I'm pretty sure games companies have gotten wiser (a.k.a. greedier) and realized they can make more money if people have to keep buying another console every couple years. I'd be willing to bet that modern consoles are intentionally designed to last only a couple of years before mysteriously ceasing to function.

I have to agree – Nintendo consoles were made to f**king last! I've still got an N64 somewhere and I'm sure it still works… (of course, the same applies to the even older mega drive.)