23 replies to this topic

[Reaperman]

PS3 hardware just rocks. What didn't rock before was its price. Of course that made a lot of ps3's nice little features easy to dismiss as unnecessary. Now that the system has hit $299 it's going to finally start getting a lot more people's attention, so maybe it's a good time to recap what's so great about the system. I'm going to focus mostly on hardware, but feel free to add on with anything in the ps3 experience that just sets it up as being great.

my list:

Hardware is durable - Some early PS3 units are known to enjoy throwing lasers, or heating up until the fan screams, but that's mostly gone away and was never the huge issue it might have been. Repair parts are available, and overall the system doesn't have a reputation for being totally unreliable.

Networking - built in GigE and Wifi. life doesn't get much better than that. (note, iirc some units don't have wifi, but I can't be bothered to check at the moment)

Backwards compatibility - Okay, truth is that most PS3's can't play PS2 games. But they can play PS1 games, and supporting a system with BC that came out well over a decade ago doesn't happen often and ought to be worth at least a little credit on a retrogaming forum.

Imports - every ps3 title will play in any ps3 without modification. Nice. Additionally, feel free to create accounts in the euro and asian ps3 stores to get software not available in north america yet. Europe's got the dirt2 demo right now, and lord only knows what japan has.

Game sharing - Got a friend with a ps3? got multiple ps3 systems in the house? Games purchased as downloads from the playstation store can be downloaded and installed on up to 5 ps3 systems and played by anybody using that system. Check it out, it's supported by sony, it's in the software license, and that's a totally wild concept.

bluray - yes there was a little format war, but one console has always shipped with a drive capable of storing a metric crap-ton of data and that's ps3. Naturally feel free to use it on movies too.

Free online - no it's not a negative, it's a nice freebie, and generally works pretty well. It's certainly worth far more than you paid for it.

swappable hard disks - just that, laptop sata drives are generally good to go for swapping.

alternate OSes - install another OS? Very few electronic devices, let alone game consoles, come from the factory with a menu item that does this. It's a pretty wild concept. (not available on ps3 slim)

bluetooth - feel free to use your own headset--anything you want to. I like my $10 cheapie since it takes AAAA cells so I never need to recharge it.

USB - use keyboards, mice, thumb drives, media card readers, or external hard disks (properly formatted). and for racing fans like me, so many PC wheels are supported by ps3 (like all the logitech force feedback units) and in addition to all that are officially supported, most of the rest work too.

firmware - pretty darn good. it's got a nice upscaling video player which supports a wide variety of formats. Audio player with a couple decent visualizations. Folding @ home to donate processing time to somesuch project. Playstation Home which is a kind of neat interactive sony ad-space. Also a pretty good console internet browser which supports some slightly more advanced sites like youtube.

controller - it feels like a playstation controller, but it's got '6 axis' gyro control, analog triggers (finally) and the 'ps' button which is good for all kinds of stuff. Ditched its wire and charges through usb. nice.

have I left anything out? feel free to chime in on it.

Edited by Reaperman, Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:00 AM.

[cimerians]

You have just about named them all and thats why I like it so much. I still think the game selection on 360 is insanely good (Xboxlive not physical media)

From that list here are my top 5:
Game sharing
Swappable hard disks
Bluray
Free online
USB


My reasons:

Game Sharing - as mentioned if I buy another system I better damn well be able to play my downloaded games (non physical media)
Swappable hard disks - This is friggin awesome. Laptop hard drives are inexpensive. I can stick a 500G drive in it and never worry about space. Easily.
Bluray - Because and only because I have an 1080P LCD display these things kick major ass over standard DVD's.
Free Online - Free. Nuff Said. No Gold\Silver bullshit and no ads\promo's in my face when I turn on the machine. This can change though so I'm crossing fingers on this one...
USB - Same as above and backup my saves anywhere as well as movies, music etc.

