The PlayStation 3 Thread 80GB Edition

[bandit29]

Looks like the 80gb PS3 is out

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6176267.html?...estnews;title;3

[eugimon]

apparantly gamestop is selling off their remaining 20 gig models at 450 bucks.

[David Hingtgen]

Gah, I really can't afford an extra 500 bucks in the next 2 or 3 months to snag a 60gig before they're gone, but backwards compatability is a huge issue to me. I'd rather not have to keep my PS2 hooked up all the time.

[Roy Focker]

Okay I'm debating about getting a PS3

I always said I'd get one under two major conditions. There are enough games out that I like (or will be soon) and if there is large price drop. The 60GB version dropped $100 and the Dynasty Warrior Gundam game is coming the end of this month. Plus more games like MG4 that catch my fancy for 2008. After my next pay check my credit card balance will be low enough to put a new PS3 on it. I can use technology but I don't read up on all the latest information of stuff I can't buy until I have the money to afford. I can buy more Macross Toys, finally pay off at least one of my student loans or buy a PS3. I got some questions about the PS3.

1. 60GB or 80GB will it really make a difference? I'm a casual gamer. I'll buy a new game made once every other month. Get heavy play out of it for a week and maybe play games again 2 hours a month on average.

2. I assume that I can play PS2 games. What about CDs and DVDs. My PS2 plays those. Can I play them on the PS3 with Blu-Ray?

3. Japanese Import games and Movies can I play them?

4. I bought my PS2 before PS had online games. I have high speed cable internet access. Can I just plug a PS3 and start playing online or do I need to get addition equipment, pay for additional service etc.

5. I still use an old school TV Set. Watched some TV on a flat screen HDTV recently. Some channels honestly looked better on a standard TV. I have no desire to invest in a brand new expensive TV. Once my current one dies out I'll invest. How good or bad of quality is the PS3 and Blu-Ray on an old square 27 inch TV?

[eugimon]

if you're going to want to play your PS2 games, you'll want the 60 gig version. The 80 gig version has a software emulator that doesn't support as much games.

[David Hingtgen]

"Normal" stuff on an HDTV looks bad. Not the opposite. So a PS3 on a 30-year-old TV will look great.

Also, a PS3 can play CD, DVD, and SACD.

As for regions---Japan and the US are now the same region for *Blu-Ray*. So even if it was region-locked---the US and Japan are the same.

However, it cannot "retroactively" override DVD/game regions of stuff made in the past, which still have the US and Japan different.

So you could watch import Japanese Blu-Ray stuff with no problems, but import DVD's will still be region locked. Same for games---import PS3 games will play fine, but not PSX/PS2 ones.

And seconding---if you want to play PSX/PS2 games a lot on it, snag the 60gig version. I don't have the money for a PS3 now even with the price drop, so I'll probably have to leave my PS2 hooked up for all eternity.

[mikeszekely]

1. 60GB or 80GB will it really make a difference? I'm a casual gamer. I'll buy a new game made once every other month. Get heavy play out of it for a week and maybe play games again 2 hours a month on average.

Unless you expect to buy a lot of games from the PlayStation Store, no, it won't really make a difference to you. Regardless of which one you choose, you can always upgrade the hard drive with a standard SATA drive for notebooks.

2. I assume that I can play PS2 games. What about CDs and DVDs. My PS2 plays those. Can I play them on the PS3 with Blu-Ray?

Yes, you can play both with the PS3. Unless you like using the controller, you'll likely have to buy a remote, since the PS3 uses Bluetooth instead of an IR receiver.

3. Japanese Import games and Movies can I play them?

PlayStation 1 and 2 games, no. PlayStation 3 games, up to the publisher, but happily yes for the most part. DVDs, no, unless the disc is Region 0. Blu-rays, I'm not sure about. They are regionally coded, but Blu-ray uses a different region scheme than DVD.

4. I bought my PS2 before PS had online games. I have high speed cable internet access. Can I just plug a PS3 and start playing online or do I need to get addition equipment, pay for additional service etc.

You will have to run the network setup wizard. If you have a wireless router, your PS3 should, in theory, be able to connect wirelessly. I say in theory because even though my PS3 is maybe 4' from the router, the connection was so unreliable that I went wired. All-in-all, though, it's fairly painless, and free (unless you count buying stuff from the online PlayStation store).

