I'm not sure yet but I'm thinking about getting a Playstation 3 with some extra money I'll be getting from freelance work. Which model of the PS3 is the best to get? I know that they all vary, some are backward compatible, some aren't but beyond that, that's all I really know about the differences between the models.

As far as I know, only the first 'fat' models had backwards compatibility with PSX & PS2 games. If you want one I'd suggest eBay or something similar, but make sure to ask for the model number. If you're looking for the console with the most capabilities I'd suggest one of them.

This link might help http://thirdworldgeek.com/is-your-ps3-backward-compatible/

Did a bit of research for you into backwards compatibility..

Heres an image of a table which shows you which models are backwards compatible, just ignore the "In Production" column.


and heres a site that will determine if a certain old title will be backwards compatible http://us.playstation.com/support/compatiblestatus/index.htm

Davideo7 : i like the slims because they are quieter,use less power and generaly have bigger harddrive.some people jail broke them and made them backward compaible but thats both illegal and patched now.

get the 160 gb slim model, it's not backwards compatible, but that hardly matters, a PS2 is so dirt cheap you could get one pretty easily for less than 100.

legacyme3 : I actually have a PS2 but I was thinking about selling it to put the money toward a PS3 but if I gotta pay extra for backward compatibility, I'll just keep the PS2. My PS2 doesn't play PS1 games properly so I was sorta hoping to get a PS3 that did but I have a PS1 so I guess I'm fine.

Davideo7 :

A lot of PSX classics are available on PSN for digital download (Once the hackers back off of Sony that is) and a few PS2 classics have been added to the PS3.

I say depending on your budget...

-You can either buy the 80 GB PS3 that has the backwards compatibility (you'd have to buy online), and sell your PS2 (most cost effective)

-You can buy the 160 GB with no backwards compatitibility and hold onto your PS2 (only if you have the money to buy the 160 GB straight up.)

-You can buy the 80 GB with no bc, and hold onto PS2 (same as above but a little cheaper with half the memory)

-sell your ps2 and buy the 60 GB ps3 (the cheapest option listed)

I'd say for what you are describing you may want options 1 or 3. If you have the money, buy all means get option 2. Option 4 is basically the "I'm operating on a really tight budget" approach.

legacyme3 : buying the games of the store isnt really viable, they can cost up to 7 quid which is bad value.i never noticed and ps2 games,i guess il need to look when sony tuns the server back on.dont get me wrong,i still bought some like silent hill but as well as being badly priced there arent many,im still waiting for crash bash and mission impossible.
A good point for a ps3 though is they are only about 30 quid more than blu ray players here,i guess like 45 bucks more in america so its good for watching movies, but if you wanted backward compatability theres a danger buying an old one because you get no warranty

thenumberone : £7 for PSX games is good value, especially if you never owned the originals.

RocketsMcGuire : you can buy ps1 games for like, a quid so thats not great,iv seen people offering a hundred for a tenner.as for owning them all the ones iv bought or want i did own,but i cant play them,my original ps3 broke a month after the slim replaced the original but i had bought the extended warranty,i was delighted because as they couldnt replace it they had to give me money which got me a 120gb slim ps3 with games and enough left to buy a new extended warranty,what they didnt tell me is it cant play old games

I actually dished out 100 bucks on a new ivory white slim PS2 because I didn't want to have to worry about playing backwards compatible games. We had the 60gig model (which was first one out back in 07 and was backwards compatible, but it over heated - which was our fault completely. Rule one: don't play too much. lol it had 7 hours of rest in between days over Christmas break. Not good for it at all -__-
I would go with whatever slim model u can afford. They have more hard drive space then the older models, and can still play PS1 games, as well as downloaded/bought ones from PSN. The list of PS1 games from the store is growing. We had a phat PS2 original, and it it completely used, and let's just say broken, no worries now, and I am planning on getting a new slim PS3 sometimes in the future.

