Bloodborne is out today and plenty of people have been asking me: “is it worth buying a PS4 for?”
I don’t know. Depends how much money you have!
Is a single game ever worth buying a console for? I don’t know. I think not. But in my experience I’ve tended to buy consoles for a certain game and then found myself enjoying other games. I bought a GameCube for Wind Waker, for example, then found myself loving all different sorts of games on that console. I bought an Xbox for Halo and ended up enjoying Morrowind and Splinter Cell. Long story short: there are usually a ton of surprise games on consoles that surprise you.
So I’m going to go with yes. It’s worth it in the long term. But only because there are other games out there.
Comments
93 responses to “The Big Question: Would You Buy A Console For One Game?”
I would say the PS4 is worth buying for it’s library, but I have purchased Nintendo systems for 1 or 2 games. Sadly when I got my 3DS the only game I wanted for it was OoT.
No.
Sure, there were lots of games on PS3/PS4 that I would like to play, but I barely have time for the games one one console, let alone two. I’ve had Dead Rising 3 for months, and only played about an hour or two (and even that was a few months after buying the game).
I have in the past.
It is a great excuse to buy the console in the first place, then continue to add only quality games there after.
I bought the GameCube to play Rogue Squadron
I bought the xbox & 360 for Halo
I own a PS4 and Wiiu, but I don’t think i’ll buy the xbone
I bought a PS3 just for Journey.
I played Uncharted afterwards… but I wouldn’t have bothered without Journey.
Nope. I tend to have a five* game rule when buying new consoles – only buy the console if you can name enough games you want for it such that the cost of the games outstrips the cost of the console.
*Not always exactly five, but five games has usually been a good rule of thumb.
This is pretty good rule I think. I went through a similar thing for the 3DS – I wanted to play MM, OoT and Smash Bros, but my 2DS was good enough to play everything else, so I couldn’t justify the upgrade
I like your rule but I wouldn’t follow it. I bought a launch PS4 without that many games I wanted but I felt safe in my purchase simply based on the fact that Sony have released consoles that eventually had the best game library (IMO) three times in a row. It’s hard to bet against that happening again.
I’m sure Nintendophiles would use similar logic.
It’s not a strict rule, and even I’ll admit I bent it a little for my PS4 – I bought it with four games, but I can’t say I bought it for any of them. And as a result, the first 10 months it saw very little use. It’s been exclusively used for Destiny since September, tho starting to use it for Netflix and will be playing Bloodborne by the weekend.
Anyway, it’s more of what you’d call a guideline than an actual rule. Every time I’ve ignored it, the console has had little activity for months on end before either seeing an interesting new release (as was the case with my PS4), or getting sold (as was the case with my Wii). It always works for me when I follow it, and I know and accept the risks when I choose to ignore it.
Thats why I never did get the Wii U.
Yes, mainly for the reason Mark outlines in the article. I want to get a Wii U for Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8 but there’s also tons of great stuff I can get afterwards too
did that, got a Xbox 360 just for Banjo kazooie Nuts and Bolts only other games i ever got for it is the remake of Banjo Kazooie and Tooie
I bought my PS3 to play Metal Gear Solid 4, everything else was just a bonus! But that was the next addition to one of my favourite series, so that sort of made the decision for me. As for would I buy an Xbox now? I agree with Karachiking, I don’t have the time to put a new console to good use after fitting in PS3/4 and PC games. Plus, most of the Xbox 360/One games I want to play also come to PC, so there’s that.
BUNDLES.
BUNDLES BUNDLES BUNDLES.
Like, I bought a 360 Slim in 2010 or 2011 that was bundled with Red Dead.
For Limbo, though.
It was after a period of being one-console only (Wii) and eyeing off what the other two were getting (a lot).
I never finished Red Dead.
I had this dilemma with the Wii U and now with the PS 4. Bayonetta 2 was the game that had me umming and ahhing over the Wii U, however, there were a number of VC games along with Monster Hunter 3U and Wind Waker HD out at the time so I knew there were other games to justify the purchase in the long run.
The PS4 is a little different though. There’s a lot of interesting indie games on it, but nothing that I’m super interested in or can’t already get on PC/Vita. Other than that, there’s Bloodborne and nothing else lined up so far that justifies the purchase in the long run. I’m thinking maybe once Disgaea 5 is out I’ll indulge, but it’s still a tough sell even then.
