PS3 or PS2? Which to buy?

[Evilengine]

PS2 has better games but PS3 is alright too.
Gaming already went downwards with PS3 Era, where consoles and PC became more and more the same...
I think these lists represent my point:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:PlayStation_2-only_games
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:PlayStation_3-only_games
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:PlayStation_4-only_games
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:PlayStation_5-only_games

 

[Marc_LFD]

PS2 is a lot cheaper, but then if you want to buy a trustworthy component cable it'll cost ya, and also buy an adapter to use a wireless controller.

And the games are in 4:3 than 16:9 so it may be a bit disappointing, and stretching won't do much good as it'll make it look ugly.

So I'd say a PS3 and emulate PS2 games through it (some are, some aren't, I guess).

 

[Mayo1990]

PS3. Much easier to mod. Wider game library. Wider access to other emulators at playable speed. Very low expenses. Just be sure to get a Slim model between 21xx-25xx. Anything earlier will have NEC TOKIN caps which are a chore while later models only support HEN which is also a chore.

PS2 emulation is also good. PS1 emulator is also pretty good. You also have a neat PSP emulator slapped in, which is, in a way, also pretty good.

Check this out in case you want a deep breakdown of each PS3 model


Check out the PS2 Emulator compatibility list in case

Also the PSP one

 

[TheOutGuy_2012]

PS3 hands down, you can play your backed up PS2 games if it has CFW

 

[NiQ1]

PS3. Much easier to mod. Wider game library. Wider access to other emulators at playable speed. Very low expenses. Just be sure to get a Slim model between 21xx-25xx. Anything earlier will have NEC TOKIN caps which are a chore while later models only support HEN which is also a chore.

PS2 emulation is also good. PS1 emulator is also pretty good. You also have a neat PSP emulator slapped in, which is, in a way, also pretty good.

Check this out in case you want a deep breakdown of each PS3 model


Check out the PS2 Emulator compatibility list in case

Also the PSP one

If you can make sure that a 25xx is hackable then it's preferable to the 21xx - In the 25xx Sony got rid of that BD drive daughterboard and integrated everything into the motherboard. That daughterboard is a pain in the ass because if it dies on you then any firmware update will brick your system.

 

[Mayo1990]

If you can make sure that a 25xx is hackable then it's preferable to the 21xx - In the 25xx Sony got rid of that BD drive daughterboard and integrated everything into the motherboard. That daughterboard is a pain in the ass because if it dies on you then any firmware update will brick your system.

I have a 25xx and I CFW'd it

 

[AncientBoi]

PS3

 

[Hayato213]

Depends on what you want to play, if you want to play PS2 game then probably just get a PS2, some PS2 games doesn't run smoothly on PS3 emulation.

 

[Jayinem]

I would go PS3 because as I mentioned backwards compatibility is now quite good if you know what you're doing (and if you don't just ask on Gbatemp)

But also because it's easy to hook up to a modern TV with HDMi, and for me the biggest reason is you get a wireless controller. I can't do the wired controllers.

 

[SDA]

PS3, since it can play both PS1 and PS2 games if you mod it.

The most convenient choice if you want to play three different platforms on only one console.

 

[CoolMe]

Unless it's a BC fat ps3, ps2 won't be all the way, meaning not all ps2 games will work without issues. As for ps1 games, digital ones atleast the performance is all the same across all ls3 models. For playing ps1 games on the ps2, there's only spotty emulation with POPSTARTER (not recommended).
I still recommend getting both, a ps3 (slim model preferably) and a ps2 (fat also preferably) as both are still very cheap these days. With ps2 fat you can install a sata hdd/ssd up to 2tb, and game compatibility is excellent. As mentioned before, if you really want to play alot of ps2 games and somehow you bought a non-BC ps3 you will run into issues running ps2 games, just something to keep in mind.

Also, whatever you end up getting get one (or ones) in good condition, generally just the outside exterior can give you an indication if it's well kept or abused. Depending on your knowledge with hardware, you can open the system and see how it looks in the inside, if it's just dust debris etc you can clean it, if it's rust or liquid spill stains etc on the board, it could've damaged other components etc. just something to consider.
As for video cables on the PS2, i really recommend getting any Chinese hdmi adapter over composite, atleast there won't be any fuzz in the picture..

 

[Marc_LFD]

I would go PS3 because as I mentioned backwards compatibility is now quite good if you know what you're doing (and if you don't just ask on Gbatemp)

But also because it's easy to hook up to a modern TV with HDMi, and for me the biggest reason is you get a wireless controller. I can't do the wired controllers.

Yeah... Hooking up a PS2 to a modern TV can be a bit of a chore.

 

[CoolMe]

Yeah... Hooking up a PS2 to a modern TV can be a bit of a chore.

Those Chinese hdmi adapters are getting such a bad rap, but tbh they're pretty decent vivid colors and less image noise/fuzz. the early ones might've been crap but the ones i tried much better than composite atleast. For less than $5 it's atleast worth a try imho.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Those Chinese hdmi adapters are getting such a bad rap, but tbh they're pretty decent vivid colors and less image noise/fuzz. the early ones might've been crap but the ones i tried much better than composite atleast. For less than $5 it's atleast worth a try imho.

Years ago I used an unbranded component cable and the image would go black every once in a while which made me think the TV was faulty somehow, but it was that damn cable.

The HDMI adapter is probably better than that garbage.

And what's worse is when that happened I was playing NFS Pro Street! A game that is ridiculously fast if I take my eyes off the TV I'd probably crash.

 

[NiQ1]

Those Chinese hdmi adapters are getting such a bad rap, but tbh they're pretty decent vivid colors and less image noise/fuzz. the early ones might've been crap but the ones i tried much better than composite atleast. For less than $5 it's atleast worth a try imho.

IDK, I had bad experience with HDMI adapters. The image was terrible and if you used an HDMI splitter or HDMI switch there would be no image at all.
Mind that it was a PAL console, but OP seems to be from a PAL region too.

 

[shartmaster]

the ps3 has a bigger library with backwards compatibility but the sixaxis is by far the worst controller out of the bunch

 

[NiQ1]

the ps3 has a bigger library with backwards compatibility but the sixaxis is by far the worst controller out of the bunch

Yeah, just get a DS3, they're not that expensive.

 

[Afeohtan]

For reliability, a PS2. PS3's will suffer some kind of inevitable hardware failure eventually.

I find it hilarious some are actually saying the PS3 will last longer, which is just wrong. I have had two PS3's: one died, and the other is failing. I have had multiple PS2's over the years and none have died. They may have DRE issues but that is not much of a problem when it is softmodded.

 

[Mayo1990]

For reliability, a PS2. PS3's will suffer some kind of inevitable hardware failure eventually.

I find it hilarious some are actually saying the PS3 will last longer, which is just wrong. I have had two PS3's: one died, and the other is failing. I have had multiple PS2's over the years and none have died. They may have DRE issues but that is not much of a problem when it is softmodded.

Some PS2s, especially slims, do have hardware failures. For PS3s just get 2500 (and after) PS3s and you're basically set.

 

[CoolMe]

Some PS2s, especially slims, do have hardware failures. For PS3s just get 2500 (and after) PS3s and you're basically set.

2500 slims can fail too. Had one fail on me.