Buying advise for a Playstation 3 (1 Viewer)

Hey guys,


I've been considering a PS3 on and off for a few years, so I am a total noob to the PS3 world. I have a PS2 and there are a few games I enjoy on it, the first person shooter EA Bond series and Gran Turismo 4. I killed one PS2 playing Grand Theft Auto.


I am mostly interested in Gran Turismo 5 and when that comes out, that would be a reason I pull the trigger on a PS3.


I have seen a PS3 at Costco. IIRC, it is a 160 gb model for $299.99. Any advise if this Costco version with 160gb is a good buy? I would like for it to be able to play my old games, though I suspect that might not be possible.


Are there any new versions of the PS3 in the pipeline that I might want to wait for? Would getting a higher capacity unit make more sense? Anythng else to keep in mind?


Many thanks in advance!

It won't play your PS2 games. The original model did, but since you have a PS2, I don't think it would be worth finding an older model just for that functionality. The $299 model you're looking at should be fine, but if you're interested in Move (motion controls on the PS3), you can spend an extra hundred bucks and get Move along with a 320GB HDD. Move by itself is $100, so you get a bigger hard drive as a bonus. Unfortunately, the Costco price is no different from any other store. Here's the $399 set:


http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-320GB-System-Move-Bundle-3/dp/B002I0K956/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1287632673&sr=8-3

Thanks Greg!


This Move thing is a new thing to me. Sounds like their version of the Wii game play, is that fair to say? Though it seems overly complicated compared to the simplicity of the Wii. I've played some games on that at a friends house and it's pretty cool. Had a sore elbow the next day!

Okay, I'll gather some more intelligence before I buy anything. Oh yeah, what is the hard drive for? Is it for loading the game during game play? Or does it play the game from the drive and not a disc?


Thanks!


Nelson

You can buy games from an online store and they will be stored on the hard drive, and I think you can install most games to the drive (probably not the full Blu-Ray games). It speeds things up, but you can play from the disc. Also, if you download or stream stuff from Netflix, it would use the drive, and you can use it to store your own music and video if you want. Someone else can give you a better answer on that (full disclosure: I've researched this a little because I've looked into buying a PS3, but I don't have one yet) and exactly what the Move does. I think it pretty much is their version of the Wii, but it also has a camera that does something.

The MOVE is, in very simple terms, similar to the Wii, but is much more precise. Because it uses both the gyroscope (?) inside the controller and the illuminated ball on top of the controller in conjunction with the camera, it can detect not only movement, but distance from the camera, as well.


If you are considering a PS3 bundle, I would recommend the MOVE bundle, which includes the PS3 slim console with a 320 Gb hard drive, the PlayStation Eye camera, one MOVE motion controller, one Dualshock 3 controller, Sports Champions game for Move, and a MOVE games demo disc. Most retailers are selling this for $399, and some are even throwing in a few extra games or movies for free.


If you plan on watching Blu-ray movies, I highly recommend purchasing the official Sony Blu-ray remote control over a third-party remote. Also, most games don't require two Move controllers, but many give you the option of playing with two, offering a much better gaming experience, so I would recommend purchasing at least one additional Move controller (they run $50).


I have the 120Gb PS3 Slim console, which I upgraded with a 320 Gb hard drive, and use that to store and playback my massive music library. The console also uses the hard drive to install some games (even those that come on disc), plus game saves, movie bookmarks, BD-Live downloaded content, etc.

Last time I was in Costco, they were selling the Move bundle for $90 or so. You might consider waiting on the Move, because although the hardware appears to be awesome, the first-gen games don't seem to be impressing anyone.


I also recommend the official bluetooth BD remote. At $20 on sale it's a steal. The only problem is that the buttons don't glow or illuminate, but that's just a matter of getting your fingers used to the positioning.


Does that 160 GB bundle come with any extra stuff, like games?

Thanks for the added info Todd. Lots of good thing to think about.


Aaron, that was what I was thinking, whether one could buy a PS3 now, and get the Move components later? I gather you just have to make sure the PS3 is one of the new ones? And would it matter what size the hard drive is for play Move games?


I have a Sony stand alone blu ray player already. So the PS3 could be useful if one disc has an issue and I can check it on the PS3. Like the recent Twilight Zone blu ray.


