Had some coin in my pocket and picked up a PS3 this week. I'd owned one previously for a year or so but dropped it off at the folks' place one holiday visit and never looked back. Now that The Last of Us, GT6, Last Guardian and potentially Persona 5 are on their way, it seemed like as good a time as any to jump back in. Got a PS2 late in the game as well, around the time of Final Fantasy XII, and enjoyed mining that backlog on the cheap. Didn't anticipate how quickly a respectable PS3 library can come together though, and for even less.

Stuff I Like

• Free games! The 250 GB bundle cost $270 and came with Lego Batman 2, Lego Harry Potter 5-7 and Little Big Planet Karting. Downloaded some substantial F2P games like DC Universe, Dust 514 and Uncharted 3 Multiplayer. Also came with a month of PS+, which brings me to..
• PS+. I knew that there was good value in the service, but all at once it's almost overwhelming. For Vita only it didn't seem worth it, now it's no brainier. Not everything was new for me but between Deus Ex, Infamous 2, LBP 2, Vanquish, Pinball Arcade, Joe Danger 2 and Ratchet & Clank, plus old PSN purchases and cross buys (Guacamelee!, Sound Shapes) I've got a full library out the gate without buying a thing except the console.
• The new model. Turned my nose up at it on message boards initially, and perhaps it's the buyer's justification talking but I'm kind of into the super slim design. In light of all these shifts to digital all-in-one experiences on high end PC's it looks and feels like and old school console, even moreso than earlier iterations this generation. The top loading tray is cheap but it catches nicely - operating it reminds me of popping up a Dreamcast for some reason. It's like a shiny spaceship grill toy, which is about right for video games.
• Interface improvements. While the 360 has become an increasingly cluttered hub that serves up intrusive ads with sound and video on the regular, returning to the XMB(TM) is refreshing. It's cleaner and more intuitive, with an improved storefront and a better organized hub for media apps. I feel like I can get at what I want fairly easily without menu overload, which is no small feat to pull off.

Stuff I Don't Like

• I t 's S l o w. I don't know what's happening between the internet coming into my house and the inside of that box, but bars take forever to fill up. Maybe not as bad as the early days, but still not right. Even worse are the installation times - multiple hours for 10+ GB games to install, mandatory and unable to run in the background. Just getting all the aforementioned titles into a playable state was a 2-3 day process.
• The controller. I've only ever tolerated at best the DualShock controller and now that I'm using one again it's even clearer why I prefer the PC and 360 design. The sticks are elevated too high and uncomfortable to rest thumbs upon, it's not weighty enough, material is slippery and the triggers don't feel satisfying. PS4 looks to be a significant improvement, but for now I guess I'm stuck with these.
• Interface shortcomings. Not everything is great about the way the XMB works. It's too fragmented - separating the store and other contained areas from the UI isn't convenient in practice, just means more loading and waiting during navigation. Again, sounds like they're going to fix this but right now it's a pain.
• Spoiled by PC. After playing everything from Skyrim to Witcher 2 to Sleeping Dogs to Tomb Raider on my modest gaming rig the past few years, the flaws in current console graphics tend to really stand out. Didn't mean for it to happen - the games are still enjoyable and at times look stunning, but technical limitations are more noticeable than ever for me. Takes a bit of the 'wow' factor out of the whole new system experience.

Looking forward to digging into past gems, my current stash and more as the march to console release season continues. Happy with the purchase overall, though it's not a perfect device I knew what I was getting into and improvements since my last time with the machine are apparent. The perks they've thrown in more than make up for any complaints, which all bodes well for PlayStation 4 if the hardware and OS can match the quality of the services. Of course there's the whole used games online quagmire that's currently unfolding, so who knows which direction the winds end up blowing. Interesting times, but always worth a look back before moving forward.