Yeah this has happened to me a few times, all I did was take my box too Shopko lied and told them I bought it from them and it quit working, then they exchanged it for me. If I was you I would try the same thing at some what unintelligent places of business i.e. Shopko, K-mart, Wal-mart where they say the customer is always right, and satisfaction is guaranteed. Talk to them right and save yourself a $100 dollars .
Also about playstations rep it is true that sony made ps2 too break easily and not last to increase profits. This isn't a cheap rumor either one of sonys tops that quit the company even reported so to the public.