I fired up my gamecube a while ago and it ran like new.

There have always existed manufacturing defects in consoles. The Atari 5200 had defective controllers. Original model NES (American) has a finnicky/defective lockout mechanism. Every CD-based "old" system has issues recognizing discs due to the mechanical lifespan of the disc drives (specifically the lasers).
 
My NES still works, but many games need some severe deep-cleaning to work correctly. The cartridge tray springs make a very creaky noise, and even if I oiled them, I'm sure they're very well near the breaking point. Way back when, my model 2 Genesis failed and we ended up buying a Genesis 3 a couple years later. 
 
Anyway, the point is that it doesn't just happen today. Sure. it's more widespread with one whacky scenario with the Xbox 360 that I'm still amazed hasn't gotten Microsoft into deep, deep trouble, but that's one isolated case. Every console has their failure rates, though.

Never had any console break on me.  Still have the 360 I've had for more than a year now and it's working fine.

my lunch day ps2 is still kicking

My launch PS2 is nearly 10 years old and it works fine. 
 
I am on my fourth 360.

Well...as if by tempting fate with this post, my PS3 yellow lighted for the second time. So tomorrow I will spend my day fixing it again. Then I will spend money replacing it and switiching over my files. Do you know the real bummer...my new copy of Bioshock 2 is sat right next to it. 
 
I confess to having sniffed the instruction manual several times.

" Remember when love used to last forever?  "

Remember when love used to last forever? 

" @LaszloKovacs said:

" Seeing as how those systems are about as complex as a cordless phone while the new ones are routinely pushing the limit of what we can do with microprocessors in consumer electronics 20 years later, I'd say it makes sense that they fail more often.  Plus, the warranties are getting better to compensate. My older brother owned a NES for about two weeks before it died on him and nobody would replace it. That's why I grew up in a Sega-only house until the PSX/N64 generation. "

You think it "makes sense" that they release products that are constantly failing?  That kind of  "please sir, may I have another" thinking, is the very reason they don't try harder. "

 Nintendo's consoles past NES era are particularly good when it comes to reliability I have found.
 
All my old consoles work, they're all in fantastic condition. 

" And on the upside, this generations games are generally better than previous generations. "

" How does a spoon assist you in getting a console to run correctly? I remember blowing the hell out of my NES (hurr he said blow his NES), that is all though. "

All the consoles that I have owned still work except for my original PS. Nintendo products last forever.

My original SNES still works.  I'm pretty sure I got that in 1994.  I'm on my 3rd X360, however...

" Seeing as how those systems are about as complex as a cordless phone while the new ones are routinely pushing the limit of what we can do with microprocessors in consumer electronics 20 years later, I'd say it makes sense that they fail more often.  Plus, the warranties are getting better to compensate. My older brother owned a NES for about two weeks before it died on him and nobody would replace it. That's why I grew up in a Sega-only house until the PSX/N64 generation. "

The only consoles that ever died out on me were my NES, PS1 and a PS2. My Wii, 360, DS, GBA, PSP and my second PS2 still work well. My N64 and even my SNES still work quite fine!

I still have my old Ps2 that has lasted me years of hard video game playing. And a Game boy which has lasted even longer.

All of mine have broken,been given away, or lost while moving.  See-through GBC is the only old thing I got :(

I also thought about this recently.  If I ever saw anyone treat my 360 the way I treated my SNES or N64, I'd have a shit fit and probably use whatever broken pieces are left of the console to execute them.  Seriously, I remember turning them upside down and smashing them cartridge first into the carpet because my copy of Zelda refused to run for some odd reason.  Never had the problem again after that.
 
However, I wouldn't even glance twice at my SNES being thrown against a wall back when they were new... that's just how they worked.
 
I miss sturdy consoles that don't flake

GBC still works fine. Have to blow in a cartridge (hardy har har) every so often but, you had to do it when it first came out too.

I've never lost a console or a computer... Sill got em' all in working condition.  
 
