Playstation thread

[KnightBeat]

We have a Nintendo and 360 threads, but we don't have one dedicated to Sony's station of play.

I don't have a ps3 and have no intention of buying one until the price is reduced and it is re-released in no-smudge plastic. However, I have to say that it is an amazing machine to use.

Er, OK. I need to find a reason to justify this thread. GameBrink has a news item about a hidden Transformers easter egg in the PS3 game, Assassins Creed. Take a look.

[KnightBeat]

Does anyone still own a PS2? I'm amazed that you can buy half a dozen 1-2 year old games for under £20. There are also a handful of interesting titles being released in the next few months. I'm particularly looking forward to Sega's Nights, which has recently been announced.

[kayevcee]

I always liked the look of Nights. I remember gazing in awe at pictures from it in a friend's C&VG when the Sega Saturn was around.

I will admit that all the games we've demo'ed in Toys'r'us look utterly incredible. The visual quality, model complexity and frame rate add up to something I'd have expected to see in a movie a couple of years ago. Still, at 400-odd quid for the console (less for a neutered one), fifty quid a pop for games and the recommendation of buying a huge-ass HD telly to play them on, the cost mounts up at incredible speed. I'll stick with my PC just now, and consider a Wii in March when it becomes possible to get one without camping out somewhere overnight.

-Nick

[Gav]

Since i'm looking for a broadband supplier, i noted upon AOL's offer through the carphone warehouse. If you take up their £19.99 a month contract, you can get a 'Free PS3'.

Might have a delve in.

Edit: In fact, scratch that. Looking into it, it's rubbish. And AOL.

[Stomski]

Woo, I finally bit the bullet and bought a PS3 as an early christmas present. I love justifying expensive purchases like that. My new golf clubs were an early birthday present in the summer, lol.

ANYWAY, PS3 Slim, 250GB model, Dark Knight BluRay, XMen Origins Wolverine BluRay, Remote control and Need For Speed Drift for £280 or something. Weeee...

[Stomski]

Demon's Souls is amazing.

Lots of retreading old ground, but somehow just doesn't get boring.

[Deleted]

The PS3 just doesn't do anything for me. I have a PS2 and most of the games on that console didn't appeal to me at all. The same goes for the PS3. I've got no problem with the graphics but all of the games I've seen advertised are the same old 'run around a city with a great big massive gun shooting everybody dead for no good reason' game. Furthermore, the adverts for all PS3 games never actually show in game graphics to try and sell the games to me. All we get are CGI scenes that claim to be 'representative of gameplay' and that just annoys me. If they are representative of gameplay why don't you actually show us real gameplay instead of getting us to buy a game first and then find out afterwards that its nothing like the advert! At least Wii game adverts shows actual gameplay footage. They know that their graphics aren't as good as PS3 or the XBox Always Breaking Down 360 but do they care. Nope, they don't!

Another thing that irks me about the Playstations is that they always release the first version of the console as a massive heavy console and then, when sales start to slip they release a slimline version and then when sales slip even more they release a platinum or other special edition version. I've known people before who have been compelled to buy every different version of the PS1 AND the PS2 as soon as they have come out because 'the old version is now yesterdays technology, and this new version is the latest must-have gadget' even though it is still a PS1 or still a PS2 and it does exactly the same things as 'yesterdays model'.

If I'm to get a PS3 I'm going to wait until the slimline Platinum version is released in a few years time for about £150.

[Stomski]

Uhh, ok Zudo. I think you want this forum.

As technology improves, microprocessors can be made smaller and (electrically) more efficient (smaller power supplies), that's why Sony are able to improve the size of their consoles and reduce the price.

Microsoft released several different colour versions of the original XBox and 360. And isn't there a smaller 360 coming out soon?

Nintendo have released several versions of the Gameboy/Gameboy Colour/Gameboy Advance/DS/Gamecube. Ninty even licensed GameCube technology to Panasonic for the Q to add DVD playback!

So not sure what your point is?

[jameso]

Well, I think his point was that there are slimline versions of the Playstation consoles and he feels Sony churns them out when sales of the original model have slipped.
Also, we don't need to go Have Your Say just because someone wants to post something other than 'I just got this game'.

[Stomski]

Jesus, this is almost as bad as how the World Cup thread turned out ¬_¬

[jameso]

Yeah it is quite similar, Zudo tried to post his on topic opinions and you started going 'waah, I want all threads to be catered to my tastes'.

[Stomski]

Is the Playstation thread the right place for discussing Sony's business model? I didn't think it was as the convention established on this board seems to be that these threads are used to discuss what games people are playing.

