I can only assume he was an early adopter. Sony should be nicer to it's fan base.

@snapdoodle:
I am not sure which rev it is, but if it is the original 60 or 20gb model I would rather pay to repair it even if the new models were the same price. That is because those were the only (i think) models with full ps2 backwards compatibility.

I remember when the pictures of his PS3 were released. There was a reason why they wouldn't repair it. I have to agree with Sony on this one.

Is that clump he is holding what was in it or is that a bogus picture. If so, he needs to spend less time gaming and more time vacuuming!

@Soygen: Yeah, its looks like they are holding a dead mouse. If they put half the effort they are using to get it repaired/replaced towards cleaning, this would never have happened.

Sony, I was considering picking up a PS3 for my birthday. I totally forgot about this. I'll just borrow a friends now.

Seriously, if his PS3 was that dusty, you would think on how to properly protect your equipment. But I hope he gets it replaced.

@Christopher J. Pierick: Absolutely correct. This is a kid who not only may have actually caused the problem he had because of how much dust there was, but when he decided to send it in, he didn't even have the common decency to wipe it off.

For those who don't remember or didn't see the actual pictures, check them out here: [consumerist.com]

This is not some innocent person being taken advantage of by big corporations and tons of people agree with Sony's refusal to fix this.

I agree with VISA and Sony on this one, that machine has been abused.

I mean, the guy must play his ps3 out in the middle of the woods and lets it sit in the dirt.

The guy is just abusing the system.

@warf0x0r: Every time I see this guy, I get mad. He intentionally made his console that dusty. How hard is it to wipe the dust off of something once every 6 months? Because THAT is how often the PlayStation needs to be wiped. To have his console looking the way it did, it was almost as if he took a pound of flour and poured it on top of it for fun.

Don't ever reconsider buying a PS3 because of this one guy's stupidity. You'll never have a problem with dust.

@Soygen: I believe that the image is unrelated to the story in this case. I remember the original PS3, and the poor fellow who owned it, and it didn't really look like that.

Think what you would like, The system was kept in an entertainment center its entire life, And that entertainment center was not in the desert.

@Christopher J. Pierick: agreed, im more of an anti sony person, and those phoyos were disgusting

@warf0x0r: I bet this is probably an isolated case.

BUT..Sony sucks anyway. Buy an Xbox :)

That PS3 wasnt "dusty" it was bloody well fithy

I was previously unaware of this story, so I clicked through to the original, where a big part of the story seemed to be that the PS3 was a gift, therefore no receipt, therefore some of the original problem with Sony. Now Visa and/or Paypal are involved?

@ivealwaysgotmail10: seriously. protect your investment....

If I remember correctly the guy said that he had never moved it. You have to move it to clean it. He should have cleaned it.

Mine gets a going over once a week, dust buster, canned air and swabs with eye glass cleaner, and I pull the hard drive out every now and then.

@cristiana: I KNOW!!! Beleive me I KNOW! But repairing the system isnt an option, Apparently its extremely difficult to even attempt to re-flash the roms manually, I was told the PS3 has 2 roms to protect it from glitching during installation of 1, But in my case somehow it didnt work out that way.

I'm surprised at all the initial new jerk reactions to the story, saying Sony is the devil. The guy obviously didn't take care of the device. You'd think having such an expensive piece of hardware in your house, you'd at least wipe it down.

agreed! anyone who followed this as it happened would totally go with sony on this one. the ps3 was ridiculously dusty, and this kid is just trying to get out of paying for his in ability to care for his electronics.

@cristiana: actually they made a 80gig last year that was backwards compatible. i have one so i know.

@Christopher J. Pierick: didnt he contend that it came back from Sony like that and that he didn't send it to them like that.

i

@Shadow1019:
Great, leave a 7.1 Receiver under an entertainment system for the better part of a year without cleaning it and let me know how it looks, and if that should have any effect on your warranty status alright?

i can only hope a similar situation happens to you and you are left yelling about dell not replacing your computer because the motherboard is too dusty, and commenters like yourself blame you for naturally occurring substances.

So now he's whining and dragging another company through the mud cause he chooses to run his electronics in extremely dirty conditions?

Sorry dude. You get no sympathy from me, and I hate Sony (as a company, I enjoy some of their products) normally.

