PS3: Do it or not?

[column5 63]

Here is the situation.

 

1. I have decided to get a Blu-Ray player to go with my new TV.

2. PS3 40GB bundle with Spiderman 3 movie costs only $100 more than a Sony Blu-Ray player.

3. I have not seriously played a console since the Super NES, though I did briefly have a GameCube, which I rarely played.

 

So, the question is, is the PS3 worth spending a little more for? How are the games? I don't like Japanese-style games like Final Fantasy or Heavenly Sword. I think I would be interested in driving games like GT5 and of course mayhem simulators like GTAIV. That Drake's Fortune game looks interesting too. I have a PC to play FPS style games on.

 

What do you guys reccomend?

[+Dave 2,322]

I have an XBox360. It gets used for playing Football, Golf, and watching movies. I mean for what you want it for I see no reason why not to get it. Driving games are fun on consoles.

[column5 63]

I have an XBox360. It gets used for playing Football, Golf, and watching movies. I mean for what you want it for I see no reason why not to get it. Driving games are fun on consoles.

 

That's the way I am leaning. I get the BD player and for basically $100 extra a nice game console. I have some Best Buy gift cards so the cost winds up being pretty low.

[+Dave 2,322]

That's the way I am leaning. I get the BD player and for basically $100 extra a nice game console. I have some Best Buy gift cards so the cost winds up being pretty low.

 

Well then go for it man the less you spend out of pocket makes it much more an easier decision.

[column5 63]

My concern is that PS3 was criticised a lot when it was released. Of course, a lot of that was probably from fanboys of other consoles, and they have had over a year to work on firmware.

[FastCargo 412]

If I were to get a Blu-Ray player, it would be a PS3. And from what I can tell, it hasn't had the overheat issues the 360 has been reportedly having. Considering everything else it can do besides play Blu-Ray movies, I think it's a good purchase.

 

BTW, full disclosure, I don't have any consoles at this time (other than a PSP).

 

FastCargo

[Revvin 1]

Here is the situation.

 

1. I have decided to get a Blu-Ray player to go with my new TV.

2. PS3 40GB bundle with Spiderman 3 movie costs only $100 more than a Sony Blu-Ray player.

3. I have not seriously played a console since the Super NES, though I did briefly have a GameCube, which I rarely played.

 

So, the question is, is the PS3 worth spending a little more for? How are the games? I don't like Japanese-style games like Final Fantasy or Heavenly Sword. I think I would be interested in driving games like GT5 and of course mayhem simulators like GTAIV. That Drake's Fortune game looks interesting too. I have a PC to play FPS style games on.

 

What do you guys reccomend?

 

 

My concern is that PS3 was criticised a lot when it was released. Of course, a lot of that was probably from fanboys of other consoles, and they have had over a year to work on firmware.

 

I've owned both consoles, last November I traded in my 360 for a PS3 as I felt like a change of format. I had two RROD's (thats a major hardware failure resulting in a need to return it BTW) but I still think its a good format with a good selection of games and good online system. That said I've not regretted my switch for a minute. Those who criticised it for its poor selection of gmaes must have a short memory as I remember being limited for choice when I bought my 360 a few months after release. 2008 will be a better year with more exclusive titles from developers that have had time to get to grips with the PS3's hardware. Its the same with every console, if you compare early release titles with ones from later on you'll see a marked improvement and one developer has said he's not even tapped a third of the PS3's capabilities so perhaps now is a good time to get one.

 

To answer your points:

 

1. The PS3 makes a great Blu-Ray player, I'd recommend getting the Bluetooth DVD remote although you can use a joypad to control Blu-Ray and DVD playback. The Blu-Ray will also upscale your standard DVD's so they will look better but you can also stream music from a PC that has Media Player 11 on it, you can view pictures and also browse the internet with the built in web browser that while not as good as IE or Firefox is certainly a capable web browser. Should you want to you can partition the HDD and install Linux and of course you could always use the PS3 to play PS3 games :)

 

2. Its hard to argue at that price for the reasons above

 

3. I had not owned a console since the SNES then bought the original Xbox, I was stil lvery much a PC gamer so only really spent more time on the consoles when the 360 came along as it was closer in spec to a PC and the games were of a similar standard graphically etc. I spend even more time on my Pc now because apart from flight and racing sims I like to be able to just stick the disc in the PS3 and play. Recently I reformatted my PC and downloaded the usual stuff from Steam but couldn't bring myself to load them up and start messing about configuring video settings etc. At the moment I have IL-2 installed, RACE 07, rFactor with my joysticks and wheel setup.

