I have no plans of purchasing a current gen console in the near future. While I have plans to upgrade my graphics card in my PC, this is not possible any time near the release of MGSV. So should I just get the PS3 version just so I can experience the story, or will this be so unremarkable performance wise that it would mar the overall experience too greatly? There are videos on YouTube comparing them but that isn't sufficient in terms of forming a real opinion, and I can't justify spending $20 on Ground Zeros this week so I can try it. Especially to those who did play Ground Zeros on the PS3, what are your opinions?

I could wait until I have something better to play it on, but I went full on video game news black out mode in 2008 for 6 months for MGS4. I would rather not do that again.

just wait for reviews, I'm sure someone will give the ps3 version a try.

It's the exact same game but a little blurrier. There's no reason not to play it on PS3 if that's the only thing capable you own to play it on.

There's really not much story to experience though. There's some stuff that seems important at the end but the fun to be had with Ground Zeros is playing around with the MGS sandbox.

Cinematic frame rate.

@hunkulese: I have read about the lack of story, and that's what more makes me wonder if I should hold out until I can play a better version. Seeing as the enjoyment possibly hinges more on gameplay in this than past MGS titles.

I likely will just play the PS3 version anyway, missing out on the cultural zeitgeist is much more lamentable than it simply having worse graphics and frame rate.

Ground Zeroes played alright on the PS3, but when I got it on the PS4 it was pretty night and day how differently they ran. If you want to avoid a whole media blackout, I would just rent it on the PS3 and blow through the main story.

edit: To better explain the difference, Ground Zeroes looked a lot more blurry, there was a ton of pop-in (especially for foliage), and it didn't run nearly as smoothly as the PS4 version.

@atomicoldman: That sounds doable, but I'm the type of person to fret about small details so it won't be fun. Texture popping was gross enough last gen. Is your avatar Ramba Ral blushing?

The difference between GZ on PS3, and PS4 was night, and day for me. The PS3 version runs quite poorly, and the texture pop in is horrendous. Maybe the Fox Engine is a little more optimized now, but it's still 720p/30fps for PP so... I wouldn't count on it.

I've played on both, and it's pretty night and day, but the PS3 version was totally okay.

No idea how it'll hold up in bigger environments framerate-wise, but GZ stuck pretty close to 30 and I don't think it ever went sub 20.

The pop-in stuff was only super noticeable for me during the day time stages, and whenever you were sprinting. All-in-all it was playable, but if small stuff like that bugs you then I could see it being an issue. Granted, I was playing on one of the original PS3 models, so maybe old hardware had a bit to do with it. Also TPP could run better/worse for all I know.

And yep. It's Mr.Ral from Gundam Build Fighters blushing.

Uh, you wouldn't have to drop $400 on a new console? No other merit, really.

I played ground zeroes on the PS3 first and, while I am not an expert at spotting frame rate, it felt like the gameplay ran at a solid 60 while the cutscenes ran at like 20. It was really noticeable and really affected the experience. I don't know if anyone else felt this or I'm just crazy.

Ground Zeroes run super fine on PS3. The major technical problem was pop-in but the frame rate was great. FOX Engine scales pretty well, you can look up comparisons of the PS3/PS4 versions of Phantom Pain and I feel it holds up nice.

@kairu_de_large: Here's your best still shot comparison right now. The PS4 is obviously going to double your frame rate and may have less pop in while the game is in motion, but above all the PS3 seems to be blurry as hell. You may not notice it as much once the game is in motion, but just look at poor Snake's head:

Now, I'm not the best person to go by, since I play on PC and that kicks any console in the kidneys (and for the price, it better!), but I would still pick playing MGS V now over not playing it at all. Besides the frame rate and pop in, the game should still feel similar.

I can't help but be reminded of this:

http://i.imgur.com/TRbi2KI.jpg

@canteu: I do love their little pointy hats. And that's on PS4, mind you. The PS3 can only aspire to pointy hat levels of quality.

