[bonzobanana]

I realise there was only one real winner last generation, the ps2 in commercial terms. The gamecube barely broke even and the other two were huge financial disasters but I'm interested in which console had the best games overall.

I'm torn between the original xbox and dreamcast. For me the gamecube is behind them and ps2 last but I wouldn't say its clear cut for me. I think of Zelda windwaker on the cube which I loved it and I start reconsidering.

[addyb]

Ive always been a fan of Nintendo but prob played on the gamecube less than the N64 and the snes. Did have some quality games though. I also owned a ps2 and modded xbox but my favourite has to be the dreamcast.

Just had a really strong catalogue of games and shemmue 1 &2 were godlike!

[Haggler]

Having never owned a ps2 i suppose i too am torn between the dc and original xbox, i liked the gamecube but the games catalogue was a little sparse, the dreamcast was a brilliant machine imo much better than the ps2 games wise for a year or so (main reason why i never bought one) with some cracking titles released in such a short time frame two years of hammer from me.

Most of what were once ps2 exclusives made it to the xbox eventually gta vice city etc and although not as a big as the ps2 it still had a huge library of games, unlike it's younger brother the build quality was good we had 3 xbox's for a couple of years and no issues whatsoever.

So with the ps2 out of my picture :-

Verdict dreamcast (best games catalogue to time scale ratio) and xbox (best games catalogue overall) draw

[Kube]

I loved the Ps2, some amazing titles but for me the Dreamcast had a magic that no console since the NES had. Everything about it was so good.

[bonzobanana]

Seems strange to start a thread like this and not vote myself but I really can't decide. Have to agree about Shenmue. Still stunned by the graphics and the rich atmosphere of the game. Shenmue II still looks better on dreamcast than xbox. Unfortunately the long load times spoil the dreamcast version. The xbox version doesn't require as much patience.

[Miyazaki]

Considering the DC was around for about 18 months it wins hands down.

Looking at 5 years worth of games on the ps2, the only one that stands out is ICO for me as something that would swerve me from the DC.

In fact I would say ICO is that generations second most amazing game after Shenmue

Only other games that has come close for me has been FFVII and Elite.

[Soundwave]

As said the PS2 wins simply for the sheer wealth of games released...most as we know are dire dire shovelware but it still made it such a commercial success that it easily eclipses everything else.

However on basis of best games available for me it's the little purple sqaure that gave me the most pleasure.

The following games made it my weapon of choice during the last gen & aside from the odd PS2 great (like Silent Hill 2, The Project Zero & Siren Series) I barely felt hard done by, but these were worth the price of addmission IMO...

Res Evil
Res Evil Zero
Res Evil 4
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Wave Race Blue Storm
Luigi's Mansion
Zelda: Wind Waker
Bleach
Mario Kart
Donkey Konga
Mario Sunshine
Warioland
Paper Mario: TTYD
Eternal Darkness
Sega Soccer Slam
Virtua Striker
Monkey Ball (Monkey Gliding FTW)
Mario Golf
Mario Tennis

For me the 'Cube will always be my best console of last gen but all have their pluses so it is a toughie.

Neil

[CAS FAN]

I was a big fan of the Dreamcast (had it out yesterday infact) and had it's time not been brought to a premature end the DC may well have been my choice. Games like F355 (played it yesterday and it still stands up well today), MSR, Shenmue 1&2, Daytona, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Tennis, Ikaruga, Soul Calibur, Jet Set Radio etc. were fantastic and the quality released over it's short life was superb.

That said, the PS2 had the best games catalogue overall. Sure there was a load of rubbish released on it, but a lot of fantastic titles as well.

MGS2, MGS3, GOW, GOW2, GT3, GT4, PES 1-3, SSX, SSX Tricky, FFX, FFXII, The Ratchet & Clanks, ICO, SoTC, Persona 3, Persona 4, The Silent Hills, The Wipeouts, Okami, VF4Evo, Tekkens, GTAIII (and sequels), Guitar Hero, Devil May Cry etc.

All the above were exclusive or at least timed exclusives on the PS2.