@Mr_Fuzzypaws: Im sorry if i dont beleive that sony should assume ALL of their customers have OCD.

My PS3 (like any other audio/video component) sat in my entertainment center, and no i did not clean it once a month, When i saw the vents getting dusty i wiped them, thats it, They never got to the point where they were even close to clogged and the system worked fine until the system update, please tell me how dust affected that.

@larrymac808: I have a receipt, it was a gift from my parents, They paid with their card yet some of the payment came from my paypal balance, Which makes it so VISA will no accept my claim even though over 800$ of the payment is on the VISA, which more than covers the replacement.

I have the receipt, I do not have the original receipt from where it was originally purchased by the person that sold it to my parents, As i purchased the system on ebay. But i was told that doesnt matter.

just cause it sat in a entertainment center DOES NOT MEAN this guy lives in a clean house for all we know this dude could be some scumb bag sittin on his dirty ass couch smokin cig after cig which in turn would cause major dust problems just look at the wii and smash brothers brawl problem

@jp182: That one was SW BC.

@MyBigToe:

Yeah it was so bad it was like he had it hooked up to a shop-vac.

@ivealwaysgotmail10: It doesn't matter if it was kept in a vacuum tank. It's YOUR responsibility to clean it if it gets dusty. And dust gets into entertainment centers just like everywhere else.

Consumers are expected to make at least minimal efforts to care for their products. If you don't do that, you can't throw it in the face of the manufacturer when it breaks and just demand that they fix it.

And I can't believe you just sent it in without wiping it off. Aside from the fact that doing that probably would have gotten Sony to fix it without question, it just shows a level of disrespect for the people - actual people - who were going to have to deal with that console. And that's the same level of disrespect that you showed for the care of your console.

I'm sorry to be so frank, but you are not a victim in this case.

@gamerecks: @nosuke:

? Are you serious?

i dont know how to make it any clearer.

THE SYSTEM SAT IN AN AUDIO/VIDEO CABINET ITS WHOLE LIFE (under a year)

THE WARRANTY STATES TO USE A MINI VAC TO UNCLOG THE VENTS WHEN THEY FILL WITH DUST, THE VENTS WERE NEVER CLOGGED, THE COSMETIC SURFACE OF THE UNIT IS ALL THAT WAS DUSTY.

Sony Chose not to repair my unit REGARDLESS of any of the following, Regardless of the fact that THEIR TECHNICIAN told me (laughably) that DUST HAS NO EFFECT ON THE WARRANTY, Regardless of the fact that i paid $600 for a system that is now worth $400 and they want me to pay 150$ to fix it, Regardless of the fact that THEIR FIRMWARE UPDATE CAUSED TO THE PROBLEM NOT DUST, Regardless of even the fact that i was a loyal Sony Fanboy, regardless of the fact that the PS3 IS AND WAS DESIGNED TO BECOME A PART OF YOUR HOME THEATRE SYSTEM and therefore is going to get dusty (unless you vaccum your receivers, VHS players, and DVD players once a week),

Regardless even of the fact that i owned more accessories and games for the system then the total value of the system itself, REGARDLESS OF ALL OF THESE THINGS

SONY WILL NOT REPLACE MY SYSTEM, And that is unnacceptable.

Im tired of defending myself against people who think my system was left in a ditch for a week, When you take a picture of a DUSTY OBJECT with a DSLR W/Flash, Its POPS, My system didnt look like a relic when i sent it out, And i really dont think that anyone should be surprised that something that glossy and plastic would gather dust.

I really wish that all the people that believe Sony was right to deny my replacement would get into a similar situation and get what you have given.

Is that a stock photo? Or did the guy send you a picture of the dust in his PS3... because that's gross.

I went to the original story and read through. His story seems to contradict the entire time. He doesn't have a receipt b/c it was a gift. Then he is dealing with Visa as if he bought it him self. He took care of it but didn't touch it for 8 months... I don't so him getting any thing out of all the lies. I have to agree with Sony on this I don't even like Sony personally its just the same crap everybody else sells with "SONY" pasted on it and a higher price.

Buy a new PS3 if you really need to kep getting ripped a new one from Sony.

When this started the OP stated that the set was a GIFT - and so he had no receipt, etc. Now he's saying that he paid for part of it with VISA and part of it with PayPal. So we know he lies. What else is he lying about?

