O knowers of PS3!

[Silent Warrior]

With the advent of FF13-2 (... and the other off-shoots, and whatever that Something-Rain game was again, and...), I'm faced again with the debate of getting a PS3 or not. Since the price of the console has essentially dropped by half since the last debate (and I can buy FF13 new for what's advertised as 33% of the original retail price!), it's looking, ya know, more likely that I'll go ahead with it. But there are a few things I'd like some insight into.

1: Merits of HD-space. I can get a Slim PS3 with 160 Gb for a little bit less than a 320 Gb-model. What reasons are there for wanting a bigger harddrive? If I'm not going to play very many games, would I benefit from it at all?
2: Slim over Fat? Okay, so the Slim buggers are newer (presumably higher quality components, further optimised such-and-such), but what are the merits of each? (You probably won't need to debate them amongst yourselves - I'm intellectually capable of making my own decisions based on others' input, and old enough to face any consequences thereof.)
3: Region-coding and 3rd party firmware. I read a lot at its launch that the PS3 would do away with region-coding - which alone made it a very near thing I went out and bought one then and there, but then I decided to get an absurd sound system instead :D - so I expect concerns about imported games are a thing of the past. But can I have a report from anyone playing a US or Japanese game on a European console? All working fine? Any sense at all in going for a pre-hacked console if all I'll do is play games from the EU or US? Blue ray is not yet a factor.
(A store I've had good experiences with in the past is offering a Slim 320 Gb-version with some CFW or other - no un-modded console - at a not much more expensive price. They also have a forum where this is discussed and described at some length. There are other places I can go to for the stock consoles.)

And don't you go get excited, or anything! There is NO WAY I'll go through with this before May, at the earliest. There are a number of reasons, but the most urgent one is making the rent on a student-economy, all while being technically very busy. (Well... a PS3 with FF13 would certainly make me a busy man, but I'm supposed to be busy PRACTICING MY HORN-PLAYING - graduation coming up, looking at real-world auditions here and there, I'm sure some of you know the drill.)

[Iceglow]

I would say simply get a 360 but then I'd be accused of being a microsoft fanboy by the sony freaks.

If you must have a ps3 the fat older models are actually better than the slim new ones. They look nicer, take less space, have 2 more usb ports and can basically do more things. You need to look for a 60gb hdd console though you may need to change that disk drive for a bigger sata drive at some point. 60gb consoles are rare however because they have backwards compatability to the PS2 which is a major benefit of the model since this is not on any newer models. Therefore if you find a 60gb then jump on it asap!

[Jiro]

I was going to mention the backwards compatibility but Iceglow already got there. That's probably going to be a major selling point for you if you have/had a PS2.

[Yar]

I modded my PS3 to play PS2 games. All I did was take my PS2 and stick on top of my PS3. Problem solved!

[Baloki]

Arn't PS3's drm cracked now and Sony will be resorting to serial keys by the time the bits SquareEnix cut out of the original game are released?

Also depending on the price diff buy one with a smaller HD and update it to a larger one yourself, I understand it's pretty easy to fit a 1TB one nowadays.

[kotora]

I modded my PS3 to play PS2 games. All I did was take my PS2 and stick on top of my PS3. Problem solved!

except it doesn't work thanks to some genius who decided the PS3 should have a case that's rounded on the top side

[bipper]

you just need to remove one screw in the slim models to replace the hdd. I am rocking a TB. Like a boss.

[Mirage]

I would say simply get a 360 but then I'd be accused of being a microsoft fanboy by the sony freaks.

If you must have a ps3 the fat older models are actually better than the slim new ones. They look nicer, take less space, have 2 more usb ports and can basically do more things.

The PS3 slim doesn't have any USB ports?!

[Yar]

Yes it has USB ports

[DMKA]

I have an old fat model and it's only got 2 usb ports so...

Honestly I only have 40GB and that's plenty for me, so I'd say 160GB is plenty. The only reason you would want more than that is if you want to use your PS3 to store movies, music, etc. Personally I use my PC to do all that stuff so all that's on my PS3 HD is game saves and game data and occassionally demos downloaded from PSN. If I want to watch movies or listen to music on it I just stream them from my PC through my PS3 via my home network. So unless you have a crap computer I can't imagine why you'd want to store all that stuff on the PS3.

[kotora]

PS3 is horrible as a media player anyway. You're fucked if you wanna playback more than just :bou::bou::bou::bou:ty .avis and mp3s, unless you use a computer to stream it to the PS3, which is pretty much pointless because you'd be easier off connecting an extra cable from your PC to the TV.

[Mirage]

Plenty of use for more than 40 GB of HDD space. My game installs take up over 50GB alone.

