PS3 General Discussion

[Digital-Nitrate]

Speaking of games and demos on the PS3... I just passed a bicentennial milestone of sorts:

 

[FoolKiller]

Dude, delete some demos.

Seriously, how many are demos?

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Dude, delete some demos.

If I needed the space, sure, but I still have about 75GB of free space, and I'm about to swap out my 320GB HDD for a 1TB drive.

Most of the demos make for great casual mini-games that you don't have to go looking for the disc to play. 👍

Seriously, how many are demos?

Thankfully that's an easy one to answer as we sort them by folders:

157 Game Demos

• 19 Foreign Language (we like games in multiple languages)
• 19 Adventure
• 6 Adventure: Humor
• 9 Arcade
• 9 Fighting
• 1 Music
• 21 Racing
• 16 Shooter: Military
• 11 Shooter: Misc
• 11 Sports: Individual
• 28 Sports: Team
• 2 Strategy/Puzzle (I'd have a lot more, but as we like them, we buy most of the full versions)
• 5 Tactical (like EndWar, Valkyria, Eternal Sonata, Civilization Revolution, Bladestorm)

So that leaves 47 full games on the HDD, although a small handful of those are PS Eye applications, and not really games.

 

[FoolKiller]

157 Game Demos

As I thought.

So that leaves 47 full games on the HDD, although a small handful of those are PS Eye applications, and not really games.

While not mind boggling, still an impressive number.

Now, I have to go do this myself to see how many I have.

 

[LaBounti]

I'm at the point of having to delete game data from games I haven't played in a long time in order to play new games. It sucks and I'm not exited about upgrading my HDD. I have a 500GB external to back up on, just not motivated to do it yet.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I'm at the point of having to delete game data from games I haven't played in a long time in order to play new games. It sucks and I'm not exited about upgrading my HDD. I have a 500GB external to back up on, just not motivated to do it yet.

If it sucks, it sounds like you may have motivation now.

Backing up is very easy to do, but it takes about an hour per 25GB of data to back up (copying is much faster, but you can't copy games). I make copies of my pics, music, and videos, and backup the rest. Either way, I just start the backup and go do something else... or do it before I go to sleep... just like I do when I'm backing up my computer drives.

Also, swapping out the HDD is very easy to do, and you can get 160GB HDDs for as little as $50 these days, and larger drives for less if you want to use external drives.

 

[LaBounti]

I remember a few years ago there was discussion about HDD size in consoles. 20GB in the 360 is was considered more than enough. 60GB is not cutting it at the moment. Will do some shopping for a compatible HDD.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I remember a few years ago there was discussion about HDD size in consoles. 20GB in the 360 is was considered more than enough. 60GB is not cutting it at the moment. Will do some shopping for a compatible HDD.

It seems every year some 'expert' says "______KB/MB/GB/TB is more than enough, and we'll never need any more".

The larger and cheaper disc space gets, and the more technology get's more and more complex, the more content providers and consumers will use that space up.

Moore's Law.


I couldn't imagine being limited to just 60GB let alone 20GB! However, for those not downloading a lot of content, or storing content on their HDD I suppose it isn't an issue.

 

[ceiling_fan]

I feel sorry for people with 20GBs with games like Bioshock (5GB mandatory install) MGS4 (4GB) GTA IV (3.5GB I think) Fallout 3 (3GB I think) etc...

 

[P1]

I feel sorry for people with 20GBs with games like Bioshock (5GB mandatory install) MGS4 (4GB) GTA IV (3.5GB I think) Fallout 3 (3GB I think) etc...

I dont, 20gb PS3 can play PS2 games and ill never be able to play GT4 with my 🤬 80gb

 

[nick09]

I remember a few years ago there was discussion about HDD size in consoles. 20GB in the 360 is was considered more than enough. 60GB is not cutting it at the moment. Will do some shopping for a compatible HDD.

You can check my tutorial(Its in this forum) out if you want to find how to do it and what are the needed items to do it.

 

[Giancarlo]

Does anyone else get red x's for all the pictures here, when viewing through the PS3 browser?