 

I started playing one or two FPS games despite saying that I would always be a PC FPS player because I started with Wolfenstein on mouse and keys many years ago. When CoD4 was released I opted for the PS3 version because it was less hassle to setup and just as much fun as the PC version I played on my friends PC. Again I just stick the disc in, click on multiplayer and join a game and my voice comms is already setup and I don't have to worry about people hacking the game like you do on the PC. There will always be some who wil ltry and cheat or use game glitches but because the console is a more closed system its much less likely to be abused and the fact everyone is using the same system, the same controls it means you have a very level playing field. When I load a game on the PS3 I don't need to mess with settings like the PC I know it will run just fine because I'm playing the game on the same system specs the developers used.

 

At the end of the day you want a Blu-Ray player and you could buy a standalone one but for a little more money you can have a pretty damned decent games machine that will act as an all-round media hub.

[Rambler 1-1 9]

I'd go with the PS3. For the extra hundred bucks you can play piles of games, and some of them are even good. I think you can also play ps2 games on there, and there's millions of them. Also, I'd buy a ps3 just so I could play Warhawk.

[JediMaster 451]

I just bought a Panasonic BD player this weekend at BB. I didn't get the PS3 instead for a couple of reasons.

1, the Panasonic is final profile, 1.1, but I'm not certain about when or if the PS3 will gain this ability.

2, although it was $100 more list, I had a 10% off coupon which made it only $50 more, plus BB had a special last week where if you buy a BD player (but not a PS3 or PC-internal one) you got 5 free BD movies in addition to the 5 Sony already gives you. The difference is the 5 you got there you got to pick off the shelves. So I got 2001 and the 5-disc Blade Runner among others!

 

Also, I'm not sure the PS3 would've fit in my cabinet next to my DVD-R and HD DVD players where it needed to go.

[column5 63]

Well I picked up a PS3. So far i'm pretty happy with it. It came with Spiderman 3 BD and I got Drake's Fortune so I could check out a game. My thoughts in no particular order:

 

1. The console is easy to set up and get going. Took me about 15 minutes, and most of that was digging around behind my receiver.

2. BD is a great looking format. I only have a 720p TV but the improvement over DVD is apparant.

3. Drake's Fortune is a great looking game, and fun. Was up until 2 AM this morning.

4. Downloaded Gran Turismo HD Concept, the demo for GT5. Haven't played yet but loaded it and watched the demo movies. Stunning.

5. The fan is kind of loud...only noticeable when its quiet in the room but then its a little intrusive. Annoying enough to get up and turn the thing off.

 

So I'm enjoying it. Thanks for all the advice!

[Revvin 1]

I just bought a Panasonic BD player this weekend at BB. I didn't get the PS3 instead for a couple of reasons.

1, the Panasonic is final profile, 1.1, but I'm not certain about when or if the PS3 will gain this ability.

2, although it was $100 more list, I had a 10% off coupon which made it only $50 more, plus BB had a special last week where if you buy a BD player (but not a PS3 or PC-internal one) you got 5 free BD movies in addition to the 5 Sony already gives you. The difference is the 5 you got there you got to pick off the shelves. So I got 2001 and the 5-disc Blade Runner among others!

 

Also, I'm not sure the PS3 would've fit in my cabinet next to my DVD-R and HD DVD players where it needed to go.

 

Just in case anyone else was wondering, the PS3 was updated to Blu-Ray profile 1.1 in last months firmware update. Sounds like a good deal you had there, the margin would probably be less than $50 by the time you buy the PS3 Blu-Ray remote. You can use a joypad but I bought one because I preferred to have a standard type of remote control though it is very nice and connects via Bluetooth so you don't have to point the thing at the PS3. You obviously would not have had the choice of films that you had with your player though I do like to use the internet browser on the PS3 when I'm feeling lazy.

