PS3 now, or PS4 later
June 15, 2013 7:13 AM Subscribe
As a mainly "used game" player, should I buy a PS3 now or wait for a PS4 and have to pay Sony's prices for back-compat streaming. Complicating factor: The Last of Us has released.
I have an Xbox 360 and am not feeling the love for the XboxOne. I also Steam a little.
I don't play much and incredibly seldom buy games at release. Most of my purchases are when they go to budget, used, 3-for-2 etc. But occasionally I'm as hyped as anyone else and have to go with 0-day release (Portal 2, Assassins Creed, etc). There's a number of PS3 games I've been wanting to play (Journey, remastered ICO+SotC, Little Big World) but I always said "I'll wait for Guardian". The Last of Us and the announcement of the PS4 has me confused now though.
As I understand it my options are the following:
(dollar prices made up conversions from local, just for comparisons sakes)
a) Wait till xmas, buy a PS4 for 400, play PS3 titles (all? some? when?) via streaming at their TBA rate.
b) Buy a cheapo 12gig new PS3 now, for 140, buy Last of Us for 50 and any games I like for the next ten years on the second hand market, like I did with my PS2.
c) Similar to b, but buy a more expensive 500gig bundle with Last of Us for 240, only much good if I am likely to run out of space with 12gig. I don't really know what I would use the storage for more than occasional Sony Exclusive "live arcade" games or songs for Singstar if I got into that, or downloadable levels for LBP.
If I buy a PS3 now I am unlikely to buy a PS4 until further down it's lifecycle, will the PS3 have a similar afterlife to the PS3, can I access the Sony Network or whatever they have even in the future etc?
I have an Xbox 360 and am not feeling the love for the XboxOne. I also Steam a little.
I don't play much and incredibly seldom buy games at release. Most of my purchases are when they go to budget, used, 3-for-2 etc. But occasionally I'm as hyped as anyone else and have to go with 0-day release (Portal 2, Assassins Creed, etc). There's a number of PS3 games I've been wanting to play (Journey, remastered ICO+SotC, Little Big World) but I always said "I'll wait for Guardian". The Last of Us and the announcement of the PS4 has me confused now though.
As I understand it my options are the following:
(dollar prices made up conversions from local, just for comparisons sakes)
a) Wait till xmas, buy a PS4 for 400, play PS3 titles (all? some? when?) via streaming at their TBA rate.
b) Buy a cheapo 12gig new PS3 now, for 140, buy Last of Us for 50 and any games I like for the next ten years on the second hand market, like I did with my PS2.
c) Similar to b, but buy a more expensive 500gig bundle with Last of Us for 240, only much good if I am likely to run out of space with 12gig. I don't really know what I would use the storage for more than occasional Sony Exclusive "live arcade" games or songs for Singstar if I got into that, or downloadable levels for LBP.
If I buy a PS3 now I am unlikely to buy a PS4 until further down it's lifecycle, will the PS3 have a similar afterlife to the PS3, can I access the Sony Network or whatever they have even in the future etc?
1. God knows when the PS4 Gaikai streaming will be available, what games will be there, or how it will work. So I wouldn't rely on that if you want to play these in the near future. The same applies to PS3 legacy support after the PS4 launches... who knows.
2. Another thing that might happen is that Sony might release remastered versions of PS3 games for PS4, just as they did with Ico, etc. Hard to predict this either.
3. Bear in mind that some disc games require a lot of install space on the PS3 or really benefit from it (GT5), and also sometimes Sony will have very good deals on the PSN for older games just to download, even the disc-based PS3 games.
4. The Last Guardian is never coming out. Sorry. :/
So given these datapoints, I might contemplate buying a used PS3, or the new cheapo one if you can upgrade the HD (not sure, I'd google it). I guess it depends on how much you want to play the exclusive games. Personally, I am not a completist and don't care that I haven't played any of the 360 exclusives, but I can't gauge how important this is to you. The PS3 does have enough good exclusive games (Infamous/I2, the Killzones, Journey, Uncharted/2/3, Last of Us, etc) that it could keep you gaming for a while.
posted by selfnoise at 7:29 AM on June 15, 2013
2. Another thing that might happen is that Sony might release remastered versions of PS3 games for PS4, just as they did with Ico, etc. Hard to predict this either.
3. Bear in mind that some disc games require a lot of install space on the PS3 or really benefit from it (GT5), and also sometimes Sony will have very good deals on the PSN for older games just to download, even the disc-based PS3 games.