 

[FoolKiller]

Does anyone else get red x's for all the pictures here, when viewing through the PS3 browser?

I haven't tried it.

Got some Sony news:

New Firmware adding a Photo Gallery program similar to something like Picasa
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/01/20/upcoming-ps3-firmware-v260-update/

Upcoming PS3 Firmware (v2.60) Update
Posted by Eric Lempel // Director, PlayStation Network Operations

Hi, everyone, we have a system software updates for PS3 coming soon, and I wanted to provide you with a sneak peak at the details.

The PS3 firmware update (v2.60) is designed primarily to enhance the system’s media capabilities. The key feature is a new Photo Gallery application, which delivers a suite of tools for sorting through and displaying your digital photo collection. Digital pictures can be organized in groups according to various criteria, including the camera used to take the photos, the event date and time, colors in the photos, as well as the number, ages, or facial expressions of the people pictured. You can also create slideshows set to music and build photo playlists with an easy-to-use interface. The Photo Gallery application will need to be installed separately from the XMB after you update your PS3’s firmware. To install the Photo Gallery application, go to the Photo section on the XMB, select Photo Gallery and press the X button.

The 2.60 update also includes:

• Guest access to PlayStation Store – This enables non-PlayStation Network members to browse through the storefront to check out the latest games, demos, videos, etc.
• DivX 3.11 support – Videos in this format can now be played on PS3.

Here’s a video walk-through of firmware 2.60 that shows off some of what the Photo Gallery can do.

FK - Follow the link above to see the video.

As always, we look forward to hearing your feedback.

Flower is officially coming February 12th, with gameplay footage.
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/01/19/stop-and-smell-the-flower-on-psn-february-12th/

Stop and Smell the Flower on PSN February 12th
Posted by Kellee Santiago // President and co-founder of thatgamecompany

Hi! I am really happy to finally let the internets know the official launch date for Flower. Hooray for releasing games (It’s really my favorite part)!

Flower is a tough game to describe. We like to think of it as a video game version of a poem; an exploration into the tension between urban bustle and natural serenity. Players accumulate flower petals as the onscreen world swings between the pastoral and the chaotic.

But even at E3 this year, a lot of the responses in the press were “it’s tough to describe… you just have to play it.” Because it’s not fair to only ask game journalists to try and describe such a different game, I’ve also asked all the people here at TGC to describe. To keep things even, they could only use 10 words - we’ve had more time to think about the game:

Nick Clark (Game Designer):
A windy journey that lets you flOw in 3D.

Martin Middleton (programmer extraordinaire):
We hope you enjoy our flowers.

Matt Nava:
Flower’s simple concept conceals grander themes that will provoke thought.

Jenova Chen:
An interactive poem exploring the tension between urban & nature.

John (Lead Programmer) [John broke the rule, but earns points for style here]:
Flower, shower, power tower,
First class, string bass, grass en masse,
Sun, fun, nearly done,
Petal, metal, lightning gun?

Once the game is out, maybe I can get you all to submit your 10-word descriptions of the game, and we can see what comes out of it. (Yes, yes, snarky commenter, we know what you’re about to submit.) …I like to think that if we could have expressed it in words, we wouldn’t have made a game about it in the first place.

In honor of the announcement, we’ve got some gameplay footage for you below.

FK - Follow the link above to see the video. Sony must quit using Viddler

And finally, Buzz! Quiz TV gets caught up in inauguration insanity with a new quiz pack.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/01/20/new-buzz-content-hits-playstation-network/

New BUZZ! Content Hits PlayStation Network
Posted by Jenny Barbour // Associate Producer

Today is the 56th U.S. Presidential Inauguration, and a good cause for showing your American pride. We’re going to help you get in the spirit with the release of the new BUZZ! Quiz TV American Culture Quiz Pack on PlayStation Network this Thursday, January 22.

