Just a few other notes to add RC Cola, Drexlerfan22, and Ziggy: First, if your PS3 does die and you try to exchange it or have it repaired from Sony, they do require the original hard drive to be in the unit. So hold on to the hard drive as insurance. I have no idea if they're vigilant about it, but their exchange policy specified that pretty clearly. I know there's a backup and restore utility you can do, but a one month subscription to use Playstation Plus to back up your game saves might be an easier route. Some game saves are copyright protected and won't let you back up and restore as well. You will have to redownload purchased digital games and videos, but that's pretty easy to do. Hell most of the games I've bought I won't even bother to redownload unless I really get a hankering to replay them. I just ordered this 500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive.
Wanted to post an update on my PS3. It died on October 2, and I got my replacement one on October 20. All things considered, an 18 day turnaround isn't bad. I had a launch fatty version and opted to go the slim route for my replacement at $99.99. Another fatty would have been $129.99. I was interested in having something quieter and that used less power. The electricity in our townhouse is wired pretty crazily, and we trip that breaker all the time. A little less stress on that breaker will be helpful. Dealing with Sony customer service was easy. As soon as I gave them my credit card, they sent me an email with quick links to track the box they were sending me as well as tracking it going back to the fulfillment center. The box was shipped from Laredo and took about a week to get to Seattle, so y'all in Texas would likely have an even shorter turnaround. I didn't have a disc stuck in the console, so I didn't have to do anything about that (although they have help and I think they'll mail the disc back if you can't get it out). I filled out a card with my incident number, slipped the fatty in a bag, and shipped it back. I was able to track it back to Laredo via that original email, and it was there about two days before I got an email back saying it had already shipped with a quick link to the shipping status. It showed up in 5 days this time, and I was ready to roll with the new slim version. I took Drexlerfan22's advice and upgraded the hard drive to a 500gb version. The process was incredibly easy for the slim. The fatty has an extra step where you have to slide the hard drive horizontally before pushing it in\pulling it out. One notable difference: the fatty has the OS onboard and will auto format a new hard drive, but the slim doesn't. Still this was pretty easy as well. I did a quick search for PS3 firmware (as the PS3 told me on screen), downloaded it, and put it in the root folder PS3\UPDATE on a USB jump drive. Once I put that in the PS3, I pushed down SELECT and START at the same time, and the formatting took a few minutes. I was able to reconnect to my log in and start restoring my system pretty quickly. Downloading previous DLC and games was simple through Account Management->Download History. Game Saves had to be restored one at a time, which was a bit monotonous but still pretty easy. Loading video is easy as well, and it's nice having the extra room. I also just figured out how to label a video's folder property so it's easier to group them efficiently. The one thing I did lose was all of my PS1 and PS2 game saves. I had those stored on the PS3 virtual memory cards, and those didn't update to my Playstatoin Plus account. I threw out my old physical memory cards a few months ago. I have a few classic games that I bought on PSN that store their saves on those virtual cards, and I'm bummed that I lost all of my progress. Most of those are pretty straight forward to beat, but some unlock cool stuff that I don't know if I'll bother to unlock again. Still, all in all, this was a pretty painless and easy process to replace the PS3 and upgrade the hard drive with minimal loss of data.
Long story short you gave up on your real PS3 and opted for the crappy hipster version. Quasi-XBOX360 really.
I have a launch 20 GB fat PS3 and the Bluray laser died on it the other weekend. Ended up picking up a slim as a replacement.
That's the easy fix, you just need a replacement laser. I think it's a $120 fix and you're good unlike the overheating issue where it's hit or miss.
The new PS3s should be compatible with PS1 games/saves, unless I'm blanking out for some reason. PS2 is the problem. Though I wonder if those saves would work with some of the "PS2 Classic downloads" Sony has released. I'd guess not, but if they did work, then there's that too.
I didn't realize PS2 games were a problem. That sucks. Sony seems to indicate none of the new ones aren't backward compatible at all. I'll probably never buy the PS3, but would have if it was fully backward compatible.
