What are the risks of buying a PS3?

[NeedAUserName]

I've owned a fat model PS3 since release. Never had any maintenance problems. That's about all the help I can give you.

Same here, no problems at all. I think the fat models look better. I like my shiny ps3.

I wished I could agree. Mine YLoD'd yesterday. But before that it was 4 and a half years of clean sailing.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

I've owned a fat model PS3 since release. Never had any maintenance problems. That's about all the help I can give you.

well that's all fine and dandy, but then again there are some people who have had 360s that never failed. i'm looking for more what are the general risks of me dropping my 250-300 dollars on a used system so i know whether or not to just buy more 360 games or use it to help build a gaming PC in the future

First, yellow light of death is MUCH LESS LIKELY than the 360's bricking (in it's plentiful ways). But, as you said be wary about obtaining anything warranty-less, including a ps3.

My suggestion is save it as you will likely have a while before twisted metal. PC gaming is a frugal gaming experience as most games drop from $60 to $50 on pc ports of console games (or visa versa).

the other thing is, i don't have a credit card so... i can't get any of those good deals online. yeah, i'm just getting into my adult life with moving out and all so i don't have much

 

[Palademon]

Well, PS3s can fail, they've failed for some friends, and I'd say the risk is that you can't remove their harddrives when that happens.

 

[moretimethansense]

I've owned a fat model PS3 since release. Never had any maintenance problems. That's about all the help I can give you.

well that's all fine and dandy, but then again there are some people who have had 360s that never failed. i'm looking for more what are the general risks of me dropping my 250-300 dollars on a used system so i know whether or not to just buy more 360 games or use it to help build a gaming PC in the future

The YLoD is very rare, I think about 5% of fat PS3s suffered from it.

If you like the PS3 line up then there's no real reason not to get one, though I wouldn't throw out your PS2 just in case, the first gen PS3s are a little harder to get.

One thing though, the PS3 is a bit of a power hog, when it's off no problem, when it's on you may notice a slight difference in your electric bill.
Frankly the biggest drawback is having to deal with 360 fanboys all the time.

To sum up:

If you like the PS3 line up, go ahead, there's no reson not to.
IF you don't spend the money elsewhere.

 

[icyneesan]

Diarrhea, vomiting, lose of hair, Erectile Dysfunction, lose of scalp, heart attack, spontaneous combustion, and Pregnancy. Consult your physician before buying PS3 to see if it's for you. Sony is not responsible for any of the above side effects.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I bought my PS3 used almost a year ago and it's worked perfectly ever since I got it. I haven't had a single problem with it, but then again I've taken care of mine extremely well. I normally take care of my consoles, but considering that the PS3 was my most expensive I took extra special care of it. If you want the exclusives, I would recommend getting it as soon as possible.

Although, mine is a slim and I've never had a problem with the yellow light of despair. I would recommend getting a PS3 slim and a fat PS2 to play your PS2 games because I've heard that playing PS2 games on your PS3 isn't very good for it and can make it die.

 

[Mallefunction]

Got my fatboy used and I've had no problems. Just make sure you shut it down correctly and that you give it space like you would any other system to keep from overheating and it'll be fine. I would be worried about the warranty thing, but ask to see it in action so that you know it works.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

I've owned a fat model PS3 since release. Never had any maintenance problems. That's about all the help I can give you.

well that's all fine and dandy, but then again there are some people who have had 360s that never failed. i'm looking for more what are the general risks of me dropping my 250-300 dollars on a used system so i know whether or not to just buy more 360 games or use it to help build a gaming PC in the future

The YLoD is very rare, I think about 5% of fat PS3s suffered from it.

If you like the PS3 line up then there's no real reason not to get one, though I wouldn't throw out your PS2 just in case, the first gen PS3s are a little harder to get.

One thing though, the PS3 is a bit of a power hog, when it's off no problem, when it's on you may notice a slight difference in your electric bill.
Frankly the biggest drawback is having to deal with 360 fanboys all the time.