5. I still use an old school TV Set. Watched some TV on a flat screen HDTV recently. Some channels honestly looked better on a standard TV. I have no desire to invest in a brand new expensive TV. Once my current one dies out I'll invest. How good or bad of quality is the PS3 and Blu-Ray on an old square 27 inch TV?

Out of the box, the PS3 comes with plain vanilla composite cables (the trusty red, white, and yellow). The PS3 knows that you're using it, and will output a 480i signal, so the menu will look okay. The games will look better than a PS2 game, but nowhere near as good as any previews you might see browsing the net. DVDs will look the same as you're used to, and a Blu-ray movie will look the same as the DVD.

FYI, standard definition television is optimized for a 4:3 19" or 20" television. When it's displayed on large, HD screen, it's going to look crappy the way a jpeg file starts to look crappy if you blow it up too much. So, saying that an HD TV isn't worth it because standard def channels don't look as good as an SD TV is kind of missing the point... that HD media looks MUCH better on an HD TV than SD media looks on either an HD TV or a SD TV. PlayStation 3 games will look much better on an HD TV than an SD TV, Blu-ray discs will look much better than DVDs, and on the PS3, with the right hook ups, even DVDs will look better than you're used to.

[myk]

And seconding---if you want to play PSX/PS2 games a lot on it, snag the 60gig version. I don't have the money for a PS3 now even with the price drop, so I'll probably have to leave my PS2 hooked up for all eternity.

Agh, the pressure. The 80 gig units are slowly taking over-time is running out...

[GutsAndCasca]

Man did Lair take a bad rap in EGM. Play magazine says it's cool, but they're rather optimistic...which is why I like them better than EGM. EGM is beginning to really piss me off with their stuck-up frat-boy'esque appeal. Anyone read about Heavenly Sword in the latest Play? Oh I can't wait for next month.

[mikeszekely]

I actually canceled my subscription to EGM for that very reason. If it's a popular franchise, like Zelda or Final Fantasy, they rate it absurdly high. If it's a a game that's trendy to like, like Okami, they also give it overly high marks. (Not saying that either Zelda or Okami was bad, but not as good as EGM seems to think, either. And yes, I am in fact saying that Final Fantasy XII was crap.)

Meanwhile, great games without a name or a trend get 7's, and good games get 5's and 6's.

That said, I've maintained for awhile now that the buzz about Lair was likely to be undeserved. Rouge Squadron was cool because it was Star Wars, but it was honestly kind of shallow. I don't think replacing X-Wings with dragons, no matter how pretty, will make for a good game. And control issues, even in EGM, are usually legitimate concerns.

I'm enthusiastically passing on Lair and waiting for Heavenly Sword.

[Keith]

Now maybe if sega would pop up with a new PS3 Panzer Dragoon game.....

[yellowlightman]

Reading game magazines for reviews is pretty dumb to begin with, but then I don't know of any game magazines I'd actually pay for. I got EGM for a few years with a free subscription, and it was worth every penny.

[cobywan]

Magazines seem like a waste of money and only provide old information when the Intertubes gives us info feeds in real time.

I read QJ.net constantly.

[Ladic]

I just download the magazines from here, they are free.

http://www.gamerzines.com/

[Keith]

The only thing worse than an EGM review is a gamepro review...is gamepro even aorund anymore?

And then there was Gamefan, the magazine so great that its editor wrote multiple reviews under aliases to suppliment his own opinions. That of course was when he wasn't on a drug binch slipping racial slur's through out the magazine...

[David Hingtgen]

Gamepro is still around, still as bad. I always took it as a sign of a bad game if they put on the box that GAMEPRO gave them like 4 out of 5 stars---it means no magazine with a decent opinion/reviewer had anything good to say.

[GutsAndCasca]

I don't think gamepro is around anymore, no. As for EGM, I get it for free because of of Game Crazy. (Somehow when I go in there to trade games, I end up with more credit plus a magazine subscription if I opt for another year's renewal) This last issue has just really pissed me off though. There's an editor named seanbaby who criticizes all people in the US military as being stupid if they joined post 9/11. The last time he was this much of a douche bag was when he was bagging on religion. I wrote the editor an email about that... and got a lame pre-scripted reply.

