PS3 General Discussion

[Stevisiov]

I hate it when direct debit charges my visa for extra's that's for sure.

 

[Delirious]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015HYPOO/?tag=gtplanet-20

Can the PS3 logitech GT wheel be used with PC games also like LFS and would you guys recommend it?

 

[Drillah]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015HYPOO/?tag=gtplanet-20
Can the PS3 logitech GT wheel be used with PC games also like LFS and would you guys recommend it?

Yes. In fact it is one of the best wheels to get for the pc. Check the LFS forums on thier site or on racesimcentral.com and check out what other users of this wheel are sharing.

 

[GT4 genius]

Funny that wheel was mentioned here, I was in a Game shop near were I live today and thought I seen one for €102, which I thought seemed very very cheap, so I thought maybe it wasnt the one that has gotten so much publicity, but looking at that link it is, would it be a great and realistic wheel for the PS3 with GT5P/GT5 and F1CE, if so I might go back and get it.

 

[FoolKiller]

For anyone in the US (sorry everyone else) the Video store has just gotten the Monty Python collection, which includes 4 features (movies?), 7 specials, and 3 season.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/01/06/new-video-releases-on-the-playstation-store-4/

New Video Releases on the PlayStation Store
Posted by Grace Chen // Senior Manager, PlayStation Store
Hi, Everyone -

By now, you’ve probably caught the TV spot for the PlayStation Network video delivery service and checked out the blockbuster movies and TV shows on PlayStation Store. We went into the holidays with some great movies including The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, Wall-E and your favorite TV shows including The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Some more new releases coming to PlayStation Network today include:

• Babylon AD
• Bangkok Dangerous
• Disaster Movie
• Pineapple Express
• The Wackness
• Episode 22 of Xam’d: Lost Memories

You’ll also want to check out the Monty Python Collection - there are 4 features, 7 specials and 3 TV seasons.



Enjoy!

Next, I want Red Dwarf.

I want to see the prices on the episodes. British TV series have six episodes but still run like $40 on DVD. This might actually be a great deal at $1.99 an episode ($12 for the series).

 

[ceiling_fan]

Fun little fact:

11/74 people on my friends list have this PSN avatar

 

[GT4 genius]

Will there be any surprises in store for the Playstation at this weeks CES 2009 show?

 

[Appie]

Maybe they like Altair that much?

 

[Casio]

Fun little fact:

11/74 people on my friends list have this PSN avatar

Conformists. How many Monkeys?

And when is Ape Escape becoming Downloadablleee.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

The TV is 22" and the PS3 is set to 1080p.

Well there's your problem; 1080i might be ok for a TV that size, but 1080p is just ridonculous.

1080i is the exact same resolution as 1080p on a progressive set (anything but most CRTs).

Most importantly though, the size of the screen does not limit you to how much detail you can see. It is strictly dependent on how much space the images from a display are filling your field of vision. This is why professionals in the AV industry always refer to the D:W ratio, the ratio between the viewing distance and the display width.

For instance, typically people sit 2-3 feet away from their PC displays. So if they have a 22" display, they have a D:W ratio of 1.3-1.9 (the smaller the number the more your field of vision is being used).

However, most people sit at least 10 feet away from a typical TV in a family room. So let's say it was a 40" TV, then their D:W would be 3.4

This means the 22" display is filling up more than twice their field of vision than the 40" display. For obvious reasons, the 22" display at a D:W of around 1.5 is going to allow the viewer to notice much more detail than a 40" display at a D:W of 3.4

So yes, even a 4" hand held display would benefit by having a native 1920x1080 panel, if you were watching it from only a foot away.

The important thing is that if RyanGee's 22" display does not have a native 1080p display, or more importantly, it is only a 720p/768p display (even if it "supports 1080i"), then the best thing to do is to disable 1080i/p output from the P3, and only output 720p.

Question: Is there anyway to adjust the ratio of a ps3, not just from 4:3 to 16:9, i need to do it customly. The problem is, the bottom, top, right, and left are all cut off a bit too much. I cant read subtitles sometimes when they are right down the bottom as I cant see them. So, is there any solution? Note that this is not on my HD TV, the HD is fine but this is an SD Sony Trinitron, about 10 or 11 years old, 60cm I THINK.

The only way you can do that is if the display you are using has that option. Also, as others have mentioned, it sounds like an overscan issue, which again is strictly related to the display. Some displays now have an overscan setting option in the basic user menus, but most often it is only found in the service menus... which require a code to access.

