PS3 Problems Cause Sony Stocks to Slide

eldavojohn writes "Gamespot has an article describing PS3s operating erratically at conference demonstrations.' In its defense, Sony said the PS3 failures were caused by unusually high temperatures created by having many of the next-gen consoles operating in close proximity to each other. 'It's not a problem with the PlayStation 3 unit itself,' Sony spokeswoman Nanako Kato told the AP. 'For a normal player at home, there shouldn't be any problem.' As a result, Sony's stock slid 2.75%. I guess they should have thought first before releasing five times the number of kiosks as they did with the PS2 — they're causing each other to overheat. There goes my PS3 beowulf cluster idea!" Update: 10/04 20:40 GMT by Z : anti-human 1 wrote in to mention a GamesIndustry.biz article, with a flat denial of overheating issues from Sony. "As could be seen on the TGS floor by the tens of thousands of media and public attendees, both the hardware and software worked flawlessly."

What about the cabinet?

[brunes69 (86786)]

Geez, if these things are that heat senseitive they probbaly are not going to work in a closed-door stereo cabinet.

I currenrly have my DVR, my Xbox, and my reciever all in a stereo cabinet with a closed door. All work fine with no overheating. Is Sony trying to say that if I want to get a PS3 I need to buy a new stereo cabinet too?

About that Xbox...

[UbuntuDupe (970646)]

Something I've always wondered: How come people on Slashdot are normally of the mindset: I would never use a Micro$oft product ever unless I had to, my entire home setup is based around Linux even where that reduces convenience, if you help Micro$oft, you are a terrorist, Bill Gates is a cyborg , but then, no one bats an eyelid when someone castually mentions their Xbox -- a completely unnecessary Microsoft purchase?

Think about it.

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[Aladrin (926209)]

2 words: Vocal minority.

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[UbuntuDupe (970646)]

The Bill Gates-cyborg picture is due to a vocal minority?

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[eln (21727)]

Yes, of course it is. In the case of that picture, the vocal minority is the administrators of this site. It's not like the community at large gets to choose what pictures to put with what topic headings.

Re:About that Xbox...

[Blakey Rat (99501)]

Well, I read Slashdot and I think those anti-Microsoft people are jerks.

Re:About that Xbox...

[Y-Crate (540566)]

Something I've always wondered: How come people on Slashdot are normally of the mindset: I would never use a Micro$oft product ever unless I had to, my entire home setup is based around Linux even where that reduces convenience, if you help Micro$oft, you are a terrorist, Bill Gates is a cyborg , but then, no one bats an eyelid when someone castually mentions their Xbox -- a completely unnecessary Microsoft purchase?

I think it may have something to do with the fact both Sony and Nintendo have thrown their respective weight around the gaming market to the detriment of consumers and developers, which renders any value judgments regarding Microsoft's tactics in the console arena to be mostly null when it comes to selecting a system.

If all three major players have had a history of the same thing, then it really comes down to purchasing the console that will have the most value to you. JRPG fans should buy a PS3, action gamers often find the Xbox/Xbox 360 to be a good fit, while the fans of quirky games and Nintendo's established franchises might want to hold out for a Wii. Which is not to say that anyone is restricted to a particular platform if their finances permit.

For the fanboys who can't stomach what I just said, I'll translate that statement into trollspeak:

If you want to sit around and watch cutscenes all day, buy a PS3. If graphics are the only thing you consider when buying a game, go for a 360, if you want kiddie games for mongoloids, put down a pre-order for a Wii.

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[mennucc1 (568756)]

What about a small fridge to put alongside the stereo cainet? You may put your soda, beer, and PS3 inside it.

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[rlp (11898)]

Is Sony trying to say that if I want to get a PS3 I need to buy a new stereo cabinet too?

No, it'll work just fine till all the liquid nitrogen evaporates.

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[Palshife (60519)]

This is just a personal philosophy, but components with vents or fans have no business being in a closed-door stereo cabinet.

I don't buy this argument.

[LoudMusic (199347)]

Overheating demo game console units is no reason for stock of one of the largest electronics manufactures to slip. I'd bet it has more to do with exploding batteries.

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[buswolley (591500)]

Perhaps its because they are out of touch with their customers.

