The Most Common Problems with the Most Popular Video Game Consoles

For serious gamers, consoles are often the way to go. Based on the popularity of gaming consoles, many people don’t mind shelling out hundreds of bucks for an Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or Wii U.

FixYa, an online troubleshooting website, recently surveyed console gamers and came up with a number of things they do mind. The survey found that some Xbox Kinect users have trouble, well, connecting; too many PlayStations turn themselves off; and Wii Us frequently freeze up.  

FixYa collected more than 40,000 problem reports submitted to the site by console owners. The numbers were then crunched by FixYa’s editors and aggregated into a report you can read here. It’s important to note that when the report says “Nintendo Wii U: freeze — 35%” it doesn’t mean that more than one-third of devices have that problem. It means that of the problems submitted by users, 35 percent mentioned freezes.

Here’s a look at the most common problems reported to FixYa.

Nintendo Wi U

Freezing has been a problem with the device since its launch in 2012, according to FixYa. Although Nintendo addressed the issue during the past year, there remains a segment of users who are having difficulties with their console freezing on them.

The other major problem area (30 percent) is the Gamepad, and because that is how the device is controlled, it’s a serious issue. Specifically, the Gamepad loses its connection when playing a game; the sensor doesn’t pick up user movements; and the Gamepad microphone does not recognize voice commands.

Microsoft Xbox One

Nearly a third (30 percent) of the complaints about Xbox One concern the Kinect, the innovative feature that lets you control your game with gestures and voice. From the report:

“The most common problem associated with the Kinect is that sometimes it simply does not work properly — whether that is voice commands not being recognized, the motion sensor technology malfunctioning, or games that leverage Kinect for in-game play not being able to be played because of these issues.”

The other significant problem: Consoles turning off unexpectedly (30 percent).

Sony PlayStation 4

Having your console turn itself off in the middle of a game is not okay, and that problem accounted for 35 percent of the reports about this expensive device. There are some DIY fixes (check out the report for details) but you may have to send the system back to Sony. About 25 percent of the problem reports stated that users were having audio or video problems, or both. And 20 percent indicated that the system was freezing up.

Teaser image: Tubefilter