Buying a game console is a rare purchase for me, the last system I bought being the DS Lite in 2006. I normally play older, more affordable games and shy away from the latest technology. The DS had been out for 2 years before I got my own, and likewise the PS3 has been on the market for about 3 years. I never saw myself buying a PS3 because after hearing a lot of bad press about it, I began to think of it as the lame horse of the current generation of consoles--the Xbox 360 had made a very strong showing in the United States, and the Wii was also making a killing in sales. After the market domination of the Playstation 2 in the previous generation, I wondered how Sony could possibly live up to this success.
Choosing a console became a much more difficult task, because there was no longer a clearly dominant platform. When I decided to finally get a new console, I was feeling very insecure about my choice. This lead to me doing copious amounts of research on all three major consoles over the course of several months, taking into account market dynamics, hardware features and qualities, and software titles. I couldn't just ask people which one to buy because everyone ends up becoming a fanboy, so their testimony is practically useless.
When I started my research, I was already biased against the PS3. To spare you all the details, I'll just go ahead and tell you that I completely changed my mind after looking more closely, and if you want my honest appraisal, the PS3 is the best system you can buy for this generation. I do plan on getting a Wii later on (possibly next year) because it has many great exclusive games, but if you have to choose just one then follow my lead.
What sold me on the PS3 hardware were the following features:
* Blu-ray
* Built-in wifi
* Free online play
If you really think about it, these few features lend incredible strength to the platform. Those features aside, I don't think you will find a more well designed and manufactured system.
I would say that the Xbox technically has better graphics, but the difference is so slight that I found it difficult to care. The PS3 graphics are so good that I can't complain at all, and the debate about which system actually has better graphics rages on. The bottom line is that the graphics on the PS3 are gorgeous and smooth, and I have confidence in the system's ability to perform. With the PS3 Slim's affordable price tag, there isn't any better value for your money. If you were holding back before, now is the time to buy, and you can pick up some of the greatest games now for around $20 or less through the Greatest Hits titles.
As for software selection, you won't be disappointed. The library is outstanding. It's also not just suitable for this or that demographic. Some people will argue that one console is better for young people, one console is better for adults, one is better for families, etc etc. There may be some validity to these arguments, but the differences are exaggerated. There is something for everyone on the PS3, so have an open mind in case you have the PS3 pigeonholed for a certain type of audience.
I never saw myself as a PS3 owner, but I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase; it was worth every penny.
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The added amount of memory that you receive for the extra money is well worth it in my opinion.
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Other than not being able to play PS2 games, the slim 250 GB is a great choice. For $350, you get a unit that is highly capable of playing awesome games, and BluRays + DVD movies.
It's far more power efficient and weighs less than the "fat" design using a much more sleeker motherboard along with a smaller CELL Processor.
The unit also doesn't have a "power brick" unlike some of it's competitors ahem*microsfot*ahem which is great. The power supply unit is built right into the PS3 yet the PS3 is still relatively light in weight.
When in use, the slim PS3 is relatively quiet. You will notice that it will get a bit warm after a while, but that is normal since the unit is smaller, and the plastic casing of the unit is closer to all the circuitry.
Unlike the "fat" model, Sony went with a matte finish on the top and bottom (no finger print magnet like the "fat" while giving it a glossy shiny on the sides. The disc tray area has a glossy finish as well.
A big change from the "fat" model is that the Eject and Power buttons are now physically buttons as opposed to touch sensitive ones.
With the PS3, you get access to the PlayStation Network where you can purchase digital copies of games from the PSone era along with PSN exclusive titles such as Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and more!
Hopefully, Sony will release a software download or include in a firmware update to enable PS2 games.
Overall, I'm glad that I waited to get this PS3. There is a slightly cheaper 120 GB model but I'd definitely get the 250 GB model because you will eventually fill up the hard drive with a lot of stuff from game saves (PS3, PS1, and PS2), game installation files (for quicker load times; if a game offers the options), and content downloaded from the PlayStation Network.
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I Just bought one from this guy.. shipping was better then i thought cause i had a 18 day window, it showed up in 7 days. Its Official!
Only thing weird is it came with a Bottle of Essential Lavender Oil.
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when ps3 first came out i didn't think much about it. looking back i'm kinda glad i waited. sans backwards compatibility, i have nothing bad to say about this machine. amazon rocks! always a good experience. amazing machine.
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I purchased this mainly to replace my blue ray player. That being said I currently have the PS3 media server software on my desktop with a bunch of HD movies. Using this software I can stream 1080p movies to my Ps3 with HD sound without having to mess with discs.
I can't say I have played many games with it yet, but I did pick up Uncharted 2. I like the game but being use to the Xbox I was expecting the shooting controls would be turned around. Other than that it is a really interesting and fun game.
Pros
+upgradeable hard drive
+media center
+Blue ray
+free online service
+BD online firmware updates
Cons
-no ir remote
-only wireless g
-no backwards compatibility (not an issue because I never had a playstation before)
-doesn't support a different OS
Overall I could not be happier. All the cons I have listed don't affect me, I have a wired connection, I like Bluetooth devices, and a not being able to have different OS is not an issue.
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got this and I love it!!!!
i still love my 360, but I'm a sony fan for life now!!!
the PSN is awesome too!!!
wonderful, 5 stars!!!!!!!!!
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Well the ps3 is awesome. SO far so good.IT runs quite and it gets warm after a few hours of play time. The sync capability is so awesome if your tv has that feature. The only negative thing about it is that when you check the system settings and look at system information the Free space was at 232. I checked it before i downloaded some stuff at i think it said 219/232. But now I am at 197 and i haven't even downloaded that many stuff yet. I have no idea where some of those gigs are going. If you can, check it out how many gigs you have before you download anything.
