New-Gen Console Problems: Kinect Doesn't Work For Xbox One, Wii U Freezes, PS4 Turns Off

A consumer survey was recently conducted to test for what works and what doesn't for their eighth-gen consoles. There were a number of issues reported for all three consoles, covering a number of problems, each topped out with something a little bit different.

Each of the consoles were put through rigorous use by customers since release, and some of those customers were asked exactly how well these consoles have fared in result. The survey rolled out here today comes courtesy of Fixya, from their official blog, as they siphoned reports from more than 40,000 console problem impressions. Now that's some research pool, eh?

Wii U

First up is Nintendo's little console that could. This home entertainment device suffers the most from system freezing issues. The freezing occurs mostly from the operating system or during booting. Some of the freezing has resulted in the console becoming bricked. We're talking about 35% of the problems relating to the Wii U are from freezing issues, but strangely it hasn't been an issue that has made it into any wide media reports like the other two consoles.

The GamePad was the next big problem. While the device may have garnered the most issues next to the system freezing, with 30% of problems being associated with it, based on the report the GamePad's issues are quite minor. The device is reported to have a mic that doesn't always pick up voice commands or the sensor drops out at some points, or the calibration doesn't completely work right. Usually, a basic run-through of the standard troubleshooting methods gets it back up and running.

Last is an issue with the internet... something Nintendo has tried avoiding getting into heavily with their consoles, as they wanted to avoid being known as the Porno Bros., which is sadly something PS4 and Xbox One gamers have become very well known for. Still, Fixya has gathered complaints about internet issues that make up for 15% of the total user-reported problems for the Wii U. Again, though, this is all the standard-fare net-related problems, including resetting the network connections, making sure that the Wii U can talk the router and all the other standard network problems you deal with on a PC. That's not bad at all really.

Xbox One

Oh, this is going to be fun. So the top problem for the Xbox One is none other than the NSA's love-tool... the Kinect. The device has always been in the news media for lacking the necessary voice and gesture recognition that it was promoted to contain. At the top of the list, with 30% of the complaints, the Kinect's shoddy response timing. The next big issue is the console turning off. I've never run into this problem, but a lot of people are reporting that during the middle of use, the console will just black screen. Interesting, because I've only heard of the green screen of death.

Interestingly enough, the caching issue caused by the GSOD wasn't quite as bad a problem as the audio/video issues. I would have suspected that the caching would have been a bigger problem considering that the Xbox One doesn't close out any of its apps whenever you open a new one. However, caching only garnered 10% of the user complaints, where-as audio/video ranked slightly higher with 15% of the complaints – many stating that sound only comes out of one speaker or just not being present at all. Ouch. Sounds like you'll need a monster cable.

PlayStation 4

So what's the biggest problem facing down on Sony's latest console? The console turning off during mid-use. The two main culprits for this problem – which makes up for 35% of the console's major problems – are the Blinking Blue Lights of Doom and the Red Light of Doom. Sony has previously offered some troubleshooting tips for the Blinking Blue Lights of Doom, but unfortunately there isn't an actual fix for the Red Light of Doom, which has been linked back to a faulty GPU or bad thermal paste.

The second most reported issue, sitting at the 25% mark is the no audio or video problem. This is identical to the reported issues suffered by the Xbox One. While Fixya offers some solutions to repair no audio or no video, of course, the most common problem is usually associated with the HDMI cable. Replace it and see what happens, or have Sony take a look. Funnily enough, the console having freezing issues only made up for 20% of the reported problems, and this is the same sort of freezing the other two consoles above have ran into. And that disc drive issue? Well, for Sony's system it only made up for 10% of the reported problems, and barely made a scratch. It's interesting because the Top Gun jet-sound from the fan wasn't as much of a reported issue as the Blue Lights of Doom or the Red Light of Doom.

You can learn more about these problems and some helpful troubleshooting tips over on the official Fixya website.