I guess I thought wrong and I apologise.





Ya, totally.

In other news, Alien Breed has now been released for PS3. Multiplayer isn't the full game though, which is a bit of a downer, but hey ho.

[Cullen]

If people need to buy the latest version of an otherwise functionally identical gadget then I think that says more about them than Sony. Nintendo release new colours to boost sales never mind new versions. It's standard for the industry at this point.

So do we think backwards compatibility is ever coming back? I have a bunch of PS2 games and no console to play them on anymore, and it'd be nice that my inevitable PS3 purchase (for Last Guardian) supported it. There were some rumours a while Sony might add BC back (at a cost)

[jameso]

I dunno, new coloured versions of consoles to me seem like optional gimmicks, the slimline PS2, for instance, seemed almost like a brand new release. I guess I'm a bit of a sucker.

[Jaymz]

Sept 14, 2010 19:09:50 GMT Cullen said:

So do we think backwards compatibility is ever coming back?

No. Especially not with digital downloading. I think Sony's answer will be if you want to play PS or PS2 games on your PS3, buy them from the PS Store. Same with 360, buy the old XBox games from the Live Store.

Nintendo will do the same if it costs too much to add backwards compatibility to whatever console they do next. Although I would like to see them do a beast of a machine covered in cartridge/disk slots for every Nintendo console ever.

And O'Sullivan, there's posting on topic, and there's posting "I'm a Nintendo fanboy" in a Playstation thread.

[Deleted]

I'm assuming that I'm the 'Nintendo Fanboy' as referred to in the previous post. To be fair I am but I don't go bashing every other console not made by Nintendo and praise everything that has Nintendo written on it. Even I admit that Nintendo even uses tactics to boost flagging sales (the DS quickly comes to mind which is why I only own the original DS).

[Deleted]

Seeing that this is a Playstation thread and not a 'last PS3 game I brought' thread how about we talk about Playstation in general.

The name actually dates back to the days of Nintendo's SNES console when Nintendo approached Sony with a view of making a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES. Sony called it the Play Station (two words not the now more familiar one) but Nintendo shelved plans for it and so Sony took the ideas away and created their first ever console off the back of this.

According to a former workmate of mine who is a Playstation fanboy the first Playstation released was called simply the Playstation. Upgrades to that console then followed and were called the PS-X, the Playstation 1 and finally PS1. We then had the PS2 (which is the only Playstation console I've ever owned) and now we have the PS3. We also have Sony handheld PSP but that seems to have died a death similar to Sega's attempt at a handheld console back in the 90's when they released the Game Gear.

[Gav]

I was close to trying the PS Move in HMV tonight, but the little tit playing it didn't want to relinquish control. It looked fine, but the launch lineup stinks.

Updates, upgrades and incremental increases in performance are sadly common practice for consoles nowadays. That said, as long as they aren't completely mandatory upgrades (my PS3 and Xbox are both original incarnations, and running just fine for now), these updates keep a console fresh for newer audiences. The PS3 Slim and new Xbox are slick little numbers indeed.

That said, I'll hold off on getting a Nintendo 3DS for a year or two, until I see the nicer sleeker version they will no doubt release.

[Jaymz]

Sept 15, 2010 17:57:17 GMT @zudobug said:

According to a former workmate of mine who is a Playstation fanboy the first Playstation released was called simply the Playstation. Upgrades to that console then followed and were called the PS-X, the Playstation 1 and finally PS1. We then had the PS2 (which is the only Playstation console I've ever owned) and now we have the PS3. We also have Sony handheld PSP but that seems to have died a death similar to Sega's attempt at a handheld console back in the 90's when they released the Game Gear.

The PS-X was a codename for the PlayStation when it was in development, not an upgrade. The PSX was an overpriced mistake which incorporated a DVR with a PS2.

As for the PSP, it's the most successful non-Nintendo handheld console, it just isn't a very good handheld console. And the Game Gear had support for about 6 years, which is pretty good going really.

[Deleted]

I've never actually owned any incarnation of the PS1 so when I mentioned the PSX I was just drawing on what I had been told. The person who told me said that the PSX was some kind of incarnation of the PS1 not the over-priced DVD gimmick you mentioned. I'm guessing therefore that my former workmate was thinking of some other PS1 update when he talked about the PSX because he's not the least bit technologically minded and only buys choice updates to his beloved Playstation consoles.