@mirado: I know it's PS4, and that amuses me even further. My PS4 is sat on a shelf unplugged since I finished Bloodborne. I regret my purchasing decision.

@canteu: If it's all that you've got, then you can certainly make do. It's no worse than its competitors, in fact, it's probably the best. But if you've got the dollas, something something PCs make you holla. I don't want to turn this thread into a "boo consoles" circlejerk, but god damn does MGS V look good on PC:

What graphics card are you working with now? You don't need to play on max to have a better experience than the ps3.

@oursin_360: Currently I have a ATI Radeon 5850, I haven't upgraded since 2009.

I mean, I probably could try and save up in time for a new video card(and new power supply, which I need), but I just started seeing someone and that is never a cheap process.

@viciousbearmauling: @asilentprotagonist: @atomicoldman:

All three of you used the phrase "night and day."

That's just weird.

Hey either you use that phrase or you don't. You could say the difference between those people is night and day.

if you have the 2gb version you should be fine the minum specs are a gtx650, the 1gb may be pushing it but you could also be fine. I would wait and see how it runs and you could just get it when it comes out and play on low/mid. Only game that really required a ton of vram on low that i played was arkham knight, and that shit was a mess.

Oh man... The moment I started using that phrase... Everything changed... It was like night and day.

I've very little curiosity to look at the PS3 version but it would be interesting to see whether its a game which pushes that hardware to its limits. Like how Half-Life 2 on the Xbox valiantly persevered.

@mirado: I have a high end PC, hence why the ps4 is on a shelf.

Probably no real merit on playing it on the PS3 unless you don't own a PS4/PC but I'm still gonna eventually buy it for PS3. I own all the other MG games on it so I might as well complete the collection.

I'd love to hear if anybody has tried the PS3 version now when they're all out. As long as it runs alright I won't mind the graphical downgrade.

My PC GPU is giving up and I don't feel like wasting any more money on another one as both my last two GPU's have died just after the end of the warranty period, so I'll just hold off on that until it's time to replace the rest of my PC hardware. So assuming the PS3 version of MGS V runs about as well as Destiny did, I'd rather just grab that verison.

Playing through it on the PS3 right now and it's perfectly fine. Obviously it's not as sharp as next gen versions, and there's some pop in/odd texturing on things that are loading in but it's not a big deal. Haven't noticed any slowdown or hitching after playing for about 20 hours thus far and load times are actually quite decent as well. If it's your only option and you really wanna check out the story I think it's worth picking up, you can always replay it once you upgrade to enjoy the nice graphics.

Alright, that sounds perfectly fine, I'll probably grab that version then and probably get the PC version on a Steam sale down the line.

I'd still say go for it! Absolutely nothing about the lower resolution makes it less fun to play.

Your current card should be able to play it, why not just get the pc version and play on lower settings?

I’ve been playing on ps3 throughout the weekend and i’m loving it (yes it probably looks and runs better on ps4) ,there is no real problem with it aside from graphic purists dismissing it because it’s a last gen version and were supposed to hate on last gen in order to usher more current gen adoption. I trusted that kojima would be able to make it run and look good on ps3 and he did. But in the end this is coming from someone who likes the franchise.

Yup, I've been playing both Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain on PS3 for some time now, the run well and they don't even look all that bad. The only really noticeable thing is that wet surfaces look kinda odd at night, with Dark Souls-esque blue outlines instead of properly reflecting the surroundings, and sometimes when you get close to plants with the camera they fade out in a weird way. Other than that, they're some of the better looking PS3 games I've seen.

From what I heard, Konami kinda forced Kojima productions to make the fox engine super scalable for last gen. They were afraid current gen wouldnt pay off, and that making the game available for last gen would cover their asses. Seems like the last gen versions aren't selling all that much, so that was a dumb move on their part.

That covers Pro Evo's old versions as well, to be fair. They probably still sell nicely in certain territories where the new consoles cost a ridiculous amount.

Depends on japan, i think they haven't upgraded to ps4 to the extent the rest of the world has.