@warf0x0r:

Thank you, Much appreciated that you can see how crazy this is.

@Ugo Killed EGM -> I HATE Ugo.:

Manual states to mini-vac the vents when they get clogged, The vents were never clogged, i kept them clean, but superficial/cosmetic black glossy plastic surfaces on a playstation arent my top priority when it comes to removing dust, And why should it be? It has nothing to do with the function of the system, and its quite difficult to take the system out of my entertainment center.

Ever consider that maybe the flash made the dust seem a bit more prominent? AS i said i wiped the top and bottom of the system before i shipped it to Sony.

Good lord. Can we all just donate a couple bucks and be done with this fiasco? Wasn't there like 500 comments last time? A dollar a comment, done. By the time he gets it replaced/fixed there will be 5 more playstations out.

My PS3 gets dusty but I at least wipe it down when it starts to collect.

It's a fact that my house gets dusty. I don't clean.

Considering how much ground Sony is loosing in the next gen console wars, you would think they would do all they could to keep their buyers happy. A little good will and positive PR goes a long way.

I've got an idea:

1) Clean the damn thing yourself.
2) Send it back to Sony.
3) If the repair is indeed necessary due to the firmware upgrade and NOT dust...
4) Profit.

@ivealwaysgotmail10: Over $800 was on visa?? Plus leftover paypal balance?? Where the hell did you buy that? I got mine when it first came out for $599. I've never seen a store that didn't have ps3's in stock. even during christmas season and when the wii's were sold out everywhere you could still find ps3's everywhere.

@ludwigk: I remember the original story, I loved the comment that someone left "Oh look a Motorsortm casing for the PS3".

@gamerecks: ...I always thought it was "knee jerk reaction" :/

ivealwaysgotmail10: What, it's STILL not replaced? Jeez, at this point you must be going stir crazy. It's obviously to late for this, but couldn't you have cleaned it once you got it back and resent it in? If they asked, you could have said that it had miraculously started working again but then it broke again.

Folks, regardless of the filthiness of the pix (seriously, that must either be the results of a 2 pack-a-day smoking habit or an open window next to a dirt road) I have to admit that when I clean my PS3 every month or so, I'm shocked at how much dust has accumulated. Still, I've never seen such fine-grained dust on my PS3 (a guaranteed system-killer).

@mariospants: It occured to me - after I sent my comment - that SONY may have permanently invalidated his warranty, so the resend trick probably wouldn't have worked.

@Shadow1019:

okay so lets think about this

you want me to clean my ps3 on a regiment right?
yet i cant OPEN the system because if i do the warranty is void, So seeming as there are these things called "vents" that let both air and dust in (and MANY manufactures use DUST FILTERS to stop this as SONY DOES NOT)

How exactly am i supposed to clean the inside? And why does it matter that there is dust on the outside? on flat plastic surfaces that have no function?

And if there were dust inside of it, which there is inside every used ps3, if it were to be lets say wiped down, then shipped inside a box, inside a plasitc bag, Maybe a good portion of that dust would COME OUT OF THE SYTSTEM and coat the outside of it?

Seeming as when i got the system back the plastic bag (which was clean) was rather dusty, i think this is a more logical explanation(since i DID wipe the top and bottom of the system yet i DIDNT open the mmc reader to dust it), one that i coudlnt have solved without voiding the warranty by opening the case.

and again I WIPED THE SYSTEMS TOP AND BOTTOM PANELS OFF BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE BOX, Whatever dust on the top and bottom panels MUST have gotten there after i shipped it, regardless if it came from the werehouse, inside of the ps3, or they took a pepper shaker filled with dust and coated the whole system before they shipped it back REGARDLESS i wiped the top and bottom off. Im sorry if this is all just too much for you to beleive but thats not my problem and im tired of being persecuted for something that could happen to anyone.

@unobservant: @mariospants: I recall something about the warranty being void if the case was opened.

@TinkishDelight: @ivealwaysgotmail10: Question, you obviously were returned your Playstation 3 right? Was there any chance that you could, you know, clean it up to the point where it'd then be available for repair/replacement under warranty?

I only say this because a friend of mine had done the same with his damaged Wii which had been vandalized by his little brother. Once he was able to clean it up after being denied a replacement, he was able to send it back in.

@ivealwaysgotmail10:

Geez. Sorry. Im just going off the picture.