PS3 | The Recycle Bin

PS3 HDD upgrade in the works.

I finally decided that it was time for a PS3 HDD upgrade. As I wrote a few days ago, my 60GB PS3 HDD is full, and I am less than satisfied. It is not like I have a ton of games, demos, and content. I have been struggling to regain space by removing demos and videos. I am now down to 3-4 demos, some games that I purchased from the PlayStation Store, and all thirteen Qore episodes. A 60GB HDD is just not going to cut it.

I did manage to get to about 7GB of free space by removing some old game saves. There is no longer any reason to keep around several versions of Madden, NCAA Football, and MLB game data. It looks like one of the biggest space hogs is Elder Scrolls save data.

I am going to follow the upgrade instructions listed here after I receive my new HDD and USB HDD. For this project I decided to try a Western Digital 250GB drive. It looks like the key to PS3 capability is a 5400 RPM Sata 2.5 inch notebook HDD. I picked this one up from Amazon for $59.99. To backup the PS3 and some my laptop’s media (data files, iTunes music, pictures, etc) I went with a 320GB Western Digital My Passport USB HDD from Amazon for $89.99. I figure this will be enough to backup my new PS3 HDD and then some.

The new PS3 HDD and Passport should be here Wednesday thanks to second day Amazon Prime shipping. The upgrade article says that replacing the PS3 HDD will take all of 10 mins. I will of course report back here and post the results.

PS3 downloads in slow-mo?

My PS3 has always seemed to download content slowly; too slowly for my liking. My wireless network seems to be pretty quick, at least for my laptops, but not so much for my PS3. I have thought about it enough to consider wiring up the PS3 directly to a router to see if I can get a much needed boost in performance.

To make matters worse, according to this article, it appears that the PS3 is no longer downloading content in the background while games are playing. [As this article went to press, the link was removed. Not sure if it is because the contents are inaccurate, negative reaction from readers, etc.]

So if you are downloading multiple things from the PS Store in the background such as a movie, and some demos, whichever thing you started first will download completely and then the next thing. The thing that aggravates that though is that apparently any background downloads completely stops once you launch a game, if it has an online component. What the?

That would explain why it took so long to download some of the recent E3 videos and June edition of Qore. I need to test this myself and see if this article is accurate.

Amazon Gold Box Deals (9PM)

I wonder if Amazon has enjoyed all the free advertising? I mean from other sites; the traffic here hardly makes a dent in redirects to Amazon. I guess since I am an Amazon partner, I should setup actual partner links so I have an opportunity to get some sort of kickback. Oh well …

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
Gold Box Price: $39.98 (Amazon $56.99). Not a chance. Oh well, I was hopeful for something that would float my boat.

Amazon Gold Box Deals (6PM)

Dinner time finally offers up the penultimate deal of the day. Nice word, but without meaning if I count wrong as in my last deal post!

Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition
Gold Box Price: $45.98 (Amazon $59.99). I am sorely tempted to pick this one up. Temptation is calling. Only two things are holding me back. First, I have already spent a ton of money today between my seven year-old’s birthday festivities, and a couple of other video game projects (teaser for check back here tomorrow). Second, I don’t think I really need the collector’s edition. If I look at it that way, this is not that much of a discount.

I am going to think about it and check back later.

Amazon Gold Box Deals (3PM)

Tea time gives us the penultimate [oops; there are still two more offerings in front of us] another deal of the day. Of the offerings so far, this one is by far the most expensive, but it also looks like it is selling very quickly. Not sure if that has to do with the time of day, the quality of the game, or the popularity of the Guitar Hero franchise.

Guitar Hero Metallica
Gold Box Price: $39.98 (Amazon $46.99). If I had any sort of musical talent, this would probably be a great snag. Then again, I probably would have already had the game in my library. As it stands, I am looking towards the last release to see if my Gold Box blogging day scores me a new addition to my PS3 library at a nicely discounted price.

Amazon Gold Box Deals (1PM)

Just in time for desert, Amazon offers us another deal, which affords me the opportunity for yet another blog update. Too bad the game is not at all something that I would consider purchasing, even at a steep discount.

