Does it make a difference if I buy a PAL PS3?

[RCBH928]

I think I might finally pick a ps3 but my region is PAL , but I always pick up NTSC because I depend on the American market for online releases and buying used games(Yes I import all the games. Its cheaper including the shipping) . Well the PAL system affect me if I want to go on the American PSN ? Will it run NTSC games? Will it play NTSC Bluray?

I heard ps3 does not have region locks but I am not sure what does that mean.

[hashiriya1]

I bought PAL PS3 games when I went to Australia and they run fine on both my NTSC-U and NTSC-J PS3s. I think you have nothing to worry about.

[oxymoron]

As long as it isn't region locked, you should be fine.

[ZenErik]

The only region locked PS3 game is Persona 4 Arena.

And that game is receiving an update in arcades. So the next home version for PS3 or PS4 might even be region free.

[theclaw]

PS1 (and PS2) disc region lock is still in effect.
I'd overall suggest NTSC for that. PAL versions are often slow/bordered.

Video display settings differ.
PAL PS3 has 576i/576p modes at 50hz only.
NTSC PS3 has 480i/480p modes at 60hz only.

A downside of NTSC PS3 is it prohibits 50hz output.
Won't play such DVD & bluray content, or certain PAL PS3 games in SD.

[Pulsar_t]

If you don't plan on playing PS1 games or watching BD/DVD's it makes no difference.

[RCBH928]

I actually I do plan on watching Bluray/DVD , isn't there a way to overcome that? Its funny how the cheap players will run anything but the big company names like Sony will region lock stuff.

Also I thought ps3 dropped the ability to play ps1 and ps2 games long time ago?

I never ever saw any difference between 576p/480p , 60hz or 50hz . Its not like one looks better than the other.

I heard there are new ps3's that are only $200 , but then I heard they got non-expanding memory of 12GB . If it has an expansion for HDD I'll get one. I think it will be cheaper to order that online and pay for shipping than buying offshelf here. But if games won't run from an external HDD its no use.

[AppleQueso]

Also I thought ps3 dropped the ability to play ps1 and ps2 games long time ago?

Ps2 was dropped, yes, but not Ps1. Ps1 games work on all Ps3 models.

[Hobie-wan]

I actually I do plan on watching Bluray/DVD , isn't there a way to overcome that? Its funny how the cheap players will run anything but the big company names like Sony will region lock stuff.

Because you're supposed to follow the region nonsense if you want to license the decryption. Sony was part of creating the region stuff, so of course they're going to follow it. Little companies that make players that don't follow it are in danger of having their licensing cut off, if they're even licensing it properly in the first place.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I actually I do plan on watching Bluray/DVD , isn't there a way to overcome that? Its funny how the cheap players will run anything but the big company names like Sony will region lock stuff.

The only way to circumvent the region locks is through firmware hacking via the old other OS thing, a procedure that's extremely complex, could brick your system if you do the slightest thing wrong, and also depends on how how up-to-date the firmware on the system already is. Do not buy a PAL system if you want NTSC movies or vise versa.

I thought ps3 dropped the ability to play ps1 and ps2 games long time ago?

PS2 yes, but all but the very newest PS3s will play PS1 games from the region that PS3 is from. A PAL PS3 will play PAL PS1 discs, and an NTSC PS3 will play NTSC PS1 discs.

I never ever saw any difference between 576p/480p , 60hz or 50hz . Its not like one looks better than the other.

It depends on the game and your setup, but the difference can be truly dramatic, especially when it comes to PS1 games. 50Hz bordered PAL PS1 games are awful compared to their clean 60Hz NTSC counterparts.

I heard there are new ps3's that are only $200 , but then I heard they got non-expanding memory of 12GB . If it has an expansion for HDD I'll get one. I think it will be cheaper to order that online and pay for shipping than buying offshelf here. But if games won't run from an external HDD its no use.

Those are cost-reduced pieces of sh*t. Even if you can expand the harddrive, don't buy a super slim on account of the actual hardware being absolute junk. Also they won't play PS1 discs whatsoever from any region. You're much better off buying a used 120GB PS3 slim. You'll probably even up paying less if you go that route.