PSP Square Button Architecturally Bugged

[Epsilon-Zero]

It seems that Sony knew there was a fatal flaw with the "Square" button, but they basically said "Learn to deal with it." Hmmm...the arrogance is astounding...Read below to hear more about this outrageous story!

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TOKYO--About 4,800 Japanese PSPs have been returned to Sony due to problems with the handheld's square button, according to a recent interview with Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi in Nikkei Business magazine.

Kutaragi acknowledged that the button is less responsive than the others, in part because it's so close to the PSP's 480x272 screen. Because there isn't enough room to put the square button's detection switch directly underneath, it's off to the right, making it less responsive--and sometimes causing it to stick.

Nikkei Business reported that, to date, .6 percent of the 800,000 shipped units have been returned to Sony for repair. Kutaragi was unapologetic about the issue: "This is the design that we came up with. There may be people that complain about its usability, but that's something which users and game software developers will have to adapt to. I didn't want the PSP's LCD screen to become any smaller than this, nor did I want its machine body to become any larger.

"The button's location is [architectured] on purpose," Kutaragi added. "It's according to specifications. This is something that we've created, and this is our specification. There was a clear purpose to it, and it wasn't a mistake."

Offering additional testimony praising the handheld, Kutaragi said, "I believe we made the most beautiful thing in the world. Nobody would criticize a renowned architect's blueprint that the position of a gate is wrong. It's the same as that."

[FmanFORPS3]

this is pretty bad news, although i feel like the article above is a tad over exadurated. so does this mean they wont fix this problem when they're going to ship the handheld to North america or the UK? this is not a small issue, this thing is effecting how well people play the game and should be fixed A.S.A.P. (IMO)

[PeanutButterMunky]

NO, obviously from the tone of the article, and the statements made by Sony, the square button issue isn't going to be addressed at all. This makes them seem like arrogant pricks to me.

"We don't care about our customers, or the square button. I was going to cry to my mommy if I didn't get to keep the stupid screen size. I'm also a cheap ******* and can't make the PSP a few millimeters longer because I have an obsessive compulsive disorder concerning short things. If the PSP was longer than my tiny manhood, I wouldn't know what to do with myself." -- Kutaragi :roll:

[FmanFORPS3]

:shock: sounds like you were pissed off at somthing befor you read this article but you took it out on Kutaragi, although mainly you are right

[PeanutButterMunky]

I'm just messin' around ;) But this whole square button issue seems a little ridiculous.

[Seb]

I don't agree. Like Kutaragi, I am willing to sacrifice a bit of functionality for a larger screen and a smaller PSP shell. And really only .6% of people have returned it in Japan complaining about it. Like he says they are just going to have to put up with it. If you want the problem to be fixed then expect Sony to have to make a bigger, uglier PSP with a smaller screen. I agree that Sony shouldn't ignore it's customers, but until I find a problem with PSP I'm gonna support Kutaragi on this one.

[PeanutButterMunky]

And really only .6% of people have returned it in Japan complaining about it.
Yeah, I don't think that figure is big enough to warrant a complete design change [about 4800 people].

I agree that Sony shouldn't ignore it's customers, but until I find a problem with PSP I'm gonna support Kutaragi on this one.
I just hope I'm not one of those unlucky few ;)

[Seb]

I just hope I'm not one of those unlucky few


I hope so too - and the odds are you won't be. :wink:

[mckmas8808]

Yeah every product has a figure around this number of defective products. I think when the Xbox was first release it had a 1 to 1.5 percent defective rate. I thought damn this is high considering that millions of people are buying that product. But come to find out all good companies with great products have this same number percentage of defects. I think Ken sounded like that because he already knew that a certain amount of PSPs were going to be defects anyway and that it was blown out of proportion.

[Crimson_King]

There really isn'y much that they could do to fix the problem that wouldnt lead to huge costs. and besides if urs is screwed up then just return it, its as simple as that.

[siren]

If my memory serves me right these were the failure rates out of first batches of the PS2 and Xbox

The percentages are total that got returned in first batch.