legacyme3 : I actually own a lot of Playstation games so I'd hate to buy some PSX games on PSN. I could sell my PSX games to fund it but I personally like owning physical games rather than digital, especially since the PSX games I have I've had for a real like time and they've got a sentimental value to me (not to mention some or worth a lot). I think the reason I have troubles with certain PSX games on my PS2 is a combination of my TV and the cords so maybe what I'll do is get the 160GB model for $299.99 new and also get a new card for my PS2. Either way, whatever I do, I'll wait until after E3 to buy one just in case Sony announces a new model or something (kinda like last year how microsoft announced a new xbox 360 model which become available that same week, which btw is the best xbox 360 model and one I eventually got).



Does anyone know if it keeps you connected to the Playstation Network when you play a PSX or PS2 game? Although the Xbox 360 is compatible with almost all Xbox games, it kicks you off xbox live when you play an old Xbox game, was just wondering if PS3 was the same way.

Yeah its the same way when playing DVD's, PS1 games, or PS2 games, it will sign you out. Not sure about Blu-Ray's I think I may have seen someone's status as watching a Blu-Ray movie recently, kinda like there is a status for Netflix...

UserMike : It even signs you out when watching DVDs? That's to bad.


Anyone know how easy it is to mod a PS3? Not to pirate PS3 games but just to play older emulated games and maybe even a way to emulate PSX games on a PS3 that isn't backward compatible.

1. It should be known that all PS3 models are made to play PS1 games, ie ur physical discs.
2. Backwards compatable PS3 w/ support for PS2 games were made to play them all.
3. However it is not the case, some don't play properly, both PS1 & PS2 games have been found to have some compatibility issues in game...
4. It is not easy, it is more difficult than xbox360 or Wii to my knowledge. I never really played back in the days of PS1, and am looking forward in the years to come for the list of games of PSOne list to ever grow bigger.
5. Playstation Blog is a good site once ur into PS3, they always do updates on new ones added....
6 see this link: http://www.community.eu.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-3-General-Discussion/PS1-compatibility-on-the-PS3-slimline/m-p/10440155
- for info regarding #3.
7. there was talk to put ps2 library on psn, hell if anyone knows if that will ever happen...

UserMike : You're sure all PS3 models play PS1 games? If so, that'll definitely solve my problem.

Just so I don't look too bad I say I'm 99% sure they all play PSOne (PS1, PSX) discs. Yup. Except don't forget about region locks-not sure how to account for that it prob means a physical PS3 bought here wont work with PAL, etc... People do some stuff involving making a Japan (location) PSN to gain access to demos n stuff, but buying of that PSN store is a matter of buying pre paid region cards of this one site.

Uhh : http://us.playstation.com/support/answer/index.htm?a_id=232
Davideo7:

UserMike : My dad has a PS3, perhaps I'll borrow his for a week or so and try out all my PSX games on it.

Kind of a silly question, but do PS3's also take PSX memory cards? I'm assuming so since PS2 takes PSX memory cards.

Ha! you know what I have a PS2/Ps3 memory card adapter, if PS1 memory cards are put in just the same kind of slots as PS2 memory cards were (I think they were, the spot with holes: above controller ports), then I wonder if the adapter will read the PSOne memory cards. Otherwise no, and no there arn't any ports to plug in memory cards on all the PS3's.
Also i edited my above post: see "Uhhh" w/ link.
That would be a good idea to test all ur ps1 games on ur dad's. I'm pretty through the game to see if it either loads up at all, or buggy/weird o the menu, or in game, etc. I wouldn't know lol.

Actually from wat I just searched I think it does work w/ the adapter.

UserMike : Here's another question. Can you play your PSP on your PS3 without cords? In other words, can the 2 comunicate wirelessly?

Because I have a PSP and it's also modded. What I could do is simply download isos of the PSX games that I have to the PSP and than play them on the PS3 through the PSP. The PSP plays almost all PSX games perfectly.