My 2 best friends have an XBOX 360 and a Nintendo Wii, and I decided on the PS3 for myself because I like more variety in my gaming experience and because of the built-in Blu-Ray player. Movies REALLY do look better in Blu-Ray, and the PS3 even upconverts my current dvds to look practically HD, which means I don't need to re-purchase movies that I already have!
For me, this is a PERFECT system and just what I was waiting for. It was worth it just for the Blu-Ray player alone, or for the game system alone, but to have both in one package for under $400 is a sweet deal. Even my wife has been having fun playing it, and she's not a gamer at all. Plus 6 free Blu-Ray movies thrown in...how could I refuse? I'm really loving it so far and can't believe I worried so much about whether and when to buy one.
There are so many great PS3 games out and coming soon that the library / availability isn't an issue at all for me.
I sat out the last console generation, and have 0 PS2 games. So for me, backwards compatibility wasn't an issue, and frankly I'd rather not pay for stuff I won't use anyway.
2 USB ports is all I need, since the controllers can be powered in any USB port (computer, etc). The 40GB hard drive is fine for me now since I don't use too many of the media features accept demo downloads. I can see needing to upgrade to a larger hd in the future, but then they'll be cheaper anyway.
All of the supposed "cons" of this cheaper system didn't apply to me, so it was a great buy.
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I bought this for my father as a bluray player and he didn't even want to try and figure out how to get a movie going, he was just too intimidated......there should be a plug and play mode if you want to use it EXCLUSIVELY for a bluray player. I got him a free standing Pioneer in it's place and there is NO problem for him........If Sony wants to sell this as a cheaper bluray alternative they must take care of this so not to scare off the older crowd. The cross media bar was BAD on their TV's and it's just as bad on the PS3.
the ps3 is a mighty fine piece of hardware. i purchased this after a recent trip to bestbuy in search of a sony BD player. the model i wanted was sold out, sigh, so i picked this up with the remote instead.
the ps3 performs very well as a BD player. the sold separately blue-tooth remote goes a long way toward making viewing movies on your ps3 a more enjoyable experience. i don't understand why the remote hasn't been included in any of the ps3 sku's so far, but do yourself a favor and pick that up too. only 25 bucks.
performance:
the ps3 outputs 1080p movies at 24p, the same frame rate as the source material, right out of the box. there is little or no artifacting as a result. motion blur and contrast will all vary depending on what model tv you're using, but on my sony bravia everything looks beautiful. it's likely that on any 1080p lcd, dlp, or plasma hdtv images will be equally good. navigating menus is easy and responsive (when using the remote) as the ps3 reacts very quickly to any issued commands. the slot loader worries me a bit, i just wonder how the longevity of discs will be affected by that design.
gaming: ?
gaming on the ps3 is still a big question mark for me, as i've yet to find any games that have that "wow" factor. this coming year promises to be a good one for sony, releases like GTA:IV and devil may cry 4 give me something to look forward too, as well as all of the sony exclusives such as the new final fantasy.
bottom line
if you really want a blu ray player, and like video games, the ps3 is your best option. from a BD player standpoint this is one of the better units available right now. a growing library of games will help make this a better gaming system, but right a selection of diverse game offerings is sadly lacking.
I bought the 60 GB version but it overheated on day three. The Blu-Ray drive was very noisy and interfered with our movie watching experience.
When I returned it I got the 40 GB version and love it. Super quiet!
I used to be an Xbox user so I don't have a library of PS2 games to worry about. The $100 price drop and the new lower priced edition is what convinced me to switch over platforms. Way to go Sony.
Ok, so it doesnt have the ability to play PS2 games! So What!! I imagine that at a guess 80% of the people that bought a PS3 already own a PS2? And if your that desperate, go and buy a second hand one! They cost peanuts!
Now this console is the same as the 60/80GB versions except for the features that are missing. It still plays the same games to the same quality and movies. It still has wifi and looks exactly the same as the other to. Im trying to figure out why so many people on here who loved the 60GB version when that came out are now scoring this version so low. I will say it again, as a games machine, ITS THE SAME MACHINE!!
My friend bought this version the other day, and since i have a 60GB version i decided to take a look. Its a good working piece of kit. And i have noticed that alot of you appear to be having connectivity problems with your wifi. Well ive setup five of these machines now in the UK, and i have had no problem with any of them. I simply read the manual of the Router and that was that. Sorry!!
My only real issue with the PS3 is the Blu Ray drive. For games it works a treat. But for movies, well i think unspectacular would best describe it. Oh sure on a tv 55" or above that 1080p signal is a treat. But on standard 32",42" panels, it makes no dam difference. In truth it does give a better picture, but in reality my eyeball simply cannot see the difference. I have some very good standard DVD kit. And to be fair my upscaling DVD player is alittle bit better than the PS3. And its not down to poor cabling or a low quality tv either. Thats one of the reason for poor sales. The thing can really do all the things the advertising says. And it really is 10 times better than DVD on paper. But its bit like this. If you wanted to buy say a whistle for refereeng a game of soccer or something. You would go to a shop and ask for the best and loudest whistle money could buy. And the shopkeeper would sell you a dog whistle? Because it really is the loudest whistle there is. But the only problem is you cant hear it. Its abit like the BluRay player and your eyeball, it cant see the difference!
