It’s hard to disagree that the game has undergone a great evolution over the last dozen or so years. I do not mean even graphics or gameplay solutions, but in fact gaming itself, as a powerful industry in the field of entertainment. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and decided to dust off a bit my 7th generation consoles – PS3 and Xbox 360. Why? Just to go back to a time when we didn’t care about microtransactions, we traded the games we used, or we were faced a very long time before choosing a game because there were so many great titles to play.
At the very beginning, I would like to answer a very important question. If you don’t have these consoles, is it worth buying? As always, the answer is – it depends. Currently, these consoles are ridiculously cheap, and games for them, with few exceptions, cost only a few nozzles. So if you don’t just have money for some better hardware and you want to play some really cool games, both consoles will make sense. However, this is all a little more complicated than it may seem.
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Before we start playing
This is not a buying guide, but I advise you that if you decide to buy, it is worth following 3 basic steps. Pay attention to the console model. In the case of the PS3, the Slim model will be the most sensible model. Why is it better to avoid the Fat and SuperSlim models?
The Fat model was an emergency model, and most of these consoles have long been in landfills. The SuperSlim model, on the other hand, was a model created from recycling these fatek from the landfill. Cheesy, low quality and if you would like to redo SuperSlim in the future, unfortunately it won’t work.
The same is true of the Xbox 360. If you absolutely want the fat model, then look for Jasper. It was definitely less emergency. However, it is a lottery whether your console will win or not. Here, too, the best model is slim. The Slim E model is the equivalent of Sony’s SuperSlim. The same shoddy, poorly made and also Slim E, with a high degree of probability you will not convert (although models from the beginning of production are possible).
Replace the thermal grease on the system and the thermocouples. The 7th generation consoles liked to heat up. For this reason, it is very good for them to have a fresh overview. Disassembling the consoles is not difficult and with a YouTube video in front of you, even a complete amateur can do it. From myself, I recommend the paste that I gave below. Don’t make my mistake and don’t use the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. It is actually the best, but it causes pitting on the system cap.
Unfortunately, these are over 10-year-old consoles, still with mechanical disks. So you can be sure that the disk that is there will sooner or later come to life. In case you decide to remake any console, the new disc is completely obligatory. Anticipating the questions – SSD does not make sense, transfers will be limited by the old SATA connector anyway.
PlayStation 3 – Don’t spend any money on Sony subscriptions for PS3 games!
The PS3 is a great choice to this day. At the beginning of the generation, the big loser, now almost a cult console, which provided us with many new amazing brands. Here I have no doubts whether it is worth buying. I spent more time with it than I wanted to dust off my old mug.
The underlying argument is that the PS3 is not backwards compatible with any subsequent Sony console. Of course, I realize that the new PS + has the option to play games from this console, but they are realized through streaming.
There is no question of native playing. Personally, I have a pretty good connection, I tried Sony, Microsoft or GeForce NOW solutions and the results were just so-so. Slower games, such as adventure games, by all means, but shooters or arcade games completely fall off due to delay.
Considering that today you have to pay about USD 50-65 for a well-kept PS3, if you are really interested in a huge library of great 7th generation titles, it seems to me that there is nothing to bother with Sony streaming.
The most important thing – games. Huge problems after the launch of the PS3 saw Sony go to great lengths to come out with a face in this generation. Over the last two years I have played a lot of games on this console and it is definitely worth spending these 2-3 hundred for them . Among the best games will definitely be God of War III, The Last Of Us, Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Resistance 2, all Uncharted parts , Heavy Rain, Killzone 2, or both parts of inFamous, and this is just the beginning of the iceberg.
After all, PS3 is not only exclusive games, so we can play it, for example Red Dead Redemption, which was released only on 7th generation consoles. With so many titles, I think that it will be hard to get bored, and what is important, and it boosts the profitability of such a solution even more – both the console and games are quite cheap. In local game stores you will surely find all the interesting titles at prices no more than USD 10.