Yeah the best set up atm in my opinion is a PC and Wii U. There are so few compelling exclusives that the other consoles just aren’t that interesting (mind you, this is coming from someone who owns all the home consoles)
I guess it depends on where you draw the line. I have a PC, PS4 and WiiU. (And handhelds). They all get fair use but not enough for me to justify an xbox as well.
I’d find it really hard to choose between the PS4 or WiiU. The WiiU offers the most unique experiences and games that aren’t like ones on PC, PS4 or XB1… but the PS4 sees the most polished cinematic type games that (IMO) you don’t really see done quite as well on other platforms (At least not as often), but the other platforms offer similar titles anyway, and obviously they have all the multi-platform stuff as well.
So I guess it depends on how many systems you can handle lol.
For 1 game? Nah. Two or more, depending on their length and how much they mean to you? For sure.
I bought a Wii U for Mario Kart and Donkey Kong. NO RAGRETS!
I bought a Wii U when Mario Kart came out (bundle). That we could still play our Wii games made it an easy decision that came down to timing rather will we / won’t we though.
Generally not, although I went VERY close to buying a PS3 just for The Last of Us towards the end of its lifecycle (in the end I just borrowed a mates).
I want to play Bloodborne but I won’t be buying a PS4 specifically for it. It sounds like the kind of thing that I’ll want to put down for a while (to chill) and there’s not much else on the PS4 that I’m interested in right now.
I’d guess that a console needs at least 5 games that I really want to play before I’d get it as a “secondary” console. It’s generally easier with Nintendo machines because (apart from the WiiU) their exclusives are generally AAA and differentiate themselves enough from the other machines to make them worth the purchase.
The Wii U has some great games, especially since they are exclusives. An easy five would be:
1. Mario Kart 8
2. Smash Bros 4
3. Wind Waker HD
4. Bayonetta 2
5. Super Mario 3D World
Each to their own, but to me:
1. Mario Kart 8
Another very good Mario Kart is another very good Mario Kart. I’ve played 1000 of them and I’m not buying a system for it even though I’m sure it’s a lot of fun. Plus it really needs 3 extra (decent) controllers to get the most out of it so that adds to the cost of the system as a “system seller”, I won’t play online because I don’t know anyone who owns a WiiU and Nintendos’ online infrastructure sucks ass.
2. Smash Bros 4
See above except without the controller issue (because of Wavebird support).
3. Wind Waker HD
I bought a Gamecube for this game (I’d wanted one already) but I’m not buying a new machine for a remake, especially when I know I’ll be paying full retail price for it 3 years after a brand new Xbone/ PS4 game released at the same time would have had its price cut in half.
4. Bayonetta 2
Not a system seller personally for me but I’m sure it is great. Maybe not my style of game.
5. Super Mario 3D World
A “new” Mario game more that’s more of a “version 1.5” that Nintendo loves to pump out to fill holes in their terrible release schedule. I’m sure it’s fun, but it’s not a NEW Mario in the style of 64, Sunshine of Galaxy. I did enjoy 3D Land on the 3DS but I won’t buy a new console for it.
Honestly I would probably jump onto the WiiU bandwagon if they sold consoles in a decent bundle. I have no idea why it’s not that hard to find a $499 bundle with the more powerful Xbone/ PS4 and up to 5 AAA games but $399 will struggle to buy you a WiiU with Mario Kart and a mini-game collection.
I’m really skeptical about it for a whole bunch of reasons, but I will say that if the new Zelda IS actually as good as Nintendo is capable of making it then that would sell me a WiiU for just the one game.
I was in the same boat with The Last Of Us. In the end bought the game but borrowed my housemate’s console. When he moved out, I gifted him the game.
Now I own a PS4 and re-bought TLOU Remastered, and I’m damn glad I didn’t drop the cash on a PS3 for one game. So to answer the original question, no.
I’m seriously considering buying an Xbox One for Rock Band if they manage to support Xbox 360 instruments. I need my updated fix! But I’d never buy it in anticipation of this – the game and the adapters would need to be already available for purchase too.
I bought a Vita for Persona 4, no regrets.
‘no ragrets’ FTFY
I think often one standout exclusive acts as a gateway game to other experiences. A game comes along that makes the purchase of the console happen and then you look sideways to get more out of it. I recently bought a Vita just to play Persona 4 Golden but have since found enjoyment in other games as well that I otherwise would not have played.