The good news is display service access codes are easy to find with a simple Google search. In addition, sites like AVS.com often list specific instructions on how to adjust a specific display's overscan. Again, an internet search should net you results that will help.

Don't be intimidated by service menus. The only really important thing to remember is to write down any setting you adjust so that it is easy to go back to where it was. 👍

 

[FoolKiller]

So, it looks like Sony is laying out some truth in a press release.


Too bad no one will notice.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2009/01/07/playstation-press-release-breaks-down-the-real-price-of-consoles

PlayStation press release breaks down the real price of consoles
Posted Jan 7th 2009 9:30PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

SCEA has just sent out a press release detailing what readers of this blog already know. Although PS3 is an expensive machine, it's a better value than the other competing systems. In a press release called "Keeping Entertainment Simple," the company showed this chart showing all the things you get in the PS3 that you can't in other systems. Yes, it's a biased chart, but it's the kind of information that SCEA should spread in the first place. Imagine if they put this info in a retail store? Perhaps more consumers would think kindly of Sony's black box.

They should have a TV ad where someone goes to purchase a 360 and the guy in the store asks if they want to download add-ons and games, then if they want it hooked up WiFi, and offers them an XBL one year pre-paid card, then rings them up to a tune of $449. The person then glances over and sees a PS3 for $399 and asks how much extra the add-ons for it are and he says, "You don't need any."

 

[Joey D]

SThe person then glances over and sees a PS3 for $399 and asks how much extra the add-ons for it are and he says, "You don't need any."

That's not exactly true since you need to buy an HDMI cable and a headset for the PS3 so you do need to purchase extra add ons. And since we are talking about a store you would easily be looking at a pretty hefty price to get an HDMI cable.

 

[Sureboss]

Headset is hardly essential. Most places i've found chuck in a HDMI as part of the package, anyway.

 

[Joey D]

Headset is hardly essential. Most places i've found chuck in a HDMI as part of the package, anyway.

I've never seen one store in the US offer an HDMI cable with the purchase of a PS3, I have however seen online stores offer such. And no a headset isn't essential, but it is included with the 360 package which is all I am pointing out.

Why do people get so jumpy?

 

[GT4 genius]

That's not exactly true since you need to buy an HDMI cable and a headset for the PS3 so you do need to purchase extra add ons. And since we are talking about a store you would easily be looking at a pretty hefty price to get an HDMI cable.

I've survived without a headset for over a year now, and I've scabbed two HDMI cables when I bought two TVs since getting the PS3, both at different times and from different places.

@FoolKiller: Finally Sony are publicising these facts, I've been saying this to my friends who are considering consoles for ages now, although your right they need to get this information into an add campaign, ideally before Christmas but its a bit late for that now!

 

[hamstrings]

As the article admits, the chart is pretty biased: nobody would spec out that Xbox 360 configuration starting with an Arcade set. It's good start to making the PS3 less painful on the wallet though: the price tag is a strong psychological barrier to entry.

One of my friends was contemplating an Xbox or a PS3 a week ago. Price was an issue, but LittleBigPlanet for free during Boxing Day was the decision breaker.

 

[Joey D]

I've survived without a headset for over a year now, and I've scabbed two HDMI cables when I bought two TVs since getting the PS3, both at different times and from different places./QUOTE]

I am not claiming you need a headset, you don't even need one with the 360, however if you are comparing what you get as standard kit you do need to purchase a headset with the PS3 and not the 360. And most people do not have HDMI cables laying around their house and it's very rare you get them with anything since it's still a relatively new format.

FoolKiller gave a scenario and all I was doing was point out two small flaws in it, there will always be exceptions to the rule though, I am not denying that.

 

[Sureboss]

I've never seen one store in the US offer an HDMI cable with the purchase of a PS3, I have however seen online stores offer such. And no a headset isn't essential, but it is included with the 360 package which is all I am pointing out.

Why do people get so jumpy?

I wasn't being jumpy, because you hadn't stated that you brought up the headset because MS sold it with the 360.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

FoolKiller gave a scenario and all I was doing was point out two small flaws in it, there will always be exceptions to the rule though, I am not denying that.

It's good to clear up flaws, but it appears you may have made some yourself.

For instance, unless something changed, the $200 arcade 360 doesn't come with an HDMI cable, the last time I checked it only comes with a composite cable. Not only that, but it doesn't come with a headset either. Maybe there is some promotional bundle you are thinking of?

