Will the PS3 still work as a single player machine?

[AtariLeaf]

Ok this may sound like a stupid question but as someone who doesn't own a modern console, other than the Wii, I was wondering if I bought a PS3 and a couple of years down the road when servers and updates are no longer available if I can still play the thing - just pop in a disc with no internet connection and play it.

 

For example if I buy a used game for it in a couple of years that needs some patch or update that is no longer available because the patches and updates are no longer available.

[boog]

I think the only games that require PSN check-in for single player are Final Fight Double Impact and Bionic Commando Rearmed 2. Besides those two, the only games that will stop working completely are the online multiplayer games like Warhawk, DC Universe Online, MAG, etc.

 

Offline single player will continue to work for any retail games or PSN downloads that are already on your system. Patches usually add bugfixes, improve game performance, or add support for new DLC... retail games will always play as shipped but may not be the 'best' version. Even now, if you opt out of the update patches when you launch a PS3 game it automatically signs you out of PSN and you're in offline mode.

 

The bigger concern that I have is preserving my PSN download games. Just speculation, but at some point they'll probably abandon the PS3 and you'll no longer be able to re-download your purchases. I'm planning to buy a second PS3 near end of life and clone my current console just in case. Also, all PSN+ Instant Game Collection titles may expire when PS3 support is dropped from PSN.

[Mord]

Technically we're already nearing the end-of-life period for the PS3 given the PS4 is released and will likely start gathering speed next year.

 

I've been considering getting a second PS3 myself for various reasons. One thing I'd have to ask for anyone who already has multiple PS3's (As I know at least a couple of us on here have them), how do the controllers react to having two PS3s nearby?

[Bilnick]

Each controller is paired with a specific PS3. A controller that you have paired with your second PS3 will not turn on the first PS3 and vice-versa. I ended up buying black controllers for one of my PS3s and colored controllers for the other.

[+wood_jl]

As a newbie to PS3 (and 360) - How does one go about cloning the console? Is this something that can be done on 360 as well?

 

I was under the impression that you can "migrate" from one console to the other (with assistance from online Big Brother) but that you can't have your content on both unless you buy it twice? Sorry for the newbie question; if the answer is too long for this thread to be explained, then I quite understand. I'm just curious, and I actually was thinking of picking up some spare consoles before PS3/360 dry up. As most PS3/360 players are quite "seasoned" having been familiar with the console for several years, I find myself in quite a knowledge deficit about the thing.

[boog]

For PS3, there's a data transfer utility in the system menu of the xmb. You just connect the two PS3s directly with an ethernet cable and set one to send and the other to receive. The new console needs to be activated/linked to your account in the PSN account management menu before any transferred PSN download games will work. You're allowed to have two active PS3s linked to your PSN id, then you can continue to play online with either system. The limit used to be five consoles but was lowered because of the 'gameshare' thieves.

 

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/transferutility.html

 

There are a few games that lock their save files to only one console... they'll transfer the save data to the new system and delete it from the original. It might be possible to get around that by manually copying the save file to the PSN+ cloud and back to your original PS3? I haven't tried it but the PSN+ cloud allows backup/restore of locked game save files.

Edited December 22, 2013 by boog

[Mord]

The limit used to be five consoles but was lowered because of the 'gameshare' thieves.

 

While that's the reason for the drop, I rather dislike them being described as "thieves" given the people doing that were using the system exactly how Sony advertised it to be used.(I don't mean to sound like I'm jumping down your throat over the terminology. )

 

It wasn't until publishers and the like realized that people really were using it the way Sony advertised that they started getting vocal enough to make Sony change it.

 

 

If I get a second PS3 myself I'll likely attempt cloning it, although it'll be from a 160g model to a 250g model.

[boog]

Not looking to debate gamesharing 'ethics', but Sony's initial offer of gamesharing was so that you could share your purchases between your multiple consoles, family members, or personal friends. Once gameshare evolved into random strangers on the internet swapping catalogs of software it devolved into thievery. (Personal opinion... but I can't mention reduced gamesharing limits without pointing fingers. )

[Atariboy]

Not sure if suggestions should be posted here, but judging by what I've seen of your YouTube channel and after regularly reading your post around here, you should take a look at the download offerings if you take the plunge. Several nice classic arcade games from the Golden Age can be had that aren't available in arcade accurate form on another console like Vanguard.

 

Ok this may sound like a stupid question but as someone who doesn't own a modern console, other than the Wii, I was wondering if I bought a PS3 and a couple of years down the road when servers and updates are no longer available if I can still play the thing - just pop in a disc with no internet connection and play it.