For this reason, PS3 is a very good investment for the time being. Currently, it is at a time of price stagnation. 3 years ago I bought it for a little more than it is on advertising portals today. However, this state of affairs will begin to change sooner or later. If you take care of your console – change the paste on time and ensure its good air circulation, it will serve you for a long time, and at the same time you will sell it in really good money.
Xbox 360 – it’s complicated
In the case of the Xbox 360, I have such loose thoughts that I’m not sure if I would recommend this console to someone today. Not because it is inferior to the PS3 and not because there is nothing to play on it, it would be a lie. The main reason is Microsoft’s policy.
Fortunately, Xbox is backwards compatible with all previous consoles. The Xbox 360 was compatible with the first Xbox, the Xbox One with 360, and the original Xbox, and so on. In addition, Microsoft is making these old games even better, boosting their resolution, adding autoHDR or boosting the frame rate on new consoles.
But suppose you want to play 360 games . You will definitely not be bored! Maybe Xbox exclusive games aren’t as well remembered as Sony’s, but they are very solid productions and I personally think that each company knows about different types of games.
Xbox 360 will offer us, for example, the Gears Of War or Halo series, which completely outclass Sony’s shooters, Forze Horizon 1 and 2, the Forza Motorsport or Fable 2 series. Only on it we will play The Witcher 2 on the console (because it was also released on PC) and cross-generation games from the turn of the PS2 / PS3 era, because 360 came out earlier than PS3.
So if you want to play, for example, the best version of NFS Most Wanted on the console or Test Drive Unlimited, the X360 will be your best choice. It is definitely worth mentioning that backward compatibility is apparent compatibility. Microsoft simply prepares versions of games from older consoles for new devices. So you won’t run every game on a newer console. For this reason, if you want to play cross-generational games or some completely niche games, the newer Xbox just won’t work.
PS3 and Xbox 360 as great party consoles
Almost at the end, it is worth appreciating the value of both of these consoles PS3 and Xbox 360 in party use. Unfortunately, I will not show you how together with my friends we danced, fought or practiced various sports in front of the console at a typical student house party, but you have to take my word for it that the fun was amazing. Currently, the Nintendo Switch is associated with this type of entertainment, but you have to take into account that it still costs quite a lot of money, and games for this console are worth as much as such a fancy or an Xbox.
If you have little space and you are mainly interested in party games, I recommend PS3 with PS Move after all. Personally, I have only a little over 2 meters of free space between the TV and the couch and Move was perfect. Kinect in the case of Xbox in such a space is unplayable. Especially that the more people want to play side by side, the more space we need.
Let us assume, however, that you have this space. In this case, Kinect will be better in my opinion. Mainly for two reasons. The first is the approach to the movement game itself. You don’t need a wand like you do with PS Move. Kinect recognizes your entire body, and in dance games, for example, we have to actually dance and move well, not just wave our hands.
The second reason, of course, is the price. Each PS Move wand costs about USD 25. Kinect costs USD 10 and you are not interested in anything more than games. Do you want to play four at Move? You need 4 controllers for USD 25 each. On Xbox, one Kinect does the trick.
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To sum up cheap gaming!
More than 15 years have passed since the premiere of PS3 and Xbox 360, and I have the impression that they have not aged a bit. Maybe it results from my sentiment that I put pink glasses on my eyes, but while writing this article I asked myself a very important question – If I didn’t have these consoles, would I be looking for them now? The answer is probably obvious. It is a piece of really solid equipment and with these consoles you can spend really long hours playing great games.
Both consoles also have nothing to be ashamed of in the context of party games. It is not only about movement games on PS Move or Kinect, but it is also worth considering electronic board games. Until I remembered how many hours I used to spend with my friends playing monopoly. Do you want to play cheap and make up for a lot of great games? Choose a console for yourself and go searching!
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