PS3's on sale..

So all pre-owned PS3's are $149 at Gamestop for the next 12 days, no matter the hard drive size. I've been wanting a PS3 because the Beyond Two Souls trailer really made me want to play it. I would also like to play Heavy Rain. I loved Indigo Prophecy so I feel like these games would be great for me. I could really care less about everything else the PS3 has to offer.

However since I wasn't really planning on making a purchase I don't necessarily have a spare $150 in my budget right now until the 1 Nov pay day....

After the sale do you think the 12gb $199 PS3 would work for these games? Or are these games better if installed?

I've seen some older models on Craigslist for around $130, would it be safe to buy an older PS3 at this point?

As far as I know there isn't a download version for Beyond or Heavy Rain, so the 12GB model should suit your needs. The Heavy Rain install is only 2GB. I wouldn't buy an older PS3. They could very easily be on the verge of breaking. My buddy bought one used and it broke 4 months later. I'm on my second one and I feel the need to buy a third one so I can future proof my collection.

My recommendation would be to wait until Black Friday and see if you can get a deal on a bundle. I know last year some of them were available for somewhere in the $200 range.

I don't think you need to worry about a used 12 GB PS3 breaking because those haven't even been on the shelves all that long, but I really don't think 12 GB is sufficient considering how many games have large mandatory and/or optional installs. If all you want to play is those two games, you might be fine, but otherwise you're going to end up needing to pay $50 to pop a new hdd in it.

Try to wait for a sale. I got a 500GB God of War bundle for $199 about a week ago. Same price as the 12GB one, but with a much bigger HDD and six games. It replaced my old near-launch system that finally died, unfortunately in the middle of GTA V.

I don't think those two games are good enough to spend $230 on. Don't get a PS3 unless you wanna try Uncharted, Little Big Planet, Infamous

I admonish against purchasing pre-owned consoles.

I'm tempted to swap out my fat PS3 for a slim one because I'm noticing performance issues with mine that are most likely unique to it which is a good that this thing is going to take a shit soon, but at the same time I don't think I should trust getting a used console

I wouldn't normally go for a used console, but I'd buy a used slim over a new super slim.

I like both those games very much, but I wouldn't buy a system for them, there are a lot of other games very much worth playing on PS3 though.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/playstation-3-playstation-3-500gb-assassin-s-creed-iii-bundle-99105/10227444.aspx?path=162770c15869e3e6904052d34afbe1efen02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/playstation-3-playstation-3-250gb-uncharted-3-drake-s-deception-game-of-the-year-edition-psp-plus-bundle-99216/10255709.aspx?path=e16d35a2c5c112c77e7a1b8c9ef24007en02

Impulse on credit!

But really, yeah. You -could- get the 12 gig PS3 from Gamestop for $220 after tax. But with Black Friday and the PS4 around the corner , why not wait and see if you can pick up a 500 gig GTA PS3 bundle for fire sale prices?

Are you going to be panicked? Or are you going to be brave for everyone else?

Fuck, hardware is so cheap in the US.

Just looking at items on newegg, and then look at similar/equivalent items on amazon.co.uk makes me angry/frustrated.

@jdh5153: From experience having a larger hard drive is always better. In regards to whether a game plays better after it's installed, my experience has been quite varied. I have two ps3's and one of those is an old 80gb finger print magnet model which still works fine. But for warranty's sake personally I would get one new, I don't know how hard it would be to get a refund on craigslist. Also The Last of Us was pretty great.

I honestly like none of those games. I don't know what happened, but I kept seeing the Beyond Two Souls trailer on TV and it set something off inside me, giving me a sudden urge to purchase a PS3. I've never before wanted one. I hate the controller and I dislike most of the exclusive games. Somehow it feels like it'd be worth it. I mean, I really wish those games would end up ported to PC or Xbox but I don't think it'll ever happen.

In the meantime I bought the digital download of Indigo Prophecy on Xbox 360 and I'll play that until I figure something out.

unrelated but how hard is it to get a really badly stripped screw out of a ps3 slim? got one from my roomate that has a disk read error and when trying to take it apart to troubleshoot i stripped a screw holding the power supply and now can't proceed further. any advice? (guess i could try a disk cleaning kit but from what ive researched it sounds like the entire laser unit has to be replaced)

@ripelivejam: try putting some crazy glue on the end of your screw driver and leave it sitting in the screw for a few hours

I don't see why you would want it if you hate almost everything about it. Just see if you have a friend with Beyond Two Souls and play it there.

See I don't like playing on other people's systems / accounts, it feels like it's not 'my experience' if that makes any sense. I want it in my room, with a beer on my account.... But yeah I have a friend with a PS3 and I tried to bribe him with a case of beer for a weekend with his PS3, but he just got back from deployment so he's catching up on 6 months of games..haha.

I wouldn't mind having a PS3 anyway, because if I ever did want to go back and see what the last 7 years or so have been like on a Sony machine I'd have that option. I'm getting an Xbox One, but I feel like I could get some use out of the PS3 as games will be slow at the begining of the new gen.

Eh, I would only get a PS3 to play the inFamous series and considering how close we are to next-gen launch, I don't have the budget to afford more than one system this holiday and some of the games I want to pick up :P

@ripelivejam: Depending on where it is you might be able to cut a slit and use a flat head, they also sell bits specifically for stripped screw heads.

And i agree with the Black Friday deals, pick up a nice new bundle and get some games on the cheap.

Wait for Black Friday. Last year I bought my PS3 as a bundle with a 250GB HDD, InFamous 1-2, and Uncharted 1-2 for $199.

So... am I the only person on the planet who has never had to buy more than one version of a console? When I hear stories about people buying, like 4 xboxs and whatnot, it sounds ridiculous. Just what do you DO with it? I've owned 12 consoles over the span of my life,counting handhelds, and not a one of them has ever broken.

@jazgalaxy:

I never had to replace a console until the Xbox 360 (ran through five of them). No issues with my PS3 slim.

My PS2 was a launch unit and started having some issues reading dual layer DVDs near the end of my time with it. Cleaning the laser lens definitely improved things, but it really needed to be replaced. Instead of replacing it though, I just boxed it up and moved on to the next gen.

The increased technical issues in recent years is really just a factor of the increased complexity and the various moving parts. There's really no avoiding increased failure rates over the old cartridge based consoles.

I've never had to replace one either. I've even got a launch 360 that still works fine.

Alright canceled the online order and just went out and picked one up at the Bx. Wasn't feeling like waiting 2-3 weeks for it. Couldn't find Heavy Rain, so I guess I'll play Beyond Two Souls first.