http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8263063.stm

Sony has sold 2.5 million Playstation 3 consoles in the UK

Sony has rebutted claims made by the BBC programme Watchdog that its PlayStation 3 (PS3) consoles suffer from a manufacturing fault.

The programme spoke to PS3 owners who experienced the "yellow light of death" - after which the video game consoles did not work.

Sony argued that the small Watchdog study did not support firm conclusions about a potential manufacturing fault.

It also criticised the programme's approach as a "stunt".

"We think it is highly unfair to suggest that from an installed base of 2.5 million that the numbers you mention somehow are evidence of a 'manufacturing defect'," wrote Ray Maguire, senior vice-president and managing director of Sony UK, in a letter to the programme ahead of the broadcast.

"The phrase 'yellow light of death' has been adopted by certain members of the online community to describe the situation in which PS3 systems have shut down following the illumination of the yellow light on the PS3's front panel," the letter stated.

"The yellow indicator is simply a non-specific fault indicator that can be triggered in a range of different circumstances."

Into the voids

The Watchdog producers approached three commercial repair technicians, who examined the faulty units and said they displayed a high number of "voids" - faults in the solder that connect the electronic components.

In the letter, Mr Maguire said the fact that those voids were not exhibited by all of the faulty units presented to the programme was an indication that they were not the source of a definitive manufacturing problem.

The Watchdog team set up its PlayStation Repair Action Team, or Prat - a clinic for faulty PS3s outside Sony's London offices, advertising that they were offering a service that Sony charges for.

Mr Maguire's letter called the segment a "stunt" that "treats with inappropriate levity an issue which may do serious damage to...the Sony and PS3 brands".

A BBC spokesperson defended the programme, saying that "Watchdog investigated this item having been contacted by 155 viewers who had experienced problems with their PS3".

"We presented a fair and accurate account of their stories, using expert advice and we broadcast Sony's response."

Since the programme was broadcast on Thursday night, the BBC has been contacted by a further 265 PS3 owners experiencing the yellow-light fault.

Sony told the Watchdog programme that "less than half a percent" of the 2.5 million consoles it has sold exhibited the "yellow light" phenomenon when they failed.

The programme quoted the figure as 12,500 consoles - half a percent of that 2.5 million figure - but a spokesperson for Sony said the number is less than that.

However, Sony declined to give BBC News a more exact figure, citing a risk to its competitive advantage.

Either way.. "The Yellow Light of Dead" is a real problem that should be addressed aggressively.

oh sony was wrong, they got 0.5% failure rate.

@Xoj. Don't think thats total failure rate, only YLoD rate.

Yes, but there is a difference in addressing something and exageration.  When I think of BBC I think of shows about the rain forests disapearing, child labor, not a %1 failure rate in a console.  The Xbox 360's %30 is a big issue.  I don't recalling many products ever having such a high failure rate.

^seriously ps3 got LESS 1% failure rate at most actually one of the lowest.
RROD for the 360 it's estimated over 16% and can be said to 66%+ for launch consoles and many consoles made from 2005-2007.
yet they exaggerate the thing, while i agree sony it's charging too much for the repair, while under warranty sony fixes the console and sometimes out from warranty.

why bring the 360 into this ? it,s about ps3 so pls keep on topic. all systems have failure rates what make it so that ps3 should not be mention, where were you in defense of the 360 when bbc did there report on it? EdStation3,relax ok and hope it does not get any bigger the YLOD problem. peace

Actually PS3 failure overall is higher than 1%

http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=5035

It says 10% on that news article.

cause the 360s failure rate is so high it's inexcusable.

That same article has the 360 at 54 percent failure rate, and the wii at 8