The American Culture Quiz Pack is bursting with over 500 new questions covering everything from national history to U.S. icons and is a great addition to your BUZZ! Quiz TV question library. With the inauguration today, and President’s Day just around the corner, the American Culture Quiz Pack is a perfect way to help you get your national pride on with questions like this:

Other examples include:

HOW DID 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BARACK OBAMA ANNOUNCE HIS RUNNING MATE?
*VOICE MAIL
*EMAIL BULLETIN
*SKY WRITING
*TEXT MESSAGE

WHICH AMERICAN CHOCOLATE BAR MADE ITS MARKET DEBUT IN 1900?
*NESTLE CRUNCH
*SNICKERS
*HERSHEY BAR
*KIT-KAT

WHICH VIRGINIA COLONY WAS THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IN THE COLONIAL UNITED STATES?
*WILLIAMSBURG
*JAMESTOWN
*THOMASVILLE
*BILLYBORO

If you’re looking for even more downloadable BUZZ! action, you’re in luck! The last PlayStation Store update included a demo for BUZZ! Master Quiz on PlayStation Portable and in February, for the first time ever, you will be able to download a pack of five of the best BUZZ! Jr.: Jungle Party mini-games via the PlayStation Network. We’ll be introducing more BUZZ! Jr. titles on PlayStation Network in the future, so stay tuned for more ways to build upon your family gaming library.

That’s all for now, but keep your eyes peeled for more BUZZ! news coming soon to the PlayStation Blog.

 

[GT4 genius]

Just wondering something here, my backing-up options are still being considered, I thought I had it decided then Sony had to release that album viewer. So now I'm wondering can I copy photos from the PS directly onto a CD, or DVD?

 

[FoolKiller]

Just wondering something here, my backing-up options are still being considered, I thought I had it decided then Sony had to release that album viewer. So now I'm wondering can I copy photos from the PS directly onto a CD, or DVD?

Before I answer I just want to clarify: You have photos on your PS3 and you want to place a CD or DVD in the drive and copy them over?

If so, no. The PS3 does not have a disc burner of any kind in it.

Now, if you have an external USB burner with a rewritable CD or DVD (CD-RW DVD-RW) and those discs are formatted to read and write like a normal drive (I can't remember what it is called off the top of my head) then maybe, and this is a HUGE maybe, it can do that.


But you best bet is that no, it does not contain the proper laser to burn a CD-R or DVD-R.

 

[land sea air]

I think I might have a memory problem of some sort. Even after deleting all my music, videos, demos, and some old game saves I have about 3 gigs left when last time I checked it was more like 25. The only surprisingly large item I saw was the install file for my recently purchased Bioshock... Anyone else having a problem with this?

Well I counted it all up and it was about what it should have been, most of it was tied up in game installs so I deleted all the old ones while still retaining the game saves. Though I knew I would eventually need to upgrade I certainly didn't think it would be this soon considering I don't keep much media on the drive (I can stream almost all of it from my computer or an external) and I delete demos and trailers after a while... Guess I'll start asking around for a cheap used drive. This is actually kind of frustrating and is really making me wish I had more control over install size or necessity considering how big some of them are getting.

 

[GT4 genius]

Before I answer I just want to clarify: You have photos on your PS3 and you want to place a CD or DVD in the drive and copy them over?

If so, no. The PS3 does not have a disc burner of any kind in it.

Now, if you have an external USB burner with a rewritable CD or DVD (CD-RW DVD-RW) and those discs are formatted to read and write like a normal drive (I can't remember what it is called off the top of my head) then maybe, and this is a HUGE maybe, it can do that.


But you best bet is that no, it does not contain the proper laser to burn a CD-R or DVD-R.

Thanks for clearing that up, back to the original plan then. Which is, have all good photos on the PS3, and all photos on a DVD collection, and then get a HDD primarily for the PS3 in less than a year, and probably a new laptop sometime in 2010 with a big HDD as well. I was hoping that the PS3 could write them on a DVD or CD so as I could put everything on that first and then copy all to discs then keep the best ones on the PS, therefore cutting out the slow middle man, the laptop.