Not anymore. Did one time in the past. Gamecube for MGS: Twin Snakes.
I bought a Wii U for Bayonetta 2 but there’s so many other great games on the system.
i did it for the original halo, i did it for halo 3 and dead rising, then i did it for RDR when my 360 crapped out and i now have a ps4 for that rumored THPS remake
Edit though the ps3 was used alot more as a blue ray player
I just did.
Bloodborne.
As far as *the* game goes:
PS3: Demon’s Souls
X360: Guitar Hero
Wii U: Monster Hunter 3U
This is still an improvement, since prior to that I got Nintendo consoles up to the cube/Wii (Wii is debatable since it was a several months late birthday present) because Nintendo.
Deciding based on one game has worked out just as well as previous decisions based on zero! But gotta be more responsible these days, so the count needs to be at least 1.
I cannot justify buying a PS4 just for Bloodborne but I really, really want to.
This 🙁
You could always buy Bloodborne first, and then justify the PS4 puchase because you at least already have one game to play on it 🙂 And before you ask, the Bloodborne purchase is justified because you will be using it to justify your PS4 purchase. It’s a delicious chicken and egg argument… mmm… Bloodborne 🙂
Can’t make an omelette without breaking open a few wallets.
Absolutely. I bought a 360… JUST for Forza and Gears of War. Best thing that I ever did too. I absolutely loved both of those games. I guess if you have enough money to, not to mention the time and you love gaming – why not?
Yes. I got a 360 for Gears of War.
Its more a question on your disposable income to be honest.
Many years ago I bought a GameCube just for Metroid Prime. I new Wind WaKer was coming & others, but it was really Prime that inspired the purchase.
These days I have too much responsibility, otherwise I’d buy a Wii U for The Zelda Scrolls.
Fuck you autocorrect, really, FUCK YOU.
I think The Zelda Scrolls would probably be a really big seller.
I believe I did this with every next gen console, brought the Wii U for NSMBU, got Xbox One so I could be ready the following march for Titanfall, and I got the PS4 because of Infamous.
If the question was only for one game i’d say no, I purchased these with full intention of adding other titles to the collection.
I’m a PC gamer at heart but for Bloodborne I would most definitely buy a PS4!! (Which I did so yesterday) As an added bonus, I’ll also be able to enjoy other PS4 exclusive’s like The Last of Us and Uncharted, so win!
Myself and a couple mates are also taking tomorrow off to hopefully sink a few hours in to Bloodborne!
I had a ten game rule for the PS4 purchase, but honestly, it all boiled down to Bloodborne.
That’s the spirit! I picked up my copy this morning 🙂
Heh, exactly. I could lie to myself about whatever number I can come up with, but the truth of the matter was always just Bloodborne.
Not a new console, though I bought a Game Cube at the end of its life cycle specifically for Wind Waker.
I bought an Xbox One early last year, but late in the year ended up buying a PS4 as well for The Last Of Us, and I don’t regret it one bit. The other exclusives are a bonus.
I only bought the WiiU when Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate came out, and then I got a few more games that I was interested in. Then I ported my Wii stuff over and gave my Wii to my parents. They love that thing.
I bought a Nintendo 64 just for Ocarina of Time… also I never once owned a Mario game on that system.
I bought my PS4 before there were even any games available that I wanted to play, because the deal was too good to pass up. And for a while the only game I then had for it was Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Basically, I’ve bought all my consoles over the years for one game – Wii for Twilight Princess, PS3 for CoD4 (I REALLY wanted to play a FPS that wasn’t on the Wii), and then increased my library as there was more I was or became interested in, or tried stuff on sale.
I brought an X360 for one game. Alan Wake. That was when there was when it looked like there was not going to be a PC release… which finally came years later. Looking back, I’m glad I got the game to play, it was brilliant but the console was a POS. Went through 3 warranty replacements with it. RROD. Grrr. Being older now, I will patiently wait for a PC release of Quantum Break. Just like with Alan Wake, early in the piece, Remedy said there would be no PC release, finally several years later it was. I have no doubt that once a certain time has elapsed, Quantum Break will be out on PC.
I have in the past.
