They just don't make games consoles like they used to....

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Pffffft.... they don't make games consoles as well as they used to, eh ?
At least as far as Nintendo hand-held consoles are concerned, in my experience.

I have two Nintendo Game & Watches from the 80s, which still work perfectly well.

On the other hand, my brand new 3DS XL has now conked out after only two months. The stupid thing keeps on switching itself off, even though the battery is full.... corrupting save data, and generally making it impossible to actually play anything using it.

Nintendo offer a return & repair service for free if you send them items within a 12 month warranty though, so at least I won't have to pay anything to get it fixed.

But geez.... the wonders of modern technology, eh ?

Do I just have bad luck, or does anybody else agree that in times past consoles seemed to be built to last a lot more often ?

Based on my experiences with Nintendo handhelds, I think you've just been unlucky. My DS Lite purchased in 2006 still works perfectly, as does my younger sister's, even though it's been damaged so much by her and other kids that the hinge has had to be secured on with gaffer tape.

I've had my original 3DS since Christmas 2011, and I haven't experienced a single problem with it so far.

Hmmm (strokes chin) the DSi came out as late as 2009, so Wikipedia tells me.
I got mine second-hand, and I guess I was assuming it was a good bit older than that.

Well, fingers crossed that nintendo fix my 3DS XL okay.

It's the same problem with all sorts of advanced technology. More advanced technology has more potential problems.

I still love new toys, but they're more high-maintenance than what was made in the past.

You're not kidding. It's a good point.

I reckon you could use the old Game & Watches as footballs, and they would just keep working.

I have the original DS, the DS Lite, and the DSi. All three are working perfectly, still. I also have a GameBoy Advance that still works.

Almost all ps3 s have an expiration date.
The ps3 will keep working and everything but two parts that were connected inside the ps3 will be no longer connected and the green/ red light will become a yellow interminent light

First time I heard of this I thought it was some sort of joke but its far more common than it may sound like
http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/genera ... -ylod.html

Im probably getting a ps3 once ps4 is released, I need to finish madness returns

I once worked in the shipping department at NOA in Redmond Wa, and I was shocked at the number of NES consoles and games there still were regularly sent in for servicing. The handhelds were even tougher, one of the shift leads in the tech support department had an old Gameboy that he would throw off the second floor skybridge into the parking lot during every orientation of new employees, to demonstrate the durability of the product and to illustrate why anyone who said that they were just playing the thing and it broke was lying. He'd been using the same Gameboy since the early 90s, it still worked find despite a lot of cosmetic damage.

Woah really !?
That's a bit duff.

I hardly ever use my PS3, and certainly don't make it do extended playing sessions the whole time for years - like my hard-working 'leet' Xbox 360.

It sounds like the PS3 would probably have conked out a long time ago, if I treated it like the Xbox 360 (which I have found to be astonishingly robust, although I know lots of people have had problems with those.)

I have an 80G ps3 with b/c that has been my primary console for years, and it still works just fine, so I call bs on the notion of faulty hardware. At the rate I use it, it should have died a long time ago. I think more often than not, people killed their own ps3s, and I hear newer models don't have the same failure rate. There's a heat vent on the back of the system, but there's also one on the right side, if you're facing the front of the system. If you store your ps3 in a cabinet, or on a shelf, or in a cubby hole, and the right side of the system is up against a wall, or if you store it vertically, with the right side down, it's not inconceivable that the system would be more prone to overheating. I store my ps3 in a cubby hole, but I bring it out when I play it. If I forget, the system usually gets loud after about 15 minutes, so I can rarely truly forget.

With my systems, I follow the mantra "treat her right, and she'll treat you right". On a side note, it's not unusual for me to refer to one of my systems as "she" or "her". I've never had a system die on me. I killed the laser and fan on my ps2, and had to have them replaced, but at the time, I abused my ps2 by playing heavily scratched discs I borrowed from my cousin because I was too young to purchase M rated games back then. I got the system fixed and have treated it better after that. It still works like new, and I still use it almost daily as a DVD player. My mom cleaned my systems once while I was at work, and accidentally turned my ps2 and ps3 on, and they were left on for two hours with my ps3 still in its cubby hole. Both were fine, but I was livid. Granted, I've accidentally left both systems on overnight once or twice(on separate occasions, of course), and neither has had any issues, which is more proof that the notion of faulty hardware is completely false.

Anyways, my ds lite is the only instance I can think of where a system experienced a major problem and it wasn't my fault(I blame myself for the incident with my ps2). The hinge cracked, and the top screen is tinted red, unless I find that perfect sweet spot, but even if I do, I feel like the screen's resolution is diminished. I've owned Ninty handhelds since the gameboy color. I missed the gameboy advance sp(and micro), and the dsi, but I had an original gba, and I would have stuck with the original ds if my battery didn't get really low after a couple years of heavy use(I was a big fan of the ds). I regret switching to a lite, because the original ds was built to last. The lite is officially the only system I've owned that I've been unhappy with. I skipped the dsi, because it was essentially a glorified ds with a digital download service, and I knew Ninty would release a new system not long after that. The ds lite was one major incentive to make the leap to the 3ds, post price drop. I kept my lite, but only for my few remaining gba games, which I can play on the bottom screen.

I do have a minor issue with my 3ds, which I've had for only about a year. The battery now only lasts a few hours tops. A gamer is only as good as his(or her) systems, so that's a bit of a concern. I don't play my 3ds all the time, since my ps3 is my primary system. I go through phases where I'm hooked on something on the 3ds, and recall dropping 6-10 hours a day into Virtue's Last Reward when I played through it, but I go months without even using my 3ds, and my battery should be able to handle regular gaming. Maybe I got a faulty battery. Sure, I always use 3d, because I like the way it makes everything look, and it's a major feature of the system, but even so, my battery shouldn't be so weak at this point in time. I guess I could do what I should have done with my original ds, and just order a new battery, and I probably will do that, but that's one more expense I don't need right now.

Just got the bloody red ring on my 360, I've had it for 6 years... The PS3 is fine, at least for now

I'm now on my third PS3. My first one had a blu-ray drive failure (within the warranty period), and the reconditioned unit got a YLOD after about 2 years. I currently have a slim PS3, and have had no such problems in the 3 years I've had it.