Has the PS3 downgraded with each console released?

Aasim is a proud owner of three Playstation 3 consoles and as you may have guessed from the article’s title - Aasim owns all 3 iterations of the Playstation 3 console:

1) PS3 Phat 160GB – In his bedroom
2) PS3 Slim 120GB – In his living room
3) PS3 Super Slim 12GB – In his brother’s bedroom

He uses all three consoles on a daily basis to play games, watch movies and browse the web. This is what he has to say about the quality of the PS3 console as each iteration is released.

[MmaFan-Qc]

"PS3 Phat
- The best looking console out of the bunch, I love the touch buttons and the slick black finish.
- Fastest and most responsive.
- Not reliable! I’ve had a few YLOD issues myself!
- Can get very loud when it gets dusty in there (compressed air can solve this).

Overall: A strong all round console, but if you want something reliable don’t buy this second hand!

PS3 Slim
- The quietest console (shh!)
- A neat looking PS3 that doesn’t attract dust!
- Very reliable, these are solid machines that don’t tend to overheat.
- Very fast, but can freeze up a tiny bit now and again.

Overall: My favorite console, it has kept the disc slot mechanism and is the most reliable (I love reliable electronics!

PS3 Super Slim
- The loudest console (grrr *disc rumble*)
- Has lost the disc slot mechanism and replaced with the Playstation 1 style flip top – Least you wont have your disc stuck!
- Very reliable so far, although it is early days.
- Probably the slowest/least responsive out the bunch. But it plays everything perfect – why complain?
- The cheapest console released – a great replacement if your PS3 Phat broke down.

Overall: I love the price, the console looks slick shame about the noise and disc loading mechanism)"

[deadlydragon121]

There is also a video in there showing a comparison between PS3 Phat and PS3 Slim running Killzone 2.

[MikeMyers]

I have the original Slim model and the only thing I don't like about it is it has just 2 USB slots. Other than that it is very quiet. The new super slim looks cheap to me. The original PS3 (Phat) could play PS2 games and had a more expensive look and feel to it but it also ran hotter and the fans could get loud. I personally don't care about the other OS feature since I never used it.

Sony did a great job at cutting costs but I don't think the new super slim model was necessary.

[SAE]

it is necessary for sony since they will release a new console . they needed to lower the made cost but sell it with the same or higher price. but it's useless for us..

[sikbeta]

PS3+PS2-BC Fat >> PS3 Slim >>>> Ugly as sin Slimmer PS3

:D

[IRetrouk]

The ps3 phat is actually the slowest of the bunch or at least between the phat and slim, i have both

[DaReapa]

I agree. I have a Phat and a Slim, and overall performance-wise, the Slim is better...especially in the online department.

[legend911]

I hope they don't cut corners on the PS4. While the Super Slim is very sexy it makes me wonder how beautiful the Phat might have looked in my house. :/

[Skips]

I've noticed that the Slim compared to the Phat, gets stronger Wifi connections. lol

[Tsar4ever01]

Short answer, yeah.

[MEsoJD]

My phat is still kicking :D

[xtremeimport]

still rocking my 160gb phat (now a 500gb) havent had a single issue with this beauty!

[AznGaara]

My 60gb just YLOD on me so I'm stuck at a crossroads... I'm definitely getting a new Ps3 but I don't know whether I should get the Slim or the Super Slim.

I REALLY don't like the way the black super slim looks but according to examiner a white super slim bundle is due the 29th of this month and that looks A LOT better. But Ni no Kuni comes out the 22nd and I want to get that ASAP because Sly is out February. So now I'm thinking of getting a black slim before or when Ni no Kuni comes out but now I kind of want a white PS3 lol. Uh first world problems :/

[Sci0n]

I have two fat PS3's one medal gear solid 80 gig version and a launch 60 gig. They are 5 and 6 years old and I swear I leave them both on all the time. One is in the living room and the other is in my bed room. I have never gotten ylod. The fat PS3 is by far one of the most durable consoles I have seen.

[FriedGoat]

I have a sega saturn still going strong.

[no_more_heroes]

I have an NES, still going strong.

[FriedGoat]

I have a Magnavox Odyssey still going strong.

[SilentNegotiator]

I have a pong console, still going strong.

I win.

[Raccoon]

I have a 1967 brown box, still going strong!!!

8O) flawless victory.

[ChrisW]

I have a ENIAC 1 Computer... barely fits in my 4 car garage.

Still going strong.