[DaytonaUSA]

It plays Batman. That already makes it at least the 2nd best system on the market .

In all seriousness though, I think this system is a tremendous value and much better built than the 360. The 360 feels dated to me as well, and the endless aggravation I had with the wireless adapter was horrid. Some things that the PS3 sets apart itself from the 360 would be the built in batteries in the controllers, built in wireless that actually works fast enough to play games online, better tech support (my personal experience with Microsoft's with my 360 was a big headache), and a much better designed system.

I was easily able to upgrade my PS3 to a 500 gig hdd for the same price it took me to upgrade to a 120GB on my 360. Just things like that. I feel like I got my money's worth on my PS3. Not so much with my 360. Not to say there's not great games for the system, there are tons... but the system itself is a cheap POS, and I was horribly dissatisfied with my $400+ purchase for the thing and it's accessories.

Plenty of games coming out late this year, and early next year that I want too, so it looks like the PS3 is finally hitting it's stride.

And just in case you forgot. Buy Batman. I don't even care what system you have, just go buy it.

Edited by DaytonaUSA, Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:31 AM.

[Reaperman]

I've been looking into game sharing more and more. Sony's official word on the subject is getting quieter and quieter. They used to scream it from the hills. but from what I've gathered from the official US and EU message boards over the last couple days:

you can download a game any number of times on up to five systems which are attached to your PSN account as active.
but
you can never give your account details out for others to download (breach of PSN TOS which you can be banned from psn for)--for example all those 'game sharing' forums. Of course that's just plain piracy, and giving account details to pirates is just stupid.
so
you have to be there physically doing the download, which attaches that system to your psn account. Either on a second system of yours or maybe a close friend's.
and
say one of your systems breaks, you can remove it from your account so it no longer counts toward your 5 systems. of course then all your downloads on that system will stop working if that system wasn't really out of service.

now when I was first getting into ps3, about a year ago, it was much easier to find info on it. I saw a video on it that I thought came with my ps3, but after checking I believe it was downloaded from PSN. there are also a very few exceptions to this policy. One is the online game warhawk, which as I understand, allows 5 systems to download the software but only one account to use it.

still, all things considered, it's a pretty liberal use policy. Sony just doesn't want people creating forum threads, passing around all their account info and sharing with people they've never really met. And I can understand and respect that. As long as when I get a second ps3, all 20+ of my PSN games will work on both I'm pretty happy.

Edited by Reaperman, Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:41 AM.

[Starscream]

I love the PS3 and did before it came out. At the new price point, it is really a no-brainer. Only thing you touched on that is no longer true is the alternate OS. I think it's removed on the slim. With so many different models, Sony has really made it hard to keep up with it all.

With that all said, it still falls so short, so often. Online may be free, and may be worth what they charge (free), but it is nowhere near the service of Live. Think this way....dial-up is $10, high speed is $30. Yeah, dial-up works, but spending the extra $20 makes for a better experience. Just like Live. Updates are a sucky experience. Takes a long, long time. And even demos, you download, then install, then play. The 360 handles all of that much better. Then we have Netflix. Nuff said. While I love the PS3, the 360 has defined what modern gaming is all about and leads the way in every category. The lack of built in wi-fi on the 360 does kinda blow though, I think.

And I have had enough. Can someone PLEASE tell me where all of these obstructive ads are on the 360? I don't see shit and wanna know what everyone keeps whining about.

Edited by Starscream, Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:09 PM.

[cimerians]

Starscream, on Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:08 PM, said:

And I have had enough. Can someone PLEASE tell me where all of these obstructive ads are on the 360? I don't see shit and wanna know what everyone keeps whining about.

Just turn it on. What comes up first? What are you scrolling through most of the time?

Turn on the PS3 and what comes up? A crossmedia bar right? Are there promos and ads anywhere other than the playstation store?

I'm one that bitches about it because I dont friggin like it esepecially if I'm a "gold" member. Who with a sane brain would?
Spare me the ads and promo's, I'll find them if I need them. Thank You.