As far as HDMI is concerned though, that really isn't a big deal at all. HDMI has in fact been out for over *five years and even B&M retail stores are now finally lowering the price of HDMI cable below $25, and you can get excellent HDMI cable for less than $5 at places like monoprice.

* This is one of the reasons MS has been criticized for not including an HDMI output for any of the first 15 million 360's sold - and when they did finally start adding it, they only added HDMI 1.2 despite 1.3 being available nearly two years earlier.

Now let's also look at Sony's figures. They only added $50 to the total cost of the arcade model 360 for XBL membership. Unless they plan on ditching it in a year, and comparing it to someone who owns a PS3 for say five years, the total should be an additional $250.

In addition, if we are comparing apples to apples, then we need to add another $300 or so for a Blu-ray player with BD Profile 2.0 to the cost of the 360.

Also, if we are trying to illuminate flaws and keeping the comparisons as close as possible, maybe we should also add the cost of the 360 charge and play kit into the total, as the PS3 controllers come with it.

In addition, when comparing accessory choices & prices for both consoles, for things like wheels, key pads, headsets, hard drives, etc, the PS3 is hands down the winner.

The 360 still doesn't even have a basic web browser, folding@home, DLNA Network Sharing, or even support for many audio and video codecs like DivX, among several other features found on the PS3.

Sadly there is no way to add any of the following features from the PS3 to existing 360s:

• 1 Gbit/s Ethernet
• Bluetooth Support
• Dolby TrueHD
• DTS-HD
• HDMI 1.3 w/deep color support
• Games on Blu-ray

Apple to apples, the PS3 has been and continues to be a massive bargain compared to an equally equipped 360, or even a bare bones 360 with XBL membership.

That said, I think Sony screwed up and should have done what MS did and offer an a la carte system, limit accessories to just Sony licensed products and charge a huge mark up for them. Oh, and charge $50 a year for online PSN, especially now with Home.

Sure, it would have been and would be bad for consumers, but it would not only put an end to the myth about how expensive the PS3 is and they would have given Sony some real profit potential from the hardware and not just the games.

I'm sorry, but the way the 360 is priced, it's like buying a Porsche 911, the basic model is totally stripped down, and by the time you leave the dealer you'll have paid nearly twice the price... or in the case of the 360, quite easily more. It also reminds me of those late night adds where the price is always given in terms of "twelve easy payments".

Seriously, I sometimes think people complain themselves into having to end up paying more for things they could have had for less or even free.

 

[Casio]

I think it's pretty stupid how they make the Wii have a 'Not Available' Hard Drive when:

A) It has built in Flash Memory
B) Can take SD Cards.

Also, what do they mean by 'Limited' Online Gaming Service for the Wii? As far as I'm aware it's no more limited than the PS3, in that it's only limited by the game maker.

 

[Joey D]

Like I said, why is everyone so jumpy, let alone so serious all the time?

I was going on FoolKiller's scenario, which I admit I misread at first. Still though the arcade is a royal joke. If you've done minimal research, such as typing in "Xbox 360 Arcade" into Google, you will see it's a bad buy. Sony is rather thick if they think they should be comparing the two. I mean I can make anything look good if I compare the top of line X to the bottom of the barrel Y. A full trimmed out Saturn Aura looks pretty good next to a no frill BMW 3-series doesn't it?

All I was doing is was pointing out that if a salesman in say Best Buy said you didn't need to buy anything else with the PS3 he would be wrong as you still need an HDMI cable (as much as $100 if you are at some electronic stores) to go HD and a headset to talk. I'm not saying the 360 is a better buy, I'm not saying you get more stuff with the 360, and I'm not saying the 360 is better. All I'm saying is that for a salesmen to say you need nothing else besides what comes in the PS3's box is false, because at the very least you need an HDMI cable to use the system to it's abilities.

I think it's pretty stupid how they make the Wii have a 'Not Available' Hard Drive when:

A) It has built in Flash Memory
B) Can take SD Cards.

Also, what do they mean by 'Limited' Online Gaming Service for the Wii? As far as I'm aware it's no more limited than the PS3, in that it's only limited by the game maker.

It's a terribly biased press release.

 

[Robin]

Yeah it seems the release is slightly over the top and im sure the prices are RRP (you can get a 360 in the real world for less than that!). It also fails to mention you need to buy a HDMI cable for the PS3 to use hi def. Also the Wii stuff is bias because as has being said the online works for free and it has memory of some sort built in.

However I do still feel that although slightly more expensive the PS3 is the better deal because of the Blu Ray and free online.