PS2
Within 1 month - 30% (mostly DVD drive issues)
6 months - 40% (additional due to random death in system of EE or other components)
1 year+ - 42%

Xbox
Within 1 month - 3% (mostly overheating or HD errors from shipping)
6 months - 15% (Additional HD and overheating issues, and some DVD drives)
1 year+ - 35% (there was an issue with the DVD drives and reading Dual Layer discs, this did not show itself to most consumers until about a year out due to games not using these discs. These were all replaced free of charage and only some of the first 1.3 Million systems could have had problem)

[FmanFORPS3]

all in all the PS2 had more ps2s returned then xbox, and as you have posted, thats a fact. but the thing is, you have to compare what year their console was released and who released first.

1) the DVD wasnt as famous as it was when the Xbox was released (which is a bad thing for sony because the DVD wasnt that mistake proof (IMO)
2) the xbox could have learned from the Ps2s mistakes (i dont have proof that they have though)

these are just what i think that gave the xbox a little of a boost

[siren]

The xbox did learn, they just made different mistakes. They shipped a good solid drive. Just as a copy protection measure they made it so that game discs were written in reverse of normal and thus spin backwards.

The drives had to have a BIOS on the drive that made everything work right. Unfortunately, they found a bug litterly right as the first shipment hit shelves and were in peoples hands. So they fixed the ones that hadn't gone out yet, and if anyone reported issues due to the bug they fixed their systems for free, even if not reported for over 2 years.

Ya know all those reports of "Dirty Disc Errors" you saw for a while, that was that.

[Dru22]

I say o'well and take the risk. Everything you buy seems to have a bug in it. I would rather buy the PSP and deal with the square button than play my DS now.

[FmanFORPS3]

if there is a problem with the square button you could just exchange it with a different PSP. remember, there is a warranty.

[Dru22]

Epsilon-Zero wrote: Nikkei Business reported that, to date, .6 percent of the 800,000 shipped units have been returned to Sony for repair.

FmanFORPS3: Hmmm why don't people just take them back and get a new one? Why pay for repairs, or wait for them to get repaired?

[FmanFORPS3]

when did i write that?

[psp_88_2006]

great anouther reason for us to not get a release date

[FmanFORPS3]

But that wouldn’t affect the release date because (as it has been said before) they aren’t going to do anything to the square button issue. So if your PSP has this problem, just exchange it...

[Colonel Cortez]

I dont see what the problem is my PSP is fine(yes i actually got one :)
But the japanese menu in RR is a little confusing at times. :?: :?:

[FmanFORPS3]

Only some of the PSP's have this problem (About 4,800 Japanese PSPs have been returned to Sony due to problems with the handheld's square button), not every PSP. But if the problem was in every PSP, I'm very sure they would have addressed the problem

[Jesus1]

That sucks that the squar button is acting up. I am still going to buy one.

[Colonel Cortez]

Theyll probably do some upgrading on the NA and EU versions, if not move itwich they cant) they can increase the sensitivity on the square button or something:)

[Crimson_King]

thats what im going to do, i mean its not like your going to get the shaft and be out 200 bucks.

[DezNutz]

PS2
Within 1 month - 30% (mostly DVD drive issues)
6 months - 40% (additional due to random death in system of EE or other components)
1 year+ - 42%


I would like to see a source on those numbers, these seem obviously inflated in my mind. I bought a PS2 on release date, and it lasted till about 6 months ago. I have had many friends (7) who also bought a PS2 on release date, and never had any problems for at least a year. I only know of one local friend who had problems with PS2 within a year, and he just cleaned lense and fixed that problem.

[Crimson_King]

yeah i agree with deznutz, those numbers seem very high, you would think with those numbers there would have been a huge controversy.

[tazz]

I also read that the Disc pops out at random times.
I hope this is not true.
if this is true and sony dont fix it they are out of there minds

[Crimson_King]

that was true and there was a whole nother thread dedicated to it, i believe it was called ejecting UMD's

[FlyersPh9]

There is a picture of the PSP with the face cover unscrewed off the PSP on another forum. After looking at it, there is a minor cut in the PSP screen to allow the square button to fit. Also, all the buttons are circular on the bottom but the square is half circle then it gets flat so it doesn't hit the screen anymore than it already does. All Sony had to do was extend the PSP about this much: >---------<

[DezNutz]

