This is not some bullshit trumped up charge. The problem exist and Sony really do ask for $300 dollars to repair a faulty BlueRay drive out of the standard 1 year warranty. I had a friend who got her PS3 the exact same time as I did in the same shop. Her PS3 developed issues 13 months after purchase (could not read any BR), Sony demanded $300 dollars and she refuse to pay, she eventually got a friends that work at EB to exchange it for free.
While the PS3 has a much lower failure rate than the 360, the cost of repair is absolutely excessive and completely rubbish.
If anyone is Australia does have a problem with their PS3, and its out of warranty, they should write to Sony and air their grevience. Believe it or not, this actually work in many cases, with Sony offering free repair of PS3 for reasonable cases.
I direct all Australians to this article from PALGN: http://palgn.com.au/15003/the-unreliable-generation/ For a more indepth look at your right as a consumer.
Stick it to the man!
Please note that the repair cost I affirmed was about a year ago and obviously before the pricecut, so maybe the repair cost would be cheaper now (though I doubt by much). For anyone that curious, $300 AUD is around $250 USD
edit: There, hope that clears it for all you doubters, I might not be that well known around here but I hope I've at least establish a reputation for not putting too much bullshit into my post.
