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So I still haven't jumped onto the latest generation of consoles bus.

Right now I'm still pretty happy with my PS2 and my old PC.

Still, that PS3 is becoming more and more attractive to me, so I take a bit of a closer look and see there are quite a few different PS3 models out.

They differ in harddisk size. Now, being not used to a harddisk in a gaming console I must ask this silly question:

What does it do? What are the benefits? Is a 80gb PS3 much better than a 40gb PS3?

Thanks for any enlightenment guys.

The 80 gig is backwards compatible with all the old PS and PS2 games.

The other ones are not.

Stupid, lame and criminal in my mind... but there it is.

I got the 80gig MGS4 pack for my birthday, and I tend to buy any games for it that I want to be pretty, and that you don't play online.

Recommendations for it...

MGS4
Dead Space
Fallout 3

The 80 GB is backwards compatable! That's a huge plus for me. The last I'd heard was that the PS3 wasn't backwards compatable at all.

Thanks for that piece of information.

But what are all those GBs really used for? To load the games? To 'install' them? Graphic memory?

And I must admit that Fallout 3 is one of the main reasons that the PS3 is becoming so attractive right now. I'm a big Fallout fan. I've played Fallout 1, 2 and even Tactics like mad.

http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/CompatibleStatus

Software emulation only.

Achilles wrote:The 80 gig is backwards compatible with all the old PS and PS2 games.

The other ones are not.

While thats true, its also sorta not true. The current 80GB versions on the market are NOT backwards compatible. The original 60GB and MGS4 80GB bundles are backwards compatible, but all 40GB, current standard 80GB models and any newer versions that come out in the future will not be. For some reason Sony decided to pull this feature from all new models.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3

There is a very nice chart listed here that lets you know which versions can play PS2 games. Make sure to check the model numbers when purchasing just in case.

Don't forget to take a look at the Xbox360 though either. It won't play your old PS2 games (but most PS3's on the market won't either now days) and you can still play Fallout 3 on it. Not to mention $100-200 cheaper as well.

The Gigabytes on the Hard Drive are sometimes required to load games onto (some are optional). This generally cuts down on load times (as opposed to X-Box 360 equivalents, even though the Xbox has this game burning feature now as well.). You can also download full games from the PlayStation Network, as well as movies, and you can also install linux on your PS3. There are updates for most games through the internet, which are also stored on the hard drive. So basically, any kind of file that you can hold on a computer, you can hold on a PS3.

The PS3's backwards compatability is not complete no matter the model, and will only run SOME PS2 games. Definetly count any old PS2 games with a purple tint out. Most popular PS2 games run on the old 60GB and the 80GB MGS4 Bundle (Which is definetly worth the price), but not all games will.

The PS3 Harddisk is easily swapped out for a larger one.

I replaced mine with a 160GB version a few days after the UK launch and I've been downloading all the demos and have yet to fill it up (probably at around 70% full now).

Is a tasty piece of kit in my mind, especially now the 360 seems to be getting fewer and fewer exclusives.

Add in the Blu-Ray player, and you have a very competent home entertainment centre for a reasonable amount of money.

Many PS1 games can be run at full speed on a PC using an emulator, It's only a matter of time before PS2 games can be played in the same way.

heres something some of you may not know this year playstation is making more games for the ps2 then the ps3,
which is kinda weird. and to the OP yes get the 80GB its way worth it.

PS2 games are likely cheaper to develop, the development kit that they have to lisence from Sony is no doubt cheaper (given the age of the console), and it's also probably easier to develop for the PS2 (they've had a lot longer to work with it), and making next gen games can't be cheap, certainly not as cheap as making a last gen game.

Once the life cycle of the PS2 ends (which I can't imagine being too far away now), people will have no choice but to develop for the PS3.

BYE

I've been playing all my old PS1 games (including original release PS1 games, such as my 12 year old copy of Resident Evil) just fine on my 80gb MSG4 PS3.

I've yet to play a game on it that it won't run. I highly recommend it.

Did you buy one of the original ones that came out, back when they had hardware emulation, or one of the more recent stripped down ones?

BYE

Thank you gentlemen, I believe I've got all the facts now. A bit of a bummer with the whole backward capability story but it's not like my PS2 is no longer functional or anything.