So, I got a PlayStation 3 over the weekend.
The Rationale
The main reason I got it is that my PlayStation 2 decided to stop reading some of my favorite games, like Metal Gear Solid 3 and Lego Star Wars II. I checked with Sony and, although they fixed my PS2 for free last time, they wouldn't do the same this time around. It'd cost somewhere around $80 to fix it, but they wouldn't know until they looked at it. For them to look at it, I'd have to send it to them... Then they have me by the balls.
I debated going the "Wii60" route, but not for long. I need my Metal Gear. I need to play my old PlayStation and Playstation 2 games. Microsoft makes the Xbox, and I work with their crappy products every day and have no interest in supporting the company any more than I have to. The PS3 supports Linux right out of the box. I'm not much into Blu-Ray movies since I don't have an HDTV, but it's nice to think that the player is in there. I know that technically the Blu-Ray standard is superior to HD-DVD so it really wasn't that hard of a decision.
There is the money factor, of course. The PS3 is friggin' expensive. I could buy a guitar for $650. Or the PS3. But on the flip side of that argument, the PS3 includes free network connectivity, whereas if you want online gaming with the Xbox 360 you have to pay $20 a month or something. $20 a month for a year is about $240, which, added to the price of the Xbox 360 is about $540... That's right in the ballpark of the PS3's price.
I would have preferred to wait a while to get the console, at least until Metal Gear Solid 4 was out, but I hear that's being pushed back until November or something anyway. It would have been a lot easier on my finances too, since I just had some car troubles that set me back as well. But I'd rather get the upgrade that I want (the PS3) than throw money away on the PS2 that I will end up replacing anyway. Anyway, I made the decision and so far I'm really happy with it.
The Ordeal: Finding The PS3 -- And The Accessories
I went to Best Buy first to try and get the PS3 and any accessories I needed. Unfortunately, Best Buy had no stock on just about ANYTHING PS3 related. I tried them first because I have some gift cards for Best Buy and it would have made the purchase a lot easier to make if I could spend gift money on it! Anyway, they were out of stock on the PS3, out of stock on the Sixaxis controllers, out of stock on the memory card adapters. I tried three different Best Buys on three different days last week. Next I tried Circuit City stores. They too were out of stock on everything.
Next up was Gamestop. They had the PS3 in stock, and that's where I ended up getting one. They were snotty and rude though, and they didn't seem to want my money very much. They tried to sell me a game, but they didn't have Resistance: Fall Of Man, which was the only one I was interested in. They tried to sell me NBA 2007 instead. Um, how does wanting to zap Chimera translate into wanting to shoot baskets? Answer: It doesn't, they are stupid. I said no, I'd just play my PS2 games until I could find a copy of Resistance: Fall Of Man. The asshole behind the counter then told me that I'd be back crying because the PS3 doesn't play all the old PS2 games and they "look like shit." I told him I was aware of the issues, thank you, and for his information some of those issues had just been resolved in the latest firmware. Prick.
My shiny new PS3 in tow, I headed home on Saturday only to discover that there was no way for me to plug my PS2 memory card into the PS3. Horrors! I had one brick to go in Lego Star Wars II so this was absolutely unacceptable! I remembered that Sony made an adapter for the memory cards, so I headed down the street to Target to see if they had anything.
Target had PS3s in stock, and Resistance: Fall Of Man, but no memory card adapters. Annoying. I picked up Resistance: Fall Of Man so I'd at least have something to play in my shiny new PS3 on its first night in my home. Not a total loss. And the associates weren't pricks.
The next day, I scoured about 6 different stores until I finally found one that had a memory card adapter and extra controller. Why the insane shortage on those two items, I have no idea, but I got them!
Setup
Painless is a word that comes to mind to describe the setup process. I took out my PS2 from it's little cubbyhole in my entertainment center and plugged the PS3 in in its place. The only cable I had to use from the PS3 box was the power cable since those are different between the PS2 and PS3. Everything else -- optical audio, A/V multi-out, ethernet -- are 100% compatible, so I just left the cables where they were at. Nice.
The PS3 has normal USB connectors on it, so you can hook up a USB keyboard and mouse to it to enter your name and sign-on stuff for the Playstation network and all that. This is what I did. The setup took maybe 30 minutes. I guess if I was really impatient to play then it might have been annoying, but I wasn't over the honeymoon yet so I was patient and filled everything out. :-) I knew my network settings from setting up my PS2, so that was a no brainer.
Gaming Experience
Holy crap! Resistance: Fall Of Man is a great game. And whoa... I have seen the Xbox 360's graphics capabilities at friends' houses, but the PS3's graphics in my own home were something to behold. I can't say one is really better than the other (and that would probably come down to game differences anyway), but the PS3's graphics are great to look at. And this is on my "puny" standard definition TV! The surround sound was really immersive, too, so much so that I was checking behind me while I was playing the game.
The sixaxis controller is cool. I don't really miss the vibration all that much. I jacked the subwoofer up on my stereo so I literally felt the vibrations from that instead! The wireless functionality is neat, and it charges really fast. The controller uses a standard USB cable, which is great. No expensive replacements to buy, and no weirdo proprietary connectors.
As far as the games... Well, I've had the system for less than a week, and it usually takes me a month or two to get through a game, since I have a job and a life and I don't spend hours every day playing PS3... Right now there's pretty slim pickings as far as games, but I'm confident that will clear up soon. Plus I can still play all my old games, so no worries.
Cool Stuff
Well let's see... The USB ports are cool. You can back up the PS3's internal hard drive to an external disk drive if you need to. You can plug in your old DualShock controllers using Lik-Sang's SmartJoy adapters -- they work perfectly, although I haven't tested the vibration functionality in older games yet. Something to try next time I get a chance. There's a web browser built in to the PS3. Nifty. You can download demos and games from the Playstation Network, which is pretty cool.
You can install Linux on it, and, once that's done, install FakeNES and play emulated NES games... That's cool! I installed FC6 Linux on mine last night but I haven't messed around with it too much. I've used Fedora for years so no big deal there.
Conclusion
I'd say overall that I'm really happy with the PS3. I can't wait until more of my friends get it so we can play online and stuff, but I mean that doesn't really matter that much. We can always frag each other away in Resistance: Fall Of Man until then! I'm really looking forward to at least three game launches this year, which is cool.
I guess the only drawback for me is the expense, and the overwhelming aggression toward Sony in the press lately. I hope Sony does well because I want to see more games for this system. For all people have criticized them for -- the delayed launch, the expensive components, etc. -- I really think they did their homework where it counts -- in the system itself and the features.