Tom Clancy’s HAWX
Gold Box Price: $29.98 (Amazon $56.99). It has been a while since I touched an Air Combat game; HAWX seems to be of that mold. I think I would have pulled the trigger if this one came in a little cheaper, but as it is, I am now 0-3 on the day. I did have one “super secret” purchase for a PSP title that will be released tomorrow, but that has nothing to do with the Gold Box Lightning deals.

Amazon Gold Box Deals (9AM)

Another deal; another blog update …

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition
Gold Box Price: $39.98 (Amazon $49.99). Metacritic has this one at a so-so 73, but users rate it an 8.8. Me? I probably would not attempt this one unless it was under $20. I am just not that into super hero based platformers.

Amazon Gold Box Deals (6AM)

Yesterday I read somewhere (I think n4g) that Amazon would be running PS3 Gold Box Deals all day long. My middle son is 7 today (happy b-day Nathan!), so I am going to be around and about all today, which gives me a rare opportunity to do some serious blogging.

I am going to do some play by play for the deals …

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for PS3
Gold Box Price: $28.98 (List $49.99). Great price, but this type of thing is just not my cup of tea. I know it is not the same, but the original Resistance game was my last attempt at any sort of military shooter. I don’t have the manual dexterity to manipulate the controller to get the most out of the games. I would have made a below average AD&D thief.

Racing games radar update.

Thanks to Ferrari Challenge, and the blazing summer heat, my racing jones is back on in full force. I have spent a little time with Ferrari Challenge over the last couple of days, and I have to say that this is one of the best $18 purchases I can remember making. With that said, it is time to start window shopping for some upcoming racing game purchases …

SuperCar Challenge
First up on the list has to be the upcoming sequel to Ferrari Challenge. These videos from UK chequeredpad look fantastic.

With no confirmed US release, I suppose this one will just go to the back burner. Hopefully a US publisher will pick this one up because it looks balls out fun.

F1 2010
I would like an updated F1 game. Nothing confirmed; these screens from The SixAxis will have to do.

It looks like there is an upcoming F1 2009 release for the Wii and the PSP; at least in the UK. I am not sure why Codemasters chose handhelds and the Wii for F1, but I suppose they know their market segments that they are trying to reach.

Need for Speed: SHIFT
Is the NFS series really going to get a reboot? Will the series return to its roots from the early days? By early days, I mean 3DO (remember that one?) and the first PSX release? Last week PlayStation Life posted a brief E3 hands on impression of the upcoming game.

Despite how different it is from past NFS title, fans of the series will definitely appreciate the advances that SM Studios and EA are bringing to the racing genre. The game will have an extensive customization feature that will cover everything from the car body to the tires, and has a dynamic reward system that keeps track of, for example, how many cars the play passes, how many vehicles they take out, and how good their driving performance was. The demo was a lot of fun, and we can’t wait to see how the final product turns out.

I still do not have a firm grip on how the game balances simulation and arcade aspects of the game. For racing titles, I lean much more in the simulation direction, but fun factor is a must. This one merits close tracking on the radar.

End notes and wish list …
What else? Of course the PSP release of Gran Turismo and big bother Gran Turismo 5 for the PS3. On my wish list, I would like to seen an updated IRL game, or at least a game that comes close to simulating stock and open wheel cars in the mode of the now classic Andretti Racing for the PSX. I would also love a Le Mans type racing game; an updated 24 Hours of Le Mans would be lovely. I am sure there are others, but we have just taken the checkered flag, so all for now.

Activision kicks Sony in the shin.

A flurry of blog postings, fanboy ranting and rambling was came to a head over the last 48 hours after Activision CEO Bobby Kotick’s statement that Activision would cut bait on the PS3 if something did not change soon. EndSights gets straight to the point on this one:

“As you can see, the PlayStation 3 in 2008 did provide the least amount of revenue for the company in the console segment — but $241 million in revenue on a $1.294 billion in revenue still represents 18.6 percent of Activision’s console business. That might not seem extremely significant to everyone reading, but in the corporate and financial world, the PlayStation 3 inhabits a chunk of revenue and profit that provides growth potential to prospective investors. In short, dropping PlayStation 3 support would be akin to committing stock price suicide.”

