PlayStation General Topic

So did anyone else get PixelJunk shooter? I'm quite enjoying it right now. It's pretty simple, but works really well with the different elements affecting each other in cool ways (Water Cools Lava, lava melts Ice and burns gas etc.)

I'm gonna have to check it out sounds interesting.

Well I'm jumping in this thread because I wanted some of you guys' opinions.

For the longest time I've been contemplating whether to get a 360 or PS3 but I think I've made up my mind and will go down the PS3 route. I may end up getting a 360 some day, who knows, but certain bits of the PS3 has swung me that way.

So I'm planning on buying one and I came across the PS3 Slim 250GB model for £239.95 on ShopTo.net - see it here. I've looked around on many sites and I think this is the cheapest you can get the 250GB model for, brand new that is. It doesn't come with any games but I'm a cheapskate, so I'll just pop to my local games shop and grab a few second hand ones if I want them.

So I wanna get your opinion - is £240 worth it for a brand new 250GB PS3 slim? Others I have asked have said yes, but I thought I'd ask you lot too.

Thanks, and if you wanna share any other info or find a better deal, please be sure to say!

The PS3's for real gamers, hands down. If you want to sink into your little world of online multiplayer, screaming 10 year olds, and $100 extra for wireless internet, go ahead and buy the Xbox.

Personally, I've been getting along great with the PS3 so far.

PK- The Mongoose Hermit said:
The PS3\'s for real gamers, hands down. If you want to sink into your little world of online multiplayer, screaming 10 year olds, and $100 extra for wireless internet, sending it off to Microsoft for 2 weeks (Like my brother did with his brand spaking new Elite), buying AA batteries/Battery Packs, jet plane fan, no blu ray, paying for online play and using only Microsoft branded peripherals then go ahead and buy the Xbox.

Personally, I\'ve been getting along great with the PS3 so far.

Fixed.

( Edited 12.12.2009 09:22 by Simez )

Haha. I always hear about Xboxes breaking down and stuff, but my mates just say "oh it doesn't happen with the newer ones, and it's free to fix anyway".

Despite most people having an Xbox, I don't think I'm all that bothered about it. And even though people say it's ONLY 40 quid a year for online play, free online tempts me so much more to be honest.

I'll continue to look for any other good deals on the PS3 but I think I might be going for the one on ShopTo's website.

Crocomire said:
Haha. I always hear about Xboxes breaking down and stuff, but my mates just say "oh it doesn't happen with the newer ones, and it's free to fix anyway".

And it does happen in new ones too. Not as often, but it's still there.

Well, I have both 360 and PS3. I got my 360 in November '08, and my PS3 slim in September '09. It only took five months for my Xbox to start doing that red ring bullshit, so no it's not an exaggeration to say that 360s are heaps of shit, because they are. But yeah you do get that fat warranty with it (though you will need it).

As far as the online differences go, it's like this;

· Pretty much nobody has/uses a microphone on PSN. You tend to hear a couple of voices in COD, but that's about it. Nearly everyone on XBL uses a microphone. This is a double-edged thing, on the one hand, it means teamwork and stuff is much more realistic on Xbox, and on the other hand you don't have to spend that moment muting everyone (because nearly everyone sounds very fucking annoying).

· Games on PS3 will tend to support a couple less players at a time than the 360 version. So 12 players rather than 16 is common-ish. It's not always like this, though.

· Map packs and the like will often tend to arrive on 360 first, and then after a period will be made available on PS3. No big deal in my opinion, but it's worth knowing.

· There is no PSN feature equivalent to Xbox LIVE Parties. Some individual games do employ a similar scheme (Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2), but these are parts of specific games, rather than a feature of the consoles online service itself (like with XBL Parties).

That's about it for differences. It 'works' in the exact same way as XBL. You have a gamertag, people add this tag to become your friend. At any given time you can see what your friends are up to, and join them in their games, send each other messages, yadda yadda. No friend code nonsense like you get with Nintendo.

I'm not sure just how much I'd spend on the online side of things anyway. Obviously I'd delve into it, but I've bearly ever properly played a COD game before, so I'm not sure if the whole online COD thing appeals to me. And I know I'd get my arse kicked straight away anyway because I have little experience of it.

I think I've always been more of a single player game person, loving the FF RPGs and the like, so that's why I think the PS3 suits me more.

I'm grateful for all the info you guys are passing on. I don't think much is going to swing me to getting a 360 over a PS3 now though (this was the opposite maybe two years ago, but now I think the PS3 is the machine to have).

Again, I'll be looking around for the best deal. Do you think 250GB is the way to go? Or is 120GB enough?

Both consoles are great. I got my 12month Xbox Live subscription for £26. You just need to learn to look around. The PS3 is really good value now.

My Xbox red-ringed 8 months after buying it (May 2008 I bought it) and though I was really annoyed at first, it only took a week to get it repaired for free. Microsoft\'s repair service is great. I was expecting to be waiting weeks to get my Xbox back.

( Edited 12.12.2009 21:11 by wAyNe - sTaRT )

Crocomire said:
I'm not sure just how much I'd spend on the online side of things anyway. Obviously I'd delve into it, but I've bearly ever properly played a COD game before, so I'm not sure if the whole online COD thing appeals to me. And I know I'd get my arse kicked straight away anyway because I have little experience of it.

