You may have heard, but the PlayStation 4 launched last week in the US. It seems to be doing rather well, having already sold 1 million units and even with a pretty awful lineup of games, the system itself seems to be impressing everyone that has had the pleasure of using it so far. However, unsurprisingly every launch is not without it’s problems and Sony is not faring any different.

It seems a problem is arising, coined “Blue Ring of Death” after the Xbox 360’s insanely bad issue which rendered consoles useless after the red ring appeared, it seems that some consoles are suffering similar problems. It could be a whole host of issues that can cause the blue light and Sony have already released a long list of potential fixes if this happens to your console. You can read this list of fixes here.

However that’s where the similarities with the Xbox 360’s RROD ends. Currently this issue only affects apparently 0.4% of PS4's, which is incredibly small compared to the Xbox 360. The original systems manufactured were pretty much guaranteed to get it at some point, it was just a matter of time before they stopped working and the issue wasn't fully fixed until the slim console came and eliminated the problem.

Of course right now this problem could surface more over the coming months and then become a real issue, but right now it seem very unlikely. Sony are doing a good job of making things right for the unlucky consumers with broken consoles. It is unfortunate and while it is no excuse for a product you buy to not work but these things are bound to happen.

Early adopters of consoles are like guinea pigs to make sure things are working correctly just like day one online games players are pretty much beta testers. This is the risk you take, but it is still just a minor downside and the 99.6% unaffected seems to be very much enjoying their shiny new console. So I wouldn't let this change your mind on the console if you’re thinking about getting one. But you may want to just wait and see if things get worse, however doubtful that may be.

Oh yeah, any potential hardware issues is exactly why i'm waiting a bit before making a purchase.

Hardware being bad is just something that's going to happen in complex machines like this. But if theres a design flaw rather than normal rates of failure then its a problem. People having bricked PS4's is worrying, but i'm hoping its just the very small minority.

What dill pickle tried to coin the term blue ring of death when there's no ring?

I suggest blue light of bewilderment

blue da ba dee

I remember going through around 3 xbox 360s because of the ring red. I'm glad I'm waiting a bit before getting either a Xbox1 or PS4.

First, I believe the 0.4% number came from Sony so it's hard to say whether that is accurate or not. Second, I really don't think we'll know until more units are out there and they've been used for a longer period of time whether there are any sever problems. From what I remember, the Xbox 360 issues weren't seen as severe during the first week. It took time for people to really get a good sense of how large the issue really was.

As for people reporting issues at launch; that will always happen. Hardware has a failure rate and the PS4 is not an exception. Even after launch window hardware will have failure rate. I bought a 360 two years after launch and same with PS3. Both failed and I had to replace them.

-o.4% number was from Sony. Don't know if its true or not, but you should never trust a companies own statistics on subjects like this. However the number of reported cases for "broken" consoles is pretty low considering the million sold. It could very well be 0.4%

-The "blue ring of death" is kind of a misunderstanding. There are several reasons for the blue line to pop up, two of those(that I know) were resolution changing and the hdmi prong sticking up. However this isn't something that should really concern the masses as the sheer number of reports so far is very very minimal.

To be honest, I believe the coverage to be a bit sensationalist or blown out of proportion. Many sites that covered this gave youtube videos where the author had fixed the problem due to a misunderstanding.

If it is fucked up you have a 1 year warranty. It's not like if it breaks you are shit outta luck.

"Well I got the blue light, so long 400 bucks."

My advice: Get a PS4 or Xbox One at launch if you want it and have the means.

MS also, at one time, said the RROD only affected 2%. But time eventually proved much greater.

No, a million units sold even if just under a half percent were faulty like Sony said that is still a hell of a lot of units making the problem look worse than it is simply because of the sheer volume in the marketplace. Also take into fact that the only people complaining or discussing this are the ones with broken units everyone else is too busy playing Resogun and enjoying the hardware.

You only live once! Unconfirmed - but reason enough to jump in now, rather than later.

Very few Xbox 360s lost their solder during the first week. Give this initial run of PS4s about six months and you'll have a better idea of their life expectancy. Plus, do you remember how much Microsoft downplayed the red-ring? Internal press releases put the number much lower than third-party estimates.

I highly doubt Sony's stumble will amount to a significant percentage of Microsoft's experience last time around, but it should be a concern. For you. Because all first-run products have problems, and you're the one causing my second/third-run item to be better produced and less expensive. So thank you.

EDIT: And I really like the suggestion of "Blue Light of Bewilderment."

Maaaayyybbbeeeee nnnoooootttttttt??????!!!!!???

Also, if the 360 is any indication AND this thing is actually real they will take 3 years to completly fixe the problem with units in stores. So yeah, buy one now if you want. The network should be fixed in the next few weeks and I'm already having a blast with AC4 and the gimped BF4 multiplayer.

It's a concern, but it doesn't appear to be a massive one at the moment. This is why I'm that guy who waits for other people to test the consoles out before I even touch them.

Microsoft and sony are two entirely different companies with different practices.

The "blue ring of death" is a very real concern.

The idea that anyone would be compelled to use such a viciously stupid phrase as that in a serious way, is deeply, deeply concerning.

As everyone has always said... don't buy launch hardware if you don't want to take a hardware risk, and please, don't use shitty phrases like that.

A 1 to 2 percent failure ratio is generally considered acceptable and within norms for any electronic device. Even if it's 2%, I would expect that for any launch console.

Personally, I prefer the "Blue Pulse of Sadness".

Yes I forgot. MS bad...Sony good. That silly narrative again.

My launch PS3 still works. I'm not worried about my PS4.

Or he meant that you can't use Microsoft's shitty history of hardware failure against Sony because of course you can't.

Honestly, the failure rate is so low, and so below the average that normal electronics are expected to break, that giving it a title seems silly. Feels like an extension of the fanboy wars where the people who feel like they need to justify their preorder of the X1 are trying to create something out of nothing.

I think weird OS glitches intimidate me more. Getting a Wii U shortly after launch scared me from buying consoles at launch; to this day the thing will still infrequently do a hard lock-up for no reason at all, and the UI was abysmally slow for months. That, of course, and very few games.

I've been considering getting a Vita now, actually, and picking up now-much-cheaper games for it to keep myself entertained with things and get a Ps4 before the holidays next year. By then, any first-run manufacturing issues have been sorted out, more games will be released, and the launch lineup would be cheaper. Probably a system update or three as well, knowing Sony. It seems like the smartest choice for me, since when I do eventually get a Ps4 I'll be able to enjoy remote play, but hey, who knows. Maybe I'll just go batshit and buy something else stupid.

sigh, remember the PS1 problems had to have the tray open and have it flipped upside down. Sigh, good times, good times.