Non Car related games console Q - Mr Bol, look away...

[Father Ted]

I know the square root of fuck all about games consoles. For me the gaming revolution started with Grandstand Sports and ended with Grandstand Super Space Invaders.

 

Number 1 son as some of you are aware has ASD and apart from an unhealthy obsession with all things Dyson and a healthy obsession with his bicycle his other main "hobby" is is games console. He had a SNES and the wifes old Megadrive to start with - played all those games out. Moved on to a PS1, ditto. Then PS2 - and now Im thinking of a PS3.

 

Annoyingly the interweb confirms that despite being PS1 backwards compatable they are not PS2 compatable - so we will have to keep the PS2.

No issues there. But is it worth buying a PS3 or should I switch platforms to an X-Box? Is there a lot of difference? The wife has a Wii - again its not something I bother with, I dont play any games on it, I dont even play Solitaire on windows. I simply cant be arsed.

 

So just looking for some advice really and rather than sign up with a games forum i though some of you might play about a bit.

[Pillock]

Early PS3s (known as "launch" models) are PS2 compatible in hardware - they've got in effect a mini-PS2 inside. Later ones had software emulation which wasn't quite as successful and then they dropped it entirely. The Wiki page for PS3 should tell you which model numbers have which capabilities. I've got a launch one and it plays every PS2 game I've ever tried.

I'd recommend a PS3 over the Wii as it's much more capable and going to last a lot longer. It's harder to recommend over the 360 as they both play games very similarly, which is annoying as technically the PS3 is a more capable beast. It has more built in media capabilities - iPlayer, music streaming from PC, play video over network - if that sort of thing might be useful.

 

You'll never get people to agree 360 vs PS3 though, it'll just start a fight

[trigger]

I have one of the first PS3's as well which play the PS2 games, I don't really play with it much any more, I tend to use it as a DVD player more then anything now, The fan is very noisy on it making it hard to hear films now so i might get shot of it for a blu ray player instead.

 

There's been a few problems of late with the PS3 network (PSN) due to it being hacked and Playstation shutting the network down though i understand it's been turned back on today.

 

What ever you pick you'll find lovers and haters of either, Many of my mates love the Xbox but i prefer the PS myself.

[Negative Creep]

Main thing about the xbox is it's cheaper, although you don't get Blu Ray. Early models had a terrible rep for lunching themselves but I believe this has been sorted for the current generation. I only have a 360, but would have both if I could afford it, and think it's fantastic. I would say it's worth it just for Gears of War but that depends how old your son is...........

[Pillock]

I have one of the first PS3's as well which play the PS2 games, I don't really play with it much any more, I tend to use it as a DVD player more then anything now, The fan is very noisy on it making it hard to hear films now so i might get shot of it for a blu ray player instead.

 

They clog up easily - on most models if you turn it on at the back with Eject pressed it spins the fans full-speed in reverse and blows all the crap out that was preventing good airflow.

Or just take it apart and air-duster it

[retrogeezer]

When NC talks about xboxs lunching themselves he is referring to the 360. The original xbox (big black X!) was/is a great console.

If you don't have one I would highly recommend getting one of those as they are dirt cheap and the games are great and very cheap too. You could probably get one for £20 in Gamestation these days with games for a £1 or two.

 

360's are good too, you get a lot of bang for your buck compared with the ps3 but as said, no bluray player.

[Pete-M]

I've got a PS3 and it's bloody ace. Not tried to play any PS2 games on it.

 

Just binned two Xbox 360s with RROD. One was an Elite, but they both had a fault that Micro$oft won't repair for free so they went binward.

[trigger]

Thanks Pillock but that wouldn't work for mine I still can't get on PSN neither, It's reset my password and i can't reset on the PS or via the website. Arse.

[Cavcraft]

Know sod all about them but my son has both. He preferred the XBOX but it seems they have the lifespan of a terminally ill daddy long legs and this green/white/purple/red/orange/indigo light of doom business is the K-series head of the gaming world.

[Rod/b]

I have one of the first PS3's as well which play the PS2 games, I don't really play with it much any more, I tend to use it as a DVD player more then anything now, The fan is very noisy on it making it hard to hear films now so i might get shot of it for a blu ray player instead.

 

They clog up easily - on most models if you turn it on at the back with Eject pressed it spins the fans full-speed in reverse and blows all the crap out that was preventing good airflow.

Or just take it apart and air-duster it

 

Can't you just take it apart, rip the fan out and bang some sort of second hand PC fan in there instead. Surely the Autoshite way?

[retrogeezer]

Just binned two Xbox 360s with RROD. One was an Elite, but they both had a fault that Micro$oft won't repair for free so they went binward.

 

 

I hope you kept the hard drives Pete???

[CortinaDave]

Much the same in terms of the games you can get, 360 much cheaper.. I've had mine since 2007 with no faults or problems. No blu ray is a PITA but hey you cant have it all.

[Father Ted]

Cheers for that then chaps.

Bidding on one x-Box fairly local to me at the mo (one of the old ones) and have my eye on another. There are some that seem to have MAME installed, so I might see if I can do that to the one I get which will keep him occupied for a bit.

Blue ray doeesnt bother me too much - I have no blue ray discs.

[CIH]

Honesty I wouldn't get a used '360. I did, and it was a PITA.

[Pillock]

To keep it car related - buying a used 360 is like buying an Alfa. It's cheap, but it's cheap for a reason and you're just waiting for the inevitable to happen. Quite a lot of the ones on eBay will have gone wrong and some little computer shop, or a bloke with a towel has fixed it short-term but that fix will never last.

To fix them properly you need to reball the BGA chips, we do them at work. But the kit is £25k......

[Father Ted]

No - its not a 360 - its one of the big black ones Im bidding on at the mo.