Sony Playstation, Sony Playstation 3, PS3 I purchased a BRAND NEW PS3 that was defective and failed within ~20 hours of play. Sony replaced it with a several-year-old, refurbished unit that failed within an hour and they refuse to replace m New York, New York

I got a BRAND NEW Playstation 3 in April 2011 and primarily used it to play games online.  Within a couple of weeks of owning the console, the Playstation Network went down and was down for over a month.  When the network came back up, I went to play my PS3 and the hardware had failed.  I contacted Playstation support and was instructed to send the box in for service.  When the prepaid shipping box arrived from Sony, it included instructions for backing up my data.  When I went to back up my data, the software on my PS3 had also failed.

A few weeks after sending in my defective Playstation 3 for repair, I received a box in the mail with a console that was not mine and looked to be used.  After confirming with Playstation Support that this was a refurbished unit, I demanded a brand new console since the console I paid for was brand new and had to have been defective from day one to have its hardware AND software fail so quickly.  To date, I have not received response to this query.

While awaiting response, I tried to use the console they sent me and it overheated within one hour of being turned on.  I immediately put in a new ticket demanding a brand new, working unit to replace the brand new defective unit I was originally sold.  I received a response saying they could not send me a new unit and they gave me instructions on troubleshooting an overheating console.  I am a tech guy, by trade, so I know how to ensure electronic equipment does not overheat if it is operating correctly.  This PS3 was freestanding on top of a TV stand with nothing around it.

I responded with this information and demanded an escalation to my ticket and again to be sent a brand new, working unit and a return package for the defective unit they tried to replace my original purchase with.  I, again, received a response saying they could not send me a brand new replacement, and again they gave me the same link to instructions for troubleshooting an overheating console.

I have replied to them twice since this last message, demanding escalation of the ticket or a brand new unit and have not heard any response.  Today, I sit here with a multi-year-old "Factory Certified" PS3 console that shuts itself off after 20 or 30 minutes of use.  I paid very good money for a brand new, working PS3 unit and ended up with an old, refurbished, "Factory Certified" (which means nothing because the unit is defective), broken PS3 console and no real answers.

Sony does not stand behind their products.