SquareTrade Warranty Blog

Go Digital with Sony's new PSP Go

 Have you met the newest kid on the game console block?

This week, Sony released the PSP Go, touting it as the "smallest and mightiest PSP system yet."

Haven't gotten our hands on one yet to confirm the latter, but it gets a thumbs up from us for being the most portable PSP to date.

So, what sets it apart from its rivals and other PSPs? 

"It's all digital," explains Peter Dille, Sr. VP of marketing and PlayStation Network for Sony.

Yup, it's the first dedicated game device to leave physical game disks in the dust.

Some are saying it's a smart move on Sony's part as Apple has stepped into the world of gaming on the go - providing thousands of instantly downloadable games in its App Store for your iPhone or iTouch.

But will gamers go for the new PSP?

Minor data correction: Game Console Failure Rates study

A reader pointed us to an error on page 4 of our Game Console Failure Rates study published yesterday.  We unwittingly switched the usage data for the Xbox 360 and PS3 reported in the Nielsen study.  We have since corrected our data and charts, and made a minor adjustment to our analysis.

Our basic conclusions are unaffected.  The one highlight of the new data is that when we now exclude RROD from the usage analysis, PS3 and Xbox 360 both fail at roughly the same rate - 0.59% for the Xbox 360 and 0.57% for the PS3.

Our apologies for this error and any confusion it may have caused.

Failure Rates: Study Finds Nintendo Wii Most Reliable Game Console

SquareTrade analyzed failure rates for over 16,000 new game consoles covered by SquareTrade Care Plans. By far, Wii are the champions!

Nintendo fans will be happy to hear the study finds Wii is 4x more reliable than PS3 and 9x more reliable than Xbox360.

But, fans of the Xbox also have cause to rejoice; while the Red Ring of Death (RROD) problem continued to be a major problem for Xbox 360s purchased through 2008, it showed signs of finally abating with the introduction of the latest "Jasper" chipset in late 2008.

Other highlights from the study:

• During the first two years of ownership, 2.7 percent of Wii owners reported a system failure to SquareTrade, compared with 10 percent of PlayStation 3 owners and 23.7 percent of Xbox 360 owners. 
• The most common types of problems seen with the PS3 and Xbox 360 were disc read errors and output issues. The Wii had more power and remote control issues than the other 2 systems.

 

For the full study, click here: SquareTrade Game Console reliability study.

Geezer Gamers Review: Is SquareTrade For Real?

Read what happens when FireMedic41 takes the plunge and chooses SquareTrade for the first time!

 "I had seen the SquareTrade logo multiple times on Ebay and felt that it was another way to get a few dollars from me. I really hadn’t researched it that much, but that day I needed it to be real. I read everything I could on SquareTrade (ST)... 'No hassle'.  'Customer Focused'...Why isn’t everyone using it then?"

Read the full review here.

Kick off of SquareDeals of the Day and SquareTweets!

It almost feels like we’re back in school – sneaking notes.  We can’t let the cat entirely out of the bag just yet.  But since you’re our fans, we wanted to let you in on the secret.

There’s a lot going on here at SquareTrade HQ. This week, we’re gearing up to launch a series of SquareDeals of the Day! 

Raise your hand if you’ve recently purchased an LCD TV, a washer/dryer or perhaps a new wii.  Maybe you’ve been planning to buy a new laptop? 

Well, this week we’ll be offering even greater savings on coverage for things like digital cameras, LCD TVs, home appliances and game consoles.  Yup, we’ll be offering up to 40% additional savings with a new coupon each day!

So stay tuned (and don’t let Miss Othmar catch you passing this note!)

On a related note, if you’d like to be the first kid on the block that has the inside scoop, you can follow us on twitter. We’ll tweet breaking news on specials like the upcoming Deals of the Day as well as nifty things we hear are going on in the world of gizmos and gadgets.

Sorry, did you ask “What's a tweet?!”  Well, Mike Massimino has been tweeting from space. Even Oprah is becoming twitter savvy. You can also ask google. 

Snap-On LCDs make your Wii and PS3 portable, but Why?

File this one under "...the hell?"  Strange electronics maker China Vaison has come up with a solution for people who wish their video game consoles were more portable: 7" snap-on LCD screens for the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3.

Fair where fair's due, they don't look half-bad... though why they're showing the Wii with two nunchucks and no Wiimote is a mystery.  We're seeing stereo sound speakers and display controls for the 480p screens, and we have to give points for aesthetics.  The Wii version in particular is designed to integrate right into the console as if it naturally belongs there, particularly when the screen's down, and all the connections pair up exactly.  It even comes with an adapter for your car's cigarette lighter, so there's your power source.  But c'mon, it's not like Sony and Nintendo don't already have portable systems - good ones - of their own, right?

They're available now for about $100, or $97 if you decide to buy in bulk.  And if you're planning on hauling your $400 console around, might we suggest a SquareTrade warranty to cover the standard wear and tear?  Might be a good idea even if you aren't toting it all around town.

We guess this is one solution for getting your screaming kids into the car for the drive to grandma's, but wouldn't you rather just get them a Nintendo DS?

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Wii Fit finally tagged, sure to make your wallet lighter.

