Half Of Amazon's Users Report PS4 Units Are DOA; Gamefaqs Makes Thread For Working PS4s

So if you've been following the PlayStation 4 drama over its entire day of being on the market and available for general public, you'll find that the internet is now flooded with FUD stories ranging from simple things (not being able to log into PSN) to things that have not properly been confirmed (the system is overheating, smoking and bricking).

Given how much FUD spreads through the internet – and at a faster pace than your auntie's fingers stitching together a Swarovski crystal spread during the national quilting competition – it's become nothing but a harbinger of bad news and a dearth of positivity relating to anything PS4.

If you've bothered to read comments from any gaming site, they're all pointing to Amazon's verified reviews, where approximately half of the users seem to note that their console arrived in less-than-pristine condition and either showed up dead on arrival or stopped working shortly after plugging it in.

One of the recurring themes of a lot of the comments about the system arriving dead on arrival is that the packaging and box were badly damaged upon arrival. Simple deduction would also denote that the PS4 may have arrived DOA because it was mishandled during transport and key components may have been damaged during shipping. However, given the lack of proper information on all these claims, it's difficult to pinpoint what the actual problem could be with systems being bricked out of the box.

Trucking right along... over on Reddit there's a thread about the PS4s suffering Red Lights of Doom, aggregated from an article on GameZone. The comment section seems devoid of the typical panic of PS4 owners yelling out about Red Lights of Doom or their console bricking. Strangely, many of the comments on the thread rarely point to their own issues with the PS4 but only note sympathy for those encountering the issue.

There's also a lengthy NeoGaf thread about these “widespread” issues, but again, many of these individuals suffering these problems also seem to have received their units from Amazon. Thankfully, NeoGaf also has a troubleshooting thread for users to try a few things to get their system working again.

Now take into account that this doesn't mean that every defective unit came from Amazon or that every unit from Amazon was defective, it simply means that more than 213 (as of the writing of this article) individuals who purchased their units from Amazon have in their possession, a potentially defective unit.

As noted on NeoGaf and even on YouTube, there are some isolated cases where the PS4 units were also purchased from GameStop and have appeared to stop working. A couple of videos have also emerged giving the public at large a look at how the Red Light of Doom looks.

Keep in mind that all these are still a relative handful amount of isolated cases amongst thousands upon thousands of users who have purchased, played and are enjoying their PS4 right now. Also keep in mind that – as has been pointed out in a lot of places where common sense is still practiced – majority of people who ordered a PS4 that works won't be parading around online writing reviews, they'll be playing their PS4 like Gaming Blend's own Ryan Winslett.

In fact, the above instance is a shared frame of mind that cropped up in a thread on Gamefaqs about gamers worried about buying from Amazon, after seeing all the horror stories about PS4 units arriving DOA. The lack of "good news" prompted one user to create a thread so all PS4 owners with working units could share said "good news": that despite all the faux horror stories and isolated cases, there are still countless PS4 owners out there right now, playing and having fun without having any problems.

I think it's a brilliant idea to share positive feedback publicly, given that all the positivity that should be pouring out over the weekend of the PS4's launch will probably be contained and withheld to the living rooms of eager owners getting in playtime with Sony's next-generation home entertainment console.

If you like the idea of asseverating the good tidings of the PS4 and not focusing solely on the alleged 0.4% of the failed consoles (or those being badly damaged during shipping), you can lighten the mood a little bit by sharing your own positive story about the PlayStation 4 arriving on time and working correctly in this Gamefaqs thread right here. The thread has grown to over 15 pages in less than eight hours, so it's definitely picking up some traction.

Also, for those who are having issues with your PS4, don't forget to check out IGN's Blue Light story or check the NeoGaf troubleshooting guide for more information. First-off-the-assembly line consumer electronic products are prone to a lot of day-one issues; be patient and don't forget to contact Sony's support if the guides don't offer what you're looking for regarding help.