To sum up:

If you like the PS3 line up, go ahead, there's no reson not to.
IF you don't spend the money elsewhere.

i already have 2 360s, so those fanboys can't say anything.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Risks: Sony is a douche and fucks you out of another feature they advertised in the name of curbing piracy and getting some meh games.


I might just take my chances with the unreliable 360 if I were buying a console...

So you'd take the chances with a console with a massive failure rate over a feature that next to nobody used on the PS3?

Well you're priotities are set right.

It's the principle of the thing. I don't care if I used that feature or not, the fact that it was ripped off in the name of curbing something that isn't curbable isn't kosher in my book.


Besides the only game I'd use the 360 for is RDR. I can live without it if the damn thing RRoD's. I'm primarily a PC gamer and that wouldn't change after buying a console.

I can't justify recommending a console that has a 54% failure rate over a console that had a nearly universally unused feature that was removed to make it more secure. I'm actually trying to help the OP out here with his question, not spout things I don't like about the company's actions.

On that subject, I don't get why people give shit to Sony for doing something about piracy. It's like giving hell to a family that falls victim to a Ponzi scheme because Ponzi schemes happen. Yes people realize piracy is incurable. Police presence doesn't cure crime either.

 

[Shining_Pyrelight]

I'm pretty sure the failure rate is rather low. I'd be wary of a used console though to be honest.

I've had mine for almost 2 years now and have never had any problems with him. Though I've also had my 360 and Wii for 5 years and never had a problem either, so maybe I'm just lucky.

 

[instantbenz]

the other thing is, i don't have a credit card so... i can't get any of those good deals online. yeah, i'm just getting into my adult life with moving out and all so i don't have much

I dig. If you are going to college and going to dorm-it-up, I suggest checking out what people in the dorms are playing. Take suggestions from them, further it's a good way to get to know ppl in the dorms.

If you're not doing college, I suggest it to anyone else reading this and starting college.

 

[instantbenz]

at least all you have to do is call Microsoft and it's fixed.

wrong wrong wrong wrong .... wrong wrong wrong wrong

In the initial months after the release of that piece of worthless hardware, it took microsoft two or more months to get your similarly worthless machine back. Further you tended not to get your own machine back. (we don't know how to fix it, but everyone can look up the youtube vid of it ...)

When the service got streamlined (a very bad sign ... seriously you're below acceptability when the 'repair' (exchange) service is 'streamlined') a machine would return to you within a month.

Either way (and more to the point) initially customer service was poor (from my and anyone else that I spoke with in the dorms). Later, customer service was not an issue due to the expedience of the process.

A call went a lot like ring ring 'hello my name is john how can i...' 'red ring, send me a box' 'okay and your gamertag is...' 'missbeehaven, i'm not going to spell it because I called a month ago' 'we'll ship a box right now' 'whatever'.

When that happens too many times, all you have to do is call becomes terribly false .

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Risks: Sony is a douche and fucks you out of another feature they advertised in the name of curbing piracy and getting some meh games.


I might just take my chances with the unreliable 360 if I were buying a console...

So you'd take the chances with a console with a massive failure rate over a feature that next to nobody used on the PS3?

Well you're priotities are set right.

It's the principle of the thing. I don't care if I used that feature or not, the fact that it was ripped off in the name of curbing something that isn't curbable isn't kosher in my book.


Besides the only game I'd use the 360 for is RDR. I can live without it if the damn thing RRoD's. I'm primarily a PC gamer and that wouldn't change after buying a console.

I can't justify recommending a console that has a 54% failure rate over a console that had a nearly universally unused feature that was removed to make it more secure. I'm actually trying to help the OP out here with his question, not spout things I don't like about the company's actions.

So am I. You have your choice between unreliable piece of shit and dickhole company. You're fucked no matter which one you choose, so you might as well choose the one that's less dickish...and that's the one that needs RMAs. The 360 may be horribly unreliable but at least all you have to do is call Microsoft and it's fixed.

