The PS2 had sucky QC, 360 has really sucky QC, and now the PS3 60 GB's are dying all over the place. Mine is still holding up, but my (second) PS2 just died a couple weeks ago, and I am not about to buy a third. If my 60 dies, then I'll be liquidating my Sony library if I can't find a BC replacement.
OT - In the old days, systems were never BC, (except Atari 7800 which sucked anyway), you just expected to have to move on. The problem here is that Sony bashed MS for not having full BC and promised that "BC was a core aspect of the brand". This is why I am upset.
And, "blah blah blah newer tech breaks faster blah blah". Well, that still doesn't explain the disparity between my 2600 which has lasted 27 years and my PS2 that lasted 6 years.
As far as the "optical problems" go, no Sega or Nintendo optical system I have owned has EVER broken. Granted, I sold the Dreamcast (yes, I know, stupid), but it always worked like a champ.
