Video Game Industry Is Lobbying against Your Right to Repair Consoles

Megalith

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
Another staunch opponent of the right-to-repair bills that are hitting Nebraska, New York, and other states is the video game industry. Companies that include Sony and Microsoft have more than once demonstrated an ineptitude for producing stable consoles, so it may be concerning that they are not only subjecting owners to technical difficulties but making it more difficult than necessary to repair them. Needless to say, this is all about easy profits.

…both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 have "signature failures" that affected huge numbers of devices: The "Yellow Line of Death" and the "Red Ring of Death," respectively. Sony charged $200 for a refurbished device. Microsoft replaced many Red Ring of Death Xbox 360 devices free of charge, which is laudable. However, the actual fix for the problem was both cheap and easily done by independent companies or even consumers. What was a massive ordeal for customers and the company could have potentially been much easier if independent repair had been supported.
 
Not a surprise, the ESA has also spoken out against the right for players to emulate online-only games after they've become shut down and unplayable. Large companies don't represent gamers, they represent themselves making a profit.
 
yeah sounds good till the companies now know that there will, now be a console repair shop in every other shopping center AND they won't be the ones fixing them! hell, then they'll just build them that much CHEAPER, make a bigger profit AND boost the economy by creating jobs!! win win for everyone,.. except the consumer.

either that or they'll just use better parts and charge more money. that's probably coming too. you just can't build a bad ass gaming pc for $399-$499!! and thats what they're trying to do. all they are these days is a garbage gaming rig with custom OS that lowers video quality so the game can run on garbage hardware. LOL PC is where its at! (H)ard 4 life.
 
Video game industry or console game industry? Because I play the former, but not the latter. PC gamers would tell them to fuck off and repair it anyways.
 
I don't know but when an expensive piece of hardware fails, and they tell me it's not repairable. I'll probably not buy a product from the same company again.

Are they sure they're actually helping themselves by denying repair to those people whose console actually breaks after the warranty expires? In the greater scheme of things there can't be that many out there.

What's even stranger is that consoles supposed to have very little profit margin on them for the manufacturer, at least that was the assumption until now.
 
M76 said:
What's even stranger is that consoles supposed to have very little profit margin on them for the manufacturer, at least that was the assumption until now.
Click to expand...

The console itself is not much of a money maker.

The accessories, on the other hand, tend to yield good margins. Throw in first party titles that people actually want and you have your losses covered.
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
The console itself is not much of a money maker.

The accessories, on the other hand, tend to yield good margins. Throw in first party titles that people actually want and you have your losses covered.
Click to expand...
That's exactly the point. Then why are they so desperate so you not repair your console? If they aren't even making their profit from console sales.
 
M76 said:
That's exactly the point. Then why are they so desperate so you not repair your console? If they aren't even making their profit from console sales.
Click to expand...

Because repairs have decent margins. The more locked down you can make your ecosystem, the more of a monopoly you have on the different revenue avenues.
 
All the more reason to go along to those Town Hall meetings and remind those GOP guys they work for you!

Not that from watching their reaction they full understand that concept, as it hasn't been mentioned to them in a long time.
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
Number of units sold. Simple as that.
Click to expand...
I understand that that's a number they like to wave as a flag to investors and shareholders, but in reality active units is way more important than units sold. There are probably more people out there like me, who have a console but haven't even turned it on in months. I don't even know the last time I turned it on, it must be over 6 months.
 
tetris42 said:
Not a surprise, the ESA has also spoken out against the right for players to emulate online-only games after they've become shut down and unplayable. Large companies don't represent gamers, they represent themselves making a profit.
Click to expand...
Indeed. People need to remember that the ESA is an industry advocacy group like the RIAA, not a consumer advocacy group.
 
Idiotic. I'm okay with unauthorized repairs voiding the warranty in most cases, but companies should be forced to release whatever tools/software you need to fix your hardware.

Also, warranties on consumer electronics should be 3 years minimum.
 
Few things piss me off more as a consumer than not having the ability to fix something myself on something that I purchased. My first soldering iron was a Christmas gift when I was 11 years old, a request so I could fix the reset switch on my Atari VCS. Flash forward a few decades and I had to take my daughter's Murano to the dealer so they could change the rear wiper blade. THE FUCKING WIPER BLADE!

Just the fact that "right to repair" requires discussion is idiotic.
 
PhaseII said:
Few things piss me off more as a consumer than not having the ability to fix something myself on something that I purchased. My first soldering iron was a Christmas gift when I was 11 years old, a request so I could fix the reset switch on my Atari VCS. Flash forward a few decades and I had to take my daughter's Murano to the dealer so they could change the rear wiper blade. THE FUCKING WIPER BLADE!

Just the fact that "right to repair" requires discussion is idiotic.
Click to expand...
Wait, you can't change the wiper blade on the Murano yourself? Da fuck?
 
Armenius said:
Wait, you can't change the wiper blade on the Murano yourself? Da fuck?
Click to expand...

Not the rear one. Well, you can, but last time I checked it was something like a 10-step process and you risked breaking the wiper arm. Local parts stores didn't even carry the replacement blade.
 
PhaseII said:
Few things piss me off more as a consumer than not having the ability to fix something myself on something that I purchased. My first soldering iron was a Christmas gift when I was 11 years old, a request so I could fix the reset switch on my Atari VCS. Flash forward a few decades and I had to take my daughter's Murano to the dealer so they could change the rear wiper blade. THE FUCKING WIPER BLADE!

Just the fact that "right to repair" requires discussion is idiotic.
Click to expand...

This is again why I don't buy consoles. Not even for home entertainment purposes. Sure they make a great home entertainment platform (usually) but if it breaks you have to buy a whole new one instead of part replacement? And now they're trying to MANDATE that? F**k that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top