I brought a X360 for Forza Motorsport 4. But then once you have a console, you’ll start building a libaray of games for that console. I ended up selling my X360 with 10 games and 4 controllers
Mass Effect + Big W sales = me buying an Xbox 360
I’d borrowed a friend’s 360 for a week and played Mass Effect and was completely hooked. Had to buy my own to finish it! No regrets. A wonderful console.
Bloodborne + Target Sales = PS4. So far, no regrets, I don’t game on PC so appreciating all these little indie gems 🙂
Yes! I bought a ps4 for Destiny and I’m staying for Bloodborne and Uncharted 4
I would not buy a console for just one game. In fact the only console that I have the fewest games on is the PS4.Most of those games on the PS4 I’m either not interested it, own on other systems, or own the PS3 version of them. My PS4 library is finally expanding now though with Final Fantasy Type 0
While I might initially buy a console because of one game, I’ll only do it if I see the potential in other games it will probably have.
A Nintendo console will be pretty barebones at launch, but I know that Nintendo will bring the goods later on so I will have no problem buying the console at launch as long as it starts with a good game.
The PS4 I bought because I wanted to play inFamous, I haven’t played too much else on it since then but I will be all over Bloodborne, and the new Uncharted whenever that releases.
Interesting, I bought an SNES for Mario All Stars, bought an PlayStation just for Tekken 3, got an N64, Gameboy Color and Gamecube just because ‘Nintendo’ (dumb move, N64 was great but Gamecube was the wrong choice), bought a Dreamcast just for Soul Calibur (and hype), bought a PS2 for Singstar and a 3DS for Mario 3D world.
Some of those decisions worked out great (SNES, N64, PlayStation 2) some were completely rash (Gamecube, Dreamcast, 3DS)
The Xbox 360 I bought to play 3rd party games mostly, and could’ve bought either that or a PS3 but went with the 360 because that’s where my brothers were.
The Xbox One I bought because I like the features, have existing friends on that network, I like how Microsoft has become the underdog making them a LOT better service wise than the post-Kinect years and I’m looking forward to Quantum Break and Crackdown (Alan Wake and Crackdown 2 being two of my faves from last gen)
I’d love to get a PS4 for Bloodborne, but its excessive and FROM have offered me an alternative with Dark Souls II next week (which I’ve held off from playing on the 360)
Bought a PS3 for Gran Turismo 5. Got a PS4 on launch with a bundle of games but I’m only really interested in Gran Turismo 7 on it.
I made a promise to myself this gen to stick to just one console (Xbone) I bought a Ps3 last gen to accompany my 360 to play the must have exclusives like uncharted and TLOU. but I realistically could have hired or borrowed one to play those.
Also as previous people have commented I hardly have enough time to play all the stuff I want to on the one console let alone if I had both X1/PS4
Yep, Gears of War.
If they release a new Gears of War on XBone I’ll be buying that console.
Till then, I’ll just hang out in the PC Master Race :p
I’m that insane person to buy a console for one game. Right now, it’s Bloodborne.
It used to be Halo, but then 343i happened…
Well I bought my PS4 because there’s no way I was going to miss Uncharted 4, and I was keen on Driveclub and planning on diving into Bloodbourne at some point. In the end, I have a good PC to play games but usually buy a PS system for both playing with friends and because I love the franchises that Sony first party studios pump out.
I have done this twice, i bought a wii U for Mario Cart 8, and a Xbone for Forza Horizon 2. I have since bought more games for both, but the U only get used as a party machine, while i play a LOT of GTA5 on the Xbone. God that game is good on Current Gen, can’t wait for PC though!
I bought a Wii just to play Monster Hunter Tri a few years ago. Was worth every dollar.
I will confess that once, in the murky distant past of 2008, my wife and I purchases a Playstaion 3 for the sole reason that at the time we believed the 360 was not region-free and we would therefore otherwise not be able to play an imported copy of Silent Hill: Homecoming, which at the time had been refused classification in Australia.
Technically we bought the PS3 for that one game. It also came with Uncharted and Resistance: Fall of Man. We later also purchased Heavy Rain, the Journey collection and The Last of Us, as well as receiving several games for free which I played and enjoyed in varying degrees.
I would not, at least now, buy a console for one game – but one game might be a tipping point. At the moment there are no games on the PS4 that I am interested in playing. That will probably change in the future, especially since I’m a sucker for Quantic Dream games despite them usually being critically panned. If there are a handful of other games I want I will balance that against the cost of the console itself and consider making the purchase, but my days of frivilously purchasing consoles I hardly use is in the past.
