Shopping for a Ps3

[LDN-Legend]

I am in the market for a PS3, I want to spend around £50 for a nice condition working console, preferable with 2 controllers. Games aren't really a priority as they're quite cheap to buy in CEX. 

Here are some links at offers I am looking at. 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/ps3/ps3-with-3-games-move-controller-and-gun-attachment..-/1455865089

https://www.gumtree.com/p/ps3/playstation-3-2-controllers/1455886997

https://www.gumtree.com/p/ps3/playstation-3-slim/1447310819 (accepted 50)

https://www.gumtree.com/p/ps3/wiped-and-fully-working-ps3-slim-black-160gb-bundle-with-joy-stick-and-games-/1447595374

 

Basically I do not fully understand the difference between the consoles and which offers I should go for and how to make offers without offending people  

How much should I be looking to spend and what is a fair deal? How can I ask people to test the consoles, it's quite awkward asking someone to basically enter their house. 

 

Thanks in advance for the replies. I have considered buying a console from CEX but this seems like a win-win for the buyer and seller. 

[HuntingFever]

The Slim and Superslim are the best models so get one of those with a 500gb or higher Hard Drive installed (though it's not hard to replace it yourself) but avoid the Phat ones, because they have horrible reliability and build quality issues. Also, be very careful when buying secondhand, else you could end up with one that has been hacked or even banned from PSN so make sure you can see it working in person if at all possible. Going by those links, the sellers all appear to be offering the normal Slim model so that's good. Even if the seller says the system has been wiped, I'd still recommend reformatting it yourself, just to be sure. As a side note, you now have to use the official website to create and add new PS3 accounts, due to some changes made a couple of firmware updates back. The only difference I can see in those bundles you've linked, is that some have Move controllers but others don't. In my experience, the Move games are very hit and miss in terms of how good they are and how responsive the controls can be. PS: In case you're unaware, a lot of PS3 MP games have either already lost their servers or will lose them this year and many more are likely to fall next year as well so you may want to research certain games before buying them. PPS: The official webstore and app, no longer show PS3 content which means you're stuck with using the increasingly unstable and buggy console-side store whenever you want to look up a game or DLC (though a fair bit has already been delisted and more is scheduled to go by the end of the year for certain games).

 

As for price, IMO, anything over £80 for the console by itself with a couple of controllers and no games is a rip-off but with some decent games, upwards of £150 is a good deal.

 

Also pinging @GUDGER666 since he's the resident PS3 expert.

Edited April 17, 2023 by HuntingFever
Update.

[GUDGER666]

Well imo Superslims are the best and most reliable model, I have 2 active ones and they run silent and cool. But Slims are by far the easiest to maintain as they are extremely easy to take apart. The problem nowadays is getting a legitimate controller is difficult when buying 2nd hand. For instance 2 of the ones in those pics are definitely fake. 

 

It's a bit more expensive but personally I would buy the console from CEX (unboxed) as you will get a legit controller and 2yrs warranty, then buy a cheap SSD. Buying from someone is risky as it could just fail or as Hunting said be banned online and then you're stuck with it. If you're gonna go with one of those I would go with the first one, console looks clean and £40 is a pretty good price, plus the rubber on that move controller hasn't turned yellow which would indicate they are not a smoker. 

Edited April 17, 2023 by GUDGER666

[blazkowicz6]

There is nothing wrong with SuperSlim other than the looks and slightly louder disc drive. It is quiet and cold little console.

 

Also my Slim console lasted for over 10 years so pick one of thoose 2 models. If you play mainly disc games I would buy Slim.

[LDN-Legend]

Really appreciate all the thorough replies, lots of extra information I didn't consider. Mainly just want to play FFXIII Triology and maybe some others like MGS. 

Edited April 17, 2023 by LDN-Legend

[Jeanolt]

Like most said, I recommend you the super slim, which I've always had and never gave me any problems. It's the definitive edition of the console without practically any important glitches.

 

If you feel uncomfortable using the store, check psprices.com, where you can search the store of any console. You can even look up avatars, something the PS3 store itself doesn't let you browse.

 

Also if you're playing digitally, the games take a lot more time to install from the cloud, and take between 15-20 minutes to install in the hard drive, depending on the size it can be a lot less. (A 1gb game will probably take a maximum of 3 minutes.