But I only fire it up when I want to know the answer to a simple algebra equation while I read a thick novel.

[Ezz2013]

do you clean the dust ??!! and how ??!
i want to use blower
what you think ?!

i also have no problem with my ps3 40gb fat (500gb) *thank god*

[Sci0n]

Every 3 months I hit the vents with a air blower and vacum cleaner just to get the dust from around the fan areas and to keep the console well ventilated. Both consoles are used for movies, gaming YouTube, occasional browsing, listening to music and storing and looking at pictures. They are often left on for over 24 hours sometimes 48 hours since different ppl in my house play on them and never had one hiccup. The blower is fine, I use the one that came with my camping air mattress first then after using the blower I use a low powered vac

[Bathyj]

Ive never cleaned any console...ever

[RedDeadLB]

I had 2 PS3s which were in a properly vented place and cared for, both got the YLOD after 2 years. It's a shame because I really like the games library it has. Not being able to play Uncharted, MGS4 and God of War is painful.

[Haha123]

5 years still no Wireless N......downgrade indeed

[Karum]

You are aware of the definition of downgrade?

The wifi compatibility in the PS3 has remained the same, it hasn't been reduced to 802.11b in any of the hardware revisions and therefore not a downgrade.

I agree that upgrading either of the revisions to 802.11n compatibility would have been great but have to disagree with your comment there because it's factually incorrect.

[wenaldy]

5 years and still no wifi.. Retarded indeed..

[mwjw696]

What system has no wifi at this point? Your brain must have had a fart.

Wired all the way anyway less lag and other issues :D

[PirateThom]

Using wireless for any type of onling gaming... downgrade indeed.

[Knushwood Butt]

Dunno, I have no choice for one of my PS3s, and I found it to be pretty good online. I think it depends more on the game and underlying network service than physical / wireless.

[chukamachine]

Still have 80gb console phat.

Works fine and never had ylod.

[majiebeast]

60gb phat launch model still working*knocks on wood* and love that its a black beast.

[Calm Down Sunshine]

Lucky you.

Lost my faithful launch model 60gb 2 days ago :( looking at getting a slim, they're going cheaper now that the super-slim is here...

Other than the size I don't see any benefits to the super-slim. I'd rather have the fancy disc slot if I'm paying a lot of money.

[Bob Dole]

Sony will refurb your 60gb phat for $109. Cheaper than buying a new one and you get to keep your BC :)

[Knushwood Butt]

Yeah, like Bob says, I have a fat that had main board failure. It was out of warranty, so I had to pay for the repairs, but Sony repaired it at cost.

Was cheaper than buying a new one at the time, and I still have my fat for backwards compatibility and just for looking cool. Fact is, I haven't used it for well over a year now (have two slims that get almost daily use).

[Calm Down Sunshine]

I've considered that option, but I've had a second 60gb phat going back and forth from Sony that I keep at my girlfriends house, as well as 2 from GAME (in the UK) that have been repaired by Sony and sold from the shop, they've both had problems after a year or two and given up.

So i'm looking for something that I can be confident is reliable enough for me to have decent gaming sessions without the worry.

[Knushwood Butt]

I see. Well, both of my slims get lots of use and I haven't had an issue with either.

[deadlydragon121]

Just so you know guys I'm an extremely heavy user of the Phat model - probably why I get YLOD. I do try to keep it dust free.

[sway_z]

Well, the same could be said for....

Microsoft/360

20GB
4GB
No HDD (256 Meg internal)

Sony/PS3

40GB
12GB (SSD)

*Note

I choose only the lowest most popular denominators, yes we all know both consoles have larger HDD options PS3 (500GB) 360 (320GB)

Conclusion > You get what you pay for/PS3 is cheaper and easier to upgrade HDD.

[InTheLab]

Actually, the XBox Slim is superior to the older model with built in wifi, touch controls, a black finish that matches the rest of the shit in your living room, and it doesn't melt after a year. Still has that stupid power brick, the usb trap door, and an ancient disc loader though. It's still one of the most poorly designed consoles in the last few gens.

[Dirtnapstor]

I've got 2 phatties from the get go...20gb then an 80gb(when it came out). Swapped out the 20 for a 500gb drive. NEVER had an issue with either phatty or running games in general. People complain about performance, etc...don't notice it. I definitely think the original model was and is the most efficient version.

[segadolphin]

You have a 20gb? Man those are rare to see around. Keep it working!