I am still trying to work out if it is worth buying a PS3 for The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain. But I just can’t justify an entire console for just those specific games. (ironically I like fun happy games and these games aren’t that, but still intrigue me greatly from a story telling perspective)
I bought the Wii U with Mario Kart 8 (and the bonus game pikmin in my instance) being the tipping point (and the $179 entry price to the console in last year’s skylanders selloff making it a more justifiable decision) but always had intentions of buying the VC games anyway (earthbound). And the library of other quality Nintendo titles at the time (Donkey kong and the upcoming Bayonetta 1 and 2 ) meant I didn’t really feel like I was making a mistake.
I would never have bought the Wii U if there wasn’t the bonus game offer and the console wasn’t $179.
Incidentally I haven’t used a console as much as the Wii U since the Super Nintendo.
I’m even worse – I bought the PS4 because there was a bargain!
Now to find some decent games for it…
The original Gran Turismo was all the motivation I needed to get a PS1.
Yup, I have bought a console for one game before. I am a massive Ghostbusters nut, so when they announced it on Xbox 360, I bit the bullet and bought a 360 on the boxing day sales, then Ghostbusters on day one.
Through sentimental value and nostalgia, it was worth every penny. But I also thought it was a good game as well, even with its flaws.
I bought a Wii for Xenoblade Chronicles (which I won in a competition). Usually there’s one particular game that triggers a console purchase for me, but I usually don’t do so until there’s a reasonable number of other decent games available.
The PS4 has, unfortunately, been running low on real “killer app” games so far. Nice to see it’s getting some now.
Eh, I bought a wii U specifically for Bayonetta 2 and it’ll be sitting unused until Yoshi’s wooly world comes out. I’d also bought a ps2 for GTA3 back when I was a youngling, it was the first console I’d ever gotten to pay for by myself
Yep. PS3 for heavy rain. I actually had HR before the PS3.
No, being a PC user I always feel like I’m handicapped playing on a Console (using the cointroller in FPS for a start, but also just it being worse graphics and longer load times etc etc).
In saying that I really want to play Bloodborne, and there are actually some playstations exclusives I would love to try out (God of War, Last of Us, Heavy Rain). I’m just not sure I’m ready to buy on just yet; would rather wait until it’s a bit older and cheaper.
I’ll have to do my research too on backwards compatibility (if it has it at all), as a lot of the PS exclusives I want to play aren’t necessarily PS4 (i.e. PS2/PS3 games).
Done!
I bought dreamcast for “Jet Set Radio” and I bought the xbox for “Jet Set Radio Future”
Memories *_*
I bought a WiiU for Mario 3D and Mario Kart in the future. After three games, it’s in retirement.
My Xbox One is my main console now and I think it’s great.
I have no desire to buy a PS4. My past Sony consoles say dormant throughout the majority of each generation. I’m not making that mistake again.
I brought a PS3 for Metal Gear Solid 4. I played more than just that over the course of it’s life but it didn’t get much use and I felt fine about that because MGS4 was worth it to me.
I also brought a PS Vita for no games. I’ve played it enough but it’s weird to think that none of the games I’ve enjoyed on it were on my radar when I decided to get one.
I was going to say no, then I realised that I have a mid range gaming PC and I bought a PS4 at launch for Killzone and the prospect of other games like Infamous and Uncharted.
I have also bought a 3DS for OoT (I’d never played a Zelda game or owned a Nintendo console before.) and later a WiiU for Windwaker.
With all of them they were bought for one game at the time and the prospect of future titles later on… So my answer is yes, but no? It’s not like I would have spent $2-500 on a machine that would only ever see one title I would play.
EDIT: I also have a Vita that I bought for the prospect of games that IMHO have not really arrived, with only Assassins Creed, Uncharted and Gravity Rush to tide me over until then. But I realise that I was perhaps not the target audience for the device, and Sony’s game plan for the Vita has changed so much since launch when I bought into that original vision.
Technically I probably only bought a 64DD because of F-Zero X Expansion Kit. So I guess I should answer “yes”.
