Playstation 3 - advice needed!!

[ChirpyKez]

Please treat me as if I am stupid and advise me on the pro's and con's of a PS3. I am looking to get one mainly for the blu-ray factor. I'm un-sure what else they do - and seeing as they have 80gb hard drives {soon to be 160!} I am curious what you could do with such a big memory!!?
I have a Wii already, are these better for gaming?
Please help...I'm stuck!

[Cakeboy]

Starting with gaming, it depends on what type of gaming you want. If you're happy with the cutesy style of the Wii and enjoy the sort of family games it provides, then most of the PS3 games won't really float your boat. However, if you want some more serious games with considerably better graphics and better online interactivity then the PS3 will be more suitable.

The 80GB hard drive is used for saving stuff on from game saves, demos downloaded from the Playstation Network, old Sony games you can download, any music, photos and videos you want to put on there as well. A lot of the games need an update file to start with so that account for some of the space as well. 80GB should be more than enough though.

I've just bought one last week mainly for the Blu-Ray player. The difference between a Blu-Ray film and a standard DVD is amazing. Obviously, you need to already have an HDTV otherwise it's a waste of time unless you plan to upgrade soonish..

The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the controller and the system interface. I prefer my 360 controllers and the accessing of system data and online stuff is much easier on the 360, although that could partly be because I'm used to it. Also, the PS3 does not come with an HDMI lead so you'd need to pick one of them up as well. Ignore the official Sony one that shops will try and flog you and pick one up from Argos or Tesco.

[ChirpyKez]

Yeah what are these HDMI leads?? I saw one on a bundle from Amazon. I've looked everywhere online trying to find a good package. Thanks for your answer by the way I really appreciate it.
Can you play PS2 games on the PS3?

[Cakeboy]

You can't play PS2 games on the 80GB version, you can on the 60GB version, but that's now available in the shops anymore. PS1 games are apparently compatible though, although I don't have any to try to confirm that.

HDMI is another type of connection. Your Wii is either connected via a SCART socket or the component red/white/yellow cables. HDMI is a newer and far better version of that basically. To get the best graphics from your games and pictures from Blu-Ray it's essential to have an HDMI lead - anything else just won't cut it.

In terms of a decent package, I bought mine from Blockbusters and then picked up a load of pre-owned games which are a lot cheaper. You need to find a largish Blockbusters as the game selection at the smaller stores is somewhat lacking. I paid �309 for an 80GB PS3 with Metal Gear Solid 4 and then picked up 6 games for �62 pre-owned.

[Cakeboy]

One thing I did forget to mention is that at the moment there is only a limited choice of Blu-Ray films available to buy and they're pricey. Buying new from the high street will cost you around �20 a film compared to �12 or �13 for the same on DVD.

However, most of them come with extra Blu-Ray exclusive features so you can sort of justify it to yourself :)

Best place I found for them was eBay, a lot of sellers are doing them new and sealed for around the �12-�13 mark including postage. If you want something to impress your friends and show off your Blu-Ray buy Planet Earth, the BBC series. It looks absolutely stunning. Sainsburys are currently doing it for �33 - the cheapest anywhere for a new one including eBay by around a tenner.

Hope that helps you a bit

[ChirpyKez]

Yep you have helped me, thanks ever so much.
One more thing.....do I need to buy a HDMI cable before hand or is there one in the box {even if it's not a great one!}. I can forsee buying a PS3, getting it home....and not being able to use it!
Thanks again

[Cakeboy]

There is no HDMI cable in the box so you will need to buy one separately before going home unless you have a particular urge to go back out and buy one :-)

I bought one from Argos for about �8 which has worked with no problems

[souldriver]

I recently bought the new 80 gb ps3, it only comes with the av & scart adapter, but got a hdmi off ebay for �2, and does the job perfectly.

I have also enjoyed playing old psone games such as crash bandicoot & kula world that you can buy off the psn shop, they can also be copyed over to a psp to be played portably.

[Andy_G]

On the gadget show they tested a cheap HDMI cable �5.00, and one of the expensive �200.00 cable.

There was no difference in quality!!

All a HDMI cable does is transfer digital data, the quality of the cable makes no difference to the picture, like when using analogue scart leads.

Bought a cable for 5.00, works great, glad didn't shell out more money.

[ChirpyKez]

Thank-you everyone...I bought one today, PS3 80gb, GTA, and an extra controller - oh...and a HDMI lead for a tenner!! The actual package without the lead was �335 so not bad? It's all still in the box at the moment, I'll test it later!