Guess I'm just lucky

7 dead 360's............ 
 
the only console that has ever failed me

I had to turn my first PlayStation upside down to work. My fist PlayStation 2 broke twice. I had to buy three N64 controllers because the analog stick quit responding, well, from playing it so much. I haven't had a problem with my Wii and Xbox 360. I'm sure down the road and if I keep them for a while, something is bound to happen. Those cartridge based systems were pretty durable though, gotta give you that.

Its the new style of business, people will continue to put money into their consoles when they brake now. So the corporations will make more money.

A console dying used to be time for an upgrade usually dying by act of friend.

All of Nintendo's products I have have still lasted. Snes, N64, ect. Only 1 Gamceube died on me and that was just the laser. Prob. because I used to leae it on for days. Forgot about that Smash Bros. Melee play 99 hours to get Mewtwo.

And on the upside, this generations games are generally better than previous generations.

Newer consoles = more parts of higher complexity = more things to break.

i do agree man. there is no excuse for breaking systems. one example is that microsoft knew that the 360 had heating issues but still released it so they can make money. they ended up suffering from it. ps3 isn't as bad but it still does have a possible way of dieing. 

I think the main thing now a days is there competing with PC's. Its not easy to make a video game system better then a PC the 1st year it comes out and still have the price tag low enough for all the pieces to be top of the line. I'm betting there cutting corners in area's where kind of lucky that there working as good as they are at the moment. But in the end yes I can understand your complaint but I think for $400 year 1 a Xbox 360 really gave us a lot.

It kind of sucks when you have as a plus for a games console the fact that it doesn't crash as regularly as another (a common PS3 vs 360 debate). In the days of yorn, the consoles worked until you died. Ah, the good old days.
 
 On the other hand, my PS3 has not died yet. And, in that 360 vs PS3 debate, the Wii actually wins.

Man, I'm fed up with the bogusness of quality in consoles and controllers this gen and last gen. Last gen I had 2 PS2s break on me, about 4 PS2 controllers, 2 Xbox controllers, and a GC controller all screw up on me in some fashion. With the PS2 controllers, usually the shoulder buttons would get jacked up. On the Xbox, both of my controllers stopped working because of some issue with the whole "safe-break" connector thing, whatever you wanna call it, which made the Xbox think my controllers were unplugged when they weren't. I can't remember exactly what happened with the GC controller, but I think the B button had become deflated. Not too mention the analogs for all of them had lost their center point, making them very sensitive to moving left. This problem has carried over to this gen too. Playing games like GTAIV and not moving, but my controller has me slowly drifting left into traffic or off the top of buildings. It always seems to kick in at the worst possible times.
 
This gen I'm on my 3rd Xbox 360, and dude, seriously, the thing sounds like a lawnmower whenever I play discs. It even vibrates so hard that even though it's 5 feet up on my entertainment center, I can feel the vibration from it while playing about 10 feet away. That's just not right, dude. Plus it gets really hot, so I don't expect this 360 to last much longer. Then the controllers, oh God, the controllers. My RB button has become very unresponsive on one of my controllers, so it looks like my brother and I probably won't be competing in NBA 2K10 again until I buy a new one. Then you got the battery pack chargers, which say they're fully charged, but then they're not. I'm so fed up with being screwed over by bad quality. And dude, it's like a huge scam. What am I gonna do about it? Sell my 360? Well, I wouldn't get much for it, and I'd have to sell all my games too then, which I don't want to do. Buy a new 360? Why? It would just have another set of problems and would break in 6 months. Try a PS3 instead? But I already have so many 360 games, and you hardly get any money when you sell back your games. So basically, we're screwed.

Hey this is the side thought thread I was promised! :D A crackling good yarn!

I hate it when old systems give up the ghost. = - ( I lost my NES and SNES.

After the Xbox 360 released, its hard to remember when consoles used to last a while.

Well A) Modern consoles are way more complicated, actually heat up during use, and have a little something called "moving parts" 
 
B) A monkey can maintain a NES, they're super easy to repair, and those'll last forever if you maintain them with regular cleanings, and replacing bum parts and shit. 

Just blow into your game system, always does the trick.

No.  No I don't.  I remember them lasting about twice as long as the gamecube and having as many good games in their lifetime as a system today gets in a single year.