Is the ps3 reliable?is it worth the money,ive been saving and reading things about it people on cnet.com said it was better than the 360.ive been told it was unreliable and hacked alot.

I've never had a problem with the PS3 aside from the PSN outage earlier this year.

The only hardware issue I know of is the YLoD, and I've never had it after the past year and a half.

The only hacking problem was with PSN, so that wasn't even with the PS3 itself.

And like leggy said, the only thing I've seen is the yellow light of death, and it happens a lot less than the XBOX 360. So compared to the XBox, it has a lot fewer issues. People can't even mod the multiplayer games on that as well.

Everything is hackable. Everything. The PS3 was just a victim of Sony blowing a court case out of proportion. As much as I love Sony's stuff, they were not professional about how they acted. The system is also not any better than the 360. It has a free online gaming service that is better than Nintendo's rote learning(a type of learning involving memorization), I mean friend code based online. The service does what it does well, but it isn't perfect or better. The console actually has problems with stuff like Bethesda's in-house games due to file bloating.

This system is very reliable despite all the problems it has. While Sony likes to make using third party controllers with the system harder, the official PS3 controllers are great controllers. If they end up not working for you due to large hands or being used to the 360, you can get third party controller clip ons for the analog sticks that might fix some of the problems. I find the PS3 controller perfect for my small hands, but I'm naturally tiny in build.

If you get into using third party controllers for the PS3, keep up to date on which ones have gotten blocked by the latest update. It might just be better to not bother with third party controllers simply because you never know which ones have been blocked. Controllers aside, time to talk about game performance.

Performance of games on the PS3 varies. This system has been said to be hard to develop for, which is why PS3 versions of some games may seem very shoddy if you played those games on a 360. I don't own a 360 and have a low end(as of now) laptop, so I have no choice but to get sometimes the worst versions of a game. If you want Skyrim, avoid the PS3 version unless you lack a PC that can run it well and a 360. This version of Skyrim is the most buggy version. Bioshock on the PS3 isn't as bad. It is very playable, but probably has problems that are much more minor.

Those horror stories out of the way, when a game works well on the PS3, it works great. Deus Ex Human Revolution plays great on this system. It looks great, as well. Not many multiplatform games look great graphics wise on the PS3 due to the fact that this system is hard to develop for. It's all very minor, though. You'll find many great games on the PS3, just be sure you know what you want. Highly recommend Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time.

The system is very friendly towards use of stuff that isn't made just for the PS3. I have a Phillips USB cable plugged into the charging cable and the PS3, for example. It works great. You can also charge an iPod on this. I only have the second generation iPod Shuffle, so I can't say much about all the others. Just look at the USB cables you use before plugging them into the USB ports on the front of the slim PS3. I haven't tried to charge a DS on a PS3, but it might work depending on what model you have. If anyone has tried, please tell the thread maker for me. The system is almost like a science experiment without intending to be just because of all the things you can charge with it.

Now let's talk features. I will just say it right now. The internet browser on this thing is terrible. I tried it again recently, and yep. Still the worst internet browser on a game system I have seen. Only use it to do light browsing of Youtube if you have to use it. It hates working oftentimes. Here's some hilarity. The internet browser does not like to work when you go on any official Sony website. No joke.

The music playback is great, luckily. I have some music on it, and it works great. It seems to be decent with video playback, as well. It doesn't appear to want to bother with Windows laptops for some reason. Only tried using one Windows laptop, so yeah... You will be logged off PSN pretty often, but it's only a big deal if you use it a lot.

Now does it play PS1 and PS2 games? It plays just about any PS1 game. The problem is, you may have problems with some PS1 games due to the CD reading being a bit inferior to the PS1 and PS2. If you have a PS2 or PS1, remember to have those around just in case this thing won't read a disc.

What about PS2 games? That is a mixed bag. I have read that some slim PS3 models will play a small amount of PS2 titles. Most of those titles are of the Socom series, though. The original fat PS3 can play PS2 games with less annoyance from what I've heard. You can get some PS2 games off PSN, but mainly ones that didn't get a huge mainstream following when they were on the PS2. To solve any PS1 disc problems, you may be able to find the PS1 game you had troubles getting to work on the PS3 via PSN. Sadly, the selection is very limited. Unless you're a huge Squaresoft fan or old school Spyro fan, you will have trouble finding downloadable versions of lesser known PS1 titles.