Physical games don't have this problem and you can play instantly.

[Dark_Overlord]

55 minutes ago, LDN-Legend said:

Really appreciate all the thorough replies, lots of extra information I didn't consider. Mainly just want to play FFXIII Triology and maybe some others like MGS. 

 

Well you'll soon know if the controller is fake when you load up MGS3, it requires the analogue buttons.

 

Also, I had to buy one recently as my Slim had issues.  I checked everywhere.  I ended up buying one from an independent game shop, it ended up cheaper and in far better condition.

 

CEX was one of the more expensive places I found, Cash Converters have them too for cheaper and it's far easier to return items if you have an issue.

[LDN-Legend]

The yellow controller must be fake? I don't think there's an official Yellow PS3 pad?

[Dark_Overlord]

39 minutes ago, LDN-Legend said:

The yellow controller must be fake? I don't think there's an official Yellow PS3 pad?

 

Yep it's a fake

 

https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/Colours#PS3_Controllers_.28DS3.29

[LDN-Legend]

In the end I went for 160Gb Slim with official controller + 24 month Warranty from Cex. It was too difficult dealing with people and at least Cex can replace parts i they fail within 2 years. 

[Lordguwa]

it's a good choice imo due to the 2 year warranty.

[LDN-Legend]

It's weird now working backwards with everything. I started with a PS5 to having to relearn older UI's etc. Hopefully I can just play disc games and quickly/easily sync the trophies. 

[HuntingFever]

21 minutes ago, LDN-Legend said:

It's weird now working backwards with everything. I started with a PS5 to having to relearn older UI's etc. Hopefully I can just play disc games and quickly/easily sync the trophies. 

If you want to upgrade the Hard Drive to 500gb or more, it's really fast and easy to do with the Slim and only requires the removal of a few screws, just make sure you have the correct screwdriver and a USB Drive handy that has been correctly formatted and has the latest PS3 firmware update on it for when you reach that stage of the install . PS: The PS3 can't auto-switch between Daylight Savings times being active or not, therefore you have to either tick or untick the relevant box in one of the menus whenever that time of the year comes round. Also, trophy syncing on the PS3 can sometimes be really slow.

Edited April 18, 2023 by HuntingFever
Update.

[GUDGER666]

27 minutes ago, LDN-Legend said:

In the end I went for 160Gb Slim with official controller + 24 month Warranty from Cex. It was too difficult dealing with people and at least Cex can replace parts i they fail within 2 years. 

A wise choice, enjoy! 

[OutcastGuy50]

Is it bad idea to buy PS3 console in 2023 since the PS5 cant play PS3 games?

[DaivRules]

3 minutes ago, OutcastGuy50 said:

Is it bad idea to buy PS3 console in 2023 since the PS5 cant play PS3 games?

What does the beginning of your question have to do with the end of your question? 
 

[LDN-Legend]

56 minutes ago, HuntingFever said:

If you want to upgrade the Hard Drive to 500gb or more, it's really fast and easy to do with the Slim and only requires the removal of a few screws, just make sure you have the correct screwdriver and a USB Drive handy that has been correctly formatted and has the latest PS3 firmware update on it for when you reach that stage of the install . PS: The PS3 can't auto-switch between Daylight Savings times being active or not, therefore you have to either tick or untick the relevant box in one of the menus whenever that time of the year comes round. Also, trophy syncing on the PS3 can sometimes be really slow.

 

Honestly, I will probably only play 1 game at a time and delete after platinum, they also seem to be running straight from the disc without even having to download or even install/save to console/storage which is quite impressive after dealing with PS5 /4 installations. 

 

22 minutes ago, OutcastGuy50 said:

Is it bad idea to buy PS3 console in 2023 since the PS5 cant play PS3 games?

 

This is the reason for buying a PS3

Edited April 18, 2023 by LDN-Legend

[HuntingFever]

8 minutes ago, LDN-Legend said:

 

Honestly, I will probably only play 1 game at a time and delete after platinum, they also seem to be running straight from the disc without even having to download which is quite impressive after dealing with PS5 /4 installations. 