As for Play magazine, I picked up a copy at the grocery store once and loved it. It's really beautifully done, and I like how they include anime and manga while avoiding acting snooty or precocious. I purchased a year of that; I need something to read when I'm sittin' on the toilet. I don't have the time or ambition to visit game sites for information. Unfortunately I'm one of those people who get my game info from the Game Crazy mags I have stationed in the bathroom. Oh yeah, and Macrossworld.

[Black Valkyrie]

WOW you guys still buy those mags, didn`t buy`em since 2001

Anyway back to PS3 topics, check out the official PS3 MZ23-Aoi site :

http://www.compileheart.com/megazone/23.html

[cobywan]

As for Play magazine, I picked up a copy at the grocery store once and loved it. It's really beautifully done, and I like how they include anime and manga while avoiding acting snooty or precocious. I purchased a year of that; I need something to read when I'm sittin' on the toilet. I don't have the time or ambition to visit game sites for information. Unfortunately I'm one of those people who get my game info from the Game Crazy mags I have stationed in the bathroom. Oh yeah, and Macrossworld.

Precocious means being advanced beyond your years. Like Dakota Fanning.

The work you're looking for it pretentious. Which means to create the airs of importance where there really might not be any. Sort of like needing to point out error of using the word "precocious".

[Keith]

last issue has just really pissed me off though. There's an editor named seanbaby who criticizes all people in the US military as being stupid if they joined post 9/11. The last time he was this much of a douche bag was when he was bagging on religion. I wrote the editor an email about that... and got a lame pre-scripted reply.

Seanbaby is one of the great comic geniuses of our time, and I have no idea what you're talking about. Not everyone is big on Bush's military actions or religion!! Besides, have you never read Seanbaby's old Mr. T vs websites from back in the day?

Edited August 17, 2007 by Keith

[yellowlightman]

There's an editor named seanbaby who criticizes all people in the US military as being stupid if they joined post 9/11. The last time he was this much of a douche bag was when he was bagging on religion. I wrote the editor an email about that... and got a lame pre-scripted reply.

Hahahahahahaha. Wow, you have a lot of time on your hands.

Seanbaby is hilarious, I used to love his website back in it's heydey around 2000 or so. All of the "wow look at these retarded NES games" reviewers are basically ripping off what Seanbaby was doing years ago.

[GutsAndCasca]

I have a lot of friends and family in the military; and almost to the man they're more intelligent than seanbaby. But hey, I didn't say he wasn't funny. Everytime I read his column I laugh - but I don't take kindly to his bagging on people's beliefs and values. He's a condescending prick. A funny one.

Yes, I did mean pretentious. (sorry there!)

[Keith]

If you can't bag on peoples beliefs & values, then what the hell is the point in supposedly spreading freedom? Though since this is getting in the non-topic & forum rules area, it's the last I'll say on the topic. Suffice it to say, Seanbaby needs to update his damn website more.

[bandit29]

Anyone download the Heavenly Sword "anime" from the PSN?

[Dangard Ace]

Eps 1 - yes.

Eps 2 - not yet.

[emajnthis]

Gamepro is still around, still as bad. I always took it as a sign of a bad game if they put on the box that GAMEPRO gave them like 4 out of 5 stars---it means no magazine with a decent opinion/reviewer had anything good to say.

lol that's kind of like when a movie is released and the only one who gave it praise was Maxim magazine.

[Keith]

I'm sure I'm not the first one to notice this, but after watching the Resident Evil 5 trailer, I can't help but think Capcom has made a marketting snafu. A game about a white guy going around shooting black zombies probably wasn't their brightest move

[eugimon]

I'm sure I'm not the first one to notice this, but after watching the Resident Evil 5 trailer, I can't help but think Capcom has made a marketting snafu. A game about a white guy going around shooting black zombies probably wasn't their brightest move

there's actually a pretty big debate about this going on in the various race issues blogs and amongst people who care about this sort of thing.

[mikeszekely]

And yet, there wasn't a lot of fuss when you were shooting Hispanics in RE4. Because they look white?

