DAILY MANIFESTO

Buy A PS3 Now, Or Wait For Cheaper, Slimmer PS3?

Posted on Monday, July 23 @ 14:08:25 Eastern by Anthony Severino

If recent photos of a newly redesigned PS3 are indeed real as speculation and evidence suggests, it could be accompanied by a price drop. And while saving a few bucks (see: at least $50) may sound like something that's worth waiting for, something tells me that buying a PS3 now may be a better decision. Here's my take.

This thing is fucking ugly. Ribbed for your pleasure. Ruffles potato chip PS3. PS3 back scratcher. I've seen all of the jokes, and I pointed and laughed myself.

The PS3 has always been a sleek, sexy device, even when it was packing a few extra pounds. I actually preferred the original "phat" PS3 look to the current PS3 revision at first, but after all of this time it's grown on me. And while I do think it's possible that this new look could grow on me, too, the PS4 will probably be released before I take to it. It just looks weird.

But that's really not reason enough not to save some dough. Functionality, however, is. If you're like many console owners out there, you play your video games on your couch, in front of a TV, that's sitting on some sort of TV stand or wall unit. Here's where I think the new PS3 design suffers the most.

It's top-loading.

I don't know if it's slim enough still to easily load discs into the tray, but it doesn't appear so. Imagine, you have a measley five or six inch space to fit your PS3 into a TV stand's shelf, and now you have to stuff your mitts in there to top load a disc into the ugly thing. I'd much rather have a slot-loading drive. Picky me.

Is there enough room for in there for a top-loading drive?

If you're not picky or don't have to worry about having your PS3 in a confined space, then maybe it is indeed worth waiting to save some cash.

Another reason you may want to wait is because you don't need a large hard disk drive, and that 16GB with flash memory looks appealing—and will likely offer the most significant savings. But don't be silly. It's never worth getting the least possible available storage. Sure, this may be okay for the average consumer who just wants to save some games, but not for us more serious gamers. And certainly not for anyone who takes advantage of PlayStation Plus.

Downloading games, even PSN titles, takes considerable amounts of storage. And only having 16GB available reduces the PS3's effectiveness as a media hub. Again, this is perfect for the average mass-market consumer, and that's exactly what Sony is going after with this 16GB PS3 model, but anyone serious about content—the whole reason you're getting a PS3 in the first place—needs more storage than that.

There goes over 1/3rd of your storage.

PlayStation Plus, offering many free full PS3 games, is something everyone should consider, but only if you have the space. Some of the currently available free full PS3 games could easily fill this entire 16GB of storage. And I'm talking just one game. Remember, single-layer Blu-ray discs provide 25GB worth of data, and even though most games don't utilize all of it, even a hallway-filled Blu-ray disc could make a serious dent on that 16GB of storage.

But still, there is rumored to be a 250GB and 500GB version of these PS3s coming too, but who knows if those will see a price drop if there is going to be a mass-market entry available. And if there isn't a price drop, now you've done the waiting and the only thing you've got over the current PS3 design is an ugly ridged finish and a top-loading drive.

Tell GR: Is it worth waiting for the new PS3 design? Or should consumers pick up a PS3 now before this new model arrives.

Tags: ps3, sony, hot

Comments

drathbone
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Jul 23rd, 2012 at 3:47 pm
I'd wait. I also laughed at the "hot" tag.

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TurinAlexander
Joined: Sep 2006

Posted: Jul 23rd, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Meh, I already have the 120 GB model. I mostly use it for Netflix and downloaded videos. PS3 media server is a freaking godsend.

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Bras
Joined: Jul 2008

Posted: Jul 23rd, 2012 at 6:12 pm
Wait and buy a PS4.

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moretokes
Joined: Apr 2011

Posted: Jul 23rd, 2012 at 6:45 pm
I bought my ps3 250 two years ago and another 200 last boxing day that's Canadian dollars fools

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LawnGnome
Joined: Apr 2007

Posted: Jul 23rd, 2012 at 7:04 pm
I'd wait because you just never know. It could be much cheaper than expected, have cool new features, or Sony might copy Microsoft and offer it for $99 with a monthly payment plan (with PSN Plus or something).

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dirty_f
Joined: Nov 2010

Posted: Jul 23rd, 2012 at 8:07 pm
woah i only just started a forum thread a few days ago asking advice on whether i should buy a new playstation or just change the HDD on my old 40G fatboy.
I've decided to just upgrade the hard drive. But that seems to be landing on the $100 mark, and if a reduced new console price comes even within another $100 of that price i might reconsider.

I'd hazard a guess, in any case, that all of the current Playstation Slims wouldn't suddenly disappear when the new model is released. Surely it wouldn't be worthwhile recalling them. You'd find em somewhere, probably at a cheaper price anyway.

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zanzibarmcfate
Joined: Oct 2011

Posted: Jul 23rd, 2012 at 11:12 pm
If the price won't drop, I'd buy a PS3 now, as I haven't had a problem with my over 2-year-old slim and it's not nearly as cheap looking. For some reason this gen (and if the picture is true), Sony seems intent on making the redesign look less and less sexy than the previous one. While it's much easier transporting my slim now than the fat one that blew up on me, I miss the sleek and sexy chrome.

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xDUMPWEEDx
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 23rd, 2012 at 11:31 pm
I would wait a little bit longer and get the new model. I like top loaders personally :)

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