I think I've always been more of a single player game person, loving the FF RPGs and the like, so that's why I think the PS3 suits me more.

I'm grateful for all the info you guys are passing on. I don't think much is going to swing me to getting a 360 over a PS3 now though (this was the opposite maybe two years ago, but now I think the PS3 is the machine to have).

Again, I'll be looking around for the best deal. Do you think 250GB is the way to go? Or is 120GB enough?

120GB is more than enough but trust me when I say you'll be using your HDD for more then just games.
So bigger really is better if you have the choice.

The hard drives can be easily upgraded with most standard 2.5 inch hard drives anyway, so of you do find yourself in want of more space you can just go that route for it.

Whatever happened to propper crash bandicoot? I'm highly dissapointed Naughty Dog.

Well i've had my xbox for about 5 months now and the only thing i use it for is Rock Band, and mucking round on MW2 with friends that own it. That's it. Other than that my PS3 is running Blu-rays, DVD's, streaming stuff via the internet browser and at the moment playing some classic ps1 games that i've got buried into again.

It's all about taste, i prefer online on ps3, probably because i don't use live for anything other than buying songs to play in rock band. So step back and think what games or services you'll use and then pick that system. If you pick a ps3, you'll most likely see me and Simez online most of the day doing something or other.

AfroXmas221 said:
Whatever happened to propper crash bandicoot? I'm highly dissapointed Naughty Dog.

Crocomire said:
Do you think 250GB is the way to go? Or is 120GB enough?

Well, 120GB is certainly enough (remember the PS3 HDD before the slim was 80GB), but if getting the 250GB one is no big deal for you, then why not get that? It\'s worth noting that the PS3 hard drive is not proprietary faggotry like the 360 hard drive, it\'s just a standard 2.5inch SATA 5400rpm one. So if you find yourself running low on space (or just craving more), then it\'s not a particularly big deal to put a bigger one in. Have a PS3 rocking a 2TB hard drive

But yeah, 120GB should be ample, unless you start loading all of your songs and films onto it, I suppose. I have quite a lot of stuff saved onto my PS3 HDD (a bunch of PSN games, a bunch of PSone games from PSN, a fair few retail games that require installation), and I\'ve got around 70GB still free on it.

( Edited 13.12.2009 13:04 by Martin_ )

Awesome, I might go for the 250GB after all.

The mention of PS1 games brings me to this question: Are the downloaded PS1 games from PSN in their original 60Hz format, or are they in their crappy slower, bordered 50Hz format?

I hate what Nintendo have done and just made it so that people in the PAL regions still have to play 50Hz versions of old games. I personally think it's a disgrace and would be equally disappointed if Sony have done the same thing.

Anyone shed the light on that?

Just checked PAL-UK 50hz NTSC-US/JAP 60hz. My TV's handshake said so. The PAL have borders and NTSC is full screen although there are side borders because of the 4:3 aspect ratio.
You can setup a US account to download PS Classic which is better because they have more of them and they get the games months and months ahead of us.

So PAL PS1 PSN games run slower than the NTSC ones? Disgusting.

And I've ordered my PS3 now =]

Yep Final Fantasy 7's battle and text was slow. Luckily I play them on PSP and it speed up the games somehow.

Good on ordering the PS3 hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as we have/are.

P.S Buy a bluetooth headset, a fairly decent one mind you because Martin was dissing my Motorola one. Official PS3 mic is highly recommended.

I didn't realise the PAL PS1 games ran slower O_O FFVII seems fine on my PSP... unless I'm just used to it running slowly Dx

PSP runs them faster so you won't notice a difference unless you play them on the PS3 first then play it on your PSP. The difference is noticeable.

Crocomire said:

The mention of PS1 games brings me to this question: Are the downloaded PS1 games from PSN in their original 60Hz format, or are they in their crappy slower, bordered 50Hz format?

Then get ready to be disappointed. All PSone games on the EU PSN are in their original PAL format. So; squashed graphics and slow gameplay await you. Not all games are slower, many were optimised for PAL (MGS being one of them), but you still get the squashed graphics.

Anything that's classed as a 'PS3 game' (so retail, and all PSN games that aren't emulated PSone disc images) are full-screen, full-speed. Terms like 'PAL' and 'NTSC' don't really apply to them, because they're using the newer HDTV standard, which I believe is the same everywhere in the world.

I\'m not too fussed about the slower PS1 games, as I do have a PSP and have all the FF games on it anyway. But it is terribly disappointing for sure.

Anyway, once my PS3 arrives I\'ll set myself up online and would be happy to play with you guys.

Any top class games you recommend? I\'m thinking MGS4, Uncharted, Assassin\'s Creed. Any other big ones?

EDIT: Went out to the local store and picked up Resi 5, Tomb Raider Underworld and Mirror\'s Edge. Gonna buy Uncharted 1 off my mate tomorrow too.

I was looking at the price of HDMI cables, and the official Sony one goes for £15 or more. On ebay there are non-officials for just a few quid. Is it better to buy the Sony one?

( Edited 14.12.2009 20:27 by Crocomire )

Don't get fooled by any bullshitter making you think a £100 HDMI cable is any better than a £5 cable. Unlike the analogue composite/component cables, digital cables produce just one stable signal 101010101 or "on off on on" etc... It's all the same cable no need to go official or expensive.