 

For example if I buy a used game for it in a couple of years that needs some patch or update that is no longer available because the patches and updates are no longer available.

Despite the arrival of the PS4, PSN for the PS3 has many years of life left ahead of it. But where retail games are concerned when that day finally arrives that it's shut down, you won't have many issues for the majority of games.

 

To reiterate what has been said, the unfortunate examples that are most vulnerable are the download exclusives that won't be redownloadable like the PSP Minis releases of 1980's arcade games (Playable on the PS3), Q*Bert (The only arcade accurate release is on the PS3), Okami HD (In North America at least... it saw a retail release in Japan), PS/PS2 downloads, etc.

 

The bigger concern that I have is preserving my PSN download games. Just speculation, but at some point they'll probably abandon the PS3 and you'll no longer be able to re-download your purchases. I'm planning to buy a second PS3 near end of life and clone my current console just in case.

When the day arrives where it's a legitimate possibility that its days are numbered (Which is easily well over half a decade away), I want to pick up several spare consoles. You can tie your DLC to two consoles, deactivate them remotely, and then tie your DLC to two additional consoles. Repeat & rinse as needed until you've tied your DLC to the amount of consoles you desire.

 

Something like 2-4 console spares should provide some security for someone that has a large library of DLC that they want to continue to enjoy years down the road. And as long as you don't take your deactivated consoles online again after you've deactivated them, they don't know that they're not supposed to have access to your DLC which is how this trick works.

 

Something similar can be done on the 360 using the license transfer process.

 

Also, all PSN+ Instant Game Collection titles may expire when PS3 support is dropped from PSN.

Since you need an active subscription just to play them right now, that seems all much assured. I can't imagine Sony suddenly erasing that requirement when the day nears that PSN is preparing to be shutdown.

 

All these free games via a Playstation Plus membership are really just extended rental periods that end when your subscription ends.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Atariboy

[turret]

I don't know if its been said but game like battlefield 3 will still work online until ea takes down the servers

[+Gemintronic]

I've never let any of my PS3s online. Ever. I've had one since the units without PS2 support came out.

 

The only reason I "regret" this is that the only way to convince save games to play on a different unit is to tie them to your Sony account and transfer them that way.

[WestofHouse]

Technically we're already nearing the end-of-life period for the PS3 given the PS4 is released and will likely start gathering speed next year.

 

 

Given how long Sony supported the PS2 after the PS3 was released, I disagree.

[Mord]

 

Given how long Sony supported the PS2 after the PS3 was released, I disagree.

 

I'm not quite so confident of that. Remember, the PS3 didn't start to gather speed for many years after it was released so Sony wasn't eager to kill off the PS2 which was still making loads of money for them.

 

That being said I'm not really expecting the PS3 to be killed off quickly either.

[Atariboy]

I think it's quite reasonable to expect PSN support for the PS3 to extend into the 2020's. Same with Xbox Live support for the Xbox 360.

 

Look how long Microsoft kept the Xbox kicking. 360 and PS3 are in a far better situation for post replacement support and will surely blow away the ~5 years or so of Xbox Live support that the original Xbox enjoyed after being replaced.

 

They're both far more popular systems than the original Xbox, both are profitable, they're both enjoying healthy post replacement support from publishers where as the Xbox was all but dead 12 months into the 360's lifespan, online is far more integrated and critical for each which is an incentive to not pull the plug too soon and anger millions of consumers, they're both more robust and more capable of adapting and mixing with the future online networks for each manufacturer, and online support is bringing in hundreds of millions in revenue for each.

 

Plus, there isn't an advance in tv technology that will make them look obsolete almost overnight like a system such as the PS2 suffered from. I don't think that they will be going away anytime soon. I bet there will still be new systems being produced and new games come 2017 or so. And when it does cease being a major force commercially, I suspect they will still experience years of online support afterwards just like the Xbox did.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Atariboy

[cimerians]

Playstation gets WAYYYY more support from Japanese devs than Xbox consoles in general. There's lots of RPG's to look forward to on PS3.

[cybercylon]

Playstation gets WAYYYY more support from Japanese devs than Xbox consoles in general. There's lots of RPG's to look forward to on PS3.

More to add to the "play pile" for me then. That pile gives me no incentive to invest in a PS 4 or Xbox One…. not even counting the unplayed games from Steam.

[thegamezmaster]

That's about all I use mine for.