I'm losing interest in gaming.

[retr0gamer]

Only ever had Sony consoles and a 360 fail on me. Went through one PS1, Had two PS2's fail after being mod chipped, was quick to do the HD hack on the next one after it. I also got A CDi 450 from ebay that arrived not reading any discs. After an ebay dispute I got the money off the seller for repair parts and got it working. The battery is dead though and it's a bitch to fix so just try to beat games in one sitting, kind of hard when most of the games have a habit of crashing.

[ves]

May 14, 2012 4:24:52 GMT -5 @megatronbison said:

I've had bad luck with consoles at points;
* Two PS1's died on me (Overplaying in these cases)
* Three PS2's (One was my brothers- the laser died, one bought second hand had it's circuit board erode(?) and one sadly, burgled.)
* One Xbox 360 (I also bought a second hand one recently and it is broken too- need to return it...)
* One PC Engine (The guy who sold me it fought tooth and nail refusing to accept it was broken when he sent it- claimed I just didn't know how to use it! Man, it was ridiculous- he eventually replaced the CD unit though)
* One Mega CD - (I'm pretty sure this could be fixed with a replacement fuse but I can't solder for the life of me and no-one has been able to offer to fix it either - my poor Snatcher and Shining Force CD waste away!)
* One Wii (bricked it by accidentally applying an update without having it backed up- my replacement is running much better thankfully!)

So yeah- not had the best of luck really! All my cartridge based systems are fine though- same for the handhelds. Oh and favourite sweets? Kinder Bueno- damn good!

Ouch, tough break. I've had pretty decent luck with consoles...touch wood. I've had the same PS2 for nearly a decade. Still soldiering on. My PS3 has given me more grief in less than a year than all my time with the PS2. Funny how things work.

As for sweets...well, I like white chocolate quite a bit, I guess.

[Ike]

As for failing consoles... I've actually had pretty good luck, generally.

My first PS1 failed on us during the last cutscene before the final boss of Final Fantasy 7. That was a kick in the balls.

My 360 also red ringed after 9 months, but that's to be expected.

[Allie]

May 14, 2012 9:35:02 GMT -5 Ike said:

As for failing consoles... I've actually had pretty good luck, generally.

My first PS1 failed on us during the last cutscene before the final boss of Final Fantasy 7. That was a kick in the balls.

My 360 also red ringed after 9 months, but that's to be expected.

Somehow, my 360 (Falcon) (bought in January of 2008) is still alive.

[Deleted]

I've gone through two PSOnes. The first one I bought myself as a teenager with no job, so it really sucked when the laser stopped working. With no money of my own, I just went over to my sister's house and switched my system for hers, heh heh. Of course that one ended up dying on me, too, but I had a job by then and could afford to replace it.

I've had two PS2s go out on me, as well. The first was bought in March of 2001, so it wasn't that long after launch. It lasted until around the fall of 2004. The slims were just coming out at that point, so I made sure to buy another fat version so I could play FFXI and RE: Outbreak someday. Never did end up playing FFXI (though I own a copy), but Outbreak was great.

At any rate, the laser on the second PS2 eventually started wearing out as well, but that was right around April of 2008, so I just waited it out and got a PS3.

I've had three Dreamcasts go bad on me, too. The first I got in April of 2000, specifically to be able to play Code Veronica. For whatever reason, that one stopped reading certain games, like Shenmue and Jet Set Radio, so I tried buying a used one from Gamestop in the summer of 2002. That one didn't work either, so I bought another used one, which also didn't work. Eventually I just waited it out and bought my sister's Dreamcast off of her in 2005. She never used it, so it was essentially in brand new condition when I got it. I made a point to finally beat Shenmue shortly thereafter.

As for the 360, I picked that up just about four years ago now. I got an RROD in August of 2009 while playing Tales of Vesperia. Very annoying, but it's been working just fine ever since I sent it out for repairs.

Oh, and I have a Nomad that can only be played with its AC adapter plugged into it. Even then, it'll shut off if you look at it funny.

[Feynman]

My NES died on me right as the 16-bit generation arrived, so it got just replaced that holiday season. In retrospect I wish I had kept it, because given the symptoms of the failure I am 100% certain that it was a simple case of needing to replace the 72 pin connector.

My Gamecube needed repair when the laser failed for no good goddamn reason. Never had any problems with it again, but it failed rather quickly, which is extremely unlucky given that Nintendo consoles are easily the most reliable when it comes to not breaking at random.

My Dreamcast died eventually, and so did it's replacement, which isn't that much of a surprise because that console is held together by duct tape and hope. People make fun of how much early model 360s failed, but the Dreamcast is not much better in my experience. I've given up on owning a functional Dreamcast.

I had two 360s die on me before I threw my hands in the air in disgust and bought a PS3. I plan on getting a new, cheap 360 once the next generation of consoles arrives so that I can pick up the interesting exclusives I missed.

Also the best candy is Swedish Fish.

[Deleted]

May 14, 2012 11:41:06 GMT -5 Feynman said:

Also the best candy is Swedish Fish.

Don't suppose you also like Flipz? If so, you and my wife could be best friends.