Yeah, PS2 games were always the problem. They have a software emulator for PS1 games, and every PS3 should be able to play those without too much of a problem. They've been selling PS1 games on PSN since pretty early on too. Initially, PS3s supported PS2 games, but it was because they included PS2 hardware (didn't have a good PS2 software emulator, only one for PS1). They dropped that hardware from newer PS3s shortly into the PS3's lifespan, so they couldn't support PS2 games. They needed to cut costs, and PS2 BC seemed like something only a small minority wanted. As I alluded to earlier though, they started putting up "PS2 downloads" on PSN. I don't remember how many games are there, but they're playable on all PS3s (the downloadable versions, not the old discs...although I'd think they could support discs if they really wanted to). I wish they'd throw it back in somehow, or even maybe offer some kind of attachment that could enable it again (not sure if that's possible though).
Was there one? I don't remember one. I remember one about the Xbox specifically, after the leak they had: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=221178 Think there was another about how it wouldn't play used games. I think I made a "here's what next-gen looks like" thread, although it wasn't really about the consoles specifically.
Hmm... I think it's time you made one then. I guess it can wait til there's more info but I feel like we're getting close now. I'm curious what the cost will look like. I wouldn't be surprised if the next batch of consoles pack more power yet cost less. Entertainment electronics are significantly cheaper now.
Sure would be. Maybe I'll eye what they have on the PSN. I only bought a Wii for the virtual console and WiiWare. Might do the same if they have enough that I'm interested in. Still, I play more PS1 than PS2 games. Mostly play FF7/8/9.
I own a few PS1 games that I downloaded again via PSN for the improved graphics. They used the virtual memory card instead of a regular game save on the hard drive. For instance, Spyro the Dragon 2 had a nifty feature where you got a super-powerful fireball if you had a previous game save with 100%. I used a previous game save from my original PS1 that I had loaded onto my PS3 virtual PS1 game save card. It recognized that and let me gain the fireball. I haven't downloaded any games for the PS2 via PSN. I've just bought the collections (Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, God of War). Those use regular PS3 game saves. However, I'm about to pick up Psychonauts from PSN, and I'm curious if it will use a regular PS3 game save or if it'll use the PS2 virtual game save. Resident Evil 4 is another one where I had unlocked everything in the game on the PS2. I'd be interested in downloading it via PSN, but it would suck to lose the option to use all the cheats. Overall, it's a pretty damn minor impact. I just had assumed that the PS Plus would have backed those up too. Maybe there's a way to do it manually or to set it up to back up automatically. C'est la vie. I included it as a precaution for anyone else that's going to upgrade their hard drive or trade their system in.
I can, but it is still pretty early and not a lot of info. I don't expect a release until Fall 2013 at the earliest, and probably no unveil until Q1/Q2 2013. Even those could be pushed back by 6+ months or so. No one seems to want a new generation, except a few developers who have spent lots of money on new engines. Last time, we had stuff like Cell, Blu-ray, ATI GPU with unified shaders, etc., all nailed down pretty early I think (partly due to marketing reasons). A lot more quiet this time. Both seem to be going with AMD this time, and nothing quite as exotic as last time (although there are some cool things they could do from a manufacturing standpoint). Seems to be a bigger focus on software/OS stuff, and that won't likely be unveiled until close to launch. One thing to keep in mind is that the latest GPUs these days are massive, consume a lot of power, and put out a lot of heat. Much more so than the high-end GPUs in previous generations. These are MAJOR hurdles for getting them inside a console. I think most thinking is that something like a AMD 8850/8870 (possibly a "9000 version" of those GPUs if console releases later) is what you might want to expect. Maybe even stripped down a bit from that. Still crazy powerful (i.e., more than capable of running games with amazing visuals), but think a bit of a step back from previous generations. I do think they should be a bit cheaper though. Or they better be. MS was playing with a "contract" option (ala smartphones), which I wouldn't be surprised to see more of next-gen. They should probably have more (this is easy money after all), but they have built up a pretty big list of PS1 games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PSone_Classics_A–M http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PSone_Classics_N–Z Not as many PS2 games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PS2_classics#PlayStation_2_classics
I still have the original 360. I had the E74 error, my tray button fail, and now my ethernet port has failed. Also had to buy a new hard drive since 20GB doesn't cut it anymore. No RROD though.