I bought a 360 purely for Ace Combat 6 because Namco (at the time) announced they wouldn’t be releasing them for any other consoles. They eventually they back flipped on that announcement, but I didn’t particularly care since I hated AC6, and each subsequent AC game released. I wouldn’t buy a console for a specific game again, simply because I’d rather play the PC release for it. I’ve been big into modding for over a decade, and it’s something you’re either locked out completely from doing with console games, or it’s made extremely difficult, so consequently, I don’t really care for consoles any more.
Halo
I would never buy a console for a single game, no. However a single game can put me on the tipping point of buying the console.
For example, I didn’t really want to buy a 3DS until Omega Ruby, but I wouldn’t have bought it if Omega Ruby was the only game on the console.
lol for one game no i wont make a $400+ investment. the bonus though is that all the consoles (yes even the Wii U) have a robust library of first party titles and we as the consumer have the ability to chose what we spend our money on.
at the moment all the consoles would be a good purchase for anyone wanting great games. but No i think its stupid to throw your money at something for one title.
Yes I bought a 360 (after selling my old one when they said no more halo’s ) to play 343’s halo 4 also got gta5 on it to avoid any ps3 exclusive bugs like skyrim
Kingdom Hearts 3.
I would empty my meager savings account just to buy the console required to play that, even if it was the only game on the whole system.
The hype is real.
Also, already have a ps4, so pumped for Bloodborne
I’ve had PlayStations since their existence
I bought a 360 just for Episodes from Liberty City..and then Forza Horizon
Then I got the Xbox One just for Forza Horizon 2/Forza Motorsport 5
I bought GameCube because of RE0, RE1 and MGS: Twin Snakes. Then slowly expands my library to more than 15 games.
Bought PS4 for destiny, regretting it less since bloodborne came out.
I’d buy a PC for Dota if I didn’t already have one, does that count?
Nabbed a PS4 from tricky dicks eBay sales for $389.
Bought a stand with integrated charger for $50.
3 months PSN Plus for for $19.95
All to play Bloodborne.
I bought a ps3 for The Last of Us and i don’t regret it one little bit.
I bought my Vita for Project Diva, Special edition miku one ^^
I was considering buying one before that, then that was announced and MINE!
a friend of mine did that just today! He’s an Xboner (hehehe), but wanted to play Bloodborne. He apparently to the store today and asked if they have any “Bloodborne Machines” and the guy gave him a knowing laugh
ps3. msg4.
I got a PS3 solely for GTA V, then proceeded to build a 100+ blu-ray collection, well worth the $160 I paid for the console. Since then
I bought Valkyria Chronicles before I got the PS3, though the PS3 purchase was a matter of time.
I bought the Xbox 360 for a single game, Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram (VOOT), but the purchase was further justified by Bayonetta.
I’ve always thought that buying a games console for just one game is not worth it, until I came across Journey after watching a let’s play of it on youtube. I loved it so much, I’ve watched it twice already. I’ve never, ever, so badly in my whole life yearned to play such a beautiful video game. I’ve always been a Nintendo gamer by nature, and even then I’ve only ever played a few games outside of the Legend of Zelda series. I’m definitely not what you call, a hard core gamer. I did own a Playstation 2, that I actually bought off my sister for £20 (but then she wanted back last year ’cause I hardly ever played it anymore). I definitely don’t have the time to play lengthy games as much as I used to, and have recently contented myself with playing Animal Crossing and Mario Kart until Nintendo finally releases the new Zelda game for the Wii U (and possibly the next gen console NX). And now, I yearn for a PS4, just for Journey. I am not a fan of violent video games at all, ones that contain strong violence, swearing, drug use, etc. I am not interested in. We have enough of that going on in real life than having to play through it in a video game. I love realistic graphics, but those are far too much realistic for my liking. I mostly prefer more artsy styles in video games, something that takes me to another world entirely. Anyways, I’ve always been under the impression that the majority of games for the PS4 and X Box One fall under that category. Least, the ones that get the most credit and gameplay on youtube….the only other game I came close to wanting so bad for a PS3 was Shadow of the Colossus (after, again, watching a lets play of it a few years ago). But in the end I decided that it was not worth buying a PS3 for just one game, no matter how amazing that game is. Although I suppose a PS3 can be bought pretty cheap second hand now.
I know there ARE other games out there for the PS4 that are non-violent/less violent, but I just feel there aren’t enough there to spark my interest further to reach deep into my pockets. I think my sister’s partner owns a PS4. Maybe when I get the chance to go visit her this year I can buy a copy of Journey and play it there. =D