In other words, the tempest in a teapot was for naught. Yes, the PS3 needs another price cut. A reduced price will help Sony, its third party publishers, and of course would help the PS3 from losing more traction to the 360. Activision is not moving away from the PS3 anytime soon.

Finally! Remote Play Success!

As my last article went to press, I was doing a final once over, making sure the links worked, and on the “unofficial” Remote Play thread the following text jumped off the screen and slapped me in the face:

** For users experiencing their PS3 turning on by itself, try placing your PS3’s static IP outside of the DHCP range of your router and also try disabling UPnP on your router **

To be honest, I have done everything; setting adjustments after setting adjustment. It all plays out like a bunch of black magic, and while I would occasionally get Remote Play to work over the Internet, I could never prevent the random PS3 start up, which made it all but impossible to use my PS3 in Remote Play mode.

Well, I never tried turning off UPnP. I thought that was the one setting that was an absolute must, but after turning off UPnP, my PlayStation never false started. A short while ago I made a preemptive Father’s Day run for some Modelo especial, and stopped in the parking lot of a local Bar and Grill that had a wifi hotspot. I turned on the PSP, scanned for a connection, and then started Remote Play. After a few seconds, I was connected to my PS3! Holy Toledo Batman! We have a winner …

Serious lag was an issue as I navigated the menu, making navigation a complete chore. I watched a couple of video clips, and while the lag was not horrible, it was noticeable. I think I could probably best describe the video streaming as a little lag and slight stutter, but not enough to distract from the experience. If I was not looking for issues, I am not sure if I would have noticed. Next I jumped into PixelJunk Eden, it too suffered from lag, but overall it played OK. Let’s score this one as decent, but from time to time there were some noticeable performance issues.

I am not going to declare victory until Remote Play works again tomorrow, but I think I finally have this tough nut cracked. What a major pain in the ass this has been, and the sad part was I was about to give up. Actually, I think I have given up three or four other times; I am a persistent SOB, so it was only a matter of time.

PS3 Remote Play woes continue.

I spent some more time earlier today attempting some voodoo to get Remote Play to work correctly, and while I am almost there, I have not found the right settings to get this feature working correctly. The main trouble point is that my PS3 decides to turn itself on, which in turn means that it will eventually turn itself off if a PSP does not establish Remote Play connectivity within a short period of time. Of course, if I am not initiating the connection, then the time out will occur, and the PS3 will turn off the ability to Remote Play via the internet.

I have attempted almost every conceivable combination of router settings, such as UPnP:

*If the router in use supports UPnP, enable the router’s UPnP function.

*If the router in use does not support UPnP, you must set the router’s port forwarding to allow communication to the PS3™ system from the Internet. The port number that is used by remote play is TCP: 9293. For information about setting this option, refer to the instructions supplied with the router.

I have also set up a static IP address, port forwarding, and then some. You name it, I have tried it. DMZ, VPN, DHCP. Nothing seems to stop the PS3 from receiving random garbage pings or packets or what not, which turns my PS3 on, and ultimately disables internet Remote Play capabilities.

Of all the topics, threads, and sites I have researched, this “unofficial” Remote Play setup thread has the best general info. Linksys WRT54GSV4 port forwarding settings for a whole slew of games can be found at the portforward.com.

What it all comes down to is that I think I am now at the point where I need to admit defeat. My router is just not compatible with the PS3’s Remote Play capabilities. Bummer, but time to move along.

Ferrari Challenge update. NFS Shifts?

Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli safely arrived Wednesday; however I did not get a chance to fire it up until last night. Before jumping into the game, I had to wait, and wait, and wait for the 2.02 patch to download and install. The download took a solid 5 minutes, which pretty much sucks since you cannot run it in background mode. After that nasty little inconvenience, I spent about thirty of so minutes with the game. I ran a couple of arcade races and time trials at Monza, and then several turns with the surprisingly fun Tutorial mode.

No real impressions yet, because such quick ticks would not be fair to the game. For $18, I am feeling rather happy with the game. Hope to get more time with it this weekend.

