I've been debating on getting a console for 'casual' gaming and netflix/hulu stuff. There are only 4-5 games that I want, IE gt5... what is the best generation ps3 to buy? Are there any to avoid? Are they hackable for do other cool stuff?
If you want PS2 play back then get the FAT model and just swap the HD in it to a bigger one. Also the FATs are easier to mod at firmware 3.55 (last time I checked) which supports a variety of emulators and homebrew apps.
The downsides to the original model are some heat/reliability issues. Mine was replaced once, but the replacement still works.
Only the early models of fats support hardware backwards compatibility with PS2, the CECHA/CECHB models, with CECHC/CECHE using an emulator, which has a small amount of issues in comparison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ompatible_PlayStation_2_and_PlayStation_games If you can find a PS3 on firmware 3.55 or lower, hacking it for homebrew is easy as putting an update file on a USB stick and pressing go Otherwise, and if you have a fat or a slim model 2xxxx, you'll need a NAND/NOR flasher to downgrade it to 3.55. The 3xxxx slims and the newest 'super' slims are not yet hackable.
BS. get the lastest edition with the dlcs in it. i'm having more and more fun with it since it was out and i subscrived to Gtplanet to join competent racers in online championships.
If you need PS2 compatibility, then obviously your only choice is one of the early phat models. If you don't care about that, get a Slim - it's smaller, quieter, better looking IMO, and it doesn't have a glossy coating, so it doesn't get scratched up as easily. They're also very reliable - I've had mine for 3 or 4 years, and I've had no problems. I DON'T recommend getting one of the newest Slim models. It uses a crappy top loading mechanism and it looks like crap. I've also heard that some of the early PS3 models had SACD compatibility. Not much of a selling point for most people, but if that's something you're interested in, then it might be worth looking into.
I had GT5 and found it kinda boring. Forza 3 is superior IMHO (haven't gotten 4 or Horizon yet, I'm waiting on the platinum edition). I've had the Slim for about 2 years and the only issue I had was I just had to upgrade the hard drive to 320 GB. That's probably the one I'd advise, as I've seen the BC compatible phat ones go for more than most other ones, plus is there anyone on Earth that DOESN'T have a PS2?
I was a little bummed about the lack of a slot loader in the latest PS3 redesign, but it's not a terrible omission. If you hadn't had a PS3 beforehand then you wouldn't understand how significant of a step back it was; it's pretty slick for what it is, but it's a pale imitation of the wonderful slot loading drive of the original fat 60gb that I replaced (due to, you know, it dying). One of my favorite things about the backwards compatible PS3s was the support for virtual memory cards on PS2 games. Absolute godsend. Now that I can't play PS2 games on my system anymore, I mostly stick to playing PS2 games via PCSX2 whenever possible. I could hook up the old fat PS2, but the entertainment center is busy enough as it is and it's kind of fun exploring the compatibility and maturity of PCSX2. That and I rebuy the good games when they get added to the PS2 classics section because, you know, they're good games. Gotta show some support for their decision to make them available in a digital format. Ideally they'll eventually be playable on the Vita. Man, how cool would that be? (the Vita's native library is exceedingly lacking and I spend most of my time on it playing PSP and PS1 games) There may be only 4-5 games you want to pick up for light gaming right now, but you're liable to get sucked into its library all the same. There's a pretty healthy range of awesome stuff that may or may not cater to your interests. Granted, it's not remotely as deep as the PS2 library, but your interest in racing games may take you to discover the surprisingly awesome F1 Championship Edition and Motorstorm series. Perhaps you enjoy sandbox games and chance across the technically challenged, but still incredibly entertaining Godfather: Don's Edition or Sucker Punch's excellent Infamous series. Then you have the God of War Saga to ween you into the modern brawler (at a ridiculously affordable price) along with the other HD collections on the system (I'd advocate skipping the Jak & Daxter collection and making a bee line for the Ratchet & Clank collection). Oh man, and don't even get me started on the Yakuza series. So be careful there, it's easy to dip your toes in with the intention of just having a BD/Netflix player only to be drowning in games. That's pretty much what happened to me. Cut the cable, bought a PS3 with the savings from that, signed up for Netflix, and now I don't have time to watch Netflix because I'm trying to dig myself out of this backlog. Hope we get Yakuza 5 in the west.
Second or third Slim revision. SCPH-250x or SCPH-300x. You can still find the SCPH-300x units new in stores (usually discounted) if you look. Avoid used fats (reliability issues) unless you *REALLLY* want a 1st gen w/PS2 BC and SACD compatibility. Also, minor thing, but fats don't have HDMI CEC, slims and super slims do. Avoid the new "super slims" (SCPH-400x) due to cheap build quality and noisy BD-ROM drives. Any PS3 on 3.55 or earlier firmware is easily hackable. This limits you to used consoles, as the last model to ship with 3.50 NEW was the SCPH-250x. The SCPH-300x shipped with 3.6x.
Maybe it's better now, but it took like two years for it to not be complete shit. Even so, I doubt they fixed the core problems, for example that 80% of the cars are imported straight from PS2, a huge chunk of the cars also being useless Miata and Skyline variants. But the real nail in the coffin is the shittily designed career mode that demands insane amounts of grinding.
Gran Turismo 5 is the worse Gran Turismo I've ever played. Sorry Johnny but honestly it was the most boring for me, I enjoyed Gran Turismo 2, and 4 it seems the pattern stays the same for me... 6 should be good if it ever happens. Besides, I'm sure it's whether you love it or you hate it. Anyway, for the Playstation 3 I don't use the system for Netflix, or Hulu or similar services. However I enjoy the PSN, it does go down more often than XBOX Live but then again you're not paying through the nose for it. I only use the Playstation 3 for Blur online, and love it
PS3 is great for watching movies and blu rays. However if you want to watch some movie .mp4s from a USB stick you may run into the Cinavia error which is a real pain. Basically the Cinavia error says the movie your trying to watch has copyprotected audio and you can't watch it. Even though your only getting it for casual gaming, there are many great ps3 exclusives that will make the purchase worth it.
NOT everyone can afford what you can afford. Why a fee for a service that's simple and a big company like Microsoft? For 12 months in Australia it's $100 + if you have the older models you need the wireless device if you're not near a modem. This is what turned me off XBOX Live, I honestly think it's a rip off. It doesn't help some games have subscriptions on top of subscriptions.
Only if you buy it from your console like a dumbass, if you're not a dumbass there's a ton of sites online that can offer you Live for far cheaper. And if you can't afford to spend a very small amount of money per month for online gaming, maybe you should collect bottle caps or something instead of playing video games.
That's Australian prices, they are stupid. Well I don't have that problem since I import everything - but just giving you an example. It's not that small amount a month, on top of other charges for other items, you're not looking at this properly but I understand where you're coming from.
First result on Google for "australia xbox live codes": http://gamecard.com.au/my/default.asp ~$4.6/month, anyone who can't pay that amount of money per month needs to seriously consider the bottle caps.
Maybe some people just play about 10 hours per weeks when they chill out and don't wanna pay extra money for so few time spent online with a console + games that already cost them hundreds of bucks? 5$/month is 60$/year, a whole game-worth spent to play games you already bought... per year...
Compare that amount of money with the amount you spend on groceries/rent/electricity/water etc. per month, and it should start to feel pretty fucking insignificant, which it is. Besides, I don't think you can get a new game in Australia for 60 AUD anyway.
