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At least 31 instances of overheating chronicled.
Update: Sony has provided IGN with the following statement concerning the overheating Vita issues we reported on earlier.
"SCE confirmed that a small number (23 in Japan) of PS Vita’s and USB cable’s multi-use port were damaged during recharging, and have reported them to NITE (National Institute of technology and Evaluation). The cases were caused by partial short-circuit on the multi-use port of PS Vita and USB cable due to small particles or liquid attached to it. We believe this is not product oriented issue. The short-circuit damaged the multi-use port, resulting in being unable to boot the system."
Our original story is below.
It appears that some gamers are having overheating issues with their PlayStation Vita handhelds, and now an independent agency sanctioned by the Japanese government is looking into the matter. Andriasang reports that Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun has an article discussing the inquiry, which is being conducted by Japan’s National Institute of Technology and Evaluation.
The overheating problem, which has only been reported a total of 31 times to Sony, appears to happen when gamers recharge their Vitas. Twenty-three of the 31 reported issues occurred in Japan; the remaining instances happened in Sony’s other three major markets: Australia, North America and the UK.
Sony is fully cooperating with the National Insistute of Technology and Evaluation; Andriasang notes that “Sony sent a detailed listing of the various incidents” to them. “In all cases,” the article goes on, “the problem involved the connection slot between the charging unit and the Vita burning during charging. There have been no reports of injuries.”
Yomiuri Shimbun has spoken to Sony’s Japanese PR department and received word that there will be no recall of the PlayStation Vita , as apparently the handheld itself isn’t to blame. Rather, Sony “believes that the problem is with people having liquids or other objects inserted into the connection.”