Im sure the new Xbox will be annouced by the end of this year anyway and is likely to equal or surpass the PS3 in most departments other than the Blu Ray issue (if they cannot secure it for use) and free online which MS will hardly give in to.

That said, I think Sony screwed up and should have done what MS did and offer an a la carte system, limit accessories to just Sony licensed products and charge a huge mark up for them. Oh, and charge $50 a year for online PSN, especially now with Home.

If they had done that then I would have not bought a PS3. I will refuse to pay to play online when games are so expensive as it is. Home ought to have everything free if they were going to charge for online.

Robin.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

It also fails to mention you need to buy a HDMI cable for the PS3 to use hi def.

Who told you that? You can still get 1080p, 1080i, and 720p via component from the PS3, although you have to buy that as well, but seeing as you can get an HDMI cable for $5 why is this even an issue?

Like I said, why is everyone so jumpy, let alone so serious all the time?

Wait... first of all it's about being accurate... and you just got through explaining how you were correcting FK's "flaws". Why is it when you correct someone (even though your last correction was the thing that was flawed, not what you thougt needed correcting), it's OK, but if someone corrects you all of a sudden they are jumpy and so serious?

I'm all for good humor, but that's no excuse for posting false info, especially when its a discussion on facts and not a joke contest... right?

Apathy may be the easy choice with regards to false claims, but a taking a hard stance ensures that sea of false claims wont plague and degrade the great discussion found on GTPlanet.

👍

I was going on FoolKiller's scenario, which I admit I misread at first. Still though the arcade is a royal joke. If you've done minimal research, such as typing in "Xbox 360 Arcade" into Google, you will see it's a bad buy. Sony is rather thick if they think they should be comparing the two. I mean I can make anything look good if I compare the top of line X to the bottom of the barrel Y. A full trimmed out Saturn Aura looks pretty good next to a no frill BMW 3-series doesn't it?

Wait... are you saying MS has never used the arcade 360's price to show how much "cheaper" the 360 is to the PS3... if so you haven't been following MS press releases. In fact, doing a basic Google news search you'll find thousands of articles from all sorts of media sources using the arcade 360's price when comparing it to the PS3... so I guess following your logic Microsoft as well as all those media outlets are rather thick in the head to make those comparisons, right? Now do you understand why they used the arcade model in the comparisson?

More importantly, no matter what 360 model you use to do an apples to apples comparison to the PS3 will still be more expensive over all than a PS3, and will still be missing all the features I already listed... so how would that at all make the comparison any better for the 360...

BTW: One more cost that must also be considered is additional XBL accounts, and not just limited guest accounts. I have 15 individual PSN accounts, several for myself (which if I wanted to, allows me to have several hundred people on my friends lists as well as use them for specific online gaming leagues), three for my family members, and the rest for relatives and friends. All of which give them their own PSN ID, Online gaming, Game Saves, Trophies, etc.

To do the same with XBL I would have to pay $750 a year ... although unless I am mistaken, even if I was willing to spend that, the 360 isn't capable of supporting 15 different accounts on the same 360, right?

As an added bonus, the PS3 is region free and allows you to create accounts for different regions and download exclusive content from those regions. The same can not be said about regional XBL content.

Again, apples to apples, a PS3 is significantly cheaper than any model 360 after all the costs are added up when add-ons are added to both to make them match up as closely as possible... although even then, as already mentioned, there are many significant features in the PS3 that are simply not even an option for any 360 no matter how much you want it and are willing to spend on it.



Look, Joey, I get it that you understand that the PS3 is a better value than the 360, and that you are not saying the 360 is a better buy, and that you are not saying you get more stuff with the 360, and that you are not saying the 360 is better... but for all your complaining about people being too serious, you seem very serious about downplaying the difference.

Yes, you need an HDMI cable... and for less than $10 you can get one that is longer and higher rated than the one that comes with the Elite 360, and 1.3 compliant.

So why are you even trying to make an issue about a $10 cable compared to all the missing hardware and features from even the Elite 360 compared to a PS3?

The truth is though, unless you don't want to ever play online, play games or movies on Blu-ray, browse the web, use your console as a full featured multi-media device, use more than 256MB of disc space, replace your HDD with any 3rd party HDD, use Bluetooth, headsets, use WiFi, use a premium wheel like the G25... then yes, the $200 360 arcade is a great value, and it's great that MS at least gives that as an option. 👍

However, using your own words, the Xbox 360 Arcade is a bad buy (or at least I suspect it is for the vast majority of users), and seeing as all the other versions of the 360 still require expensive add-ons, subscriptions to match the PS3, but again, they still won't be able to do a lot of what the PS3 does right out of the box without any add-ons.


