Hello everyone,

I'm in the market for a PS3 atm, I've been wanting one for ages, with great titles like MGS4 and Demons Souls seducing me. What really drove me over the edge, was Okami HD.

Now at the same time, my ps2 died for good it seems, and it still has a massive library of amazing games that I'd like to play. A store near me has a first generation 60gb PS3 which has full backwards compatibility. It's slightly used, and goes for 250 euros, the same price as a new PS3 here. However, I am told that 1st gen PS3s are more sought after than newer ones for their BC, and therefore cost a bit more. What I want to ask is, does it play everything, does it have issues with some games, and is that worth getting the 60gb instead of the bigger standard HDs that come with the PS3 today.

So I guess what I'm looking for here is advice. Has any of you used a 1st gen PS3, and knows how well it plays PS2 games? Or am I better off just grabbing a cheap used ps2 and getting a newer slim PS3?

You can get the 60GB and put a bigger hard drive in it later, if that's your main concern, but if you're going to do that then you might as well just get a separate PS2 and PS3 and ensure full compatibility with both of them. Keep in mind that the 60GB PS3 will be more prone to breaking since it's so old, though a lot of 60 giggers probably still work just fine.

Also remember that PS2's are still sold brand-new as well as memory cards and controllers; you could get both a PS2 and 3 brand-new and not have to worry about either breaking for a long while unless you just get unlucky. Imagine how much it might suck to get that 60GB PS3 with a bigger hard drive and a few hours worth of save games, and then turn it on to find that it doesn't work right anymore and you just lost all of that.

I guess I'm saying that it would probably be better to play it safe and get a nice, shiny new PS3 as well as a nice, shiny new PS2.

@believer258 said:

You can get the 60GB and put a bigger hard drive in it later, if that's your main concern, but if you're going to do that then you might as well just get a separate PS2 and PS3 and ensure full compatibility with both of them. Keep in mind that the 60GB PS3 will be more prone to breaking since it's so old, though a lot of 60 giggers probably still work just fine.

Also remember that PS2's are still sold brand-new as well as memory cards and controllers; you could get both a PS2 and 3 brand-new and not have to worry about either breaking for a long while unless you just get unlucky. Imagine how much it might suck to get that 60GB PS3 with a bigger hard drive and a few hours worth of save games, and then turn it on to find that it doesn't work right anymore and you just lost all of that.

I guess I'm saying that it would probably be better to play it safe and get a nice, shiny new PS3 as well as a nice, shiny new PS2.

I second this sentiment. A lot of people with first run PS3s are now replacing them with Slims so keep that in mind.

Go buy the new PS3 and get a brand new PS2 if you believe it's a worth investment (you'll actually use it). The used market is a dangerous place for consoles, and I think you would be better off in both mind and money to own a new system of both to insure reliability.

no I hardly used the ps2 function of mine. you will be to busy playing new games

You can get a used PS2 for the lint in your pocket. Stores/sellers tend to hike up the prices on backwards compatible PS3s for gullible idiots who think that it's somehow the best version of the system. Get a slim, save money and get the version that'll last you, then buy a used PS2, if you think you'll actually use it.

Not at this point. I still have my PS2 and Memory cards are a dime a dozen. I would trade my backwards compatibility for hard-drive space in a heartbeat, especially now that I have PS+.

Thank you for your time and advice. It seems it's almost unanimous that the best think to do is get a new slim one. I guess I could get a ps2 at a later date and enjoy some newer PS3 games meanwhile.

I'm sorry, I'm new to the forums, is there a way to close this topic now, or request locking? Since the answer is resolved, no sense of it taking space.

I feel like I know you from somewhere ... have we met?

Dude just get a PS2 as well, there so cheap.

@diasp0ra: No. A moderator might do it though if you ask him to.

@2HeadedNinja:

Why hello there stranger. I remember the walks we used to have in the moonlight on the beach. Back then I wasn't Christopher Walken, and you weren't a Heavy dating that tramp medic.

Time changes us all.

@mikey87144 said:

@believer258 said:

You can get the 60GB and put a bigger hard drive in it later, if that's your main concern, but if you're going to do that then you might as well just get a separate PS2 and PS3 and ensure full compatibility with both of them. Keep in mind that the 60GB PS3 will be more prone to breaking since it's so old, though a lot of 60 giggers probably still work just fine.

Also remember that PS2's are still sold brand-new as well as memory cards and controllers; you could get both a PS2 and 3 brand-new and not have to worry about either breaking for a long while unless you just get unlucky. Imagine how much it might suck to get that 60GB PS3 with a bigger hard drive and a few hours worth of save games, and then turn it on to find that it doesn't work right anymore and you just lost all of that.

I guess I'm saying that it would probably be better to play it safe and get a nice, shiny new PS3 as well as a nice, shiny new PS2.

I second this sentiment. A lot of people with first run PS3s are now replacing them with Slims so keep that in mind.

