 5 years or more. so to say you won't buy a microsoft console to save your life makes no sense if you enjoy gaming. they all offer some form of entertainment, otherwise they would not be able to survive.

the real worry with being too much in the lead isn't actually just about arrogance, it's trying to manipulate the market. we seen it on the ps2 where developers really didn't have much of a choice to make games on any other system. can you imagine if the wii did so well that third party games didn't sell on the ps3 and xbox 360? we also seen this situation occur during the early nintendo days. nintendo controlled what could be released and how many games could come out. the relationship with third party was not good. microsoft tried to do the same with indie games and because xbox live does not dominate the charts they don't have that power anymore. so yes, i do agree on some level that being in the lead can create issues. especially if that lead is substantial. we don't need a competitive market, the consumer will dictate that. what we do need is competition to remain.

[freshslicepizza]

actually i'm not surprised you won't respond on topic since you do it quite often and not just to me. the pattern is the same, if it doesn't suit your needs or your agenda then you write some off-color remark and turn it into a personal jab. you've proven time and again you want to shove your opinion on others and will never deter from that point of view. so instead of just ignoring responses that differ from yours or take the time to make a counter argument you think its better to act in a narcissistic fashion.

your loyalty to a company is a reflection as to why it doesn't matter how big of a lead they get or how they may fumble. you can complain about the hardware build of the controller after the warranty has expired all you want but things like this happen all the time. one of my ps3 controllers doesn't work as well as the other one. life goes on, you buy another one or try and fix it yourself. you can open up controllers and clean them out and look at the contacts and even solder the connections if need be. so this whole blog acting like you won't give sony a free pass doesn't really mean anything since you will continue to support them while bashing the competition.

oh and just a heads up, calling someone butt hurt who has no personal ties to a company makes no sense at all. on the contrary one who says things like i would never buy a certain console because its made by a certain company sounds a lot more butt hurt. but hey, whatever floats your boat.

[DragonKnight]

@moldybread: Right, because I should respond to a guy who's upset I won't buy a Microsoft console and chose to frame his argument around being upset by what I choose to spend my money on or not. That's a great use of my time. When you're worth replying to, then I'll reply to your statements, since you're not I'll let you go on thinking it's because I'm afraid since that childish kind of thinking doesn't impact my decision in any way.

[freshslicepizza]

dk,
"Right, because I should respond to a guy who's upset I won't buy a Microsoft console and chose to frame his argument around being upset by what I choose to spend my money on or not."

yes sirree bob, i'm very upset. so upset that i myself don't even have an xbox one. as for what you spend your money on why would i care? you don't have an answer, just more rhetoric to remain off-topic and a desperate attempt to try and point the finger back at me. this is your blog, not mine. i'm not the one who is portraying that they are going to hold sony accountable only to keep being loyal to them no matter what. all while at the same time limiting myself to other opportunities because of some moral ground or whatever the case may be why you wouldn't buy a microsoft console to save your life. what you choose to buy is your prerogative but don't try and act like because the ps4 is dominating the charts that it's going to impact your spending habits and possibly buy something else next time.

"That's a great use of my time. When you're worth replying to, then I'll reply to your statements."

you ARE replying to me...again. this is the second time you are replying to me and the second time you refuse to actually answer anything. you seem to think going off-course is going to serve you better. it's not. it just highlights once again your conduct here on this site. at least now you've used up all your conversation bubbles which means we don't have this endless conversation about nothing. it's like a rejected seinfeld episode. even my first comment and the last paragraph i agreed with parts of your blog but because i oppose your thinking on other parts you took it personal and want to keep it personal. oh well but thanks again for reaffirming what i said about you before, you like to shove your opinion on others and if you don't like the counter argument one posts this is the pattern you keep doing.

sony is in the lead by quite a margin already. your controller issues have nothing to do with the other as to how they will treat the customer. what we do know is sony hasn't dropped the price of the ps4 and that is because they don't have to. it's a complete 180 from what we saw on the ps3. these are the effects of being in the lead. another is development and how it can influence a third party team to make it the lead platform. we seen this on the ps2. we've also witnessed the popularity of the xbox 360 and how the dvd drive was a hindrance to that of the ps3's bluray drive. sony lead by example but third party developers had to worry about the xbox 360. this is another example of influence. we see it every generation on consoles to that of the pc. the consoles make up the bulk of sales which means developers have to take into consideration of consoles limitations. console gamers cry about parity but often overlook the pc and how developers a lot of the time don't use the full resources there.

so as you can see there are many factors that come into play when it comes to sales. the wii u is hurting and the less it sells the less likely anyone outside of nintendo will utilize the wii u functions to anything meaningful. this is why we are thankful kinect finally stopped being shoved into the console's design. sales did not impact developers.

no matter how good the ps4 is there is still a after effect if it becomes too popular. as you mentioned with how sony handled the ps3 after coming off two straight dominations. but to suggest this arrogance is at play again as to why they won't address your concerns regarding the controller? that's a stretch, even for you.