Here's more lovely "bitching" here:
http://majornelson.c...-xbox-live.aspx

Yup, I was one of those guys who hated the Colecovision "boot" screen too. Although its kind of sentimental now but that was informational not a promotion.

Edited by cimerians, Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:38 PM.

[Starscream]

Jesus, that's what the bitchings about? Really? All this time, I thought I was missing something telling me to buy Oreo's, grab a refreshing Pepsi, or rule the world in some new Nike Airmax 09's. So, you are bitching about the Spotlight section? A little window saying "Hey 1vs100 tonight at 10" or "check out the new ODST video" ? Holy shit. A feed that updates features, contests, prizes, etc about the system you currently are playing on? Fuck me sideways. Just like the one on the PS3 but this one is illustrated?

Wait, what does being a Gold member even have to do with it?

Edited by Starscream, Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:58 PM.

[cimerians]

LOL....oh boy. Nevermind.

Yeah, I know what you mean though and it can be ignored but my god how things are accepted these days.

Nothing against you Starscream I just dont like anything about the XBLA interface. Just my rant and my opinion. Never will like it as long as that crap is on there while I fork over cash. Everything is being slowly owned by Microsoft (and Sony), subscribtion models and licensing games look like the route of the future.



On the otherhand: I love the selection of games hitting Xbox live though, I finished Monkey Island recently and I've made that known but the worst thing about the PSN store? No demo's. I still cant understand the thinking behind that.

Back on topic:
I just ordered Batman lets see how the hype stacks up. The demo looked fantastic and I cant wait to see the Joker PS3 feature.....
Speaking of exclusivity, unless I owned both systems I'm not sure I'd be a fan of it.

Edited by cimerians, Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:41 PM.

[Starscream]

cimerians, on Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:32 PM, said:

LOL....oh boy. Nevermind.

Yeah, I know what you mean though and it can be ignored but my god how things are accepted these days.

Nothing against you Starscream I just dont like anything about the XBLA interface. Just my rant and my opinion. Never will like it as long as that crap is on there while I fork over cash. Everything is being slowly owned by Microsoft (and Sony), subscribtion models and licensing games look like the route of the future.



On the otherhand: I love the selection of games hitting Xbox live though, I finished Monkey Island recently and I've made that known but the worst thing about the PSN store? No demo's. I still cant understand the thinking behind that.

Back on topic:
I just ordered Batman lets see how the hype stacks up. The demo looked fantastic and I cant wait to see the Joker PS3 feature.....
Speaking of exclusivity, unless I owned both systems I'm not sure I'd be a fan of it.

Oh I wasn't going on about you either BTW. I read that link you posted. See, I still don't get the "I am paying for ads" thingy though. I mean, I wouldn't know the deal of the week, or upcoming contests, things like that, if they weren't there. If I can be notified of this stuff so I know about it, good for me. I mean, it's not like they are annoying pop-ups in the middle of gameplay. These feature thingies are there no matter what, Silver or Gold, kinda the core of the dash or what it was designed for. So how is that paying for them? And really, why not set to auto sign-in and auto launch and call it a day if it's that bad? I too like the PS3's cleaner interface better, but, I'll be honest, the PS3 community, store, and other things are so bland in comparison, they could start having twizzlers pop-ups on the 360 during games and it would still provide a better experience for me.

You wanna rant? Lets talk about $3500.00 aluminum heads for my car that the manufacturer engraved their name into so anytime anyone sees them, they get some free exposure. I'll totally bitch about that with you. Something that's about $4 a month, I don't see the point.

[HammR25]

My non-bc 80gb PS3 is pretty quiet. That's another plus.

[moycon]

Yep at $299 everyone should own a PS3!
The price cut just made the decision to pick up a second one a no-brainer. Everything Reaperman stated is great (except I think the Sony network sucks so it had damn better be free is my thought on that...not sure if that is a positive in my book, also I personally prefer the 360 controller by a long shot.)