[DivineAssault]

both phat 60GB launch model & slim work fine with heavy usage.. I do care for my machines with compressed air & micro fiber cloths..

[Knushwood Butt]

My phat needs a good polish. What do you recommend?

I have a micro fiber cloth but I noticed some kind of gunk or something on the chrome/silver parts.

[Karum]

Only issue I've ever had was when my 60GB original model died, not because of YLOD but because the BR Drive died.

Been running with the original 'Slim' for a while now and it runs very well indeed.

[Sci0n]

And if you dont have compressed air or a air blower use that free compressed air we all have in our lungs and give your console a nice blow job lol. Just make sure you are not spitting and its fine. I have blew threw a straw before to clean mines when I didn't have a air blower lol.

[Statix]

Hard drive speed would be the bigger culprit for slow boot-up speed and loading times. I would look into that, rather than blaming it on a supposedly "slower Cell."

Also, the writer claims he read somewhere that IBM claims Slim Cell processors are faster than the fat Cell processors. Where is the source for this info? As far as I know, all Cell processors in all versions of the PS3 run at the same clock speed (3.2GHz per core and SPU).

[MarkusMcNugen]

Perhaps next time try doing your own google search?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=IBM+cl...

[Braid]

That may be true but it's as expected, in order to make the price drops possible. I'm still using my dino NTSC/J first party console with no single issue which is said to have the best quality among the other parties, and yes it has backwards compatibility. No bluray issue, no nothing. It still works like a charm.

I didn't have any wi-fi issues either as my 20 gig console didn't come with one. Use a wired connection, you'll get the best download speed possible with that.

[Sci0n]

Exactly Sony is the only console manufacturer that I can feel confident about going out there on day one of the next gens console release and picking one up with no worries about hardware issues. My two fat PS3's lasted there whole generation with heavy rotation and play with no issues. We only been buying or renting blu ray movies as well. Haven't seen a standard DVD being watched in my house since the ps3 first came out.

[KingKevo]

The speed tests are kinda stupid tbh. As for games it does much more depend on the slow BD speed which is the same all the time and of course the HDD/SSD you're using. Also I didn't notice a difference in the XMB or booting times.

And about the downgrade thing, I think it is good that some unnecessary features that most users did not use and just cost more in some cases to implement have been dropped. I wouldn't call it downgrading, it's more like optimizing in an economical way. We should be happy that Sony is now able to produce a great PS3 at a good price.

[deadlydragon121]

I believe that is the point I made, that Sony did a great job releasing the PS3 for so cheap. I didn't see it happening so soon.

Regarding the HDD/SSD your using; I'm talking stock hard drives. If anyone puts a SSD in their PS3 they have a lot of money to burn in my opinion.

[InTheLab]

Launch phatty still going strong, although it wasn't used much for the first few years of this gen. For what I paid, it should be better than it's cheaper counterparts.

[no_more_heroes]

When I was choosing which ps3 to get last month I was tempted to get the cheaper super slim model, but it really did look just that: cheap. I couldn't stand the sliding cover thing which just looked and sounded cheap as hell. I chose the Uncharted 3 original slim bundle.

The only thing I don't like about it is when it plays DJ with my game disc when loading.

Guess it really does do everything...

[NewVegasTroop]

is it true that the super slim is very loud? because i sold my phat PS3 and i plan on buying the super slim

[segadolphin]

Try getting a slim for cheap. Super slim isnt so bad.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

You can't deny that it has been downgraded from a feature standpoint. That said it also has come with smaller form factor so there is a trade off.

For me the middle PS3 slim is the best of the bunch. The biggest detractor on that console is the elimination of backwards compatibility across the board but for me atleast that wasn't a big deal at all.

I think the newest super slim is honestly not Sony's best foot forward.

[segadolphin]

Yeah I believe for me ps3 slim is also king of the hill.

[kma2k]

I had the ps3 phat for years sold it a couple months ago & bought the black friday super slim. After selling the games from the black friday deal & the money i made from selling my phat i ended up making about $20 profit. Honestly the only difference i hear is the disc drive on the super slim is kinda noisey but i am already used to it. Its no big deal. Compaered to the noise from the fans i had on my phat the super slim disc drive is quiet. Im happy with it & i made money getting a new one!

[NateCole]

I have the original 60 giger, the slim and the super slim.

I can safely say that it has been mostly a downgrade. The original 60 giger has all with 4 USB port, BC, Card slot etc.

The only advantage of the newer models is that they are smaller and quieter.