On that subject, I don't get why people give shit to Sony for doing something about piracy.

I can tell you exactly why we do that.


THEY AREN'T THE LAW!


I wouldn't care if it was the FBI cracking down on piracy. That's the FBI's job, it's what they're given taxpayer money for, and it's why their logo is on the intro adspam in every DVD you buy. What I don't like is companies, private organizations with no legal power, thinking they can play internet cop. Sony is not, never has been, and never will be a police force, thusly they should not take any measures to curb piracy once the product is released. Once a PS3 is out in the wild Sony should have no control over that system.


Besides, as you said...

Police presence doesn't cure crime either.

Developers, publishers, console makers, record labels and the like need to give the hell up and let the FBI do their job. It's that simple.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the FBI has more important things to do than look for who's hacking the PS3.

I still can't get how you can recommend a product that has technical problems over a product that did something you didn't like. That's an illogical thing to do. And honestly it's not like Microsoft hasn't done a lot of things to piss of it's customers. But I'll leave that before this turns into a "which company is better contest". I guess it's just cool to hate on Sony right now for doing what any company would do if they were hacked by a guy who left his stupidly obvious calling card on the table.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The current risk is that Sony can downgrade your system whenever they fucking feel like it without your consent.

Apart from that, the PS3 has a few exclusives to taste and publishers are starting to support it more now for some inexplicable reason (perhaps Microsoft is demanding too much for that Xbox Live Contract..I dunno).

 

[lolmynamewastaken]

people mistaking it for a mini-fridge.
i've had my 40gb for three of 4 years now, the only problems i've had are that the memory is too small and that it wont re connect to the uni internet, neither of which are anyone's fault but my own

 

[Falseprophet]

I've had my fatboy for almost 3 years and my friend has had his almost since initial release. I've used it for 10-hour marathon gaming sessions, watching DVDs, Blu-rays, and streaming audio and video from my PC. He's put his through similar workouts. Neither of us has had any technical issues. Both of us have upgraded the hard drive since purchase with no problems. I have a 500GB in my fatboy PS3 now, and it's been fine.

And warranties are largely useless [http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/news/november-2006/why-you-dont-need-an-extended-warranty-11-06/overview/extended-warranty-11-06.htm]. The one-year manufacturer's most products get is useful in case you get that one lemon out of 50,000, or for cases like the 360 where there's a well-known design flaw, but otherwise, generally useless.

So if you like the PS3 exclusives, I say go for it.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Risks: Sony is a douche and fucks you out of another feature they advertised in the name of curbing piracy and getting some meh games.


I might just take my chances with the unreliable 360 if I were buying a console...

So you'd take the chances with a console with a massive failure rate over a feature that next to nobody used on the PS3?

Well you're priotities are set right.

It's the principle of the thing. I don't care if I used that feature or not, the fact that it was ripped off in the name of curbing something that isn't curbable isn't kosher in my book.


Besides the only game I'd use the 360 for is RDR. I can live without it if the damn thing RRoD's. I'm primarily a PC gamer and that wouldn't change after buying a console.

I can't justify recommending a console that has a 54% failure rate over a console that had a nearly universally unused feature that was removed to make it more secure. I'm actually trying to help the OP out here with his question, not spout things I don't like about the company's actions.

On that subject, I don't get why people give shit to Sony for doing something about piracy. It's like giving hell to a family that falls victim to a Ponzi scheme because Ponzi schemes happen. Yes people realize piracy is incurable. Police presence doesn't cure crime either.

This back and forth illustrates why I think both the big consoles this gen are crap.
One breaks and the other has inconsistent features.

OP,
If you only want the ps3 for exclusive games, go for it: but IMO the downloadable ps3 exclusives are much better than things like Heavy Rain and Bla Bla Bla Remastered in HD.
If you want it as a multimedia center (or whatever they were marketing it as for the first few years) you'll be disappointed.

 

[Weaver]

I don't think there is any real risk of hardware issues.