Is the installing of games mandatory on a PS3? Looking to get hold of one MAINLY for the MGS Legacy Collection.

I'd be more than happy with a 12GB but obviously if games require an install then it would be no good. Are the installs like Xbox where it just improves load times etc or are you required to install games before you can play them?

If there is a install listed on the back, odds are it's a mandatory install. Only games I can think of that have optional installs are fighting games like SF4 and Blazblue.

EDIT: Or a large file size listed on the back.

Most games require an installation due to the poor disc-read speed of the PS3. Have you considered getting the MGS HD Collection on the 360? The Legacy collection only really adds an emulated, SD version of MGS1 to the overall package.

You have to install fucking downloaded patches, after you download them. It's safe to say 99% of retail games will need an install too. Get it for the 360 if you have one of those. You don't really miss out on anything.

Not all of them but a fair portion of them do require installs. Metal Gear Solid 4 requires one for sure the other games included most likely will not. So at worst your looking at around a couple gigs for MGS4. If you're going to just stick with playing Metal Gear you could most likely get away with a smaller Hard Drive.

@humphreys You're also forgetting it includes Metal Gear Solid VR Missions and Metal Gear Solid 4.

Right, I did forget MGS4 but i'd recommend buying an old Playstation on eBay for MGS1+VR, it'd be cheaper than buying a new console if he already owns a 360.

Some games require it. It's listed on the back of the box. Most of the ones that do are 3-4 GB, some more, some less. I'd recommend at least 60 GB even if you're only interested in exclusives.

@humphreys: Yeah, but if you're looking to get a PS3 MGS4 alone is still a pretty damn good reason. Plenty of stuff he could check out after the fact once he has the console if he is looking too.

It would solely be for exlcusives, I already have a 360 with the HD collection, mainly want Legacy for 1 and 4 though. The main PS3 games I'm after are Valkyria Chronicles, Diablo 3, Uncharted Trilogy, Last of Us, 5 Star Wrestling. Interested in Killzone 3 but I've heard the controller isn't made for FPS games

By the sound of it I'm better off getting 120GB model than the 12GB?

@bleedingstarx: Don't get that 12GB model unless you are ok with deleting things every few weeks, or get it and know that you will probably have to buy a new hard drive, which might be cheaper depending on the prices. I know off the top of my head that Uncharted and Killzone games do not need an install, and the Last of us probably wont because its Naughty Dog. I have a 60GB and that works for me, but i think there are some games out there now that probably have more then 12GB by themselves when they are installed and fully patched (i think Gran Turismo 5 is probably up there, but the install is "optional").

You could probably get away with only 12GB for exclusives only, but you will have to manage the memory if there are a few games with installs on there.

12GB is way too small for the PS3. It's too small for the 360 and the doesn't even require installs. Needless to say, if you're getting a PS3 then you need more space than 12GB.

Most PS3 games, though, do require installs, plus patches often require double their size (unless that's changed).

I'll look at the 120GB model then, do they still make these new? Anywhere I look only seem to stock the new super slim machines

@bleedingstarx: Just a quick amazon search away. If you're thinking of going to the actual store then you're stuck with the super slim top loaders pretty much unless you get really lucky.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Playstation-3-Slim-160GB/dp/B003VUO6H4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368482231&sr=8-2&keywords=ps3

It's safe to say, that more than a half of games you're gonna try will require multi-GB install. You really need a large HDD in PS3.

Id prefer to pick it up from a store just in case of any issues that I would need to return it/exchange it incase of hardware failure or something, if the price is dramatically different (or as it seems I can only get a 500GB S Slim in stores) I guess I'll look at Amazon or something. Do Amazon offer warranty or if it breaks is it a case of contacting Sony?

Another question is do PS3's work with any external hard drives? Or are there specific models I would need if I went the route of getting a 12GB + external HD

@bleedingstarx: Any FAT32 formatted external should work. But if you are getting a hard drive just for the PS3 i would recommend getting one to replace the internal drive, the external can only store things like pics, music etc. and not demos, DLC or installs. It uses a standard laptop hard drive so it should be relatively cheap.

Good to know, so it's alot easier and simpler to buy one of the larger HD models at point of purchase by the sound of it

Yeah, you would be better off buying one of the bundles with a few games and a nice size hard drive if you can find one.

I'm seeing a lot of bundles with Uncharted 3 GOTY bundled with it, is Uncharted 3 MP still populated?

I haven't played it in some time, but Naughty Dog has supported the multiplayer in that game very very well, i would say its up there with Halo and Killzone feature wise. They even just released the mutiplayer portion for free not to long ago, im sure its not pulling call of duty numbers but there should be people playing.

My brother actually gave me his PS3 so I didn't have to pay anything :P I got Uncharted 3 GOTY and MGS4 with it so I'm pleased. My question is now, due to #3s MP being free to play will I still need to buy the online pass as I'm using the disc version? Equally, could I install the DLC and then trade in the disc and use the free to play client to play the full experience?

Might be worth buying the smaller model and then buying a large HDD separately. Installing a new drive is super easy and there are loads of guides floating around. Might save you some money.

@bleedingstarx: The link i posted earlier gives you some information on how the disc version works with the free version, and the game of the year DLC is installed from and tied to the disc, so no. You can try going online and see if it still requires an online pass, but im going to assume you still need to buy the pass.

@bleedingstarx Just a friendly consideration; you can also buy MGS1 on PSN, the very same MGS1 that will be included in the Legacy collection.

I haven't played it in a while but it has always had a huge dedicated following and a rather large tournament scene.

I think the smallest drive on the new slims is 250GB with a 500GB bundle with some games also available. So hard drive space will not be an issue. Most newer games don't even do installs anymore though. More efficient coding most likely.

Pay the slight extra money to get the bigger hard drive. You'll almost certainly regret it later if you don't.