Capcom chose to set RE5 in in Africa, I'm assuming for plot reasons. And they've decided to use a character already established in the franchise, who happens to be white. Regardless of Redfield's race, it wouldn't make sense to shoot white zombies in Africa. People might want to consider that before they start crying racism.

[Keith]

And yet, there wasn't a lot of fuss when you were shooting Hispanics in RE4. Because they look white?

Capcom chose to set RE5 in in Africa, I'm assuming for plot reasons. And they've decided to use a character already established in the franchise, who happens to be white. Regardless of Redfield's race, it wouldn't make sense to shoot white zombies in Africa. People might want to consider that before they start crying racism.

I think it's more to do with the fact that hispanics didn't go through over 200 years of slavery + segregation, and there isn't a hate group that was formed to specifical hang, burn, shoot, beat, etc them (though at this point I'm sure they'd include them). There are only 2 groups of people in this world that this issue specifically apply's to, blacks & jews, both of which I coincidentally am

Also note, I'm not crying racism here, just pointing out that it's a problem capcom would be better off avoiding, as they don't even need to add water to this to get instant flack.

Edited August 21, 2007 by Keith

[eugimon]

well, that's the rub with racism and persecution right? It's a very subjective and emotional thing... how can you say to someone who isn't black, or what have you, that what they're experiencing is not racism just because their skin color doesn't match a particular shade?

In any event, I think context is key... I don't think capcom game designers have any incentive to continue american style european versus african racism... I would imagine, rather, they are resonding to the current situations in areas like dafur and not so long ago, sierra leone.

anyways, I've been in way too many OT debates recently, so I'll say no more on this. But there are quite a few good blogs out there that deal with this subject matter.

Edited August 21, 2007 by eugimon

[Apollo Leader]

And yet, there wasn't a lot of fuss when you were shooting Hispanics in RE4. Because they look white?

Capcom chose to set RE5 in in Africa, I'm assuming for plot reasons. And they've decided to use a character already established in the franchise, who happens to be white. Regardless of Redfield's race, it wouldn't make sense to shoot white zombies in Africa. People might want to consider that before they start crying racism.

The main boss characters and ultimate bad guys will end up being a bunch of white males so I don't think anyone should worry.

Political correctness is a b*tch.

[lord_breetai]

The only thing worse than an EGM review is a gamepro review...is gamepro even aorund anymore?

And then there was Gamefan, the magazine so great that its editor wrote multiple reviews under aliases to suppliment his own opinions. That of course was when he wasn't on a drug binch slipping racial slur's through out the magazine...

Really was Die-Hard Gamefan always that way? I remember picking up a few issues and them being quite enjoyable, like Cerberus' review of Macross Digital Mission VF-X2.

Anyway, there also used to be another one called PC Accelerator (at least thats what I think it was called)... it was like the maxim of video game magazines sexist, over the top.. and they even had a special issue about drinking and driving games... where they played a bunch of driving games, got tanked and played a bunch more driving games. It was so much fun to make fun of.

[Keith]

Really was Die-Hard Gamefan always that way? I remember picking up a few issues and them being quite enjoyable, like Cerberus' review of Macross Digital Mission VF-X2.

Anyway, there also used to be another one called PC Accelerator (at least thats what I think it was called)... it was like the maxim of video game magazines sexist, over the top.. and they even had a special issue about drinking and driving games... where they played a bunch of driving games, got tanked and played a bunch more driving games. It was so much fun to make fun of.

Oh yeah, Gamefan was always that way. It's also why it was imfamously late to press, since the staff was constantly screwing around. Don't get me wrong, it had great import reviews, awesome layout (near Japanese mag quality paper & ink), etc, but an idiot at the helm. Hell, I think he's on his 6-7th magazine now.

[the white drew carey]

I think it's more to do with the fact that hispanics didn't go through over 200 years of slavery + segregation...

Yeah, they never experienced any hardship in their cultural history. Oh... something like having your populations being decimated by disease brought by Spanish invaders who kill as many people as they can and steal all your riches and gold.

I think crying racism or prejudice againt RE5 is a little silly. If it's supposed to take place in Africa, what do you think the population of that continent is mostly comprised of.