Sony has announced that a flaw in the PSP's manufacturing process that could lead to stuck square buttons has been resolved. According to PlayStation.jp's support section, the molding of the casing was the problem. Units manufactured in the new year no longer suffer from the problem, thanks to new procedures; older units that did were under warranty and have been repaired or replaced by Sony.
Sony has previously claimed that only 0.6% of the units shipped last year were repaired for square button problems. Anecdotal evidence suggests the problem is more widespread. Either way, it's now resolved, which means that statistics are largely moot.

source:
http://1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3138532

[gtecartman]

problems are problems. Heck, even GT4 has bugs in it. The screen shakes from time to time, and I have found one car that can be sold for over 300,000., and I am only 4% into the game. Things will always have defects, but Sony should have thought of a better public relations responce rather than saying too bad. All it would have taken was a slight apology, and the explaination why they chose not to fix it, and everybody would have been happier.

[Kojo]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3138532

I thought they were fixing them. That article isn't too old.

[Gnome]

I can see why Sony isn't willing to make the system larger for the square button, but on th e other hand, I don't want to have a buggy control button more than a sexy looking machine.I can see why some people are taking this as Sony is getting arogant and not caring about consumers. But in a way they are caring about consumers, they're telling them they're system has faults with the square button and they couldn't care less about it.

[Kojo]

*double post*

What the hell was that for? i can't belive you just did that, but hell theres a first for everything. :lol:

still, i want an explination why you did that.

Well first both of my post had the exact message so i changed the second one to hope it gets ignored. The link...

Sony has announced that a flaw in the PSP's manufacturing process that could lead to stuck square buttons has been resolved. According to PlayStation.jp's support section, the molding of the casing was the problem. Units manufactured in the new year no longer suffer from the problem, thanks to new procedures; older units that did were under warranty and have been repaired or replaced by Sony.
Sony has previously claimed that only 0.6% of the units shipped last year were repaired for square button problems. Anecdotal evidence suggests the problem is more widespread. Either way, it's now resolved, which means that statistics are largely moot.

[Playstation4life]

Theirs an X in the usually in the top right hand corner to delete your post.

[Kojo]

Well there isn't one for me.

[PeanutButterMunky]

Well there isn't one for me.
Uh...are you sure? On the top-right of your post, you should see this: http://www.ps3forums.com/templates/fisubice/images/lang_english/icon_quote.gif http://www.ps3forums.com/templates/fisubice/images/lang_english/icon_edit.gif http://www.ps3forums.com/templates/fisubice/images/icon_up.gif http://www.ps3forums.com/templates/fisubice/images/lang_english/icon_delete.gif

[FmanFORPS3]

Well there isn't one for me.
I'm sure there is, its just that it will go away if someone typed a post after you so as soon as you see that you've done a double post, just delete it before anyone else posts....

anyways, if you have a PSP thats 'bugged out', since you can just exchage your PSP (or send it to Sony for them to fix it..same difference) , I dont see it as a big deal...just a hassle....

EDIT: heres an article...just for reassurance
February 22, 2005 - Following critical reports of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's handling of PSP hardware defects, the company opened up just a bit more today on one defect in particular. A small number of PSP systems have shipped with a defective square button that likes to go in and never come back out. SCE has announced that it will replace, at no cost (even shipping will be covered) units that have this defect.

[Kojo]

Well there isn't one for me.
I'm sure there is, its just that it will go away if someone typed a post after you so as soon as you see that you've done a double post, just delete it before anyone else posts....

anyways, if you have a PSP thats 'bugged out', since you can just exchage your PSP (or send it to Sony for them to fix it..same difference) , I dont see it as a big deal...just a hassle....

EDIT: heres an article...just for reassurance
February 22, 2005 - Following critical reports of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's handling of PSP hardware defects, the company opened up just a bit more today on one defect in particular. A small number of PSP systems have shipped with a defective square button that likes to go in and never come back out. SCE has announced that it will replace, at no cost (even shipping will be covered) units that have this defect.

Guess i misread the article.

[FmanFORPS3]

im not sure which aretcle your talking about. if your talking about your earlier post:
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3138532

I thought they were fixing them. That article isn't too old.

well, that article does state that they Sony is going to fix the PSPs (as all the articles about this subject do now), so you are right...but if your talking about a different article, then I have no idea :?

[Kojo]

Yeah i meant that one. Thanks. I was kinda confused at first.