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We purchased the PS3 to use as Blu-ray Player. It is excellent for this use and best of all with the WiFi connection we were able to link it to our Netflix account and have been streaming movies. A+++ for this use.
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I love the PS3. I've had it for about a month and a half and it works great. I have played games and watched Blu Ray movies with it and it's great.
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< BEGIN REVIEW >
Briefly, the PS3-250 is the exact original PS3 'Slim' with a twice as large hard disk.
I had the opportunity to actually see and use a PS3-250 on the Sunday prior to its launch. As I expected, the only difference between the ps3-250 and the PS3-120 is the larger disk with everything else the same. Many reviews of the PS3-120 are HERE.
< END OF REVIEW >
Once the decision was made to get a PS3, 2 important questions might be:
- Which model to buy? PS3-120 or PS3-250?
- To upgrade or not to upgrade to a 500/640GB PS3?
Based on personal experience and the experience of other PS3 owners that I know, the options are the following - remember, these are my views:
PS3-120, no upgrade
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Buy a PS3-120 and do not upgrade if you use it mainly to play movies and you rarely download games from the PSN store. It will take you very far and it should have sufficient room for storing thousands of pictures and a lot of music besides it playing Blu-ray content, CDs and SACDs.
I found that 120GB would not be enough for me. After a couple of years of use, with a few downloaded games, many more demos, lots of pictures and songs and some videos the kids made with the PS3 Eye we've breached the 120GB threshold. I would not worry about that if all I wanted was one of the better Blu-ray players. In addition, anybody comfortable with backing up/restoring the PS3 and upgrading the disk can postpone the upgrade step for later.
PS3-250, no upgrade
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Buy a PS3-250 and do not upgrade if you do plan to download a few movies and games but not a lot of them AND/or you don't feel comfortable with upgrading your PS3 yourself.
Anyone who is not an almost-exclusive movie viewer and doesn't want to mess with screws and OEM disks should buy the PS3-250. It should have enough capacity to last for quite a few years with good disk space management (delete the demos and downloads you no longer need).
PS3-120 upgrade to 500/640GB
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Buy a PS3-120 and upgrade it to 500/640GB IF you don't mind swapping the PS3's disk. You get to upgrade your PS3-120 to quadruple capacity for very little expense and probably for less than a PS3-250 would cost you (see next paragraph). This should buy you peace of mind for the rest of your PS3's lifespan.
Keep in mind that a 500GB HDD such as the 500GB Scorpio Blue Mobile Sata 5400RPM 8MB 2.5IN or the Western Digital 640 GB SATA OEM Notebook Hard Drive WD6400BEVT (Scorpio Blue) if you don't mind the extra expense can be had for about 90 dollars at the time I am writing this. That would make a 500GB upgraded PS3-120 appear a little more expensive than the PS3-250 BUT you are left with a brand-new 120GB HDD (the drive originally in the PS3) when you are done and you can either sell it or use it as an external USB-powered backup drive or maybe to upgrade your laptop's drive. This would effectively set the price of the 500GB upgraded console to match that of the PS3-250.
There are many online guides that detail the process. I will post a couple URL's in a comment to this review.
PS3-250 upgrade to 500/640GB (not recommended)
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Do NOT buy a PS3-250 if you are planning to upgrade it to 500/640GB unless you really need a spare 250GB external HDD instead of a spare 120GB HDD and think that the price difference is worth the larger spare drive.
EVALUATION
The PS3-250 while not for everyone, deserves its 5 stars. In my view, there is enough value added by doubling the storage capacity to justify the price difference over the PS3-120.
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NOTE: If you want to upgrade you are better off if you upgrade immediately.
This way you avoid the backup/restore hassles and therefore greatly simplify the process. I would include the upgrade HDD on the same order with the new PS3 and maybe add a HDD enclosure if planning to use the drive I removed from the PS3 as an external drive.
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Wow! As a die-hard Wii fan, I love this PS3! Don't get me wrong, I still love my Wii. Wii Fit and Wii Sports Resort have no equivalent in the PS3 world. But the graphics on this machine are incredible. 1080p if you get the right games. DVD quality on most other stuff. Our family has been playing Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and we can't get enough. I'm a little frustrated that so many of the games available are silly shoot-em-ups, but there is lots of other good stuff out there. If you're a Wii owner don't think you have it all -- the Wii and PS3 complement each other very well.
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im so enjoying this product its my husbands and he is loving it i love the fact that he isnt complaining anymore about very little giggabites hes got the room to download stuff without having to delete lots of other games he downloaded so hes happy im happy and when we ordered it from amazon man it was here super fast like in 3 days so i was really happy it was for xmas God Bless you all bye
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What can i say that i hasn't been told, it actualy does everything, internet browsing is easy, and even has shortcuts to open windows, close them add favorites, etc, downloading games from the PS Network is great, just bought PAIN, it's so fun and easy to play.
As a DVD I can not be more satisfied whit my new BLUE RAY PLAYER, and the games, oh yes the games, MODERN WARE FARE 2 and ASSASINS CREED look awesome.
The extra storage is great couse when im not listening to music with youtube, i have a lot of music stored on the PS3, and it was as easy as puting a USB with a forlder named MUSIC and UPLOAD, taran! said the PS3.
If you planing on buying one, 250GB is Great and from Amazon you can buy a 3year warranty for only 40dlls more, can't beat that on any store (fisical at least).
Hope you like it.
My web page is:
[...]
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I am very happy with my PS 3, I love the blue ray player and the game graphics are spectacular. It works great with our Sony Bravia tv, we can use the tv remote to control netflix movies, dvd's and br's. I love the wireless features, if it were faster and had better backward compatibility it would be perfect.
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