My first run PS3 died this past Christmas, and I used it rather moderately. It lasted 5 years, but nothing lasts forever anymore. Even a repaired first gen PS3 lasts only 11 months longer on average. I loved mine and miss it dearly, but I've got a slim now and I hope to eventually get a cheap PS2 to play my collection of JRPGs. Unless I knew it was brand new or I knew the person who was selling it, I'd avoid any used 60 gig PS3's at this stage.

@diasp0ra said:

@2HeadedNinja:

Why hello there stranger. I remember the walks we used to have in the moonlight on the beach. Back then I wasn't Christopher Walken, and you weren't a Heavy dating that tramp medic.

Time changes us all.

that sounds about right :)

@PufferFiz:

thats funny, cause for me its been playing old classics more than new ones on bc ps3 fat. it plays 99% of the games i own.

just get a not used ps2 slim and a ps3.

I second (third, fourth?) getting an actual PS2. The old PS3s are all starting to die, so spending so much money on something that's likely not going to last would be a waste. We stopped trading in the 60GB model at work since there's no way of replacing them nowadays.

I haven't played a ps2 game ive owned in many years, i never missed backward compatibility for playing that stuff, the only ps2 i played was persona 3, but that's downloadable and on psp so i was even sorted there now.

Besides buying a used ps2 is very cheap if you actually care about playing games you may or may not care about any more in the future.

Honestly, I don't think so. I still have a first gen BC PS3 and I have never once put a PS2 game in it. There's just too much for me to play NOW for me to really justify going back to play older stuff, no matter how great they are.

If I could do it all again, I would've bought a backwards compatible PS3.

If I did, I would've spent more time playing the PS2 games I've had my mind on, since having to hook up the PS2 and play on a wired controller is a bit of a bummer.

Anyone got one they wanna sell?

For what it's worth I went down this road. Bought a launch ps3, backed up all my ps2/ps1 data to it with that worthless memory card adapter, and roughly 6 years later the ps3 died. So now whenever I have time I scour the internet looking for a way to get that data back (once an HDD is formatted to a ps3 it becomes linked to it like a fingerprint, and getting that data back after your ps3 dies is seemingly impossible). 
 
Still waiting for sony or the internet to find a workaround so I can get basically all the game saves I've ever had since ps1, otherwise I don't know. Noone would ever want to start fallout3, FF9, Oblivion, Dragon Quest, and countless other time drains from scratch, so it's very frustrating. My advice would be if you go backwards compatibility, back up your game saves once a month to an Ipod just in case.

I would say get a ps2, buying used products is iffy no matter the system you get, If you do get this ps3 know that its something like 95% of ps1 and ps2 games that are compatible. As well the ps3 sucks at the visual upgrades one would expect its actually worse in this aspect when it comes to ps1 BC, for some reason the ps2 hooked up with component cables to an hdtv ps1 games look better with smoothing and such then the ps3 hooked up through any method.

So yeah get a ps2 far cheaper then buying that ps3.

PS2s are dirt cheap nowadays. The later BC models(40/80GB) had issues with it on some games anyway.

I like my PS2. The issue with backwards compatibility is that the games don't always run well compared to the platform they were designed for. I'd stick with getting a slim, it's quieter and looks nicer. Then again, a cheaper backwards compatible PS3 with a big hardrive and a PS+ sub would be a fine thing indeed

doesn't the 80gb fat use software to emulate ps2? wish they would just release that as firmware..

@killacam said:

doesn't the 80gb fat use software to emulate ps2? wish they would just release that as firmware..

they won't. they can psn has ps2 classics now which are obviously ran on software emulation they could release the software packages but they wont they can make money.

@WilliamRLBaker said:

@killacam said:

doesn't the 80gb fat use software to emulate ps2? wish they would just release that as firmware..

they won't. they can psn has ps2 classics now which are obviously ran on software emulation they could release the software packages but they wont they can make money.

but there are like, 10 ps2 games up there. my bet is they'll roll out the BC patch for ps3 when ps4 comes along. why? because i need something to believe in, in this world.

The original PS3 is more loud and produces more heat, if you have/had a regular 360 its kinda like that, where it sounds like a plane is about to fly off from your room.

A new PS2 is pretty cheap these days, so if i were you id get a new PS2 and new PS3, you get a nice guarantee on both.

I loved being able to play my PS2 collection upscaled for my HDTV, they looked great and it gave me a reason to revisit a lot of games. Unfortunately, since launch PS3's are more prone to dying (like mine did), and will probably cost you more than a slim, it's a luxury that's hard to justify.

I have my BC 80GB ps3 and it works fine, but I also have a slim. Only PS2 game I've played for more than an hour or two is persona 3 FES, and I downloaded that from the store for 10$. I also take really good care of my stuff, where alot of people don't seem to think about it until it's malfunctioning/broken. Like most people said, if you really want to play ps2 stuff, get a ps2. If you want to get a ps3 get a slim. If you want both, get both. The chances of a used old PS3 being the best value for you are pretty low, although you'll only find out by taking the plunge.

Get a slim chances are a used 60 GB will wear out like mine did. The slim is very slick and like others have said you can still get a new PS2 for cheap. I do miss the backwards compatibility but if I knew what I knew now I would have just got a slim at the start.