4. The Last Guardian is never coming out. Sorry. :/
So given these datapoints, I might contemplate buying a used PS3, or the new cheapo one if you can upgrade the HD (not sure, I'd google it). I guess it depends on how much you want to play the exclusive games. Personally, I am not a completist and don't care that I haven't played any of the 360 exclusives, but I can't gauge how important this is to you. The PS3 does have enough good exclusive games (Infamous/I2, the Killzones, Journey, Uncharted/2/3, Last of Us, etc) that it could keep you gaming for a while.
posted by selfnoise at 7:29 AM on June 15, 2013
B or C. The PS3 is likely to have a strong run after the PS4 release, just like the PS2 did. Sony knows perfectly well that only early adopters buy the new consoles at release, and are very happy to continue supporting the old console. I imagine both PS3 and PS4 will happily share PSN (or whatever it's called now), since Sony announced that Playstation Plus membership covers both consoles and the handheld Vita.
posted by Joh at 7:32 AM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Joh at 7:32 AM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I actually just bought a cheap used ps3 specifically to play all the cheap used exclusives I missed with my Xbox the last six years. The hard drive is very easy to upgrade - go for it!
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:59 AM on June 15, 2013
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:59 AM on June 15, 2013
Buy a used PS3 now. As much as Sony came across looking like the good guy after E3, the fact is that if you pay whatever Sony is going to charge you to play PS3 games on the PS4, you'll probably end up spending more money than if you buy a PS3, and then buy those same games used on craigslist in a year from people who are dumping their PS3 to buy a PS4. Plus, you can resell the PS3 games after you've played them, which you won't be able to do with downloads on the PS4. Just that means that if you buy all of your PS3 games used, you can sell them for close to what you paid, and they will be almost free. Compare that to spending $20-30 each for the streaming versions. Plus, by doing this you'll have all sorts of cool games for the PS3 to keep you busy for the next 1-2 years, at which point the PS4 will be cheaper, or maybe it will have flopped and the Xbox One will be awesome, or maybe you'll realize that instead of playing video games you prefer amateur taxidermy.
The only advantage you have to waiting on the PS4 is that you won't be out the money for the PS3, but it seems pretty clear to me that you'll probably end up saving more money by going with the PS3 now.
posted by markblasco at 8:27 AM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
The only advantage you have to waiting on the PS4 is that you won't be out the money for the PS3, but it seems pretty clear to me that you'll probably end up saving more money by going with the PS3 now.
posted by markblasco at 8:27 AM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Game streaming doesn't work very well. I owned an OnLive console briefly (won it in a contest) which was a 100% streaming device. On my supposed-to-be-decent (approx 11Mbps down, 1Mbps up) cable modem it varied from usable, but doesn't look great, to unplayable. You really couldn't download anything in the background, have someone else watching YouTube, etc. - the slightest hitch in the connection made it unusable.
I think it'd be fine for turn-based games, but those are few and far between. Also, while you'll expect to play games in about 720p resolution on the PS3 (most PS3 games) and 1080p on the PS4, the streamed games will probably be a lot lower. The OnLive games looked about DVD quality - 640x480 give or take.
As others have mentioned, Sony hasn't promised streaming on day 1, or given any solid time frame for it. Nor is it likely to be free. PS+ definitely required at $60 per year, and beyond that are they just going to let you put your PS3 disc in the drive and then stream it without additional costs? This is Sony, so don't hold your breath.
I'll definitely be getting a PS4 (and not an XBONE, even though I own an X360 and like it). Just not at launch. Too many open questions still, too few games. Had they built-in backwards compatibility for the PS3 (and preferably PS1 & 2) I would have pre-ordered one.
So I'd go with option B. 12GB though? They never made one lower than 20GB - is this a used one where someone replaced the HD with a smaller one for some reason?
If that should read 120GB, then that'd be fine. You can also upgrade the hard drive later.
posted by NoAccount at 9:14 AM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I think it'd be fine for turn-based games, but those are few and far between. Also, while you'll expect to play games in about 720p resolution on the PS3 (most PS3 games) and 1080p on the PS4, the streamed games will probably be a lot lower. The OnLive games looked about DVD quality - 640x480 give or take.
As others have mentioned, Sony hasn't promised streaming on day 1, or given any solid time frame for it. Nor is it likely to be free. PS+ definitely required at $60 per year, and beyond that are they just going to let you put your PS3 disc in the drive and then stream it without additional costs? This is Sony, so don't hold your breath.