It's probably both.

[jchenx (267053)]

If there weren't such a huge recall of Sony batteries over the last few months, then a news item like this probably wouldn't have affected Sony's stock all that much. But I imagine analysts are worried now about the general quality of Sony products.

Re:I don't buy this argument.

[zstlaw (910185)]

Except that the analysts specifically mentioned concerns about the "entertainments division".

We have adopted a cautious view of the impact of the [Sony] game business on the electronics business this term,'' Goldman Sachs analyst Yuji Fujimori told Bloomberg. Fujimori downgraded Sony's rating from "buy" to "neutral" citing "confusion over the release of PlayStation 3 and concerns [about] disappointing sales of [the] PlayStation Portable,

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[avirrey (972127)]

Does anyone here even play the market? Who care if the argument makes sense? If Fujimori 'downgrades' Sony, the stock WILL go down. Same is true for every other company listed. Downgrade = immediate stock decline. Upgrade = immediate stock rise. If you don't think Fujimori is justified, then go buy the stock now that it's down 3%... if you're right, you'll make your 3% back...

===== All above forward looking statements are non-legally binding and are simply projections based on known... oh who cares.

Re:I don't buy this argument.

[GrumblyStuff (870046)]

Or just overall piss-poor ideas being pushed out. $500-600 videoga- I mean, Linux supercomputer. Rootkits on CDs. Assploding batteries. So-so Blu-Ray. So-so PSP performance (not doing terribly bad but it's not exactly printing money)....

Then there's Krazy Kenny's PR talking that's just kinda... oooooOOOOOOoooooooooooooo~

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[DragonWriter (970822)]

Stock market journalism is full of lazy post hoc ergo propter hoc analysis; whenever a stock moves in one direction, stock market journalists reach out and grab the first news item they can find that is positive (if the move is up) or negative (if it is down) and assert as fact that the move was the result of that news item.

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[Alchemar (720449)]

Lets break that statement down:

"Overheating demo game console units is no reason for stock of one of the largest electronics manufactures to slip."

I would think that "one of the largest electronics manufactures" would by now have a firm grasp that semiconductor by their very definition (semi = partial & condutor = conducts electricity) do not conduct electricity well, and the inefficiency produces heat. If you design a case to look good and/or have a small foot print by pushing the cooling to the min

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[chrismcdirty (677039)]

Are you telling me Sony was not around before 1996? Then who created the Walkman and the Betamax?

There is no problem with the PS3

[soft_guy (534437)]

As long as you buy it, Sony doesn't give a shit whether it will overheat at your house or not.

Plus, if you leave it OFF, it won't overheat!

Also, if you are using it indoors, then you probably aren't providing proper ventillation.

Either way, it can't be Sony's fault because by definition the PS3 is perfect!

Re:There is no problem with the PS3

[iocat (572367)]

I was at TGS and a) it was about 1000 degress inside; b) the PS3s were in tiny plexiglass containers with no visible ventilation; c) it was pre-release software; d) it's probably running on test kits, which aren't notoriously reliable; and e) I was in the sony booth, looking directly at games, for >90 minutes and saw one crash only.

This a) compares favorably with E3, and b) is in line with what you'd expect from beta software, especially since the last bugs you find are the kind of crazy tiny 'soak-test' memory leaks that tend to come out when you play the game constantly for 8 hours w/o rebooting, as you see at TGS.

IMHO, this whole thing is FUD; some analyst who saw a game crash and is trying to justify his trip to Tokyo.

PS3 Crashing

[by Anonymous Coward]

The crashes weren't cuased by overheating... they were caused by a rootkit!

Sounds like good news to me!

[ectal (949842)]

Part of my decision whether to purchase a PS3 will be based on the amount of heat produced by the console and the amount of power it drains per hour. If the PS3 does not cause a significant increase in my average monthly power bill and a noticeable increase of my living room's temperature, I will not buy one.

I need to know the PS3 has power. I need to be afraid that it might drain my bank account. Or set my room on fire. Or hurt me in other more subtle ways. Only then will I respect it.