PS3 still is #2 on my list of consoles this round though. As nice as most everything Reaperman mentioned is, most are perks of which the 360 has many of it's own. But in the end, what I care about in regards to my video game systems is kick-ass games (both solo and online.)
The 360 simply dominates in the game category.
You certainly can't deny the PS3 rocks though Reaperman.

[Noelio]

I've always been completely sold on the PS3. It's feel, look and performance speak for themselves.
I was both lucky and unlucky to pay full price when it first came out but thank God I did since I did get ps2 functionality. Before the PS3 I never played a single ps2 game and only played Tony Hawk on the PS1 for an hour at a friend's. The PS3 *really* brought me into modern gaming.
Now if only they would unleash the hypervisor, engage the homebrew community (contests etc for ps3 store) and push yellowdog a little microsoft would seriously become nearly irrelevant in no time.

Overall the PS3 wins but is on the backburner for now until the DLC is available for Fallout. I will never buy microsoft platforms again if the 360, vista & 7 have anything to do with my decision. If I followed my gut I would short their stock till the cows come home.

Not really one to be a fanboy but Sony have a shot at taking down a giant, with a little goodwill & openness. Microsoft are going to be in serious need of MASSIVE restructuring when "skinned vista" or "7" hits the market and enough pros digest it's "pretty mediocrity". I digress...

Bluray RULES. A $299 player that is a damn good game platform? SOLD.

At $399 or $499 add a linux computer to the mix? Sold again.

Edited by Noelio, Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:38 PM.

[moycon]

Noelio, on Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:33 PM, said:

A $299 player that is a damn good game platform? SOLD.

Yep! My girlfriend has been wanting a new DVD player for the bedroom (We also have an extensive Blu-Ray collection that can right now only be played in the living room) as soon as I saw the PS3 for $299 I knew what was going to be going in the bedroom soon!

[Reaperman]

moycon, on Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:40 PM, said:

in the end, what I care about in regards to my video game systems is kick-ass games (both solo and online.)
The 360 simply dominates in the game category.

I totally agree that ps3 has been getting the shaft on titles, but I'm also a bit optomistic that PS3's best days are still ahead of it, and maybe that will help make up for a pretty slow start. Some of playstation's bigger franchises are looking pretty close to release, and the influx of ps3 owners certainly won't hurt matters. Now, what *really* gets my goat is when 360 games look significantly better than their ps3 counterparts.

I think lack of users is ps3's biggest weak point online, but in addition I used to experience terrible speed problems pretty regularly. For some reason my ps3 just wasn't making full use of my old internet connection. I've since bought myself a huge connection upgrade and have totally gotten rid of the speed problem--but I'm sure it's just me, and that the problem still exists for a good number of users.

Edited by Reaperman, Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:04 PM.

[atarian63]

I am going to add an new slim as well. I am playing more ps3 now. So for me this Gen it's
#1 Wii
#2 Ps3
$299 just makes it better

[S1500]

Had this been offered when I bought the 360 AND it had backwards compatibility, I would have bought it without question. From a competitive perspective, this is what Sony should have offered from the getgo. But probably there were many cost factors prohibiting this.

[Mendon]

moycon, on Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:48 PM, said:

Yep! My girlfriend has been wanting a new DVD player for the bedroom (We also have an extensive Blu-Ray collection that can right now only be played in the living room) as soon as I saw the PS3 for $299 I knew what was going to be going in the bedroom soon!

How well I remember the days when only romance went on in the bedroom.... now its Blu-ray players. My how times have changed!!


Mendon

[moycon]

Mendon, on Sat Aug 29, 2009 5:35 AM, said:

How well I remember the days when only romance went on in the bedroom.... now its Blu-ray players. My how times have changed!!

Well...We do have lots of porno DVDs!

