Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This will be a lengthy and detailed review written (primarily about the system itself) in the form of a Q&A to help make it easier to find whatever topic or question you might be interested in knowing about this product rather than having to read the whole thing. My purpose of being so detailed is simply to help YOU, the customer, make an informed decision before purchasing this product. Q. What's in the box? A. Here is everything that is included inside the box (listed in bullet points for viewing convenience): - 1 Playstation 3 (Black) "Super Slim" system with 500 GB of Hard Drive space - 1 physical copy of the newly released game "Grand Theft Auto V" - 1 Playstation 3 Dualshock Wireless Controller (Black) - 1 Playstation 3 USB mini cable charging chord (to recharge the controller) - 1 power chord to plug into the Playstation 3 (allowing you to turn on the console) - 1 set of composite cables (the red, yellow, and white chords for non HD picture) - 1 30 day free trial of the Playstation Plus membership service **This does not come with an HDMI cable. **This does not come with an Ethernet chord that some of the original "Fat" models were boxed with. Q. What inputs come with the system? A. Here is every input/output/slot/whatever the system utilizes (listed in bullet points for viewing convenience): - 1 Ethernet - Back - 1 HDMI out - Back - 1 Digital out (optical) - Back - 1 AV Multi out - Back - 1 AC in - Back - 2 Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) - Front Q. I'm into "techno terms." What are some of the specs involved with this system? A. I'll just cover a summary of some of the essential basics of the hardware involved (if you want to really dissect things, a simple Google search would do you a lot of good). Basically, this system comes with: - 500 GB Hard Drive - Cell Broadband Engine CPU - RSX GPU - Bluetooth 2.0 (for use with headsets, wireless keyboards, and other accessories) - Blu-Ray Disc Drive (used to play Blu-Ray movies and can also play DVDs as well) **The system consumes about 190W of power **The picture resolution ranges from 480i - 1080p **The system is also capable of being used as a 3D Blu-Ray player. You'll need a 3D TV for this to work. Q. I've never owned a Playstation 3 before, yet why should I buy this system when the Playstation 4 is coming out November 15? A. That is a very good question. Yes, this bundle is being released rather late into the Playstation 3's lifespan. Yet that doesn't mean the system doesn't still warrant a purchase. For starters, if you do hold out for a Playstation 4, unfortunately (for now at least), the Playstation 4 will not be backwards compatible. I say "for now at least" because eventually Sony plans on using an extensive cloud-based service to download PS3, PS2, and PS1 titles digitally onto the system. Keeping that in mind, Microsoft announced that they plan to keep the Xbox 360 supported for at least another three years, and while Sony hasn't made any similar announcement, I can't imagine Sony would be too far behind when it comes to continuing support of the Playstation 3. That being said, if you've never owned a Playstation 3 before, you will have access to a whole library of games out for the system (which continue to decrease in price as the months go by) both via physical copy and digital download through the Playstation Store. Among these are such award winning exclusives such as "The Last Of Us," the "Uncharted" series, the "God of War" series, the "Ratchet and Clank" series, and so much more (let's not forget about the non-exclusive titles). Not to mention there are plenty of excellent games that are still being developed and are to be released for the system (games like Gran Turismo 6, Batman: Arkham Origins (not an exclusive), BEYOND: Two Souls, and Final Fantasy XIII-3 (not an exclusive)). Also there are plenty of "indie" games and "PSN titles" available to download digitally from the Playstation Store (games like "Journey," "Fat Princess," the "PixelJunk" series, and the list goes on). You can also use the Playstation 3 to access plenty of apps such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu Plus, Crackle, and more! Not to mention you can upload pictures, music, and videos onto the Hard Drive. Some games even allow you to play your own uploaded music in the background while playing the game itself (though not all of them do that). With 500GB of space, you will have plenty of room to download a vast array of digital content (whether it be movies or games). You can also backup your files by plugging in an External Hard Drave through the USB slots located on the front of the system. I know I may sound a bit "preachy," yet I'm simply trying to make a case for those who may have never owned a Playstation 3 before. If you already own the system, then clearly there is no need to purchase this. Unless you're like me of course...my Slim (purchased on release day in 2009) finally got the YLOD (yellow light of death) after years of HEAVY use and so I needed another one. I was already going to get GTAV anyway so for me this bundle made sense. I installed a 500GB Hard Drive into my old system and used up 480GB of it...and it is filled with a lot of games that I still have yet to touch, so for my instance, there is a means to justify rebuying one. I know I know..."cool story, bro." Q. That's nice and all, but I need more convincing. What else can you say about this bundle? A. Let's look at some numbers, shall we? This bundle is currently listed on Amazon for $269.99. How does that compare with other bundles/units? Well as far as 500GB consoles go, the only other one that comes close is the one that's just the system itself (which is currently priced at $269.95). As for the other 500 GB bundles? Well they range from $286.58-398.99 (at least at "new" prices). You could always go the "used" route, yet as far as I'm concerned buying a used console comes with risks. Q. I don't really need 500GB of space on my Hard Drive. Are there any other alternatives? A. The cheapest unit listed "new" on Amazon right now is the 12GB Playstation 3, which is priced at $199.99. The bad thing about this one though is that it doesn't have an actual Hard Drive. You could also go with some of the 250GB bundles such as the "Uncharted 3" bundle listed at $249.96 or the Sports Champions and Eye Pet Move Bundle priced at $276.94 (not bad if you don't already own a Playstation Move setup and are interested in that sort of motion control thing). I could sit here and talk numbers all day, though it wouldn't matter since prices are sure to fluctuate. By the time you read this these values might be inaccurate. Q. I've seen the specs, you've listed some reasons for purchase, and you've shown me the numbers. What about GTAV? Can you tell me anything about the game? A. This section will likely be updated as I go along playing through the game, however I can say that GTAV is the fifth entry in a series of games created by the developers at Rockstar Games. The genre one might consider this game to be is commonly referred to as a "sandbox game" where the player can go around and virtually do whatever they want (though obviously there are some limitations). If it's anything like the last entry (GTAIV), there will be plenty of guns, action, pixelated ladies, trash talk, a great story, and most importantly, lots of fun. This game has earned a reputation for being the most expensive game developed, costing the studio around $265,000,000 to create. It's safe to say that the developers have put a lot of faith, time, and effort into this product. I might also add that there WILL be a multiplayer mode however it will be released (likely as some sort of patch) for free at a later date (rumored sometime in October). So don't think you have a defective copy without any multiplayer mode, it will be released soon enough. As stated earlier, as far as the GTA V portion of this review goes, I will be updating it as I continue through my playthrough. However my review focuses mainly on the system and if you are really in an urgent dire need to know more about GTAV, then I'd suggest checking the product page for the game itself. I do apologize for writing a novel here, yet I hope that this information helps you out in some way. Feel free to leave some questions or comments and I will get back to them as soon as possible.