[DMKA]

PS3 is horrible as a media player anyway. You're fucked if you wanna playback more than just :bou::bou::bou::bou:ty .avis and mp3s, unless you use a computer to stream it to the PS3, which is pretty much pointless because you'd be easier off connecting an extra cable from your PC to the TV.

Seriously? I've never had a problem playing back anything. But then I've always just streamed it from my PC. My PC and my television are on different floors of the house so another cable really isn't an option for me, which makes the PS3 and 360 streaming abilities a dream come true for me. I just play my PS3 more so it's what I use to stream stuff.

[kotora]

Streaming shouldn't be a problem because most of the work is being done by the PC. I was talking about the PS3s playback features of content located on the HDD which are just pathetic.

[VeloZer0]

As others have said, it really depends on if:
1) You want to play PS1/PS2 games on it
2) You want to store media/downloaded games on it.

I've had mine since 2007 and I have only filled up ~40GB. I have also read that it is relatively easy to upgrade a PS3 hard drive, though I can't tell you if that is computer modding person easy or real person easy.

Also note that the slims run cooler and quieter, if that is important to you.

[Mirage]

It's real person easy, and it doesn't even void your warranty. Sony even has their own guide for it.

[Depression Moon]

Get a 60gb if you can considering if you don't have a working PS2 and get whatever is the standard now for the slim ones. I didn't know they sold a 500gb PS3?

[Silent Warrior]

Depression Moon: Well, I think that one came from that modding-site, selling consoles with 3rd party firmware. (psxcare.com) They even offer consoles with 1 Tb drives. *Shrug* 320 Gb-versions are definitely the ubiquitous kind.

VeloZero: Ah, right, I apparently forgot to mention that. Yes, I want to play PS2-games on it, though that isn't crucial as long as my PS2 is in working condition. It is a sales-point, all the same. I'll have to keep my eyes open, though I'll probably have to rely on the second-hand market for it. No, I'm not going to store anything on it. Maybe demos, definitely game-saves and the odd firmware update or whatever, but no movies, music, or other kinds of downloads.

Mirage: I somehow think our use-cases aren't aligned, mkay, and that you have a few more games than I expect to get in the console's lifetime. :)
But I'll just add that I have a fat PS2 with a HD-bay - took a frightful TWO screws, and making the IDE-connection, but I managed to stick a... was it 60 or 80 Gb drive in it? No matter, the laser doesn't take kindly to Xenosaga 2 (DVD9, NTSC-U), so it pretty much gets the finger.
(This, incidentally, led me to get a chipped slim PS2 from the site mentioned above - no problem since, PAL or NTSC, as long as I use an RGB-cable instead of the standard blargh.)

[Slothy]

If you must have a ps3 the fat older models are actually better than the slim new ones. They look nicer, take less space, have 2 more usb ports

On what planet does a fat PS3 take up less space than the slim? And only fat models up to the ones that had software based backwards compatibility for PS2 had four USB ports. Fat models after that point had two. Though I'm not sure why it really matters. I had a 60GB launch model until it kicked the bucket back when FF13 came out and I never used all four ports. In fact, it was rare to use more than one (or all of the card readers built in to it too for that matter). In fact, the only game I can think of where using more than two would be required is Rock Band, and a USB HUB would have you covered.

Now since the OP said they would like to be able to play PS2 games, the only model of PS3 you'll want for that is the launch 60GB model with hardware compatibility. Everything after that was software based. Keep in mind though that every version of the console has software based PSX game emulation and I've never run into a problem with it. So if your PS2 still works or you can't find a launch model at a decent price, you can easily go with a current Slim model and even still be able to play PSX games. And no worries about the hard drive space if you won't be storing many games, music, etc. I have plenty of games downloaded and installed and I have only used about half of the 120GB in my slim PS3. And you can always delete the installed files for games you aren't really playing if you need space.

[Mirage]

Also, if you want the version with PS2 compatibility, the second hand market is the *only* option, as they haven't been sold in retail for years. Expect to pay quite a bit for one.

[NeoCracker]

1) You want to play PS1/PS2 games on it.

All Model can actually play PS1 games, so that's not an issue,just the PS2 games. :P

[kotora]

yeah except ff9 doesn't go past the playstation logo on mine

[Silent Warrior]

Hm... Well, I seem to have my answer - though it doesn't make matters much less confusing. Alright, 60 Gb for PS2-compatibility, otherwise I should just pick whatever.
Considering I may want to play some US PS2-games (Xenosaga), maybe that compatibility could be more trouble than it's worth, but I should have enough information to base a decision on when the time comes.

(Also, I can find second-hand fat 60 Gb-models for a little under retail-price of slim 160 Gb ones, many with a handful of games I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. And now I see an auction with a starting price of 1 SEK (1/7th to 1/8th of a USD) for FF13... Oh maaan....)

