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   Repeated delays of the PS3, poor sales of the PSP and various other recent happenings have caused Sony's reputation to hang by a threat - and it too is about to catch on fire. Reports from the recent Tokyo Game Show claim that many of the PlayStation 3 units there suffered from overheating problems (déjà vu...) and had to be frequently reset, according to a report issued on Monday by Macquarie Equities analyst David Gibson. The Associated Press quotes Gibson as writing:
"While the reason for [the PS3's technical difficulties] is unknown, we suspect it may be due to overheating as a result of enclosing the units and the high temperatures at the [TGS] venue.
We are concerned that such a problem has occurred so close to full production and is clearly negative news for the company."    So negative, in fact, that on Tuesday Sony's shares dropped 2.75 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, despite the company's desperate claims that "it's not a problem with the PlayStation 3 unit itself". Sony spokeswoman Nanako Kato said that about 200 PS3 units were clustered together in close proximity at TGS 2006, and housed in kiosks that concentrated the heat generated by their processors and provided poor ventilation. Overheating under such circumstances is a common affliction at trade shows, afflicting not just Sony products but those of its competitors, Kato added. She concludes by assuring us that "for a normal player at home, there shouldn't be any problem". Umm... "shouldn't" or "wouldn't"?...

   Next-Gen has an update on the matter, with a statement coming from David Karraker (senior director of corporate communications with SCEA). He calls Gibson's comments "unsubstantiated" and also concludes SCEA's official defense by stating that "PS3 does not suffer from an overheating problem".

   We've seen this overheating mess happen to the Xbox 360 shortly after its release last year, so it's nothing new for early models of next-gen consoles, it seems. But nevertheless I have a feeling that this issue - were it to affect final PS3 retail units - would spell total doom for Sony.