Thanks again. 👍

 

[FoolKiller]

Well I counted it all up and it was about what it should have been, most of it was tied up in game installs so I deleted all the old ones while still retaining the game saves. Though I knew I would eventually need to upgrade I certainly didn't think it would be this soon considering I don't keep much media on the drive (I can stream almost all of it from my computer or an external) and I delete demos and trailers after a while... Guess I'll start asking around for a cheap used drive. This is actually kind of frustrating and is really making me wish I had more control over install size or necessity considering how big some of them are getting.

Um, are you actively playing all the games with 3+MB of game data? I know some of them, like GT5 would be a pain to re-update, or are mostly DLC, like Rock Band.

But games where game data is not mostly updates or add-ons, just huge installs, could be deleted. I know that if I use my last 4GB before I upgrade my HDD that my MGS4 game data will be the first thing to go. So, basically, if you haven't played or updated a game in the last few months delete the game data. It's not like you can't install it again later.

Also, are there any PSN games that you haven't played often? Those are all redownloadable.

 

[land sea air]

Um, are you actively playing all the games with 3+gb of game data? I know some of them, like GT5 would be a pain to re-update, or are mostly DLC, like Rock Band.

But games where game data is not mostly updates or add-ons, just huge installs, could be deleted. I know that if I use my last 4GB before I upgrade my HDD that my MGS4 game data will be the first thing to go. So, basically, if you haven't played or updated a game in the last few months delete the game data. It's not like you can't install it again later.

Also, are there any PSN games that you haven't played often? Those are all redownloadable.

Here's what I went through to free up space.
-I deleted all the game data of games I do not own and haven't played/don't plan on playing again any time soon. That's where most of the 10+ gigs I freed up came from (I had 2 gigs left on the HDD which was what caused me to think something was wrong considering how little "stuff" I have. Now I have about 14 gigs).
-I deleted all game saves and DLC from games I probably won't be playing again, including PS1 and PS2
-I deleted several PSN/PS1 games I haven't played in a while, however they were all small
-I deleted the small amount of music and photos that was left on the system since I can stream them from the PC

that means I have approx. 35 gigs of "stuff", more than half of which is game data for games that I currently play. The rest are game saves and PSN games which are almost all under 1gig.

EDIT: I just remembered themes, I don't know how big those are but I have about 10 and I only use my 2 GT5P themes, I'll delete those when I get home today.

 

[FoolKiller]

Wow, I did say MB. Oops.

Now I have about 14 gigs

You should be fine for a while now.

I am currently saving up to upgrade to either a 250GB or 320GB drive as I am currently under 5GB. I can see where I can easily free up 10-15GB if I need to, but I doubt I will.

 

[land sea air]

Wow, I did say MB. Oops.


You should be fine for a while now.

I am currently saving up to upgrade to either a 250GB or 320GB drive as I am currently under 5GB. I can see where I can easily free up 10-15GB if I need to, but I doubt I will.

yeah but considering how many game data files I had to delete and how many new games I try each month I should probably start asking around now

 

[LaBounti]

I'm in the same boat as Foolkiller. I have just 6GB left. Thats after I deleted MGS4, Oblivion and some other data file. I used up 800MB of save files for dead space some how and cleaned it up to just 4 saves from the 30 i had. i have a ton of oblivion saves takin up space too.

 

[FoolKiller]

yeah but considering how many game data files I had to delete and how many new games I try each month I should probably start asking around now

What is your price range. I know 500GB drives can be found on sale for around $100 at this point. So, a smaller upgrade shouldn't be too bad. Look around online for things like 160GB drives. Those should be relatively cheap. I see Newegg has them in the $50-$70 range and even a 320GB drive for $75.

My hold up is that I also want to purchase an external drive to use as a backup/storage drive.

I'm in the same boat as Foolkiller. I have just 6GB left. Thats after I deleted MGS4, Oblivion and some other data file. I used up 800MB of save files for dead space some how and cleaned it up to just 4 saves from the 30 i had. i have a ton of oblivion saves takin up space too.

I blame developers. Proper data organization can help ease BD read times to meet DVD-9 levels with minimal hard drive installations. LBP is a good example of this (600MB install), in comparison to smaller games that require huge multi gigabyte installs.

