Buy PlayStation 3 Slim Or Stay With The Old PlayStation 3

The faithful PlayStation 3 owner will no doubt already have their console. You will have enjoyed the fantastic graphics and gameplay that this machine has over the previous PlayStation models. But the latest version of the PlayStation 3 called the PlayStation 3 slim is a bit more than your standard upgrade. There are new features and gadgets that are not backwardly compatible with the original PS3 model. If you are an existing owner should you buy PlayStation 3 slim or just stay as you are?

PS3 Slim New Design

Fair enough – the new PlayStation 3 slim looks nothing like the older model. The whole console is smaller and smarter. It also is very lightweight coming in at only 7 pounds in weight. Gone is the gloss plastic look in favour of a Matt black finish. I quite like it but not everyone will. The dimensions of the main console are 12 inches by 12 inches by 2 A� inches wide. (In metric that’s 290mm X 290mm X 65mm wide). Its small but still bigger than for example the Nintendo Wii.

The powersupply needed for the PS3 slim is slightly reduced from 280-watts to 250- watts. So it should run not quite as hot as the previous models.

PlayStation 3 Slim Technical Spec.

One good thing to notice is the hard drive has been increased from 80GB to up to 320GB. I am sure most serious gamers will jump in at the higher end of the spec range. This is a huge future proofing level of hard drive capacity that should keep you save with new memory hungry games released in the next few seasons. The hard drive can be removed from the unit although I still don’t quite understand why this really matters. If your drive fails you are going to upgrade to the latest machine anyhow.

Backward Compatibility of The New PlayStation 3 Slim

In 3 words – There is none. This is because of 2 things. Firstly the need to change the machine to handle the new “Move” controller. Secondly to add gameplay features that were not available in the original PS3 and are now needed to keep in step with the competing consoles – in particular the Xbox 360. So the PS3 slim is not backwardly compatible

Is It Really Worth Buying A PS3Slim if you have the older model?

The first thing to say is that if you have never owned a PlayStation then this is the model to beat them all. It comes with a built in Blu-ray disc player which places it a year ahead of the Xbox 360. The graphics are state if the art and the best currently available on any console.

For existing owners it is a bitter pill to swallow when you have invested so much money on games for your old PS3 model. I would say that you would want to make sure you buy a new Slim version with a big bundle of games included and the new “move” controller to make it worth your while.