My thinking is to use the PS3 at first as a gaming console. I don't download stuff like music and I use iTunes for my iPods with music from my CD's that I rip. I don't think I'd use Netflix, though who knows.

If you're a pretty casual gamer, and don't plan to use the PS3 as a media server, 160 will probably do you fine. I've had my 360 with a 120G hard drive for a couple of years now and have never run out of space. I've installed some big games and haven't even had to delete any to make room. As a Nintendo fanboy, I'm kind of hoping Sony's and Microsoft's copycat devices will be a flash in the pan (as has historically been the case with components users have to buy separately), though I'd probably go for the Move bundle myself. But, sure . . . you can buy Move any time you want down the road, or not at all.

Greg, Yeah, I am probably a casual gamer. Though I have gone through spurts of game play all day! When I was younger though.


Sounds good given that I won't likely load the drive with music and I have other devices I load videos to. I can get by with the smaller drive. And it's good to know I can get the Move hardware later. The remote is a good idea!


Now I wonder since the PS3 has wi-fi, could I use it as a conduit to connect a ethernet cable from it to my Sony stand alone blu ray player to do it's firmware updates?

The Move should work with any model PS3. I have an original 60GB model, which I'll eventually trick out with the Move. The hard drive's been tight for some time now, so I sometimes have to delete old demos and saves. I do plan to upgrade, because I'd like to download more songs for the various music games.

Aaron, so when you say upgrade, you mean you can replace the drive in the PS3 to a larger one like you would on any computer? That sounds good.

Nelson - The PS3 only accepts 2.5" form factor (laptop) SATA drives, which will limit you to around a 500MB drive ( I believe.) If you google for "PS3 hard drive upgrade" you will find all sorts of articles showing you how to perform the procedure. It is very simple. As far as gaming and hard drive usage goes - save games, profiles and some code use the HD, but there is not an 'Install Game to Hard Drive' option like the one that exists on the Xbox 360. The first time you put a game disc in the PS3 the software will perform an "install" but will still access the game disc during normal gameplay.


- Walter.

Walter, thanks. I did a search and did indeed find instructions for upgrading a PS3 Slim's drive with a larger one. Cool. And it looks pretty straight forward.

Yup, what he said. Although I believe the limit is more like 500 GB.

I stopped to review the PS3 they are selling at Costco today.

It's a 160gb unit and includes the blu-ray remote, Uncharted 2, 50 song coupon, one dual shock controller for $349.99. A good deal? I don't have any interest in the 50 songs, but the drive size and the remote make up for it.

160gb is the standard HD size ($299 version). So, ignoring the songs (meh) you get Uncharted 2 (currently retailing for $40) and the remote ($20). So it's a savings of $10, nothing special really. If you ordered it from amazon you'd save more on sales tax. (assuming you're unscrupulous like me).


The video game market is pretty standardized, it's going to cost what it's going to cost no matter where you buy it, with little in the way of incentive. The only way you're going to get a good deal is if you wait for the holiday specials, and then you'd have to be diligent about it. Scouring the web for leads and rumors, and jumping when the opportunity strikes.

...But what if a better deal comes along in a few days, maybe I should wait. No, I'll go ahead and get---- WTF SOLD OUT ALREADY!!! Ffffffuuuuuuu-



It must be getting close to November.

The Black Friday ads are already showing up online. I got the big Toys R Us holiday catalog in the mail yesterday -- there were a number of video game deals, but the details escape me.

Thanks guys. I'm not in a hurry since Gran Turismo 5 won't be out for a while. But I'll be making an effort to keep an eye out for deals.


But as you say, it does look like the pricing is pretty uniform through out the vendors.

Sony keeps a pretty tight hold on retailers to keep the consoles at a uniform price, which is why retailers will create their own bundles to be competitive by throwing in free controllers, games, movies, etc.


You are likely to see more bundles as we get closer to the Christmas shopping season.

Originally Posted by Nelson Au

Thanks guys. I'm not in a hurry since Gran Turismo 5 won't be out for a while. But I'll be making an effort to keep an eye out for deals.


But as you say, it does look like the pricing is pretty uniform through out the vendors.

Click to expand...

Cool! Good timing then to be looking for a PS3.