PStwo-and-a-half
So, I'd been thinking I'd probably get a PS3 eventually. Aside from being a sucker for Final Fantasy, I'd at some point need a replacement for my venerable but aging launch-gen PS2. However, I was happy to wait until at *least* next year, because (a) there's not PS3 games I actually want yet, (b) they'll look better on an HDTV which I don't own yet, (c) my PS2 still mostly functions, and (d) who knows, maybe the price will go down more.
Enter, into this well thought-out scheme, Sony's ridonkulously stupid and annoying marketing department. I was only mildly worried when they dropped hardware BC (i.e. 100% backwards-compatible by virtue of having a PS2 chip stuck in the thing) for software BC (uses emulation, works for most but not all games) in new models. But now the newest cheaper model has absolutely *no* BC whatsoever, and the 100% BC model is out of production entirely.
Stupid Sony.
So, I now find myself with an expensive and suspiciously shiny substitute PS2, in the form of a used 60GB (hardware BC) PS3. Yay?
So the first thing I discovered is that to really make a PS2-substitute from a PS3 requires and extra $30:
- $15 for a USB to old controller port adapter. If you only use regular controllers, this is just a money-saving measure to re-use PS2 controllers you already have instead of shelling out like $60 for extra PS3 wireless controllers for multiplayer (especially since apparently another controller model is on the horizon). However, if you use other peripherals like DDR pads, it's required.
-$15 for a USB to old memory card adapter which you will use once to transfer all your old data and then never need again. Blah. For future reference, if anyone else buys a PS3 and needs to borrow it, mine is available.
With that taken care of, it looks to be a perfectly functional PS2 player. The only other unfortunate issue is that the signal over the multi-A/V to RCA video cable has a little noise in it, but it doesn't look like there's much I can do about it until I get a better TV, since I don't have any other input formats available.
I also signed up for the free network account. (My name on there is Kirin42 if anyone else has one and wants to add me as a buddy, for whatever good that does when I own no online games.) I downloaded some free demos and trailers. The rubber ducky tech demo game is cute, but I don't think I need to pay for more of it. I had been considering buying a few other cheap games from the network, though... maybe flOw, maybe Everyday Shooter. Anybody tried any of those to see if they're any good? Are there even people on my friends' list with PS3s?
Enter, into this well thought-out scheme, Sony's ridonkulously stupid and annoying marketing department. I was only mildly worried when they dropped hardware BC (i.e. 100% backwards-compatible by virtue of having a PS2 chip stuck in the thing) for software BC (uses emulation, works for most but not all games) in new models. But now the newest cheaper model has absolutely *no* BC whatsoever, and the 100% BC model is out of production entirely.
Stupid Sony.
So, I now find myself with an expensive and suspiciously shiny substitute PS2, in the form of a used 60GB (hardware BC) PS3. Yay?
So the first thing I discovered is that to really make a PS2-substitute from a PS3 requires and extra $30:
- $15 for a USB to old controller port adapter. If you only use regular controllers, this is just a money-saving measure to re-use PS2 controllers you already have instead of shelling out like $60 for extra PS3 wireless controllers for multiplayer (especially since apparently another controller model is on the horizon). However, if you use other peripherals like DDR pads, it's required.
-$15 for a USB to old memory card adapter which you will use once to transfer all your old data and then never need again. Blah. For future reference, if anyone else buys a PS3 and needs to borrow it, mine is available.
With that taken care of, it looks to be a perfectly functional PS2 player. The only other unfortunate issue is that the signal over the multi-A/V to RCA video cable has a little noise in it, but it doesn't look like there's much I can do about it until I get a better TV, since I don't have any other input formats available.
I also signed up for the free network account. (My name on there is Kirin42 if anyone else has one and wants to add me as a buddy, for whatever good that does when I own no online games.) I downloaded some free demos and trailers. The rubber ducky tech demo game is cute, but I don't think I need to pay for more of it. I had been considering buying a few other cheap games from the network, though... maybe flOw, maybe Everyday Shooter. Anybody tried any of those to see if they're any good? Are there even people on my friends' list with PS3s?