Game system repairs are increasingly being performed by independent repair shops, as manufacturers grow reluctant to repair consoles, even ones under warranty.
Microsoft’s recent decision to discontinue repairs for original Xboxes no longer under warranty is merely a continuation of a trend. In fact, many customers owning Xbox consoles had already taken their business elsewhere, preferring to seek out independent repair shops when their consoles began to fail – even while their units remained under warranty. There are several reasons for this. In the case of the Xbox, customers often ended up dissatisfied with manufacturer repairs, service, or combinations thereof that were performed. This unfortunate situation has become emblematic of an industry that is willing to sacrifice long term customer satisfaction in favor of short term high volume sales of their premium ticket consoles. In fact, many industry insiders argue that game system repairs should properly be delegated to independent repair shops, because maintenance, service, and repair is certain to dangle over a manufacturer’s profits like the proverbial Damocles sword.
If so, then independent repair shops seem ready and able to fill any “fix-my-game-please” void. Sooner or later, most of these games, intricate circuitry and quality control or not, break. As for Xboxes, these contraptions can become booby trapped with DREs, can suddenly freeze up or overheat, begin incessant “call customer service” warnings even prior to any trouble, or suddenly light up with “red light syndrome” – a techno-plague laden with signal error that can mean anything from general hardware failure (one red light) to the cancer of overheating (two red lights) to the cursed “red ring of death” (three red lights) to the flashing of four red lights – which ironically has the simplest solution – tightening or replacing a loose cable. Sony PSP game consoles and Playstation 2 and 3 repairs are somewhat similar symptomatically, but can show their own quirkiness; such as the mournful grinding wail sometimes heard with a sick Playstation 2 – a sound more agonizing than a toenail being pulled out. “Fix my game please, it’s broken” is becoming a more common refrain, but fortunately certified independent repair shops are there to keep those game consoles working. When your Nintendo Wii won’t let you load or eject that tricky disc, at least there’s somewhere your game can be taken to — if it’s to become “good as new” again – at least for a while.
Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. To learn more about cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services visit Chicagocellrepair.com.
