I was hustled, man! The PSP Analog Stick Story

 Aside from all the things in my latest Recent Buys post., I did have to pay for something else and I swear this one is videogame related.

As you know, I got my PSP-3000 2nd hand. It's a bit scuffed up at the side but other than that the console is in great condition plus the price I got it for was a steal. However something wasn't quite perfect, the analog stick was a bit wonky. Not wonky enough to the point of games being unplayable but imperfections in inputs would bug me from time to time so I took it to one of the many shops in Greenhills VMall 3rd floor to have the darn thing replaced. My first choice of console repairs would have to be EYO but I was feeling cheap at the time and there were a lot of people waiting in line as it was the weekend of course. So I strolled around a bit and went to a shop where I remember my cousin had his fat DS d-pad and battery replaced. Asked how much a PSP-3000 analog stick replacement would cost and the guy said 600php, my face froze. After the guy saw my silent reaction he said he'd do it for 400php. After what seemed to be about a month the analog stick was fine, however a new problem arose. My d-pad would stick when I would hold either left, right, or up for a certain amount of time. I first noticed it when I playing Mega Man Maverick Hunter X. X just ran down the edge of a cliff one time even after I let go of the direction. Other times he'd run straight into an enemy and take damage. I thought that maybe they just closed up the system the wrong way and misaligned the pad rubber or something. Finally the frustration of having to fight my d-pad took over and I brought it to EYO to have it looked at. I was told that problems like that usually meant that the d-pad membrane itself was busted and that replacing it would cost 800php. I painfully agreed. After an hour passed I returned to the shop and I was told that the problem wasn't due to a fault d-pad membrane but one of the connectors of the analog stick had snapped and was messing with the d-pad. I was also told that the analog stick used wasn't original. They wondered why what looked to be a new part broke so easily. To be fair, I didn't even do any crazy analog stick motions after I got it replaced the first time. The analog stick that EYO replaced was supposed to cost 1200 but since the false information was given by the clerk, she said that she'd accept 850php instead and pay for the remaining expense so that she won't take the beef from her boss.

Lesson learned, the next time something from my consoles gives out to always bring it to EYO. When my DS Lite got waterlogged, they fixed it. When my fat PSP was on the fritz, they fixed it. If the problem is price, I just have to man up and pay for it cause at least I'm assured about the quality of their service.