Sounds like the PS2 all over again

[Bones3D_mac (324952)]

I seem to recall the initial versions of the PS2 having all sorts of issues (primarily with the optical drives), not unlike last years XBox 360 fiasco. Considering Sony's attitude toward the consumer lately, we'll probably be forced to tolerate it as the tradeoff for the privilege of using the PS3 raw power.

Could it be that both Microsoft AND Sony have falling victim to the "Tortoise and the Hare" factor? It seems Nintendo's choice to choose the slow and steady path might just win the race this time around.

fusion reactor

[j00r0m4nc3r (959816)]

There goes my PS3 beowulf cluster idea!

Goodbye beowulf cluster, hello fusion reactor core!

Funny++;

[MeanderingMind (884641)]

I laughed, I cried, I bought the DVD, the UMD, the HD-DVD and the Blu-ray.

Mod parent up Funny please.

Defense

[American AC in Paris (230456)]

In its defense, Sony said the PS3 failures were caused by unusually high temperatures created by having many of the next-gen consoles operating in close proximity to each other.

Fortunately, most consumers are quite diligent when it comes to ensuring that their game consoles are properly positioned in a well-ventilated area with adequate clearance on all sides. I don't predict much trouble with people laying the damn thing on the carpet; butting the air vents up against the wall; setting it next to the radiator; cramming it into their entertainment center's shelf between the TiVo, XBox, and a bunch of DVDs; putting stuff on top of it; or anything else that your typical consumer would simply never dream of doing to a game console.

Big. Honkin'. Red. Flag.

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[chrismcdirty (677039)]

Sony anticipated people putting things on top of it. That's why they shaped it like a George Foreman grill. Anything put on top with slide right of without a good balancing act.

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[American AC in Paris (230456)]

Sony anticipated people putting things on top of it. That's why they shaped it like a George Foreman grill. Anything put on top with slide right of without a good balancing act.

I'd bet that you could get non-rigid items to rest on top of it just fine.

A strategy guide, for example.

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[Orange Crush (934731)]

Sony anticipated people putting things on top of it. That's why they shaped it like a George Foreman grill. Anything put on top with slide right of without a good balancing act.

Will it also cook mouth-watering hamburgers to perfection in minutes with less fat?

Déjà Vu

[scott666 (1008567)]

The PS3 launch is looking more and more like the 360 launch. Horrible shortages, overheating problems, higher price than most gamers wanted to pay (remember a year ago when $400 for a console seemed like too much?). I was really pulling for Sony when all we had to look at was what Microsoft had done, but they've managed to take every oportunity to make their console less interesting. There's no way I'd buy one at launch now, I'm betting the hardware problems will be worse than the PS2 launch and 360 launch

just a feature

[gsn (989808)]

Nonsense. This is just a feature - buy a PS3 - it will play your Blu Ray movies, surf the web, play your music, study protein folding, and now warm your house too! Forget paying your heating bill - its the perfect Christmas present! Rumour has it that it can even play games.

A great present to send to any of your loved ones in the army serving abroad - hours of entertainment and when in a spot of bother the troops can combine 5 or more PS3s and a few Sony batterys to create a high power IED!

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[NonSequor (230139)]

Given how much Sony depends on its game division these days, if the PS3 fails to sell as much as Sony expects, Sony's stock price is going to go down the tubes.

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[NonSequor (230139)]

Bleh. I didn't mean to post that as a reply to another message. I meant to post it at the top level. I guess I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

George Foreman grill addon anyone?

[Mullinator (939148)]

You are all noobs, everyone knows this is happening because Sony is keeping the George Foreman grill addon for later. Just spend another $300 for the Blu George Foreman grill ray in January and all your overheating problems will be over... As long as you are using it with Sony brand eggs and bacon. Just remember though that the Sony brand food will only work with Sony brand hardware!

Bad analysis

[suv4x4 (956391)]

If demos gone awry caused stock slide we'd have witnessed the top companies have negative stock values by now (wouldn't that be cool, huh?).

uhh... what?

[by Anonymous Coward]

You're actually trying to claim that the Sony stock slips 2.75% because a PS3 demo unit overheated? You don't think it might be because oh.... EVERY BATTERY EVER MADE BY SONY IS BEING RECALLED? Do you have your Wii pre-order from EB framed in a shrine?

entertainment center

[CDPatten (907182)]

[sarcasim] I'm sure stacked away in an entertainment center is a going to be a HUGE difference from lining up a fw PS3s on a showroom floor.

