I replaced my Fire Stick with an old PS3 ‣ Diverse Daily

When I think back to the PlayStation 3 (PS3) era, the first thing that comes to mind is all the iconic games the console had. It brought us the original Uncharted trilogy, Demon’s Souls, The Last of Us, God of War III, Gran Turismo 5, and one of my personal favorites, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

But the PS3 wasn’t just about gaming. It was one of the first consoles to truly feel like an entertainment powerhouse. It helped usher in the Blu-ray era with its built-in Blu-ray drive, making it easy to watch 1080p Full HD movies at home. The PS3 also played a surprisingly important role in the early streaming era. It was among the first consoles to support Netflix, initially via a physical disc in 2009 and later via a dedicated downloadable app on the PlayStation Store in 2010.

That streaming legacy is part of what made me curious to revisit the console all these years later.

Last year, because I’m a sucker for nostalgia, I picked up a PS3 from my local retro game store. The main reason was to replay some of those iconic PS3 games I mentioned earlier. But I was also curious about something else: despite being nearly 20 years old, the PS3 is still supported by a handful of streaming services. In other words, it can still technically function as a streaming device, even though it has long been overshadowed by the PS4 and PS5.

With that in mind, I decided to set a fun challenge for myself recently: I unplugged my Fire TV Stick 4K Max from my 4K LG TV and used the PS3 exclusively for streaming for an entire week. And honestly, the results weren’t nearly as bad as I expected.

What streaming services still work on the PS3?

Only two remain

To start streaming on the PS3, I first had to figure out which apps still actually worked on it. Recently, Netflix dropped support for its PS3 app, so I already knew that was off the table. And since HBO Max and Disney+ arrived long after the PS3 era, I knew those unfortunately wouldn’t be options either.

So what streaming services could I use on the PS3 then? The answer lies with two streaming services: Prime Video and YouTube.

Both of these apps are still available for download from the PlayStation Store on the PS3. When I discovered this, I eagerly downloaded both, logged in, and was surprised to find they worked, since Amazon and Google have kept their PS3 apps functional over the years.

As for the actual experiences with each app itself, that’s admittedly a mixed bag.

YouTube on the PS3 has its issues

It’s not fast, but it works

Starting with the YouTube app, I quickly discovered that while it technically works, it doesn’t perform especially well. For starters, the app takes quite a while to load, and scrolling through videos feels sluggish, which honestly isn’t too surprising given that the PS3 runs on nearly 20-year-old hardware. And when I think about it, the Google Chrome tab I use to watch YouTube on my PC probably consumes more memory than the PS3 even has.

That said, while navigating the app is slow, the actual viewing experience isn’t as bad. Videos loaded without much trouble, and unfortunately, so did the ads. But once I signed in to my YouTube Premium account, the ads disappeared, so Premium still works with the PS3 app.

…YouTube on the PS3 was watchable, but it wasn’t exactly a great experience.

The biggest limitation is streaming quality. The PS3 tops out at 1080p and doesn’t support 4K video, which is expected. But I also ran into a strange bug: on some videos uploaded in 4K, the highest quality option available was only 720p. Meanwhile, videos uploaded in native 1080p streamed perfectly at 1080p. So in many cases, videos I technically should’ve been able to watch in 1080p were stuck at 720p simply because they were uploaded in 4K, which was frustrating.

Feature-wise, the app still had the main features you’d need. The YouTube homepage refreshed with new videos properly, and after signing in, I could access my recommendations and subscription feed without issues. Again, it just took a while to load and navigate. Overall, YouTube on the PS3 was watchable, but it wasn’t exactly a great experience.

Prime Video is a much more enjoyable experience on PS3

The app is outdated, but it still works quite well

Turning to Prime Video, I found the app to be noticeably smoother than YouTube, and it didn’t seem to have any issues streaming in 1080p on the PS3. I loaded up plenty of shows and movies with little trouble, and honestly, I came away pretty impressed with how well the app ran, given the hardware it was running on.

That said, the PS3 version of Prime Video definitely feels outdated. The interface isn’t nearly as polished as it is on my Fire TV Stick, but it gets the job done, and I actually think the app’s simplicity helps it run as smoothly as it does.

At times, I even forgot I was streaming on a PS3 at all.

Across the top of the app are tabs for Home, Movies, TV Shows, Kids content, Purchases and Rentals, Settings, and your Watchlist, which makes it pretty easy to find something to watch. Having my Watchlist sync properly was especially useful because I could quickly add something to it on my phone, and it would instantly appear on the PS3, saving me from searching for it. Speaking of search, the app’s search feature worked well, returning results fairly quickly, which, again, was impressive given the PS3’s nearly 20-year-old hardware.

Overall, the Prime Video experience on PS3 was actually pretty enjoyable. At times, I even forgot I was streaming on a PS3 at all. So credit to Amazon for somehow keeping the app functional in 2026, because it definitely made my week-long PS3 streaming challenge much easier.

It was fun while it lasted

After a week of streaming on my PS3, I’d say it’s a fun experiment and a cool way to revisit the PS3, but it’s not something I can really recommend. For one, the number of apps is far too limited. While it’s great that Prime Video and YouTube still work on the PS3, that alone isn’t enough to make it viable as an everyday streaming device. Within a few days, I was already missing the ability to watch some of the free ad-supported streaming services I’ve been watching a lot recently, like Pluto TV, Tubi, and The Roku Channel.

That said, if you have a PS3 and feel like dusting it off, playing some games, and trying out streaming, by all means, I say go for it and have fun revisiting that era. But after a week, I was happy to plug my Fire TV Stick 4K Max back in, and it made me appreciate how far streaming and video capabilities have come in the 20 years since the PS3 launched.