8 Crippling Flaws In Popular Video Game Consoles

8. Yellow Light Of Death - PS3

Though the Xbox 360's red ring of death caught all the headlines, the PS3's console-failing yellow light was all the more infuriating when you realised the rate of failure was almost guaranteed.

Coming from such a baffling oversight as the thermal paste inside the machine eventually wearing away between two specific conduits, it meant almost everybody who coughed up the cash for a launch model PS3 had it fail a year or two later.

Sony's response wasn't anywhere near as hospitable or consumer-friendly as Microsoft's either, acknowledging the error existed but offering nothing in the way of immediate compensation. They were spot-on that the yellow light could represent any number of systematic failures, but overall the takeaway for anyone who believed in the PS3 at launch was, "Yeah, thanks for the cash but... tough sh*t".