Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has publicly refuted figures published on a Dutch gaming website claiming that the new 40GB PlayStation 3 has a massive 40 per cent failure rate.
A notice from SCEE’s press centre calls the article, published on Gamed.nl, an example of “extremely sloppy journalism [that] has resulted in this totally inaccurate story.”
SCEE president, David Reeves, says the PS3 in question is performing to the company’s high standards.
“Since launching the 40GB PS3, we have experienced a fantastic jump in sales and the failure rates have remained at the very low level that we not only strive for, but have been achieving since the launch of PS3,” he said.
The story has since been removed from Gamed.dl and replaced with an apology (see: gamed.nl/view/33860).
According to the website, Belgian retail chain Game Mania had leaked information to journalists that customers were experiencing problems with the Blu-ray Disc drive incorporated in the PS3, which was apparently rejecting discs as ‘unreadable’.
Gamed.dl is now saying the information it received was a ‘coincidence’ and is not representative of 40GB PS3s in general.
A spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment Australia was unavailable for comment at the time of publication. The average failure rate of Sony PlayStation products has not been revealed.