 

Well I picked up a PS3. So far i'm pretty happy with it. It came with Spiderman 3 BD and I got Drake's Fortune so I could check out a game. My thoughts in no particular order:

 

1. The console is easy to set up and get going. Took me about 15 minutes, and most of that was digging around behind my receiver.

2. BD is a great looking format. I only have a 720p TV but the improvement over DVD is apparant.

3. Drake's Fortune is a great looking game, and fun. Was up until 2 AM this morning.

4. Downloaded Gran Turismo HD Concept, the demo for GT5. Haven't played yet but loaded it and watched the demo movies. Stunning.

5. The fan is kind of loud...only noticeable when its quiet in the room but then its a little intrusive. Annoying enough to get up and turn the thing off.

 

So I'm enjoying it. Thanks for all the advice!

 

Not tried Drakes Fortune as it didn't appeal to me but its suppossed to be very good. If you like racing games you might like Motorstorm - (

with some nice in game video at the end) as it was released with the PS3 quite some time ago you should find it cheap, especially on Ebay. Edited January 7, 2008 by Revvin

[column5 63]

One thing I just learned. The 40GB PS3 will not play PS2 games. Seems kind of silly. I thought I might be able to pick up some of the old Grand Theft Auto games but alas I will not be able to. Not a huge deal but if anyone else is considering a PS3, keep that in mind. You need to 80GB model for PS2 emulation.

[Rambler 1-1 9]

One thing I just learned. The 40GB PS3 will not play PS2 games. Seems kind of silly. I thought I might be able to pick up some of the old Grand Theft Auto games but alas I will not be able to. Not a huge deal but if anyone else is considering a PS3, keep that in mind. You need to 80GB model for PS2 emulation.

 

WHAAAAAAATTTTT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

rip-off. losers. it's an unwritten rule of game consoles that they must be able to play games from the previous system. 80 gig... bah.

 

Now excuse me while I go NOT buy a ps3.

[JediMaster 451]

The original 60GB model and the 80GB model that replaced it at the same $499 price point both support PS2 games. The new lower-cost 40GB model was cheaper by virtue of the fact that backwards emulation is one of the things left out.

[column5 63]

Next thing.

 

The UPnP client support works like a champ. Got Twonky Media installed on my PC and connected with the PS3. Can now stream my MP3 library (and videos if I had any) to the PS3.

 

The best aprt is the trippy-cool 3D Earth from space visualization thing you can play while music is streaming. Hell of cool and would be killer on a big 1080p set with a fat J lit up playing the soundtrack to Flash Gordon.

[Revvin 1]

That Twonkymedia software is pretty good, without a media server prog the PS3 can't see my XP64 system, neither could my 360 but they both see my missus 32 Bit XP system. As for backwards compatibility I think its something you think you'd miss but in reality on the 360 I only had two or three games from my days owning an Xbox, Halo and Forza because it was not fully backwards compatible and neither is the PS3 though the 60GB version I have (UK 60GB) supports a very large number of games I only bought GT4 and Killzone just as a taster for each of those series as the sequels are due on the PS3 this year. I've hardly touched them as I think a lot of people do when the systems become more established as both the 360 and PS3 are now you are more inclined to play the games actually designed for that system.

 

Still no excuse as to why Sony couldn't use the Cell processor and some software emulation but they chose to include some of the hardware from the PS2 to maintain backwards compatibility namely the Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer. With both chips you get pretty much full BC but with just the Game Synthesizer it uses that hardware along with some software emulation to make up for the lack of Emotion Engine. I may be incorrect but from what I've read in regards to backwards compatibility the specs for the PS3 models are:

 

NTSC:

20GB = Emotion Engine/Game Synthesizer

60GB = Emotion Engine/Game Synthesizer

80GB = Game Synthesizer

40GB = None

 

PAL:

60GB = Game Synthesizer

40GB = None

 

Sony have announced that the PS3 will get a BD Live 2.0 update and also plan to integrate support for the PSP by having encoded versions of the film all on one Blu-Ray film disc that you can tranfer to your PSP through the PS3.