OK bear with me here whilst I ask the dumbest questions since the German Army said 'Will we need gloves in Russia?'

We (we being the good lady wife and I) have always been very mean and never allowed our kids to have any kind of games console however things have changed. Yesterday my work announced they were taking back all the company provide mobiles as they don't think they are needed anymore and therefore an unnecessary expense.

Therefore I had to shop around this morning for a new phone and found a deal which meant I got a free PS3 Slim with an 18 month phone contract.

So we are going to give this to my 6 year old for his Christmas (mean eh!!) as he is about the only kid left in the whole area who doesn't have one and it makes it awkward when his mates come to visit and it is peeing down outside.

So my question is not whether the PS3 Slim is any good or better/worse than an X-Box or Nintendo WII because I am getting a PS3 SLim regardless of how good it is.

What I want to know is whether normal PS3 games are compatible with the PS3 SLim or whether I am going to have to pay through the nose for a couple of games to go with it which are PS3 SLim specific.

Also can it play PS2 games or is there a compatibility issue there.

I really know bugger all about games consoles.

Cheers

Loz

p.s. what is a good footie game :o

All PS3 games are the same and work equally well.

I believe the slim PS3 is not backwards compatible though, so PS2 games won't work.

PS3 is better than the 360 and Wii in my view, yeah. I have a Wii, and it's great fun for a few hours, but gets boring very quickly. The games don't have the longevity of a 360 or a PS3. Also, I reckon it's better than a 360 because of the blu-ray player, but I'm guessing you may well already have one and won't be using it for that, but even so, it means that games can have more information and be longer, and have better graphics.

FIFA 10 is the best Football game out there, right now.

I was going to suggest other games to get, if you were feeling rich, but, I realised something and that's the age group the consoles are aimed at. The Wii is probably better for a kid your son's age. The best games (other than FIFA 10), are things like GTAIV, Tekken, and the like, which probably wouldn't be right for him... although you may well enjoy wasting some time on them. :o Wii games are generally, family based games which would probably be better.

He likes games like Lego star wars and Mario Carts- that is the sort of thing I will be looking for.

ps3 slim is the same as a ps3 only looks better and takes up less space so there can't be any slim/non-slim specific games

there is a compatability issue with ps2 games though (think you need some sort of adaptor or something) but they ps3 games aren't much more expensive so it's not really an issue unless you have old ps2 games lying about which i'm guessing you don't

and fifa 10 is incredible. don't even bother looking at pes cause it's sh*te

which is the better console (ps3) isn't really the main issue. if most of his friends have one console then that's probably the one to get him. then he can play online with them (for free with the ps3 btw :o)

Cheers lads,

Is ebay my best bet for getting cheap(er) games?

brand new, shopto.net does the cheapest games

fifa 10 is 28 quid there brand new. it's like 40 in game etc.

never bought off e-bay so not sure bout it

He likes games like Lego star wars and Mario Carts- that is the sort of thing I will be looking for.

For a 6 year old, the only way to go is a Wii. Seriously, they will get much more benefit from it than a PS3 by more games aimed at that age group. In my opinion, a Wii is in it's own category and shouldn't really be compared to 360 or PS3 as the console is so very different.

Just have a look through Wii games somewhere and you will see for a 6 year old, he will get much more enjoyment from it. Also, get yourself a Wii fit and lose some of that beer belly at the same time loz!

Wii isn't an option - the deal I got is for a PS3 so that is what we are getting. Already ordered. Also I don't think they have launched a scratching your arse tool for the Wii yet so it would be no use to me.

I had a PS3 v XBOX thread a few months ago Loz when I thought I was going to have money and there were some excellent responses from the troops. I didn't get one and I'm stuck with the Wii and PS2.

From memory the PS3 was outstanding in the graphics stakes but pretty low in the customer service stakes.

From what I know Sony are outstanding in games and playability and the internet play is free. Gamestation have always been good for me when buying games for any console.

You also get a very fancy DVD player out of it. Once local governement decide whether theyre going to promote or sack me I'm investing in one or the other, anyway enjoy, your son will get nowhere near it.

I've never been upset by the sony products. Always good, always reliable, and the games are usually a little behind the X-box in terms of when they are released, but they all come out eventually.

There are few games that are only available on one console, so you are pretty sure that if you see something you like it'll be available.

PS3, when it was first launched was backwards compatible (meaning it could play PS2 games) however, it was too costly and they dropped it. So I very much doubt the slim will be backwards compatible.

To get it free is a great deal!

It is all change now.

02 failed me on a credit check which after it was looked into is because the gazeteer system has changed our address from Flat 1 to Flat 0/1 which means their records didn't agree with my banks records (which still have me as Flat 1)

This then gave me a chance to change the order and I am now with Orange with the main reaosn for that being that I get a WII with that instead of the PS3.

All credit checks now passed and the phone and WII will be sent out within the next 3-5 days.