Forget Garlic Bread....PS3 Is The Future! (Sony Playstation 3 60 GB)

Member Name: NinjaBaz

Product:	Sony Playstation 3 60 GB
Date:	26/02/09 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Top Blu-ray player, Great games, Free online gaming, Many others.....

Disadvantages: Heat produced, Loud fans at times, Could be better User Interface

It is nearly 2 years since I purchased my PS3 on UK launch day, 23rd March 2007. The PS3 had been available in the US and Japan for several months, but as always us Europeans had to wait to get our hands on Sony's new box of tricks.

Sony were marketing the PS3 as an all-round, home multimedia centre, as opposed to the previous incarnations which were primarily games consoles (although the PS2 did have DVD playing capabilities). At a steep £425, this was a large amount of money for me to part with, especially considering I was making the step up from a PS2 where I owned and played just the 1 game!

So what was I getting for my money?

Well, my primary use for it was to be as a direct replacement for my PS2, so game and DVD playing were a must. The good news here was that they had incorporated a software chip into the PS3 which meant you were able to play your old PS2 and PS1 games, as well as all the new PS3 games. This was handy in the first few months as good PS3 games were few and far between, and this ensured a lot of people's old games collection didn't become worthless overnight.

On the subject of games, I received Motorstorm and F1 Championship in my PS3 package. I'd just bought my first LCD TV so was really looking forward to having my first 'HiDef' experience! I wasn't disappointed. Some of the in-game effects really blew me away, especially coming straight from standard definition PS2 games. The rain effects and sheer feeling of speed in F1 Championship felt so lifelike (not that i've ever driven an F1 car you understand!), and the skidmarks, scenery and vehicle collisions in Motorstorm felt like you were watching a movie.

Just to show how much of a saddo I was, I'd even booked a couple of hours off work on the day of launch so I could get it setup and have a play. Whilst at work that afternoon I was just daydreaming of my new, sexy, black and silver hunk of technology sitting under the TV, and not much work got done!

Initially, the PS3 could do the basics well. It could play music or photos from CD, USB pen/drive or from its built-in 60gb hard drive. It could play DVD movies and upscale them to an HD resolution. It had a basic but functional internet browser and other add-ons like changable themes and background options.

A big selling point was the inclusion of a Blu-ray drive as the method of reading optical media. This was at a time when the battle for HD supremacy was being fought between 2 new formats, HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Meanwhile, Microsoft was adopting HD-DVD as an add-on for their popular console, the XBox 360. Luckily for Sony, they backed the right horse as Blu-ray won the war. Games and movies are both produced on Blu-ray discs for the PS3, and the 25gb single layer capacity gives scope for more detail and features than ever before on one disc. A single layer DVD for instance only has a capacity of 4.3gb.

Sony haven't rested on their laurels either. Their teams have worked hard to produce a succession of system firmware updates which provide increased functionality, adding even more value to the console. These include improvements within the internet browser, support for a greater range of recognised movie file types such as DivX. The ability to upscale your old PS2 games to breathe a new lease of life into their graphics and various new sound output formats, such as DTS-HD for all the film buffs out there with surround sound systems. They've also introduced new photo gallery software and improved support for connecting printers and various bluetooth accessories.

Whilst I'm taking of accessories, there are a few I've purchased to supplement my enjoyment of the PS3. Firstly a PSeye (cost around £25), which is a webcam specifically designed for the PS3. This can be used in-game to add photos for profile pictures or high score achievements, or as a video camera in games such as Singstar. It also contains a microphone so recordings of you singing and dancing around the room can be published to the Playstation Network. Secondly, I purchased a six-axis control pad (cost around £25) which weren't available when the machine was released. This is a sturdier, more substantial feeling controller than the original, which also has in-built rumble capability and technology that can make it act similarly to a Wii remote using motion sensors.

Hope you're still reading folks, it's a complex machine!

Just a couple more points before I sum up. The original 60gb version has some advantages over its newer versions, namely the 40gb and 80gb versions. The newer versions don't have the backward compatibility chip for PS2 games, this was removed to save on costs. The newer versions also only have 2 USB ports compared to 4 USB ports on the 60gb. They do not have any flash memory slots, whereas the 60gb has SD, Mini SD and Memory Stick Pro slots. 40gb model also doesn't support the use of SACD (Super Audio CD's).

I promise I'm nearly done!

There are still quite a lot of additional features I haven't even mentioned yet like Playstation Home (Imagine an online Sims-type world, which is meant to become a big PS3 community where eventually games will be started from and you will all have apartments to decorate and furnish), Folding @ Home (Use you PS3's core processor to connect and help Stanford University's medical research projects) and the FREE online gaming service they provide. But it would take many more words to cover it all....

In conclusion, I feel that £425 was a hefty price to pay initially, but due to the almost constant improvement in functionality and the fact that it serves my audio/visual needs in so many different ways, I'd probably say I've got myself a bit of a bargain. The PS3's current versions are available for between £250-£300 now, coming with various game/movie bundles to tempt you to part with your cash. The original 60gb version is not produced anymore and 2nd hand units can be found on the likes of ebay, but costing similar amounts to a brand new model, due to its addition specification.

A couple of downsides though. I've heard of several machines over-heating or having problems with the Blu-ray drive, but to their credit, Sony customer support sounds pretty good. Arranging quick swap-outs for faulty units, even outside the 1st year guarantee. The only problem I've encountered is with the system's fans coming on quite loud when watching a DVD or Blu-ray.

Despite that minor gripe, I would thoroughly recommend this product. However, if you can wait there's rumour of a new version coming out sometime this year which has a more efficient core processor. This means less heat generated, quieter fans and less electricity needed to run it, and we all need to save on our energy bills these days don't we!

Thanks for reading!

Summary: Just go and buy one!