I did genuinly like all of the consoles from the last gen though. The GC had some great titles on it (Metroid Prime was the real star for me, and is missing from Soundwave's list above!) and whilst I was late to the Xbox, titles like PGR2, Halo 1&2, Forza, Crimzon Skies, RSC2, Ninja Gaiden & Farcry Instincts really impressed me.

It is a tough choice but if we're just focusing on the games released for each console then the PS2 edges it for me.

[bonzobanana]

I was put off the ps2 I must admit by the horrible graphics quality. Both the xbox and dreamcast were doing super quality progressive images with my projector and the gamecube wasn't bad via a component lead but the ps2 was terrible. It put me off a lot of the games. I know its not all about graphics but god they were awful. It was so awful I had to disconnect it from my projector and use it with a CRT set again which it was fine on. I'll admit ICO was amazing but there wasn't much else on the ps2 for me. I'm a big fps fan and apart from Black,half life and Killzone there wasn't much on the ps2 decent fps wise. I seem to be one of the few people who liked killzone anyway. One thing my projector really hated was those ps2 games that were 60hz with 60 frames per second. I.e. it only showed a single field of each frame. My projector would deinterlace those images and they obviously looked wierd as it was two fields from different frames added together. This sort of effect.

Also the ps2 was obviously interpolating its graphics from a low resolution because it had horrible staggered lines all over the place. Most of these faults are forgivable on a normal tv but projected they look terrible.

The ps2 was all about hype rather than real power. There was nothing as visually amazing as shenmue on the ps2. I know the ps2 could throw about more polygons than the dreamcast but only it seemed at a grotty resolution with a real absense of textures.

The ps2 has some good games but the hardware was terribly designed.

[CAS FAN]

Agreed, as a console the PS2 was crap, but it did have the best games catalogue and I guess that's what this thread is about.

Console wise the Xbox was easily the best and as a device it stands alongside the PS3 as one of the best ever consoles IMO. It was superbly built, extremely modable and was the most powerful console around at the time. It was capable of proper HD output and worked superbly as a media centre once modded.

I'm still gutted that the DC failed though as during it's 2 year production life it probably had the best games catalogue ever released over such a period.

F355 Challenge is still one of the best ever console racers, Test Drive Le Mans isn't far behind and is also one of the best ever console racers IMO.

MSR was also fantastic and saw some much needed innovation to the racing genre, which led on to the PGR games.

Jet Set & Jet Grind Radio were both fantastic games with great cell shaded visuals and fantastic gameplay.

Shenmue 1 & 2 are simply 2 of the best and most under rated video games ever made. The worlds created in them were fantastic and the stories were a joy to play through.

Skies of Arcadia was a brilliant RPG, which stands out as one of the best console RPG's alongside FFVII & Zelda OOT IMO.

Ikaruga is simply one of the best shooters ever released and a must play for any fan of the genre.

Soul Calibur stands out as one of the best console games (never mind 3D fighting games) ever released! I'd still rather play it than most fighting games released today and the visuals still impress, even though they are from a generation past.

Power Stone 1 & 2 - Get 4 people together and then these become 2 of the most fun multiplayer games out there. I found them a bit dull as single player games, but multiplayer they are amazing!

Then we have the classic arcade conversions such as Daytona USA, Virtua Tennis 1 & 2, Crazy Taxi 1 & 2, Confidential Mission, HOTD2, Capcom vs SNK, Street Fighter 3 : Third Strike, Marvel vs Capcom 2 etc.

There's plenty of other gems on the system as well, such as the original Toy Commander, Re-Volt, Quake 3 Arena, Phantasy Star Online, Grandia 2 & Samba de Amigo.

All in all a great catalogue for a 2 year production cycle and given that the PS2 is still having games made for it now, it would have wiped the floor with Sony's console and every other console last gen had it stayed in production and had the quality remained high.

It lost out commercially due to not having EA on board however and it was also lacking some big selling franchises (GTA, GT, FF etc.). The footie games on the system were also a bit naff and sadly it had nothing to match upto the superb PES. As PES was easily my most played game last gen (by a country mile) then that also meant that my PS2 was bar far the most used console as well.

[Sinzer]

I had to go for Gamecube.

I more than likely spent more time on the PS2 (when I eventually got one), but the gamecube had the best games, just not enough of them