Ugh, if that's the case there better be some sort of program like with RROD, because this is serious bullshit. I knew the black spots alone wasn't the only negativity on this thing...
To be fair, I overexaggerated. Under normal use it will probably be around 5 years if you play the Vita 8 hours per day. Everything has an expiration date. Flash memory, computers, consoles, batteries... and above all, people. Our parts degrade over time as well. If this worries you, feel comfort in knowing you may die within those five years and won't have to worry about such things.
The problem is older tech lasts a really long time, but can't do nearly as much. If we were to engineer systems as lacking in complexity with the same form factor as the older tech it would probably last quite a bit longer. Be we require more complex tech than we did then, because we are doing more and more complex things. That comes at a cost, and one of them is longitivtiy.
It just doesn't make financial sense to engineer something to last 20 years when you only expect most people to use it for 5, especially if the 20 years makes something cost prohibitive, or lowers the usefulness of the equipment.
If longitivtiy is a side affect of durability or any other actual requirement, then I'm sure it's a welcome bonus. I don't really think that planned obsolescence happens in electronics in areas other than software nowadays.
Also keep in mind older devices were less complex in terms of parts and suppliers too. The NES is basically a slot loader, and a chipped motherboard, I think it used an AC adaptor instead of a PSU. No moving parts, probably built from very few suppliers, with very little difference in life expectancy between the parts.
Now look at a Wii. It has a ton of separate parts, all from different vendors, all with a varied range of life expectancy. Suddenly its much like bottlenecking on a PC, your product is only going to have a life expectancy as long as the weakest part. In most console cases its going to be either a battery or a disc reading drive. Then fans and hard drives, then maybe a screen or button. Beyond those it gets nebulous as to the next part likely to fail. In the Vita's case the screen is probably a distant second from the battery.
Keep in mind too that life expectancy is how long you can reasonably expect a part to last, a lucky part could easily double it's life expectancy, as most long surviving CRT TV's did. The likelihood of stuff failing comes in discreet bumps rather than a continuous function for many parts.
But there is no denying that the OLED technology is prototype, half-arsed rubbish. Definitely not ready for prime time.
Gonna need to make space for Uncharted.
