I'm talking about an official software-only emulator. The later models emulated the processor, but still had the hardware GPU.

Oh, that makes a LOT more sense. I had the impression that they emulated everything and took that out due to cost concerns, and I never could figure out what that was about.

If you already have a PS2, backwards compatability shouldn't really be an issue. PS2's don't exactly take up a lot of space and you can only play one game at once anyway so even if your tv only has one input slot, just swap the wires round when you want to use the PS2. Also, whilst we all love nostalgic gaming, you'll find that what with the excitement of getting a new console, you probably won't be playing any PS2 games for months after you get the PS3 anyway. Certainly I've played a single original Xbox game since getting my 360 (Although to be fair, there aren't really any classic Xbox games compared to the PS2, certainly not that haven't been superceded by 360 sequels).

Final Fantasy XIII will be coming out on the 360 as well as the PS3 so if it's just that you're after, you might fnd a 360 is a cheaper alternative. XIII VS however I believe is a PS3 exclusive so if you like Kingfom Hearts, you might need a PS3 although Square seem to get closer to Microsoft with each announcement so there's no guarantee that Vs will still be exclusive come 2010 when it nears release. That's the other thing, FFXIII is still over a year away so there's no need to rush into buying a console to play it on just yet, the price might well fall further by then.

I was under the impression that the PS3 was a multiregion dvd player anyway although that might just be bluerays. If you have any old dvd player though the chances are you can unlock it for multi-region playback with just a few button presses on the remote. A hardware region locking system is pointlessly expensive and every dvd player I've ever come across had a region unlock code. Just type the exact make and model name and the words "Region unlock code" into Google and chances are, it'll be there.

I don't know where you live but you can get a dvd player of PS2 quality for about £20 these days so that shouldn't be a deciding factor in whether to buy a PS3.

I haven't exactly answered your question but I hope that was of some help.

Edit: Haha, I completely missed your point about the dvd disk, sorry.

Naw, DVDs, blu-rays, PS2 and PS1 games remain region locked regardless of PS3 model. Though there are a number of Region A (the US) BD movies that also work in Region B (Europe), like the Blade Runner boxset.

And now another question.
Which console is best PS3 or 360.
I'm a big fan of the FF series, other games I liked alot are:
Secret of Mana (SNES) :)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Star Ocean 3: Til the end of Time
of the FF games I like FFIX the most, overall great; gameplay, music etc (much game for the money)
While also FFVII is good in it's own way having an excellent story.
RPG games I did not get, FF Tactics, Crisis Core (not buying a PSP just for one game)
I like the adventure/explore RPGs more that the action/strategy ones.
I'm not in that a great neeed of a DVD player so there I'll save some money.
I'm from Sweden by the way.

just about all the games from square enix games are going to xbox. So it'll be cheaper for you to get a 360 at this point, or if you have one just keep it. I myself have a ps3 but I'm not missing much since both 360 and ps3 are becoming more and more alike as time passes.

tactics, zelda, mana, are all going to nintendo handhelds and wii so we'll just brush those aside.

Of the games currently available in Europe, you'd probably get more out of the 360 with Lost Odessey, Infinite Undiscovery and Last Remnant all available and all pretty similar to what you listed as liking. There is no "Better or worse" really. The 360 is slightly cheaper and few would disagree has better online functionality, although you have to pay £40 a year for it. The PS3 has the benefit of being a bluray player though if that interests you.

Personally, I've got a 360 and am very happy with it. There's a huge range of games and some really good ones amongst those. The PS3 has a more limited library but of the games it has, a couple are very good (Little Big Planet if you like that kind of thing, Metal Gear too) although currently, rpgs are a little thin on the ground. Your best bet really is to take a look at the games available for each and decide based on that.

If Sony doesn't drop the price of their system in the next few months, they're idiots. Looking at how they got spanked by their competitors, a price drop is necessary, regardless of their losses on the systems. Give it a few months.

from rumors I've heard, you'd have to wait till april for a price drop. This of course, rumors :/

Worst case scenario you get RE5 or Street Fighter for the 360. Nothing else is really coming out for the system until then.

Since all you seem to like is well established IPs from Square and something from Nintendo that everyone likes, fuck all this generally RPGless HD console crap and buy a DS. Something tells me there will be a lot less buyer's remorse that way.

Honest to God, I hope someone actually takes the advice from a thread they make like this. No one ever does though and nothing gets accomplished. Even though the advice given by our regulars is usually pretty damn great.

Anyway, merged with PS3 thread.

Not that I disagree that the PS3 is overpriced but it's hardly getting spanked. It's outselling the 360 in Europe and might even have a bigger userbase by now. Depending on which reports you read it's outselling the 360 in America too and has always been more popular in Japan. Microsoft had a big head start so they have a bigger current userbase but what with more 360 sales than PS3 sales being replacements for broken units, Sony are catching up fast. They also currently only lose $50 per console sold and expect to start breaking even before the end of the console's lifespan, something Microsoft will never manage as they buy their chips in. Add to that Sony's official commitment to support the format for ten years meaning greater developer confidence and I wouldn't be writing off the PS3 just yet.

In the short term, what with the global recession, the 360 might hold it's own for a while but as more and more people turn from dvd to bluray, I expect that alone to sell a shit load of PS3s, just as the dvd functionality did for the PS2.