While waiting for the game, I learned that SuperCar Challenge is waiting in the wings, but it does not look like an American release is imminent. It also looks like another Need For Speed is coming our way, this time Shift. I really wish that the NFS series would return to its roots and get back to some more serious racing. I would love to see an updated version of the first PSX NFS, but I doubt that is going to happen anytime soon. At least Shift, complete with power ups, looks better than the recent street racing crap that has been plaguing the series.

PSP Remote Play Black Magic Redux.

I started off writing this from my PSP via my PS3, but quickly switched over to the more traditional laptop/Word combination. I started off on the PSP, but for some reason the PSP browser could not display this site’s admin page. So I figured I could try to post from my PSP via the PS3; if only I could connect.

I attempted to start Remote Play via the Internet option, but no dice. The Internet option did not work. I am not about to change my router connections again to get this mother to work. Been there, and played those stupid games. Next up was the Private Network option, which worked straight away.

Now that I was connected to the PS3, I decided to check on some background downloads (still downloading the big ass E3 videos), and then decided to see how well PixelJunk Eden played in Remote Play mode. The game worked fine; some lag, but controlled OK. Remote Play in general seems final, but sometimes the key presses get stuck, or lost, which makes navigation a royal pain. Maybe this all comes down to my wireless network connection. I keep debating if I should run some cable, and give my PS3 some juice straight from the wired router, instead of going wireless.

After a little while, I jumped into the PS3 web browser, headed to this site, and started typing this article. As I mentioned above, I gave up rather quickly. I put in the title and decided enough was enough. Typing with the PSP via the PS3 works, but pretty much sucks for anything more than a user name and password. I guess that goes for browsing with the actual PSP; the keypad interface works fine, but not for any serious work.

Browsing from the PSP is kind of cool, but it seems like more often than not it is too much of a hassle to navigate some of the more content rich sites such as ESPN. At least the Fox News site noticed right away that I was a mobile user, and directed me to their nifty little mobile site.

So back to Remote Play. I am not sure what gives, but it still seems like it is too damn difficult to get this feature working correctly. I should be able to access my PS3 via the Internet, but it looks like I am doomed to continue on with the Private Network option.

PS3 HDD full, but not satisfied.

So as I slowly creep back into a semi disordered gaming jones, I started downloading some E3 content from the PS3 store plus some back issues of Qore that I have not bothered to grab. Imagine my surprise to see that I do not have enough space on my HDD! WTF is up with that? It is not like I have purchased that many games, movies, and to the best of my knowledge, there is no downloaded porn (not that I would look), so how the heck was my HDD already full?

This is sad, but I was not even sure what size HDD was in my PS3 – 40GB or 60GB? I purchased my PS3 June 1, 2007, and while I remembered that I did not have the 20GB HDD model, I could not remember what else was being produced at the time. At any rate, I remembered that it was the 60GB version.

I am still not sure why all my storage space is completely full, but I figure it must have something to do with having 10-12 Qore episodes, a few miscellaneous gaming footage videos. I deleted some 2008 E3 videos to recover a little space, but I am not sure that is going to help.

Demos? This is probably not a complete list, but I think Heavenly Sword (because every boy enjoys a little T&A), Conan (more T&A), Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, DiRT, Sega Rally, maybe a couple of others. Good grief! Do the demos really take up that much space? It is not like I am going to get rid of my paid for downloaded games, so I think my only immediate option is to back up some of the Qore downloads and remove them from my PS3.

The only problem I have is that the memory cards for the various digital cameras in the house are only 2GB, which is hardly enough to backup much of anything. I thought about picking up a new PSP memory stick pro duo, but the prices suck. 4GB will set me back $34.99, and 8GB versions are twice as much. I do not think a new memory stick is worth the price of 1-2 PSP games. Sony and their damn priority formats.

I guess that means I will have to get a portable USB HDD; I probably need one anyway for media backup. Or maybe a regular larger 8GB memory card, which I can actually use for my wife’s digital camera. The memory card would be a slower, but cheaper and useful backup option.

Of course it all begs the question on why would I even want to keep older Qore episodes? Damned if I know, but I guess since I paid for them, I want to keep them. If I can get them to my computer, I can at least burn them to DVD for future reference.