Now can we move on to some other topic?

 

[Joey D]

The serious comment was because I made mention of two very small things and they got blown out of proportion into this. Fact, you need to purchase an HDMI and a headset with a PS3, that is all I am saying, nothing more, nothing less.

And I would appreciate it if you didn't attempt to put word in my mouth, I never once said MS has ever shown the arcade is cheaper then the PS3. I am sure they have. I am also not attempting to make the PS3 look poorly, which you are attempting to make it sound like and I don't really appreciate that either.

The reason I brought up the HDMI cable is based on FK scenario, which I have already made clear. If you were at a store, say Best Buy, and looking to get a video game console and wanted to buy everything there, you would pay far more for the HDMI cable. Most people do not understand that you can get them online for next to nothing.

 

[magburner]

Here is a stupid question (or possibly a brilliant idea)...

Has anyone thought about creating an online multiplayer game for the PS3 that can be played through the web browser? The browser supports Flash now, so it wouldn't be too hard to create some sort of Flash game that could be played in that way.

I'm thinking RPGs here, but there could also be other types of games similar to those on the PSN network that could be created. Obviously the game in question isn't going to be Killzone or GT5, but there is scope to create some great games if there was the will, because there is certainly the way!

What do you guys think?

 

[Scaff]

I think it's pretty stupid how they make the Wii have a 'Not Available' Hard Drive when:

A) It has built in Flash Memory
B) Can take SD Cards.

The Wii's inbuilt memory is 512mb which is very limiting (particulalry since the realease of the Wii store and Wiiware).

It does take SD cards, but games can't be played directly off them, you need to transfer them to and from the internal memory and quite frankly its a PITA.

Also, what do they mean by 'Limited' Online Gaming Service for the Wii? As far as I'm aware it's no more limited than the PS3, in that it's only limited by the game maker.

The number of games that support on-line games is tiny, the fiunctionality of those that do is very poor, friends codes are totaly unfriendly, chat is limited to one title (and that comes bundeled with the mic - which sits on top of your TV).

The Wii is very, very limited in terms of on-line play in comparison to a 360 or PS3.


Regards

Scaff

 

[Robin]

Who told you that? You can still get 1080p, 1080i, and 720p via component from the PS3, although you have to buy that as well, but seeing as you can get an HDMI cable for $5 why is this even an issue?

Yes you can get 1080p (but not the REAL deal) as you said but you would still have to buy a component cable which is likely to cost as much as a HDMI one (if not more because it will need have the cutsom PS AV MULTI OUT plug). I personally have never seen a HDMI for $5 and I would probably go for something costing slightly more than that (yes I know it makes little to no difference).

The problem is people who may not be that knowledgable on tech will simply see that the 360 comes with a headset and a HDMI (if you buy the elite) and the PS3 does not... simple as that. Its not about how much these things cost or the quality of the MS acessories its just the fact that it has more 'things' in the box. They can be bothered with what is compatible or what else they have to get its just all there out of the box whereas with the PS3 you have to make somewhat of a effort. Its always been a major complaint particularly with reviewers that Sony where crazy to not put a HDMI cable in the box.

Part of the fault lies with Sony's advertising, they need to say that online is free, its the cheapest blu ray player and that you can use any phone headset... people still dont know this stuff! As of the popularity Sony really cannot win this with the machines specs but with games. The 360 is still more popular because of the 'all your mates have it' effect.

Robin.

 

[Joey D]

Part of the fault lies with Sony's advertising, they need to say that online is free, its the cheapest blu ray player and that you can use any phone headset... people still dont know this stuff! As of the popularity Sony really cannot win this with the machines specs but with games. The 360 is still more popular because of the 'all your mates have it' effect.

I don't think the PS3 is the cheapest Blu-ray player any more, doing a quick Google shopping search brought up Blu-ray players under $200 now. However, I still believe the PS3 is the only updateable Blu-ray player on the market, but I don't know that for sure.

 

[TheCracker]

The 360 is still more popular because of the 'all your mates have it' effect.

Maybe for some people. I have many more non-forum sourced friends with PS3's than i do who own 360's. With the fairly limited amount of PS3 games around it also means that those PS3 friends generally have a large amount of the same games that i have too.

 

[Giancarlo]

Joey, i know you can't see this, but please stop thinking people are attacking you simply because they disagree with you.