[Mirage]

Don't forget: Second hand consoles could be past their warranty periods.

[kotora]

I'm pretty sure every 60 GB model is past its warranty by now

[Mirage]

Depends on date of original purchase

[Silent Warrior]

Sorry to near-necro this, but %#&¤$¥-loads happened all at once. See, I found a dirt-cheap auction for a used FF13 (original release, including postage for a price significantly lower than the Platinum-version), ending on Feb. 3rd, and now I'm about two hours away from winning a used CECHC04-model fat 60 Gb (with a potentially dodgy laser) for half the price of a new Slim 160 Gb. Phew! Madness!

[Bolivar]

yo, definitely be careful of players with faulty lasers.

[Mirage]

If he jailbroke his PS3, he could run the games from the HDD, and transfer them to the HDD via LAN :p. wouldn't want to use it online though

[Bolivar]

If he jailbroke his PS3, he could run the games from the HDD, and transfer them to the HDD via LAN :p. wouldn't want to use it online though

plus have fun downloading 48 gigs of Metal Gear Solid 4 :)

[Silent Warrior]

Bolivar: I was looking into it, but decided to go with it anyway. For some reason, people pay nearly as much for a console with a YLOD... Anyway, I was directed to an alternate laser-thing I could replace the current one with. Or I could mouth off to Sony, I suppose, send it in for repairs, if it comes to that. Maybe.

Mirage: I don't quite know what you mean by that. I know what jailbraking is, but transferring to what HDD? The only BD-capable hardware in the house is that very console... You'd think the transfer to the built-in harddrive would be basically instantaneous.

Bolivar: ... Jolly good I don't play that type of game, then.

[Mirage]

Mirage: I don't quite know what you mean by that. I know what jailbraking is, but transferring to what HDD? The only BD-capable hardware in the house is that very console... You'd think the transfer to the built-in harddrive would be basically instantaneous.

Disk images are available online, if you know where to look.

A BR-Drive for your PC isn't too expensive, so if you don't want to download them you could get that instead. It is probably cheaper than trying to get your PS3's BR-drive repaired if (when) breaks.

And transfer of several dozens of gigabytes to a drive isn't instantaneous, but I don't know why you brought that up.

[Bolivar]

Bolivar: I was looking into it, but decided to go with it anyway. For some reason, people pay nearly as much for a console with a YLOD... Anyway, I was directed to an alternate laser-thing I could replace the current one with. Or I could mouth off to Sony, I suppose, send it in for repairs, if it comes to that. Maybe.

Mirage: I don't quite know what you mean by that. I know what jailbraking is, but transferring to what HDD? The only BD-capable hardware in the house is that very console... You'd think the transfer to the built-in harddrive would be basically instantaneous.

Bolivar: ... Jolly good I don't play that type of game, then.

I'm sure you know what you're doing, I'm just looking out for your best interests (honest). I'm also speaking from my experience using PlayStations, both my PS1 and 2 had disc reader problems and that was pretty much it for my PS1 and made playing PS2 games a chore.

Oh, and when you get the ps3 you should at least rent MGS4. Just give it a chance and make it past the cutscenes! Well since you're getting the thing, what kind of games are you interested in playing?

[kotora]

What do you mean "make it past the cutscenes"? MGS4 is nothing but cutscenes.

[Silent Warrior]

Mirage: I just meant direct copy from disc to drive would be so much faster than downloading. I'm not altogether sure I have enough HD-space to bother with the latter option, to be honest.

Bolivar: No worries at all. I also had a laser go bad on me in my PS2 - which I bought when the damn things were NEW! - which means it's now practically impossible to play DVD9-games on it. Like Xenosaga. (So I bought a chipped PS2 slim to be able to play those games. Loads cheaper console by then.) A-anyway, I'll be very watchful of that laser.
My main video-/computer-game preference is low-pace space-shooters (Wing Commander is on the extreme end), adventure, RPGs, Final Fantasy/J-RPGs (without at least five conversation-options and funny drinks to influence their outcome for chatting with even an items merchant, I don't call anything an RPG with a straight face), and flight-action games (Ace Combat, mostly - but only because I find the genuine hardware so cool :) ). FPS-games tend for some reason to give me motion-sickness if I play for more than 45 minutes, so I was actually REALLY worried about Mass Effect, but I seemed to manage just fine.
Thus, if I so much as see a firearm on the box, I'm instantly reluctant to shell out anything. The MGS-series fits into that category. Sure, I know people like those games, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but I wanna keep my lunch to myself.
Platforms, sports, Singstars, Sims, scrollers, strategy... Not my cup of tea. (Though Strategy only because I suck grandly at it. I thought Dark Reign 1 was fairly nice, and got my first taste of the genre with C&C: Red Alert.)