[Bilnick]

I received my slim yesterday from Amazon.com. A very nice looking console, much better than the old style fat PS3. I prefer the matte finish over the dust and fingerprint collecting glossy finish, and replacing the touch buttons with real buttons is nice too. Every time my wife dusted the fat PS3 it would be on all day until i noticed it when I got home.

The PS3 definitely has more features for the money than the 360, but a couple of things have kept me from buying games on the PS3 rather than the 360.

The controller....The 360 controller is simply more comfortable for me to hold. The PS3 controller is just a little small for me. It is not uncomfortable to hold, just not as nice as the 360. For that reason if the same game is released for both systems, I am getting the 360 version.

Live vs PSN. You get what you pay for basically. For me the premium for Live is worth the dollar a week I pay. Downloads seem faster, game selection is better. As far as the "advertisements"? I actually like being updated on 1 vs 100 events or game of the week discounts. Yes there are advertisements disguised as content, Mountain Dew themepacks or brand name clothes for your avatar, etc. but they don't bother me. Advertisements without game/system related content would bother me though.

Overall though the PS3 is a fine system, and a worthwhile purchase no matter what other systems one may already own.

[xg4bx]

ive been using both the ps3 and 360 from the get-go and i still fail to see exactly what supposed advantages the 360 supposedly has, both in terms of xbl or game library.

i find the ps3 to be the center of my entertainment center whereas the 360 feels very empty and only serving one purpose. my ps3 can do everything the 360 can for free. the perceived quality of xbl, to me, is an illusion. im not paying dime one for things i can already get for free. for all the $ xbl has raked in over the years youd think the online service could support more than 16 player games and it wouldn't be down as often.

in terms of where online truly matters, the games, sony has shown their FREE service to be infinitely more ambitious. call me silly but xbl should have been doing what sony is doing with a game like m.a.g. or HOME long ago. with dc universe sony also looks to be bringing the 1st console mmo. their less restrictive practices both online and not supporting an hdd-less console also allows their publishers to put out massive updates to their games ala the titan pack and allowing mod/keyboard & mouse support in unreal tournament.all for free.

thats what matters to me, not cross game voice chat and bad community games which add nothing but utterly perceived value to a product. all things being equal, if online gaming were free on xbox, nobody would pay $50 for the few extra perks of xbl.

Edited by xg4bx, Sun Aug 30, 2009 5:56 PM.

[moycon]

xg4bx, on Sun Aug 30, 2009 5:55 PM, said:

and it wouldn't be down as often.

Wow you had me up till this point. Down as often!?? Get a new ISP if you're down all the time. Live is rarely down friend.

PS3 might be able to compete better if they had more co-op games *coughResistance2cough* but obviously the PSN cant support the load. Seriously when you make statements like "Im not paying dime one for things i can already get for free." You might as well post "I have no clue what I'm taking about but I'll type it anyways because it's free"

Still no one can deny PS3 games look better than 360 games! I saw a Baseball game on PS3 at Target the other day that made me squirt! (and I dont even like sports games)

In other news, one of the most kick ass PS3 games ever, Folklore, can now be found at Walmart for $19.99. This was a title that took almost forever to drop in price so pick it up ASAP (unfortunately it offers no co-op at all (big surprise) but is still a great game!)

Edited by moycon, Mon Aug 31, 2009 12:47 AM.

[cimerians]

Ack! I'm playing folklore right now.

Worth every cent at 20 bucks.

[rpgfaker]

I'm playing Resident Evil 2 with smoothing on and unlike the PS2 I can see a real difference. I wish I'd bought the system earlier

If I didn't know better I would have thought this was the Dreamcast version.

Edited by rpgfaker, Wed Sep 9, 2009 8:02 AM.

[NE146]

I definitely agree that at $299, the magic price point has been reached. Snag the console for sure.

Although admittedly the only thing I have for mine is a bluray Dark Knight disc that I've watched once