A Japanese government agency, The National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, are looking into multiple reports of broken PlayStation Vitas which have burnt out during recharging. Despite only 31 complaints, 23 of which were from Japan, Sony have sent a detailed listing to the agency, which will decide whether the fault is unsafe and/or likely to spread. As of writing, nobody has been injured. Each incident has stemmed from the connection slot between the USB charger and the console itself.
A PR spokesperson for Sony said that they don't believe this is a product malfunction and there won't need to be a recall. They went on to say that they believed the problem came from liquids or other objects being put into the connector. The company will not be offering any sort of compensation to those troubled by the problem, who will also need to pay either for repair or for a new Vita.
With only 31 complaints, it's difficult to see this as anything other than luck of the draw (and potential misuse of the console), but expect this to be mentioned time and time again by detractors as the story goes widespread.