I'll definitely be getting a PS4 (and not an XBONE, even though I own an X360 and like it). Just not at launch. Too many open questions still, too few games. Had they built-in backwards compatibility for the PS3 (and preferably PS1 & 2) I would have pre-ordered one.
So I'd go with option B. 12GB though? They never made one lower than 20GB - is this a used one where someone replaced the HD with a smaller one for some reason?
If that should read 120GB, then that'd be fine. You can also upgrade the hard drive later.
posted by NoAccount at 9:14 AM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
B or C.
Do not rely on the PS4 streaming service to be available at launch, and they won't be free, and they won't all be available at once. I guess my best comparison would be the WiiWare store that did a great job of adding lots of old games once a week, but soooo slow to put the games I really really wanted on there. Sony will likely wait the longest before putting a game like Last of Us on there - so long as people are still buying it new, they'll prioritize older games.
If you rely on used games for most of your gaming (and intend to do so in the future) you may be better off going with a PS3 and waiting to see how the next-gen sorts itself out regarding second hand games. XB1 isn't the only one that'll have used games DRM - Microsoft just makes it easier for publishers to implement it.
posted by subject_verb_remainder at 1:56 PM on June 15, 2013
Do not rely on the PS4 streaming service to be available at launch, and they won't be free, and they won't all be available at once. I guess my best comparison would be the WiiWare store that did a great job of adding lots of old games once a week, but soooo slow to put the games I really really wanted on there. Sony will likely wait the longest before putting a game like Last of Us on there - so long as people are still buying it new, they'll prioritize older games.
If you rely on used games for most of your gaming (and intend to do so in the future) you may be better off going with a PS3 and waiting to see how the next-gen sorts itself out regarding second hand games. XB1 isn't the only one that'll have used games DRM - Microsoft just makes it easier for publishers to implement it.
posted by subject_verb_remainder at 1:56 PM on June 15, 2013
I've had an excellent time buying cheap used games for my cheap used ps3. I just bought it a couple months ago, and feel like I bought in at the perfect time. most of the good games can be had for $10-20 on eBay. The most I've paid was 27, and that was for a 3 game "collection" disc that was rather new.
I wouldn't get the 12gb model though. Lots of games dump stuff on the drive, and being able to install things like the gran Turismo files is nice. Personally, I got a 160gb slim model for $60 with a "disc read error" on the dead, clicking hard drive. I put in a 320gb laptop hard drive out of a damaged netbook and bam, cheap 320gb ps3. I'm also crazy and willing to buy broken things on Craigslist though.
Between those two bundles, I'd choose the big one. There's some cool(cheap!) stuff on the play station store like ps1 games as well that the 12gb model would limit you from checking out.
posted by emptythought at 2:40 PM on June 15, 2013
I wouldn't get the 12gb model though. Lots of games dump stuff on the drive, and being able to install things like the gran Turismo files is nice. Personally, I got a 160gb slim model for $60 with a "disc read error" on the dead, clicking hard drive. I put in a 320gb laptop hard drive out of a damaged netbook and bam, cheap 320gb ps3. I'm also crazy and willing to buy broken things on Craigslist though.
Between those two bundles, I'd choose the big one. There's some cool(cheap!) stuff on the play station store like ps1 games as well that the 12gb model would limit you from checking out.
posted by emptythought at 2:40 PM on June 15, 2013
Get a cheap PS3 now and keep playing used games. By the time you run out, you'll be able to buy a cheap PS4. Make a list of PS3 and PS4 games you like to play and add to it as new ones are released then, when you finish a game, buy whatever you can find cheap.
posted by VTX at 8:15 PM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by VTX at 8:15 PM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Appreciate all the input, thanks everyone! I am going to go with the 500 gig. If I can buy a used refurb through Gamestop or something that is significantly cheaper I will, but otherwise I will get the LoU bundle. Buying second hand off the net would be too much hassle right now, they want stupid amounts of money and I am not int he mood to fight with 15 year olds. Like 100 for a machine without controllers even, or prices equivelant to buying new.
posted by Iteki at 4:25 AM on June 16, 2013
posted by Iteki at 4:25 AM on June 16, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Can't help with the streaming or PS3 continued life cycle advice though; that's something I'm interested in as well.
posted by supercres at 7:25 AM on June 15, 2013