THE BORE

General => Video Game Bored => Topic started by: Eel O'Brian on October 25, 2007, 01:44:56 PM

Title: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Eel O'Brian on October 25, 2007, 01:44:56 PM
I'll update as I play around with it more, but these are the impressions since last night:

1.  It's heavy.  Much heavier than the 360.  Feels very solidly built.

2.  It's very pretty.  I like the gloss and the chrome, but I'll bet I have to dust this thing at least once a day.  Very slick, though, quite eye-catching.

3.  Setup was easy.  I need an optical toslink switch, since I only have one optical port in my receiver, and that's currently occupied by the 360.  Other than that, no problems whatsoever.

4.  Standard AV cords?  Cheap.  For $499 they should have thrown in a component rig, at least.  Way to sell that TrueHD bullshit, Sony.

5.  Wow, that controller feels light and flimsy.  If they were going to gut it, I wish they'd put some sort of counterbalance weight in there.  I'll pop for a rumble when it hits.  I like the PS home button, good knock-off there.  I dislike rechargeable controllers - let me put my own batteries in there.  I don't care for those pseudo-triggers, either.

6.  That USB cord is of a laughably short length.  They may have just as well written "WE SAVE PENNIES ON THIS" in white letters on the cord. I am not ten years old anymore, so I don't regularly sit with my face pressed against the screen, Sony. 

7.  Powered on and the onscreen setup was a breeze.  I had no problems setting resolution, connecting the Wi-Fi.  Downloaded the firmware update and was impressed with the DL speed.

8.  I really like the PSP-styled interface, although it's a bit cumbersome compared to the 360 blades.  The scrolling is fast and accurate, though.

9.  Wallpaper that's actually wallpaper instead of a faded and useless background image covered with an ad.  I like that.

10.  Setting up to play media files through my PC was simple, but the PS3 doesn't seem to accept a lot of file types.  I don't really care, because my PC is already rigged through my TV.

11.  The setup to get online was a bit lengthy and irritating, but when I finally got my account together it connected just fine.

12.  The web browser is pretty worthless.  I don't know who designed it, but I assume they did so while liquored-up, because that interface would only make sense and seem convenient to a drunk.  Again, don't care, I have a PC for the internet.

13.  The PSN store is awkward to navigate, but I like that all descriptions are on the same page instead of in a sliding "pop-up" blade.

14.  I downloaded the Fallout 3 trailer, and was impressed by the speed and ease, but when I downloaded the Conan demo I kept getting disconnected every few seconds.  Is this common?

Next up, game, demo, and Blu Ray impressions!
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Eel O'Brian on October 25, 2007, 01:47:43 PM
Oh, yeah:

15.  It puts out a lot of heat.  Way more than I thought it would.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Eel O'Brian on October 25, 2007, 01:53:05 PM
Also:

16.  Really dig those touch buttons on the unit.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Smooth Groove on October 25, 2007, 02:53:58 PM
Pretty much agreed with everything you said.  Nice looking system with a shit controller. 
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Mr. Gundam on October 25, 2007, 03:02:33 PM
I believe everyone who has had Bluetooth "dropouts," but I've still yet to encounter any problems with my controllers.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Bloodwake on October 25, 2007, 03:54:49 PM
Pretty much agreed with everything you said.  Nice looking system with a shit controller. 

The system is amazing, and the controller will be fixed.

DUALSHOCK 3.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: T234 on October 25, 2007, 03:57:34 PM
Pretty much agreed with everything you said.  Nice looking system with a shit controller. 

The system is amazing, and the controller will be fixed.

DUALSHOCK 3.
Spoken like a true Kentucky gamestop employee.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Mupepe on October 25, 2007, 03:59:45 PM
I believe everyone who has had Bluetooth "dropouts," but I've still yet to encounter any problems with my controllers.
Do you have other bluetooth enabled devices in the area?  if not, then you'll probably never have a problem with it. 

Did they fix PSN?  When I had my PS3, PSN was absolute shit and took forever to download anything and I got disconnected every 15 or 20 minutes.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Bloodwake on October 25, 2007, 04:01:05 PM
I believe everyone who has had Bluetooth "dropouts," but I've still yet to encounter any problems with my controllers.
Do you have other bluetooth enabled devices in the area?  if not, then you'll probably never have a problem with it. 

Did they fix PSN?  When I had my PS3, PSN was absolute shit and took forever to download anything and I got disconnected every 15 or 20 minutes.

I had a few dropouts whenever I had my headset linked to the system, but they were rare. Like maybe once or twice a month.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Vizzys on October 25, 2007, 04:18:43 PM
My impressions after a month of use:

the controller sucks, light, crappy triggers

I have to press the PS button far too much

controller battery life sucks

loud fan sometimes

No games worth buying.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: TVC15 on October 25, 2007, 04:22:51 PM
I've heard that the reason for the controller issues is that it uses the Bluetooth 2.0 specification, which is cheaper, but severely outdated. 

I am guessing they cut a corner there, like they did with no component or HDMI cables, and the 3 foot USB cables.  They were clearly willing to make cuts on accessories even if it just saved pennies, and I think that's what happened with the controllers.
Bluetooth 2.1 is a hardware revision, too, so a fix would not be patchable, which also explains why problems would still exist a year after launch.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: bud on October 25, 2007, 04:24:07 PM
that connection thing sucks. apparently the 40 gig sku has an improved bluetooth thingy, though.

Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: TVC15 on October 25, 2007, 04:27:04 PM
I got numbers wrong, it's using 2.0, and I can't find info on what the Wii uses right now.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Smooth Groove on October 25, 2007, 04:28:28 PM
I thought the PS3 was supposed to be the surf and turf of consoles.  lol  

I have dropout issues and there are no other bluetooth devices in my home.  I guess you could count the WII but it's rarely plugged in so it can't be interfering with the PS3.  What annoys me more than the dropout issues are the useless triggers and six-axis.  I like new systems to have new controllers but I wish that Sony had stuck with wireless Dualshock 2s instead.  
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: MCD on October 25, 2007, 04:46:16 PM
Maybe your wifi/router is interfering?

 

Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Mupepe on October 25, 2007, 04:47:31 PM
i had dropouts like every 10 minutes when either my laptop, headset or cell phone was near me.  doesn't matter though, because after resistance, it never got played for more than that anyways
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: drohne on October 25, 2007, 04:50:17 PM
i think the connection dropouts are a system issue -- the new 40gb has got a more powerful antenna  :-\

i haven't gotten many dropouts, but they're annoying enough that i leave my controller plugged in most of the time

gj sony
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Mupepe on October 25, 2007, 04:51:55 PM
i thought it was a stacking issue
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: Eel O'Brian on October 25, 2007, 05:58:14 PM
The controller triggers would be better if they curved inward like an actual trigger, instead of outward like some mongoloid deformed bubble button

I have had no dropouts yet, fingers crossed
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: MrAngryFace on October 25, 2007, 06:18:56 PM
I havent had a ps3 controller disconnect in a while, but ive played it quite a bit less these days.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: TVC15 on October 25, 2007, 06:37:29 PM
I havent had a ps3 controller disconnect in a while, but ive played it quite a bit less these days.

I had a ton while playing Folklore, but none while playing Everyday Shooter and R&C.  Being how arbitrary the experiences of different people are, I'm going to guess that it's all luck when it comes to which games are "causing" disconnects.  There seems to be no pattern to it between users.
Title: Re: PS3 Impressions and notes
Post by: MrAngryFace on October 25, 2007, 06:46:30 PM
.hack GU disconnected and stuck all the time. So did the first .hack series. Might do it with most ps2 games.