There's also Netflix and all that good stuff. Pretty sure it works fine. I just refuse to subscribe to these services after that whole PSN hack that happened this year. By the way, be sure to be extremely careful if you use a credit card to get stuff off the PSN store. Just in case such a hack ever happens again.

How is the game selection? Pretty standard for a current gen console that isn't the PC or Wii. You will find more shooters than anything, same goes for the 360. If you speak Japanese, it won't be hard to import games. The PS3 is region free, by the way, so you can play games from any region. I heard most Blu-Ray players are like this.

The PS3 is fairly reliable. Sony has been trying to make it harder to hack, as well. It only will get an early death if you let it overheat, don't take care of it, and just let it get too dusty. Oh, and an interesting story about what happened when I tripped over that tiny charging cable. The PS3 landed on another storage container made of plastic, and it still works like normal. I would have it in a less liable place, but my room has little room for it. *sigh*

Hope all this information helps. I just wanted to give a more informative answer.

KlawedFlaw :

"Now let's talk features. I will just say it right now. The internet browser on this thing is terrible. I tried it again recently, and yep. Still the worst internet browser on a game system I have seen. Only use it to do light browsing of Youtube if you have to use it. It hates working oftentimes. Here's some hilarity. The internet browser does not like to work when you go on any official Sony website. No joke."

I wouldn't say it's terrible. It's maybe not as great as the Wii's (I wouldnt know, as I've not used the Wii for internet... the Wii gathers dust.), but the fact it has one is a nice feature. More than I can say for the 360. (One of my many complaints about the 360)

" If you want Skyrim, avoid the PS3 version unless you lack a PC that can run it well and a 360. This version of Skyrim is the most buggy version."

This isn't always true however. I own the PS3 version, and I've only had an issue in game once. And I've played over 300 hours into it. (Which I say is fantastic).

"Now does it play PS1 and PS2 games?"

The new model plays PSX games but not PS2 games. The old model plays both, but is more subject to other technical failures (although those are limited as well). However, multiple PSone classics are available on PSN, and numerous PS2 Classics are being made for download as well.

"How is the game selection?"

This can really depend. I for one don't care for the Wii's selection of games, being the type of gamer who doesn't play with many friends. As such, most of the exclusives aren't really all that enjoyable for me. However, the PS3 has numerous AMAZING exclusives (Heavy Rain, Disgaea, Little Big Planet, and more reign supreme for me).

If nothing else the PS3 is (in my opinion, my very very firm opinion) the best console on the market, and is rarely a let down.

Again, I haven't had the same problem other users have reported. Either this is because I have a really lucky system or because people complain too much I'll never know, but from the perspective of the average 19 year old gamer, the PS3 is fun, reliable, and easy to use.

Yeah, really reliable. I've used mine for the past... year and a fourth and I've had no problems, not even minor problems, since I've used it, even if I no longer have access to it.

Well of course its reliable,lol.  We got ours 1 year and a half ago it works perfectly. Now I never use the browser because I already have a laptop for that. So its only used for gaming or Playstation Home.  Its super reliable.

Its far more reliable than xbox,thats for sure,plus you dont get rammed for extras and online fees.
Also blueray is pretty good,i was playing yesterday and had to check on my bath,i went to the bathroom while still using the controller(i had a good mental picture of where i was) and the ps3 was still recieving and responding perfectly.
Unlike lame wired/battery powered xbox.
If im feeling lazy i love to stay in bed with the blankets high and over the controller,works perfect.

I purchased my PS3 over 2 years ago it was the original slim model with the 120gb hard drive. The system still works the same as the day I bought it. I even left the system on by accident for a week when I was on vacation and when I came back it was still running cool. The system always works and I never have had an issue. The system itself is great Blu-Ray, free online, great games, and excellent controls for games. It is never going to let you down.