Not that it matters a jot but I honestly expect the PS3's userbase to dwarf the 360's in about 5 years time.

I think a price cut, even of a fairly token amount, would help them pick up the pace though. I agree, I think the PS3 is in a stronger position than a lot of people give it credit for, but the 360 is only selling as well as it is because they've reduced the price drastically (though people still don't think about all the additional shit they need to buy).

The thing Sony really need to do is make good on their '10 year lifetime' promise. And not just, "Well it's 10 years on and we have the PS4 and are looking into the PS5", but a case of not really talking much about a new console until we're getting near the 10 year mark.

I think most analysts are suggesting that this means they'll keep developing first-party software for it for ten years. Kinda like how even seven years into it's life they were still churning out stuff of the quality of God of War 2 on the PS2. Releasing a new console is horrifically expensive, not just in terms of marketing and development but because you start from scratch with zero userbase and develpoers need that extra incentive to bother writing anything for it if there's nobody who owns the thing to buy their game. As such, especially given the current economic situation I'd say the chances of hearing anything about a new console more than concept sketches and hoaxes is pretty fucking slim for the next five years or so at least. Experience tells us that it takes a few years for developers to get the most out of a console anyway so neither the 360 or PS3 are close to being pushed to their limits yet, despite what press announcements might like to claim. If anything, I think the current generation of consoles are going to have a longer lifespan than the last and it won't be until we see a higher resolution tv standard than HD and bluray really taking over from dvd that any serious moves are made towards a new generation of consoles.

That said, I imagine Nintendo will have to release something before then, the novelty value of the Wii surely can't carry it much longer?

I haven't seen anything that states the PS3 selling more than the 360...anywhere other than Japan. Check your NPD numbers and whatnot and provide some evidence of that.

Sorry, but "duh."

The Arcades sold VERY well this Christmas. People came in looking for a Wii, couldn't find one, so they wanted the cheapest available system. Arcades flew off the shelves because of that.

Other than their new DSi system?

So...uh...Killzone 2 demo comes out on Monday for people who pre-order the game...
















...BUT DOES ANYBODY HERE CARE (how has nobody created a thread yet) :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:???

I just preordered it a little while ago and I'm not sure how many codes will be delivered but if I do get emailed one, I'll be online for some playtime. If not, then I guess I'll see ya online when it comes out for reals :/

Yeah, I've got Killzone 2 preordered already, though I don't think we have a restriction on the demo on the European PSN. That said, I didn't think the demo hit here until something stupid like Feb 26th.

Yeah, that's when it comes out here for people who didn't pre-order, which is pretty stupid. I just don't get the mentality Sony has been using lately with this and a few other games (LocoRoco 2, Resistance: Retribution) where they give a demo to those who pre-order. I mean, if someone pre-ordered it that's basically a sale in their pocket already, so shouldn't they be putting the demo out there for people who are on the fence about it? More so than a day before the freaking game comes out at least.

I tried out the Project Origin demo a few days ago. I was addicted when I was able to enter in that damn mech suit. So that makes it this and street fighter 4 for next month =].

FEAR 2 demo was very spooky. When you were in that classroom, and you saw apparitions appearing in the distance, and chairs would be moving, lockers shutting and opening...it was disturbing, but that's a good thing I think. It means that their formula is working. Id love to try out the full game, but I hope that you're able change the configuration of the controls. I don't like R2 as the firing button. It should be R1.

From my understanding, if you preorder you get a code to try out the demo early. The demo will be available to all when the game comes out.

KZ2 Intro Movie:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/44579.html

Besides the passive aggressive attitude of your post towards what was basically a lighthearted, informal discussion, I'm not surprised that you've not heard abiout sales figures elsewhere in the world because giving a shit what happens outside of the good old, U S of A is not something that people living there seem to do often, as evidenced by the myriad American sites I just visited that show the global figures and Septic figures and nothing else.

I know the PS3 was ahead on sales up to early summer and although I've nothing to "prove" it to you, anecdotal evidence I've read suggests that's still the case.

That said, websites are a notoriously shit place to see sales figures. A Google search reveals two pages on the first pag, both updated in October with one suggesting the 360 is outselling the PS3 2 to 1 in Europe and the other saying that the PS3 is consistently outselling the 360. To be honest, I don't actually give a fuck either way, I was merely suggesting that people are writing off Sony too early as they have the benefit of experience and lower hardware costs on their side.

Ironically, news today is that Sony's sales figures are below their expectations and in fact have declined in the year so perhaps I was too quick to jump to their defence. One would need to see Microsoft's equivalent report to compare fairly though and I'm not sure they're so keen to seperate their business divisions in their annual report.

Oh yeah, and the DSi is still, basically a DS. Hardcore Nintendo fans will see it as a whole new thing but the casual user, i.e. the overwhelming majority of the DS's userbase, will only get one when their current DS breaks. It will not be a business saving release.

Ignore the context that I had, use irrelevant info, and beat around being wrong. I don't really care, but just don't go on about something you're so sure about when you're just guessing. Moving on....

Yeah, that was my point. Why give it early to the people who are already getting the game when they should be trying to get it out to as many people as they can as soon as possible so that they can get more pre-orders in the first place. I'm certainly not gonna pay $5 in advance to play an early demo of a game I might not even like (and again, if I already know I like the game, there's not much point in playing the demo to begin with).