While I was fortunate enough to get online and ready with no issues aside from the Playstation Network being down, our Staffer Jospeh Saulnier has had nothing but issue with his new Playstation 4. Issues ranging from a faulty console, tech support frustrations and more have him calling this a botched rollout.
Blue Line of Death: Is Sony poised to be the next martyr in the console wars with numerous reports of
PS4 launch problems?
By Joseph K. Saulnier
Today was supposed to be a joyous day. My PlayStation 4 arrived fresh from Amazon, and nicely topped
with their buy 2 get 1 free deal for select games. The plan was to come home from my day-job, film an
unboxing video, set up the console and have a glorious 3-day weekend of gaming. Guess this was not in
the cards.
As I write this, I have been waiting on hold with Sony Customer Care for more than an hour. I, as many
others are, am experience the “Blue Line of Death.” Maybe Sony thought having a subtle mute color
would drive away the anger, frustration and negativity that was associated with the color red (as we
have all seen with Microsoft’s Red Ring of Death). This time however, it is a line that goes across the top
of the console, and it won’t stop pulsing blue.
Step 1. Attach HDMI cable to TV and PS4. Step 2. Plug cord into PS4 and wall. Step 3. Press power and
let the magic begin. The line across the top of the PS4 is supposed to flash blue and then turn white.
But instead many are experiencing a pulsing blue light with absolutely no video output to the TV. So
I tried turning it off. Only pressing the power button again does absolutely nothing. So I hold it down
for about 10 seconds, and still nothing. I unplug the power cord, and plug it back in. Try again, same
results. After I try three different HDMI Cords, 4 different ports, and 2 displays, I just can’t get it to do
anything.
To the Google! I found that many people are experiencing the same problem, even those who won the
console from Taco Bell. So there are a few “solutions” that people claim will work, but none of them
have for me. Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida acknowledged reports of issues, but has
serious downplayed them:
Really? Isolated? Out of the 4 people I know who also bought PS4s, 2 are also having the same issue.
That’s 3 out of 5 (including me) with issues where they cannot play. I know this is limited, but it seems
to me that if I were the only one, then I could say… yeah, maybe it is isolated. Sony indicated that less
that .04% of shipped units have problems, but I find it hard to believe that they could have an accurate
number on that.
I expect there will be much blow back. While I am still on hold with Sony, I am really expecting to hear
the same thing that others have reported: Sony will not replace console, contact retailer that sold it.
But what good is that going to do when these retailers have no more stock to replace it with. The best
I have seen is that a refund was offered. The other thing I have heard is that Sony has told consumers
that the console will need to be serviced. Great, so I, being a loyal customer and choosing to buy a PS4
at launch instead of an Xbox, have to wait send it in for servicing only to receive back a refurbished
console in 2-3 weeks? Way to show your customers that you care! Hey, there have been reports that
Sony is replacing some consoles directly. But that has only been for celebrities and people of note, not
any of their loyal consumers.
Should I have gone with an XboxOne? I don’t know right now. There are no fixes for the issue I, and
many others, are having, and it doesn’t look like there will be an easy one in sight. In this day and age,
how could a company possibly ship a product that they were not 100% confident would work out of the
box. Apple seems to be able to do it. Why not Sony?
So now I wait (not so) patiently. I have made it all the way to 3rd
Support, only to be kicked out of the channel and receive a message saying that representatives are not
available right now. This has happened 7 times already. And now looking at the timer on my phone, I
have been on hold for 1 hour and 36 minutes. Any bets on how long it will take to get someone on the
phone. Way to drop the ball Sony. Way to drop the ball.
in the queue for Sony’s Live Chat
