My problem was probably worse than most. My game locked up upon first talking to the robot who rescued you. I was not able to power down with the standard power button, so I had to switch the game off using the switch in back. Big mistake (not that I had much of a choice, mind you). Upon rebooting, I found that my optical drive would no longer spin and wouldn't recognize any media whatsoever. Since my warranty was out of date, this means I had to buy a new PS3. Yes, I spoke to a Sony technician and, yes, I had the option of paying nearly $200 to get it repaired. However, it seemed a waste when I could pay $100 more for a newer system with 4x the space. Still, FNV has been an expensive game for me thus far...
As you might guess, this has soured me to buying games before they are patched and confirmed to be in good working order.