[Scylla]

I'd advise against replacement 72-pin connectors for the NES, to be honest. They're never as good as an official Nintendo one, and since they're pretty cheap, they usually only amount to temporary fixes. They usually start out so tight that you can barely insert or remove a game, which isn't good for your games either because it can scratch and thin the contacts, and then they stretch out in about a year or so and you're left with the same problem of loose connectors all over again. If possible, I'd just try to get an NES that was maintained well and not heavily used. Keeping the games and system very clean will make a big difference too. If it's still being problematic, I recommend opening the NES up, removing the 72-pin, scrubbing it down with a toothbrush and isopropyl alcohol, and if necessary, you can even try to bend the pins back into a tighter shape. Also, never leave a cart in there if you're not going to play for a long time since that'll just contribute to loosening the pins.

As for PS1 systems, I don't know if anyone cares now given the backwards compatibility of the PS2 and PS3 (although I personally still prefer using an original PlayStation for PS1 games), but I believe new laser units can be bought for about 15-20 bucks. Granted, you can just get another PS1 for that much, maybe less, but there's no guarantee that another would work great either. I've had a ton of PS1 systems pass through my hands, and I've never met one that doesn't work at all with a scratch-free game but some are definitely way more reliable than others.

I think with a lot of the more modern disc-based systems, like from PS1 onward, it goes back to what I was saying about being a marathon kind of person. The systems that I got brand new, my PS1, both PS2 systems (Japanese and American), Dreamcast, 360, Wii, Gamecube, etc., are all still working perfect, but I generally don't run them for more than 2 hours straight tops and with so many systems stretching me thin, no single system sees a ton of use. But modern systems are less reliable than older systems in all ways. Not only can they be run into the ground more easily with heavy use but they're also more prone to sudden, random failure. My DS Lite problem was definitely just bad luck because it wasn't that old, was treated very well, and didn't get used that heavily. Or with my PSP, I've only ever played a couple games on it beginning to end, but it started having difficulty recognizing that the flap is closed (I think it may have been related to an update), so now if I haven't used it in awhile (which is basically the case every time I do use it), I have to tug on the metal prongs in the flap to gently bend them out slightly and ensure that the disc is pressed tight against the system.

[Ike]

May 14, 2012 12:20:56 GMT -5 Scylla said:

I'd advise against replacement 72-pin connectors for the NES, to be honest. They're never as good as an official Nintendo one, and since they're pretty cheap, they usually only amount to temporary fixes. They usually start out so tight that you can barely insert or remove a game, which isn't good for your games either because it can scratch and thin the contacts, and then they stretch out in about a year or so and you're left with the same problem of loose connectors all over again. If possible, I'd just try to get an NES that was maintained well and not heavily used. Keeping the games and system very clean will make a big difference too. If it's still being problematic, I recommend opening the NES up, removing the 72-pin, scrubbing it down with a toothbrush and isopropyl alcohol, and if necessary, you can even try to bend the pins back into a tighter shape. Also, never leave a cart in there if you're not going to play for a long time since that'll just contribute to loosening the pins.

I just coat a cheap game or NES cleaning kit with a little bit of Brasso and it strips all of the nasty shit off of the pins. You would be amazed at the sheer amount of black sludge that comes out of any given NES system.

edit: nintendo entertainment system system

[Ryu the Grappler]

My DS (a first-generation model) literally broke while I was moving stuff back at home a few weeks ago. It's still functional, but the handle that holds both screens together is pretty much broken and could fall apart at any moment. I'm not sure if I want to trade in for a DSi or a 3DS. On one hand, the price difference is not that much, but on the other hand, the 3DS lacks a GBA slot. Outside of Resident Evil Revelations and Fire Emblem Awakening, there's really not that much worth of interest for me as far as the 3DS is concerned.

Also, my Neo-Geo Pocket Color is dead thanks to battery leakage (they were left in the box without being removed from the device and remained there years pass their expiration dates) and while my NES still functions, it has messed up graphics and I'm not sure if it's being caused by the cartridge pin or if it's something with the actual hardware.

[Ike]

Honestly, if it's a fatty I'd say just go ahead and trade it in. You're not going to get much for it, especially if it's broken, but the upgrade in brightness and form factor, plus Shop access, makes the 3DS a much better choice. You could invest the money you save in getting a GBA SP or a Gameboy Player (or both, if you get the GC-GBA connector cable with it, then you can use the GBA as a controller.)

[Scylla]

You could probably get a replacement DS shell if you wanted to, although it'd likely be a pain in the ass to get the guts out of the original shell and inserted into the new shell. Either way, just don't trash it since there are always collectors out there looking to buy broken systems to fix up.

[Ike]

That's right, there are pretty cheap fatty shells you can get in WACKY colors and they're pretty easy to replace. Dunno if it's really worth it, though.

[Ryu the Grappler]

While I do have a GBA SP already, there's quite a few DS games that use the GBA slot for added features when inserting previous games (like Lunar Knights and Advance Wars DS). Not many games use them as far as I know, but I still don't want to feel like I'm missing out on something.

[Ike]

Honestly, are you going to ever play those games?