Category: Archive

Over the weekend I wrote about some of the upcoming PS3 250GB bundles timed to be release for Father’s Day … or E3. Take your pick. Today I noticed that the Amazon Little Big Planet Game of the Year Edition was sold out.

The listing shows “Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes”

Pretty impressive that this bundle Slim sold out so quickly. Are PS3 Slim systems really selling like hot cakes, or is Sony playing the artificial shortage game to create higher demand? Looking on the bright side, I will save some money and not order this bundle that I was strongly considering.

I came across this article yesterday, which provides a simple easy to use guide, complete with plenty of images, explaining the process to upgrade the HDD on a PS3 Slim. This really is a project that anyone can and should tackle in order to have plenty of room in your PS3 for all your gaming and media needs.

Two PS3 games that I have been watching closely are Red Dead Redemption and ModNation Racers. They both look like fun games for different reasons, however I know right now I just do not have time to get bang for my buck if I make a new game purchase.

Watching these two games on metacritic and reading their scores shows some interesting dynamics with what the mass media mega gaming sites consider exceptional gaming vs. what most users expect out of a game.

For the first example, take a look at Red Dead Redemption. The reviewers have given Red Dead Redemption “universal appeal” for a score of 95 based on 56 critic reviews. For the most part the users that have voted disagree, giving the game a much lower 7.8 based on 290 reviews. What gives? The users that bother to vote are clearly not happy with some aspect of the game.

Let’s look at the second example in reverse. The reviewers have given ModNation Racers an 82 (based on 67 reviews), while 66 users have given the game a 9.3 rating. The spread is much closer than a previous sample, however the user votes is considerably lower. This one almost has the look of a JRPG; the critics give them lukewarm scores while the fanboys rush to defend their favorite genera.

I don’t think I can draw any conclusions with these examples, however if I had to guess I would say that the reviewers love open environments, and are tired of Mario Kart style games, while the actual gamers would rather spend time with the create, share, play concept.

During my PS3 YLoD research and project I started looking at the PS3 Slim model. Since mid May Amazon has not had PS3 systems in stock; all PS3 systems listed were via third party sellers. The same is true for some other online retailers; the PS3 Slim is in short quantities. As E3 draws near, and in the case of Amazon and Game Stop, Father’s Day, it looks like some PS3 stock is finally going to be released. Please note that not all of these new bundles are created equally.

• MLB 10: The Show – Target.com as available “in stores” only.
• Little Big Planet Game of the Year Edition and HDMI cable – Amazon. This set is available for pre-order; shipping June 12.
• Uncharted 2 Bundle from Best Buy.
• God of War III – Game Stop “Father’s Day Bundle. Please note that the description shows an AV cable, not HDMI, and Game Stop is price gouging, listing their bundle at $399.98.

Other retailers will probably have similar bundles, which in general are good deals since the most recent 250GB PS3 Slim system price was $349.99. A pack-in game is a good value and reminiscent of the old days of console gaming when every system included a game.

I have not done enough research to confirm, but I believe that the most recent 250GB Slim systems included an HDMI cable. If not, the Amazon system is the best deal. It is at least worth noting that the Amazon screen shot does show the game and the HDMI cable.

It is also worth speculation that Amazon and Game Stop are calling their bundles “Father’s Day” which either implies timing (it is before Father’s Day) or these systems are expected to be in short supply, selling out in a matter of days, and eliminating the need to carry the bundle past Father’s Day. Color me with a shade of Oliver Stone.

I hope those of you looking for a Slim avoid Game Stop. It is absolutely ridiculous that they are $50 higher than everyone else. Then again, if you are planning to pick up God of War III, maybe you do not care about the higher price compared to the other bundles.

So now we know why these systems have been in short supply. Sony has let the current production run clear in other to make way for a fresh batch of Slim models, complete with games, that they can announce at E3 – “Look what we are doing for PlayStation fans …”

It will be interesting to see if these new Slim models hold any improvements over the most recent Slim systems, or if we are going to see an E3 announcement of manufacturing improvements coming this fall.

*****

Sunday Afternoon Edit – Also found this bundle at EBGames:  MX vs ATV Reflex for $389.97.

One week after the repair, my PS3 is still running strong. At times during DVD or Blu-ray viewing, the fan gets noticeable loud, however that is nothing compared to the balls out crazy overdrive loud the fan kicks into while playing games. It is really random; cannot pick up a pattern to notice when the PS3 fan is going to decide to rid its case of some excess heat. While this PS3 has always had this issue, based on my knowledge of YLoD and listening to the fan post repair, I am resolved to the fact my PS3 will overheat again.

The repair was straight forward; except for the ribbons and a couple of other places where I was not 100% sure how to remove a part or going in reverse, put a part back in place. Now that I know how the ribbon connectors work, I could probably do the job again fairly quickly. In fact, I would say that I have enough confidence to try this repair for any friends and acquaintances that have a YLoD PS3.

One thing I did that may be helpful for others that wish to attempt a “do-it-yourself” repair is that for each step or section in the strip down process, I put screws, ribbons, small pieces, etc into a zip-lock bag, and then labeled the parts for future reassemble reference. To explain, I ended up with zip-lock bags for HDD Brackets, Cover Plate / HDD Blue Screw, PSU, Bluetooth, (Step 17) Sprung Brackets, and Power – 4 Screws / Main Bracket 8 Screws (Step 14). For any odd sized screws along the way, I made simple paper labels which I then taped to the screw, and put in the appropriate bag. I think this approach helped the reassemble process go smoothly.

The only real concern I had was on the use of the thermal compound kit. I ended up with a little paste left over. Does this mean I used too little? If I would have used the entire shot filler material, would that have been too much?

At this point I have tested everything, which made me realize that if I have to move to a slim at some point I would really miss the front loading media slots for camera memory cards. I enjoy the convenience of sticking a camera memory card into the PS3 and immediately watching the images and videos in my living room on the 42” Sony Bravio. Of course I also use my laptop as a media server, so there would be a work around.

The only really odd thing I encountered was during my backup process. Once I got the PS3 running again, I immediately backed up all my save files, however some could not be copied; not allowed to be copied is a better description. High Stakes Poker and Heavy Rain come to mind. This may be worth further investigation.

In conclusion, I am obviously happy with the results. I got the satisfaction of fixing my PS3, learned a lot in the process (thermal compounds, heat guns, tons of PS3 parts, oh my!), and was able to recovery my PS3 data. I am not confident that this repair will last very long, however any time I get between now and a future Slim model was money well saved. The great thing about this project is most anyone can do it successfully if they take time to read a repair guide. Patience and a willingness to make a mistake (trying something new) would also help.