Come on, seriously.... the PS3 is going to be overheating in every living room its in. Is anybody (who isn't just an anti-ms zealot) seriously considering getting one of these?

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[RexRhino (769423)]

For some strange reason, Sony has a fanatical brand loyalty around their video game systems, who will purchase whatever they make, no-matter what. While I won't be purchasing one, I would say there are a lot of people who wouldn't consider anything else.

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[swerk (675797)]

I can't speak for the pro-Sony lunatics, but I happen to be a different kind of lunatic - a Metal Gear addict. As far as anybody's heard, the next one is PS3-only, just as the last one was PS2-only. Once the price sees a drastic drop or two and the hardware is revised enough that it won't burn my house down or have its precious stupid blu-ray laser fail, by then maybe the inevitable super-edition of Metal Gear Solid 4 will be out and I'll finally cave and get one of these damn things.

But at launch? Oh he

cluster

[gEvil (beta) (945888)]

There goes my PS3 beowulf cluster idea!

You joke, but considering a PS2 cluster was made, [uiuc.edu] a PS3 cluster isn't really out of the question, especially when considering how much power the Cell supposedly has. This news actually does put a damper on the PS3 cluster idea.

The trouble with fanless systems

[Animats (122034)]

They made it "fanless", right? Fanless electronic devices with significant heat loads are inherently vulnerable; if the external environment is worse than the design spec, they die. Hot weather or tight shelf space, and you're dead.

Worse, if some systems are failing early in life due to cooling problems, more are very likely to fail later. ICs that run hot has a reduced lifespan; there's a well-understood relationship for this. So if demo units are failing when new, this is serious.

Somewhere at Sony, I suspect that engineers are frantically trying to tweak the heatsink, airflow, and case hole design before shipping. It's very late for that.

There will probably be aftermarket fan kits. Liquid cooling would be overdoing it.

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[throx (42621)]

Liquid cooling would be overdoing it.

Lies!

Liquid cooling is never overdoing it, wait until you see my 500gph water cooled iPod!

Interesting...Playstation 2s didn't overheat

[gevmage (213603)]

Glitching because of overheating would be interesting, if true.

The PlayStation 2 cluster that we built at NCSA [uiuc.edu] had 65 machines in a rack, tightly packed, with the fans of the machines at the front and the back of the shelves pointing at each other. They ran like that for on the order of 15 months, and I'm not aware of any heat related issues.

No.

[MaestroSartori (146297)]

Disclaimer: although I work for Sony, this isn't official.

They weren't overheating. Some pre-release software was crashing. Imagine that! The shock, the horror...

Wait a minute...

[norminator (784674)]

The Wii has never had this sort of problem and it costs less than half as much as the PlayStation 3 does.

Hey, I'm all for the Wii too, but isn't it a little silly to say that an unreleased product that has not been tested by the public has never had any one specific problem? (The hardware at E3, from what I recall was not necessarily the final hardware, nor was it actually packed in the Wii cases... which is a big deal when it comes to overheating issues.) I think we can guess that the Wii won't have those issues since it's not intended to be a super-ultra high-res mega-spec console. But it is in a tiny box, so we won't know until real people actually use it.

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[by Anonymous Coward]

But it is in a tiny box

Hey, I don't know about you, but I prefer to have my Wii in a tiny box. Big boxes just aren't as... fun.

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[by Anonymous Coward]

I don't understand why people keep echoing the statement, "Well, the PS3 doesn't look nearly as good as the PS2, but hey it's a Sony and that will make it the market leader."

It literally took Nintendo one generation to go from an "invincible" first to second, and a further generation from second to third. Branding doesn't mean a thing in this industry; it's all about the games.

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[chrismcdirty (677039)]

Then explain to me why Madden continuously outsold NFL 2KX. The truth is that branding doesn't mean a thing to real gamers. To fanboys and casual players -- the one whose friend has a PS2, but he's never owned one himself -- branding is everything.

Re:We're buying "potential"

[mrchaotica (681592)]

Bah, why would they need to dig? They could just drill a few holes and toss in some of their laptop batteries!