[rezzah]

OMG the controller!

Mine had a issue a couple months into my PS4 life cycle. The hinge for the R2 button broke off. I bought a replacement R2 button and fixed it myself, then I realized it was a millimeter larger in some aspects, this caused it to constantly trigger "R2" all the time. But I fixed it by removing the plastic piece between R1 and R2, this way the button would not be pressured into triggering "R2". Controller works fine now.

I hope Sony releases a new version of their DS4, because the current ones were not made to last long.

[LordMaim]

I have two controllers that I bought at launch, and they both work perfectly. I play a lot of games too, so its not like they're not being used. Out of twenty million systems sold, if even one percent of the controllers were bad, that would be two hundred thousand people complaining about the issue. Sometimes things break, controllers especially. Just because some of the controllers have had issues doesn't mean that all of the controllers weren't built to last.

[rezzah]

My second controller, the blue one, has been used extensively for much longer. The analogue sticks are almost entirely smooth. So I agree with the likelihood that I was unlucky with receiving a bad controller.

The fact that the R2 button broke early in it's lifetime for my first controller, I have a fear for the L2 and R2 buttons breaking easily based on their structure. To me they appear less secure than the L2 and R2 in the DS3. I've studied the changes that occurred to my R2 in my blue controller over the months (sounds, resistance, etc) . It is pressed more often (FPS) so it makes me wonder if the hinges will snap like it did for my first controller.

One thing to note is the controller falling, I am referring to accidental falls and not being thrown. The trigger buttons are thin and stick out more on the DS4 than the DS3. It is possible based on the seemingly fragility of the trigger buttons, it may take only one fall for one of them to snap; this depends on how they land on the ground. I primarily hope for a more secure trigger button design, second would be battery lifetime.

[Gazondaily]

My analog sticks are completely worn. People accuse me of being completely rough with them but that's simply not true.

Sony's customer service is rubbish imo. Even for my Xperia Z3, I simply cant find someone to speak to about my phone. It was supposed to be water proof but didn't lat 10 seconds under water on holiday. No human interaction. Just send the phone, pay for the delivery and they'll back to you. Then the phone got damaged so easily second time round.

Same thing.

Im obviously going to pay for recorded delivery because its an expensive phone and I want to track its delivery but they won't even reimburse me for that. So I won't send my phone again.

It sucks.

[DragonKnight]

Man that sucks. Though, I think most phone provider customer service sucks. I know that Sony's phone branch is almost an entirely different company that's just owned by Sony. Ericsson I believe it was. That's not to excuse it of course, I'm just saying that it's likely that certain policies don't exist for that branch of the company.

Still, you shouldn't be made to pay for shipping, especially if the phone is still under warranty. It's their defect, not yours.

[Gazondaily]

I just got it. When it was faulty it was my service provider that came through not Sony. Recorded delivery isn't cheap either.

Ah well what can you do eh?

[SteamPowered]

Interesting read, to be sure. The customized aspects of Pc are what made it my main platform. That freedom to build what I want was an alluring aspect. I currently rock about 3 different controllers, with only the Logitech giving me issues.

[Dr_Angus]

I haven't even played my PS4 much, but when I first gripped that DS4, it felt so flimsy and ready to fall apart, as well as the sticks feel and look cheaply made.
It is in new condition as well. I guess I'm just too 'rough.'

[KwietStorm_BLM]

lol way too much energy is (still) put into this mentality, when it's just video games. Sony is still arrogant? PlayStation 1 and 2 were in the lead for the life that they were on sale. It wasn't until PS3 that things changed. That very generation, or more specifically, the preplanning of that generation, is literally what built the PS4. Microsoft's own blunders with the Xbox One clearly helped, but someone would have to be obvious to not recognize that the missteps of the PS3 is what directly led to the PS4. Sony was humbled, and changed direction, drastically. The Dualshock 4 is undeniably a much better built pad than the 3. For people who bought the system at launch and had problems with theirs, that is not anything at all to be surprised about, unless it's on a scale like the Xbox 360. Bad eggs happen. Yea it sucks, but it is not representative of the entire assembly line. Everyone should know by now about the initial shipment of controllers having weak rubber. Anything else should be considered that percentage of faulty units, especially considering them being launch units.