[Cullen]

If you want to get anal about the names for the Playstation then the last PS1 console produced (the teeny white bubble-like one) was called the PSOne. Playstation should technically be spelled PLAYSTATION if you want to follow Sony's (or SONY's) branding. Of course no-one does because it's stupid.

My poor, poor PSP. Haven't played a game on it since Final Fantasy Tactics last year. It was so full of promise and the screen is beautiful, but there's so few games that are actually tailored to handheld play. It's still got a bunch of gems though.

[Benn]

Just got Dissidia for the PSP. Works okay as a handheld game for me, as it autosaves after most bouts, so there's no need to finish a characters story arc just to save.
Most games based on RPG's for handhelds just seem like a bad idea to me. Who wants to play for 100+ hours on a tiny screen? Still bought Crisis Core (PSP) and 365/2 Days (DS) though... Curse me for being a Final Fantasy fanboy!

[Cullen]

I think Crisis Core is honestly one of the worst games I've ever played. I got more enjoyment out of watching youtube videos of the cut scenes than I did playing through the game to see them. Ugh it's just so lazy. I mean it only has 4 dungeons, it reuses endlessly, 3 of which are just endless corridors running at right-angles to one another.

[Deleted]

I never played many games on the PSP but out of the ones I did play for it I thoroughly enjoyed the Burnout game for it. I can't remember what the sub-title for that game is but I enjoyed it as I did most of the other Burnout games.

As for the PS2 I enjoyed the 2002 and 2003 World Snooker Championship games but they got a bit rubbish after that. The worst games is have ever witnessed them being played on the PS2 are the two Getaway games. I've never actually played the games but countless times I've watched my brother play them and they truly stink! Both games are full of glitches, awful sound effects, bad computer AI, bad graphics and a stinker of a plot for the first game that is 100% recycled for the second game but with different characters and locations. Avoid both of them at all costs.

[Stomski]

Demon's Souls is continuing to step up a level. Got into a position where I can pretty much get to 3 major demons, but they all kick my ass. Hrm. Time to grind some souls!

AI has a little issue if you have the Thief's ring equipped though, some enemies decide they can't spot you after you 'wake' them up and saunter slowly back to their original spot. You can then sneak up behind them and get a free hit from behind (extra damage). Using my giant club weapon, this knocks them to the ground and I get more free hits. Sweet.

Also found that you can press R3 and it locks on an enemy. I can finally quick fire arrows, crossbow, throwing knives and spells without missing.

[blueshift]

With regard to this conversation about why the Playstations and Xboxes are released in ever more desirable formats, the answer is pretty simple.

It is both technology, and the fact that the consoles are sold as loss leaders. This has generally always been the model, the only exception being the Wii. Nintendo and Sony actually LOSE money on each PS3 and Xbox they sell, the money is recouped via game sales. So since they are not insane, they will balance the first release out as much as they can, then release a slightly smaller one when price and technology allows to ensnare those that held out first time, and premium editions at a profit for the gamers who don't mind paying over the odds for something really nice.

The money isn't in consoles at all, all the profit comes from selling games to people who own the consoles.

[Stomski]

The more I play Demon's Souls the more I'm addicted. I've realised now (after 30 hours of play!) that I've done the game in completely the wrong order... There's a stage that is clearly easier than the others but I hadn't entered it because it was at the top of the stairs so I assumed it was hard (despite the spell teacher guy saying his buddy was trapped there).

Normally I'd feel like I'd been cheated, but I just feel it's yet another part of the learning experience.

Whizzing through this stage now as I'm powered up enough from my jaunts on the harder levels to over power most nasties.

I can understand why the game came with a walkthrough, but still managing to resist looking at it! Part of the pleasure is in the learning.

[Stomski]

Wow, my last post was about Demon's Souls... That game killed me so many times, the last boss took me 20 hours or so to kill as there's a good 20 minutes before you get to him.

Anyway, it's successor (not a sequel) Dark Souls came out last week, it's available for XBox too.

More of the same, except with some tweaks to make it better. #1- No limit on the amount you can carry. #2 - There's no hub, so feels even more like an openworld game (although at the start you only really have one way to go). This does mean a bit of backtracking as there are no warp points per sae, but plenty of shortcuts to open up.

And I actually got some co-op help with the first boss.

[Philip Ayres]

Jonathan's Charity Shop Gaming finds continue with a £10 PS2!

Any recommendations for games?

[blueshift]

Nov 8, 2017 12:19:37 GMT Philip Ayres said:

Jonathan's Charity Shop Gaming finds continue with a £10 PS2!

Any recommendations for games?

THE TRANSFORMERS ARMADA GAME!!!!