Which system?

[Phoenix]

The time is right for me to look at getting a games console but which one. Many years ago I has a Playstation with steering wheel, pedals, seat etc and enjoyed TOCA and Colin McRae Rally - sorry can't remember the correct titles but they were based on proper cars,circuits and rally stages.

I would really appreciate advice on what's available now. I am not interested in other gaming and never got into Gran Tourismo as I prefer it to be based on real race tracks and stages.

I imagine thinks have moved on quite a bit in the last 10 years plus.

[LukeBird]

There's a good stickied thread at the top of this page. Well worth a browse!
Beyond that, if any of your friends already have consoles and you plan to play with them, buy what they have!

[Polarbert]

http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...

[LocoBlade]

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has some real circuits included such as Suzuka, Fuji and Daytona, so when the full GT5 eventually arrives with its 100 or so tracks I'd expect a lot of those to be real circuits too. Some are still ficticious though.

[Phoenix]

Polarbert said:

http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...

Read all of that. Didn't really help me. Not interested in Blue Ray, online gaming and all other extras, I just want to get the best racing setup.

[MoesTavern]

Do you have a gaming PC? if not that would seem to be the best bet if you're only bothered about racing games. GTR, R-Factor, I-Racing etc are more 'realistic' than anything around on consoles at the moment.

[ih8thisname]

Buy whichever one you like. They are both fantastic consoles and you will not be disappointed either way.

[noodleman]

xbox + forza.

[steeveeboy]

noodleman said:

xbox + forza.

+1
best car to date with mine is a datsun 510 tuned to R3 947hp LOL
its older than me!

[Phoenix]

Have spent most of the morning looking and think I will probably go for the Playstation. I have noticed that some of the games I am looking at saying they are for the PS2, can they also be played on the PS3?

What about a steering wheel, pedals and seat, any suggestions, or ones to avoid?

[soad]

Phoenix said:

I have noticed that some of the games I am looking at saying they are for the PS2, can they also be played on the PS3?

To play PS2 games you need to find a PS3 60GB model (has 4 usb ports, chrome outside and a MultiCard reader).

However they were discontinued by Sony. So you have to find a pre-owned one (from Game/GameStation/CEX and the like). They tend to be fairly expensive, and not that easy to find nowadays.
Some suffer Blu-Ray drive failures, so if buying from eBay, be cautious.

All new PS3's on sale now don’t support PS2 games.

You can always get yourself a cheap used PS2 console for any older PS2 games you have.

[LukeBird]

MoesTavern said:

Do you have a gaming PC? if not that would seem to be the best bet if you're only bothered about racing games. GTR, R-Factor, I-Racing etc are more 'realistic' than anything around on consoles at the moment.

That.
I have Forza 2 & 3 for Xbox and they are fantastic, but for realism go for a PC and GT Legends, GTR, rFactor etc.

[Phoenix]

Unfortunately I only have a basic laptop so can't go down the pc games route. I have found a few games I think will be suitable so now looking at seat, pedals and steering wheel options.

[Phoenix]

Is there any benefit in getting the 250GB or 120GB PS3 over the 80GB one?

[MoesTavern]

What apart from the obvious? no

[LocoBlade]

Phoenix said:

Is there any benefit in getting the 250GB or 120GB PS3 over the 80GB one?

120Gb and 250gb are the newer PS3 Slim models. IMHO they look at bit better and they have HDMI-CEC support for controlling the menus etc via your TV remote, but apart from that I dont think there's any difference.

[LocoBlade]

As for wheels / pedals, the Logitech G25 is the common favourite and until a few months ago were available for ~£120, but they're now discontinued and have been replaced by the G27 which is only a mild evolution and not much of an improvement (and inferior in one aspect), yet its still selling near its full RRP at £260-280! I managed to pick up a good second hand G25 but because of their popularity and the G27's cost, second hand they're about the same price if not more than they were new back in the autumn!

I couldnt really justify spending £250-300 which is why I went the second hand route, but if I had that kind of cash to spend I'd have gone for a Fanatec GT3RS wheel rather than a G27, from what Ive read the wheel is meant to be a little better than the Logitech and the machined alloy Clubsport pedals are in a different league. They also do a slightly more expensive wheel which is compatible with PS3, PC and the Xbox360 if you think you might eventually end up with both consoles!