Who says video games make you fat and lazy?  Nintendo's highly (and long) anticipated Wii Fit is about to turn your game console into an exercise machine, and now we know how much a healthy lifestyle's going to run you: $90.  And it'll be out May 21st... just in time for bikini season.

Sound like a lot?  Well, consider that the game alone would probably retail for $50, and it's coming with a fairly sophisticated peripheral: the Balance Board, a combination weight scale, aerobics step, and brutal truthsayer.  It's through this flat white slab of doom that Wii Fit will measure how well you're performing all manner of yoga stretches and exercises, and then determines if your new regimen is actually doing any good. 

It's an interesting direction for a game console to take, one that's sure to appeal to all those upwardly mobile thirtysomethings who let their gym membership lapse and haven't touched their Wii since they got bored with Wii Sports.  Early hands-on reviews sound promising indeed.  This won't be the first exercise-based video game, but it could be one of the more successful if people get off the couch long enough to use it. 

And if you're worried about crushing that Board or stomping it to pieces in your aerobic fervor - or want to put some protection on your Wii - they're eligible for a SquareTrade warranty.  But then, so is your refrigerator... where the cookie dough ice cream is.

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Rock Band to Rock Wii's World in June.

Party Time!  Excellent!  Hot on the heals of Guitar Hero on the Nintindo DS comes word of Rock Band for the Wii arriving on June 22nd... with wireless guitars that probably won't look anything like Gibsons.

Are there downsides?  You betcha.  First, the Wii Store still just doesn't have anything on Xbox Live, so you can forget downloadable songpacks for the foreseeable future.  And still no compatibility between Rock Star and Guitar Hero instruments, so flush that pipe dream away, too.  Right now, Harmonix is talking about a feature set close to the old PS2 version, with no Mii support or character creation.  And you won't be plugging your Wiimote into the gee-tar, but why would you want to?  You've got a gee-tar!  The drum set will come in Wii White, though.

And while you can't get a SquareTrade warranty for the game, because we don't do software, you can protect your Rock Band instruments for pennies a day, and probably even throw some Accidental Damage coverage into the mix, just in case you wail a little too hard.  Check out the sidebar widget for a quick estimate.

Rock Band Wii will go for $170, which is a pretty cheap way to spend your summer.  Check out Joystiq for the full scoop.

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Blu-Ray 2.0 goes Live on PS3 First.

Sony barely paused to feast on the remains of former HD rival Toshiba before announcing the Blu-Ray 2.0 spec (a.k.a. BD-Live), an enhanced Blu-Ray disc with even more features that no Blu-Ray player currently on the market will be able to access.  Whoops!  Solution: Sony's own PlayStation 3.

Sometime in the next two weeks, Firmware v2.20 will bump the PlayStation 3 up to the BD-Live specs, allowing for what's being touted as a whole new level of DVD interactivity.  Is it?  Well, part of the BD-Live protocol calls for internet connectivity, so you'll get updated content for whatever disc you pop in for as long as the studio supports it.  Ringtones, multiplayer games, and trailers have been mentioned as early content, but we suspect at some point that'll expand to new making-ofs, post-release interviews and audio commentary.  The disc themselves are bumped to a full Gig of storage to take on all the new schwag, and allow for various picture-in-picture features. The first BD-Live disc are set to release on April 8.

And yep, the PS3 will be the only player set to do those things. 

Just as well, really.  We've said for a long time that a PS3 might just be your best option for a Blu-Ray player, given that they cost the same and play games as well as movies.  The current projections are that regular Blu-Ray players won't come down to the $200 range for another year.  But any which way you decide to go, a SquareTrade warranty on your equipment might not be a bad idea, and it'll certainly cost less and do more than any warranty you're used to.

On the other hand, BD-Live's still in its infancy, so you may not feel the urge to rush right out and nab that three-disc 2.0 Special Edition of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.  That's okay... neither do we.

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Guitar Hero to Rock your DS like a Hurricane.

We've gotten our first look at Vicarious Visions' Guitar Hero On Tour for the Nintendo DS, and it looks like they've taken the big game and squashed it down for the mobile set in ways that make a lot of sense.

German magazine N-Zone de broke the new add-on that makes it all possible: the Guitar Grip.  It snaps into the GBA port while you're holding your DS in you left hand (open in book format), fingers on four frets while you strum away stylus-style (a pick is included, too) with your right.  No word yet how (or even if) they'll accommodate you Lefty Flip fans, but it wouldn't take much to flip the DS upside-down and reverse the screens.  The Guitar Grip also has a handy strap in back to keep your axe in the palm of your hand while you perform like a Golden God.

No word yet on the playlist, but GH isn't known for disappointing rock aficionados.  This one could be yet another killer app for Nintendo's killer handheld, and if you pick one up so you can wail wherever you go, know that your DS is eligible for a 3-Year SquareTrade warranty with a 5-Day Service Guarantee that will get your life back on track fast, should anything go wrong.  It's cheap for the quality, and even gives you an Accidental Damage coverage option if you get carried away and start going all Pete Townsend on your instrument.

Guitar Hero On Tour is, like all the best tours, coming to town sometime this summer.

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