CNET can ***** about fine points if they want but if i had $400 and could choose ANY game console this would be the one! It packs the MOST value in for the price out of all the next gen consoles including the Wii and every flavor of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The whole machine cost less than just adding upgrades to the lowest price Xbox 360. To upgrade the Xbox 360 Arcade to be like the 40 gb PlayStation 3 you would need a hard drive $99 - $189, Wi-Fi add on $99, HD-DVD drive $180, and online service $50 per year. Their is no contest - this is a better value.
Also CNET says that the bad is:
"Compelling exclusive games are still few and far between;" - I have personally downloaded nearly 50 of the weekly FREE game demos that come from the PlayStation Network. Also Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, Heavenly Sword, WarHawk, MotorStorm and a ton of other games are available for the PlayStation 3. All the same games that are available for the Xbox 360 are available for the PlayStation 3 (except of course for exclusives such as Gears of War,BioShock, and Mass Effect).
"doesn't play PS2 games;" - Well for $100 more you can get the 80 gb version that has can play PS2 games and includes MotorStorm. Also for $129 you can buy a PS2 slim or you can buy a used one for much less ($50-$75) at a GameStop or EB Games.
"PlayStation Home and rumble controller not available until 2008;" - CNET really is just nit-picking and being hypocritical with this one. They do not mention that the Xbox 360 does not have motion sensing or a virtual player avatar yet as a CON for the system.
"a USB port on the back would've been nice;"
Well bluetooth on the Xbox 360 or a USB port on my behind would have been nice too but it aint there!
"no infrared port means non-Bluetooth universal remotes aren't compatible;" - Are you kidding??? How can you complain that you would rather have an infared remote supported rather than a bluetooth one! I found the bluetooth remote to be lighter and to have more range. It is like complaining that your DVD player does not support VHS tapes! Really petty CNET!
"glossy black finish is a fingerprint magnet;" - Well white finishes are a dirt and stain magnet. I guess they would rather look at dirt, scuffs, and stains than notice a fingerprint up close. Still petty CNET!
"online gaming, media, and commerce options not nearly as developed as Xbox Live." -Considering the service just came out last year it is still on par with Xbox Live. In fact i am disappointed that MicroSoft is not doing more with the service considering the enormous head multi-year start Xbox Live had AND that they charge each gold member $50 per year. With all that time and money they have the consumer should have received more or it should be FREE by now.
Despite CNET's petty nit-picking i say that the 40 gb PlayStation 3 is by far and away the BEST value for the money that you are going to see in next generation gaming. All that and it comes with a FREE copy of the High Definition version of the Spider-Man 3 Movie - worth $35 on it own.
This is my first Playstation and so I guess everyone else's complaint about it not being backwards compatible with PS2 is really a non-issue for me. I bought this console because I wanted a Blu-Ray player. Since I like video games (I was mostly a Nintendo player) and was in the market for a BD player, I just decided to get a PS3. All I can say is that I'm really happy with it and I use my PS3 for gaming now more than I do for watching movies. Anyway, I love my PS3 now. I also had Xbox 360 and I can say that the PS3 is a more elegant device.
I got the unit 10 days ago along with the Sony remote control. I opened the manual and went through the setup with several calls to customer support.Some setup screens are hard to navigate and very poorly designed. Had to update the system immediately.
The web browser is very hard to use.
I found that if I called Playstation customer support with the same issue, I got completely different answers, but eventually found one that helped, until...
Last night, after loading 80 audio CDs, I turned on the unit and got a message that "The hard disk's database will be rebuilt." 3 calls to customer support all told me that I'd lost all my files and Sony would do NOTHING to help me recover them. So I'm returning the unit.
I don't have time for bad products and bad service.
I explored both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD capabilities, and decided on Blu-Ray. The movie companies seem to be supporting the Blu-Ray format as well. I originally leaned towards HD-DVD, but the PS3 with a 40GB HD convinced me otherwise. If you do decide to go with HD-DVD buy a Toshiba player; the add on to the X-BOX is not up to par, and is an expensive option. Thus if you want gaming and HD-DVD, you have to spend a million dollars. The PS3 has so much more to offer for the money than the X-BOX. With the PS3 you get an HD quality player that has on-line capabilities, and gaming possibilities all rolled into one. True the X-BOX has the lead in quality games, however you must remember that it has been on the market for a while. In addition, it seems like Microsoft is always looking to the future and forgetting about its current systems; I can't wait to see when the X-BOX 3 will come out (same time as the new Windows OS I bet). Sony seems to be looking towards the future of its console while living in the present. The PS3 has room to grow and to become an established leader, while the X-BOX will have a million different versions and force their owners to purchase multiple systems. Finally, the 40GB version of the PS3 brought the price down enough to where I can afford to make the leap to Blu-Ray and the next generation of gaming. So there you have it! The PS3 offers a reasonable priced system with loads of features. The only thing I do not like are the keyboard prices, and that the remote was not included with the system. But, when I brought it home and hooked it up to my Samsung 40 inch 1080P LCD HD-TV, it looked awesome. I was surfing the web, and watching movies in no time. Needless to say, I now have to save my pennies up to purchase a game...hahahaha. Good luck with the purchase of your new PS3, because you will not regret it.