[DeadIIIRed]

Surprised there wasn't any mention of the backwards compatibility in the article. I almost never play any PSX or PS2 games anymore, but it's nice to be able to pop one in whenever I feel like playing them.

[Bathyj]

Probably.
Luckily I've still got my launch model.

[mayberry]

My launch 60G is on at least 5hrs a day, still great! Typing this on it now!

[boybato]

i have two slims.
120gb model- there is a light on the power eject button as well as the plastic makes cracking noises.

320gb model- no light on the power button, no light for the wifi indicator though it does not make that annoying cracking noise.;p

[Rageanitus]

I sold my work 60gb for 150$ no controller.

I could care less about ps2 backwards compatability since I still have the ps2 in the closet.

I only have the slim now and it is running great.

[bunfighterii]

Of course it has, we all know that. Sony has admitted it. PS3 phat was originally made in Japan, with high cost components, and included PS2 emulation, various types of memory card readers and 4 USB ports (for the high end model). They slimmed it, took out components, manufactured it in China with cheaper labour and used cheaper parts to make some money off it instead of selling at such a big loss.

But the myth of dodgy Chinese quality is dead. China makes plenty of high end products now, including almost all of Apple's product lines, a brand whose name is synonymous with hardware quality. The console quality has been generally maintained but it has stripped features out of it to save costs.

[ALLWRONG]

Sony took away BC and other OS. So yeah, its been downgraded.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

Don't forget about losing USB ports and the the pressure sensitive on and off switch that was on the PS3 Phat unit and the material used to create the shell. The new UltraSlim PS3 is so cheaply it even has a sliding CD cover made out of siding you would find in cardboard boxes.

In order for Sony to save money on production and reduce the price of the PS3 they had to remeove features over and over again with each PS3 itteration.

The PS3 is only as cheap as it is now simply because now with this new ultraslim model you are getting the bare bones of what was once available on the PS3 Phat.

MS on the other hand haven't taken anything out of their original 360 units and have actually added MORE to their slim model.

But of course, I can't blame Sony for what they did...between MS and Sony, one of them is in financial jeapordy while the other is flourishing in revenue.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

Sony downgraded to stay competitive with price... MS added certain features just to stay competative (included wifi for example) but also did that 4gig BS which is starting to rear its ugly head with people...

[black911]

Ive had my 80gig phat sine 08 no problems. I love it!!!!!!

P.s. I also bought the nyko media hub that I saw at e3 years ago stil use it. For 4 usb ports and memory card slots to make it like the 60gig without Backwards cmp ofcouruse.

[talisker]

Of course every newer model is a downgrade in quality because cheaper components are used to make it more affordable and profitable. Unfortunately there are countries where people prefer lower price over quality. Unfortunately some of those countries are big gaming markets, like the US. When I read opinions like "I don't care if it breaks if they replace it for free", I strongly disagree. I hope Sony doesn't go too far with that next gen. I'd rather have a choice to pay more for a higher quality product. I will never buy a superslim PS3.

[b_one]

it is not for free, they will throw some refubrished crap at him mostly ressurected for a few times.

[SkullBlade169]

I've still got a working 60GB console which hasn't given me any issues yet, although most of the time I only use it for playing PS1 and PS2 games, as well as watching DVDs and Netflix.

I wouldn't want one of the newer models, simply because they don't run PS2 games, I use that feature a lot.

The time it takes for installs and patches annoys me, as well as the fact that it's hard disk is only 60GB, so I do most of my current gen gaming on PC. It's easy to replace the HDD though so I may do that one day, but I'll probably just carry on using my PC.

[Silly gameAr]

Seems like a lot of people still have the older models. When a 4 gig model comes out that's pretty much useless, I'm sure some folks will let you know gadgetmill. (hope I got the name right)

[Picnic]

The medium PS3 slim is the best. If you want to play on a shiny tombstone with Spiderman font (the original PS3) just so that you can play PS2 games as well that's your lookout. I'll get my PS2 out if I ever want to do that which is unlikely when there are so many PS3 games to play.

The medium PS3 slim has a beautiful matte surface and is the nicest design.

The super slim doesn't suck in your discs any more. That's not a cool kind of change and the design, whilst not horrid, is kind of generically 90s with its soft sweeping curve. Like all later versions of any consoles tend to do to broaden the market, it's feminised the design in a bad way. And, anyway, the Wii, anonymous in its tiny size, shows that slimming down a console too much doesn't make it any more of a design classic.