How much longer should my PS3 last?

First off I wanna say that I don't plan on getting the PS4 for at least a few years after it comes out. Even if, against all odds, it does end up having backwards compatibility, I still will have to wait until the price goes down to at least $250-$300 or so. Anyway, I bought my 40GB PS3 (no backwards compatibility) in 2008, and just last year I bought my friend's 80GB hard drive and switched it in, and to this day my console is going strong.  It may have had minor problems in the past, such as freezing at random moments (rarely, however) and making a loud noise, presumably from the fan, after playing it for more than a few hours from time to time, but that hasn't happened in quite a while. I still use it often for gaming, I've been downloading games from PSN and will probably upgrade to a 500GB hard drive soon to store more games, since I just subscribed to a year of PS+ (especially with Mass Effect 3 becoming free next month, which is bound to take a ton of memory).  I also use it for Netflix/watching movies almost as often as I do for gaming, usually streaming a few episodes of Breaking Bad at a time.

The thing that concerns me is, since I plan on using my PS3 for the long-term, how much longer should I expect my PS3 to run as well as it is before it breaks/stops functioning? The idea of purchasing a new, slim PS3 with a good HDD did cross my mind but ultimately upgrading the hard drive is cheaper, even if I do list my old one on eBay, so I don't plan on that.  I really want to make sure it will run for at least a few more years before I go ahead and buy the new hard drive, since that would extend the lifetime of it for me. 

I do t think there is any way to say for sure how long it will last. Maybe 10 days maybe 10 years. Just buy a 60 dollar hard drive. AutoPilotOn

The one I'm looking at here is $53. 

Sony has already stated that none of the PSN purchases you make on a PS3 will work on the new console... bad move, Sony. Bad move. Yet another of the 100 reasons I won't be buying, if they stick to that statement...

Piss on the PS4.

As long as you keep your PS3 clean, and well-ventilated, there's no reason why it shouldn't last for a long, long time. Take care of it, and it will last. Allow it to get choked with dust, and it'll crap out. It's pretty much that simple.

Sony has already stated that none of the PSN purchases you make on a PS3 will work on the new console... bad move, Sony. Bad move.

MonkeySpot

EDIT: Nevermind, found it. That seems strange to me that no PSN games will be able to run on PS4 but it is a completely new architecture.

Sony has already stated that none of the PSN purchases you make on a PS3 will work on the new console... bad move, Sony. Bad move. Yet another of the 100 reasons I won't be buying, if they stick to that statement...

Piss on the PS4.

As long as you keep your PS3 clean, and well-ventilated, there's no reason why it shouldn't last for a long, long time. Take care of it, and it will last. Allow it to get choked with dust, and it'll crap out. It's pretty much that simple.

MonkeySpot

you cant really say for sure, my 80 gig backwards compatable model was going strong with no problems and then just a week ago out of no where it got the YLOD. So I would say if you have a FAT model their is a good chance that it may not last a couple more years. I was hoping for the same thing with mine.jcopp72

That's....unfortunate. You think if I dust mine (which I haven't done in a while) then I might be able to prevent the issue?

you cant really say for sure, my 80 gig backwards compatable model was going strong with no problems and then just a week ago out of no where it got the YLOD. So I would say if you have a FAT model their is a good chance that it may not last a couple more years. I was hoping for the same thing with mine.jcopp72

...how much longer should I expect my PS3 to run as well as it is before it breaks/stops functioning?

Tigerman950

[QUOTE="MonkeySpot"]

Sony has already stated that none of the PSN purchases you make on a PS3 will work on the new console... bad move, Sony. Bad move. Yet another of the 100 reasons I won't be buying, if they stick to that statement...

Piss on the PS4.

As long as you keep your PS3 clean, and well-ventilated, there's no reason why it shouldn't last for a long, long time. Take care of it, and it will last. Allow it to get choked with dust, and it'll crap out. It's pretty much that simple.

jcopp72

And when the PSPGo was released, they said that the majority of games for PSP on UMD would be available, just not at the outset... Aaaaaand we see how THAT worked out. HUGE, GAPING holes in the library, some being the most-popular titles on the system. I think the one thing that buyers can be assured of, is that Sony will make as little of the PS3 world available for PS4 as they can possibly get away with. They may not represent such a business model to the public, but they're in this to make money, and to seal all of the leaks they had with the PS3 in terms of revenue lost:

- Game Sharing/ Multiple machine licensing has been cut to TWO machines (in their mind, hopefully a PS4 & a Vita).

- Discussion of and development/ patenting of anti-used-game firmware measures.

- Cloud (otherwise known as "Renting a Game", but calling it "Cloud" so that you don't catch on that you own NOTHING via said business model)

Not to mention possible "Gotta Be Online To Play" DRM, no B/C, and on and on and on... This is all about plugging the leaks and mistakes they made wit hthe PS3 which lost them sales. There's nothing wrong with protecting your intellectual properties, but some of this stuff is just about holding more control over the buying public, and I won't be buying into it. If you like renting instead of owning, if you don't mind all of the other leashes they want to walk you on, then go for it... But it's not for me. Whether you like what's going on or not, at least learn to see things for what they are.