The Family PlayStation Quandary. . .Please Advise

R

raven70

CAGiversary!
Trying to decide what makes the most sense here. . .

  1. Get son a PS3, probably a 500GB bundle for around $250 new.  I prefer new over used, but I have not seen any good deals on PS3 bundles this holiday.  He would have access to more than 200 games from my PSN account.
  2. I get a PS4 bundle for around $400, probably GTAV and Last of Us (already played through both on PS3), and gift son my PS3 (which again, over 200 games but also all my discs).

BACKGROUND

I have a PS3 with an upgraded 1TB HDD and more than 200 games.  I definitely want a PS4, but I am in no hurry due to a significant backlog of PS3 titles, and only a handful of PS4 titles that I am interested in.  It would seem simple to just say, get a PS4 and keep the PS3, but there is another part to this.

I have had every intention of getting my son a PS3 this Christmas, as he only plays PC games like Minecraft and Roblox and Wii (dying) or 3DS games, but with my PSN account and Plus, he would get access to a lot of already purchased content for free as I can register a second console.  He currently is not allowed to touch my PS3.

It's not as simple as saying let him play the PS3, get a PS4, and go play the PS3 when I want to as it would go in another room (let's call it his space) and then we are having to share and that is not practical (I go on the PS3 nearly every night and am addicted to all of the Souls games, as well as play several others).  The fact that the PS4 is not backward compatible really sucks because I would pay an extra $100 to have that feature.  The PS3 is in the family room entertainment console, and I can't add 2-3 video game systems there as that would cause the friction with other family members (e.g., the Mom).

PS4 games I would want are Shadow of Mordor, Dragon Age, and Bloodborne next spring.  Not really interested in others, so if I got a game or 2 now would be a big change for me from my current selection.  Oh, I have Plus and have been adding PS4 games to my account since they became available so I would have those indie games and Injustice in December and that racing game whenever it comes out.

 
I would suggest getting the PS4, and letting him have your PS3.

If...

You would want to swap your backlog of games for 2 or 3 you would play on the PS4. That's the ordeal.

If you are content with your current PS3 catalog, and it has a lot of life left in it for you, then get your son a PS3 of his own so you can finish your backlog.

I hate the non backwards compatibility too. That's what is making me lean more towards a Wii-U for my family.

Honesty this is a hard call. If there are not a lot of PS4 games right now you would want to grab, you may regret gifting your son your current catalog and setup. If you think that's the case then go ahead and buy him his own. Gamestop has yet to leak there ad, maybe they will have a deal on a PS3 bundle. Amazon might too sometime tween BF and X-Mas.

I know you said you don't like used, but if you decide to look into that route try a site like Cowboom (an offshoot of Best Buy). Or check the Amazon Warehouse deals thread in the video game deals section. Other CAGS post links to used items there from Amazon and sometimes you can get a real steal on a good used PS3. Just a thought. If you did score a used one for around 100 to 125 you could almost have yourself a PS4 and your son his own setup for not much more then the bundles you mentioned.

The new super slim PS3'S with the top loader are supposed to be quite nice actually.

Keep an eye out in the vide game deals section, maybe a pS3 bundle will show up for less then 350 new. I hope that this helps some and good luck from one Dad to another my CAG brother. :)
 
Gamestop's Black Friday ad leaked. They have a used PS3 120 gig(?) For $169.

I know you said you prefer new over used but wanted to throw that out there.
 
You like all the Souls games but have no interest in Lords of the Fallen? Seems like that alone should be enough to hold you over until Bloodborne releases.

If you get your son a PS3 now will you be able to get yourself a PS4 in March when Bloodborne comes out? If so, that's probably your best bet. Hell, maybe Sony will do a proper Bloodborne Bundle.
 
Shadow of Mordor and Dragon Age are rather long so depending on how many hours of gameplay you put in every night they can easily last you until Bloodborne comes out especially if you supplement them with PS+ games. Binding of Isaac still freaks me out but it's a good game to kill 10-20 minutes before having to leave the house. Dragon Age by itself will preoccupy a good amount of hours especially if your trophy hunting. Shadow of Mordor is also $25-30 for Black Friday so it might be ideal to pick up Shadow of Mordor and go through that while waiting for a Dragon Age to go on sale. 

Once you've reached 20+ games for backlog...likely hood of you ever going through them are nil. Even if you took a month off of work and dedicated 10 hours a day just playing through your backlog you'd probably still would never get through them and with more additional sales you'll only continue to contributing to your backlog. 

Start fresh with the PS4 and let your son enjoy your selection instead. Depending on how old your son is, have a father/son bonding night to play some PS3 games and you get the best of both worlds. 

 
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