 

 

This is the reason for buying a PS3

Nothing on the PS3 comes close to how big the PS4 and PS5 installs can get but several of the later PS3 games have large mandatory installs and patches that can potentially (in extreme cases) take up 50gb of space once everything is installed (the digital release of Uncharted 3 comes to mind). Also note that because of the way the PS3 works, you have to double a game, patch or DLC's download size to get the true amount of space it will take to install it e.g. a 20gb game with a 5gb patch, will need 50gb of space to install but you will get that other 25gb back after the install is complete .

Edited April 18, 2023 by HuntingFever
Update.

[Ashande]

11 minutes ago, LDN-Legend said:

 

Honestly, I will probably only play 1 game at a time and delete after platinum, they also seem to be running straight from the disc without even having to download or even install/save to console/storage which is quite impressive after dealing with PS5 /4 installations. 

[…]

 

A lot of PS3 games will play right off the disc, especially earlier titles, but as you dig further into the library you’ll come up against quite a few that require an install to play (and installs on PS3 are incredibly slow.) The worst offenders offhand are Devil May Cry 4 and Metal Gear Solid 4, the former taking a couple of hours in some instances, the latter potentially taking hours and doing a new install between chapters.

 

There’s also how digital games work (download the game, frequently very slowly. Puts an archive file in your XMB. Click that. Wait forever for that to install. Then you can finally play), which is also clunky, slow, and takes more space than it probably should.

 

@HuntingFever Ninja’d me. ?

Edited April 18, 2023 by Ashande
Ninja’d.

[LDN-Legend]

1 minute ago, HuntingFever said:

Nothing on the PS3 comes close to how big the PS4 and PS5 installs can get but several of the later PS3 games have large mandatory installs and patches that can potentially take up 50gb of space once everything is installed. Also note that because of the way the PS3 works, you have to double a game, patch or DLC's download size to get the true amount of space it will take to install it e.g. a 20gb game with a 5gb patch, will need 50gb of space to install but you will get that other 25gb back after the install is complete .

 

RN i'm playing FF13 from the disc on a PS3, after playing half a dozen FF's on PS5. The most notable thing is there was 0 download time, 0 install time and while playing - I haven't come across a single loading screen. FF15 on the other hand and all of the others, those loading screens took longer than the game itself :/

I guess the 160Gb I have can accommodate the maximum needed?

[HuntingFever]

3 minutes ago, LDN-Legend said:

 

RN i'm playing FF13 from the disc on a PS3, after playing half a dozen FF's on PS5. The most notable thing is there was 0 download time, 0 install time and while playing - I haven't come across a single loading screen. FF15 on the other hand and all of the others, those loading screens took longer than the game itself :/

I guess the 160Gb I have can accommodate the maximum needed?

Provided you don't have multiple large games installed at once, 160gb should be enough for someone who only plays 1 or 2 games at a time but if you're going to have several games on the go at once, having a 500gb, 750gb or 1tb drive installed is mandatory to avoid having to repeatedly uninstall and re-install games whenever you want to play something different. My Slim came with a 250gb Hard Drive installed but that filled up pretty quickly so I slapped in a 500gb drive and that solved my problems for a few years but now my PS3 game collection is now so big, I'm wishing I'd gone for a 750g drive instead.

[GUDGER666]

1 hour ago, HuntingFever said:

Provided you don't have multiple large games installed at once, 160gb should be enough for someone who only plays 1 or 2 games at a time but if you're going to have several games on the go at once, having a 500gb, 750gb or 1tb drive installed is mandatory to avoid having to repeatedly uninstall and re-install games whenever you want to play something different. My Slim came with a 250gb Hard Drive installed but that filled up pretty quickly so I slapped in a 500gb drive and that solved my problems for a few years but now my PS3 game collection is now so big, I'm wishing I'd gone for a 750g drive instead.

I've got about 100 digital games installed and have about 300gb of my 500gb left. Most are really small compared to PS4/5 but some digital ones are pretty big for some reason. Like Yakuza games, Uncharted, MGS4, GOW 3 and Ascension. I left all large open world games until I got an SSD, so much better. PS Premium sub ends tomorrow, really looking forward to getting back on my PS3. Probably just sit there for hours trying to decide what to play lol. Might continue with Arkham City.