Of course, part of my problem is that I have nearly 4GB of Rock Band downloads and 1.5 GB of Warhawk add-ons. I'm approaching a gig of SingStar songs too.



Since we are on the subject, does anyone know if there is a major difference between a 1.5Gb/s and a 3.0Gb/s drive with the PS3? Will I notice any difference? Just curious, as the mega-bargains are all on 1.5Gb/s drives, while you can only find good deals on 3.0Gb/s drives. I don't want to get a mega-bargain just to regret it.

 

[land sea air]

Since we are on the subject, does anyone know if there is a major difference between a 1.5Gb/s and a 3.0Gb/s drive with the PS3? Will I notice any difference? Just curious, as the mega-bargains are all on 1.5Gb/s drives, while you can only find good deals on 3.0Gb/s drives. I don't want to get a mega-bargain just to regret it.

this is a very good question that I would also like to know the answer to.

to answer your other question FK, newegg's deals are what I have been looking at and now it's just down to money and when I get around to it.

 

[FoolKiller]

now it's just down to money and when I get around to it.

This sounds familiar. In fact, it is exactly why I haven't done this yet.

 

[hamstrings]

No, the 3.0Gbps speed is only achieved through bursting from the small patch of cache RAM (8-32 MB). The interface bandwidth will rarely limit you. Let your wallet decide.

edit: There may be speed differences between the generations of drives, but the interface itself isn't the limit. Try StorageReview.

 

[nick09]

You should not go cheap on a HDD. Its best for loading times to have that higher bandwidth to use. See this chart at wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#SATA_3Gb.2Fs

If you ask me I'd rather have a 3GB/s SATA drive with a 16mb cache. I'd get this Western Digital if I were you:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280

You have to remember you need to get a laptop drive(2.5" form factor) not a regular 3.5" internal drive. That drive is worth the cash for the speed when you compare to local stores like bestbuy(besides don't order from bestbuy, they overprice things).

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

You have to remember you need to get a laptop drive(2.5" form factor) not a regular 3.5" internal drive. That drive is worth the cash for the speed when you compare to local stores like bestbuy(besides don't order from bestbuy, they overprice things).

Actually you can use 3.5" SATA drives if you like... which is great as you not only can then drives with much greater capacity, improved speed, but a good deal cheaper than 2.5" drives:

http://www.consolesource.com/ecomm/catalog/Xecuter-HDXT-PS3-Hard-Drive-Xtender-p-2593.html

What's your thought on this? Use it with external HDD's.

I'll know soon enough, because thanks to your post I decided to try one out and placed an order today for one. 👍


I am still trying to decide what drive to replace my current internal 320GB HDD with.

I am currently leaning towards one of these (price includes tax & shipping):

• $100 Samsung HD103UJ Spinpoint F1
  • 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache
  
  
• $105 Western Digital WD10EACS Caviar Green
  • 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache
  
  
• $110 Seagate ST31000333AS Barracuda
  • 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache
  
  
• $130 Seagate ST31500341AS Barracuda
  • 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache

I'm open for suggestions. The best value is certainly the 1.5TB Barracuda drive from Seagate, but I'm tempted to stick with Western Digital as I have a great track record with their drives, and I know they are very quiet drives, which I like. I'm definitely weary of Samsung drives, as I have heard iffy things about them in the past... but a $100 is certainly a great price for a 1TB drive w/32MB cache. 👍

The downside is you wont be able to keep the PS3 in an upright position without accommodating for the external cable.

 

[hamstrings]

You should not go cheap on a HDD. Its best for loading times to have that higher bandwidth to use. See this chart at wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#SATA_3Gb.2Fs

A laptop drive reaches sustained transfer rates of 30-70 MBps, well below the SATA 1.5 Gbps cap of 150 MBps. If you had two identical drives that only differed in interface bandwidth, then it would be a wash. You're not likely to notice the difference with a stopwatch.

 

[nick09]

DN, I meant only laptop drives and hamstrings, where did you get this data?