The best console according to ...

C

cleggy

Guest
the Good Housekeeping Institute!

I kid you not, today's Guardian had a review of all consoles courtesy of the Good Housekeeping Institute.

Unfortunately I didn't have enough time left in my lunch break to read up on their gaming credentials, but I did read enough to spot that they didn't like the Gamecube's pad and they rated Gameboy Colour above Gameboy Advance.

Main console scores were:

Gamecube 68/100
PS2 85/100
XBOX 88/100

Anyone read it in more depth than my quick 30 seconds care to add anything?

It could be an interesting read to see how an organisation coming from a non-gaming background (as opposed to a guide in EDGE or CVG for example) describes the pros and cons to a non-gaming audience (I think it was aimed at parents as to what to buy their kids for Xmas).
 
Gameboy Colour above GBA :D - I didn't think you could buy these any more.

Regardless, the reviews sound like complete rubbish.
 
Any chance the smallprint on one of the pages said that it was a Microsoft Infomercial?

Hehe, although TBH I can imagine it is aimed at parents buying for small children, who are not old enough to make up their mind. In that case it could be feasible to rate the GBC above GBA on price, although it might be worth pointing out to them that GBA is the same price and actually plays GBC games anyway!

For small kids I would also recommend the PS2 or even PSX, the amount of childrens games is immense, sadly the GC catalogue is still rather bereft of small childrens games.

Overall it sounds like that review is a load of ******, bit like the movie reviews currently floating around. Got let down with 28 days lamer, which I am off to rant about in the movies forum.
 
Yes, it must be rubbish because the reviewer did not share your opinions. Surely, a review is just one subjective opinion. When I bought a console I did my own 'review' and the Xbox came out on top so I bought it.

Oh, whats the point?

S
 
Not much point really..............

Just typing keeps me occupied.

Although, you have to be pretty hard pushed to recommend the GBC over the GBA, not exactly rocket science to realise which is better.

Reviews are subjective, but would you rather trust a review from someone who has been gaming all their life and is known to be impartial. Or trust the goodhousekeeping Institute who have most likely made up their mind based on 30mins play in between cooking their corn beef pies?

Sounds like Country Living and Equestrian Times reviewing the top sports cars. Not really an efficient use of reviewing skills.
 
yea the review sounds like a bunch of arse!! what's the point in listening to someone who has no knowledge of the field they are discussing? What's next the Good Housekeeping Institute's Guide to Inter Continental Ballistic Missles?!

"Well apparently the peacekeeper can kill the most people by carrying multiple warheads... but i just don't like the colour and you couldn't really fit in your handbag could you? Can you get it in yellow?" :D

Unbelievable.
 
Ah, but getting a laymans view can sometimes be illuminating. People who have been into this gear for years inevitably carry 'baggage'. That is, you may have good memories of the Nintendo you had as a kid. You may be anti-Microsoft since you lost all our VAT records when WIn85 went mental (thanks Bill). You may believe that the PS2 is the best because it's the best seller (oh no, come to think of it, thats an idiots argument).

My point is, experienced gamers may not be entirely subjective. I know these guys are no hardcore gamers but it's nice to see other views isn't it?

If you do have 'console baggage' I recomend you go to therapy soon or you may end up buying a PS2 and spend all day on forums telling everyone how great it is and how junk their console is. At that point, there is no hope of recovery.

S
 
Heehee paiger,

I do have a little bag I use for my GBA......... although I am thinking of swapping it for the new pink leather Gucci number, according to the Goodhousekeeping Institute it is far more attractive and stops you getting shoulder chafe.
 
but surely the GHI won't know that PS2 has been out the longest and has the biggest back catalogue, that X-Box has the advantage of X-Box Live on the horizon and that GameCube is noted for original, "off-the-wall" titles.

I don't think it's really right that the Guardian commission novice amatuers to write up their findings and pass it off as knowledgable advice, which I'm sure it was.

I don't have baggage, i was a psx (first console) man but decided on a Cube over a PSX2 to try something different and am delighted with it. And I also couldn't be considered a MS knocker as I frequently stick up for them.
 
Well, regardless of how bad their reviews are, they have to be more valuable than asking someone in Dixons which console is better. And the people who would actually read these reviews are the kind to do that.

So maybe their reviews is valuable.

And, just to play devil's advocate, are they taking price into consideration with Gameboy Colour VS GBA? I'm guessing that you can get a GB Colour for next to nothing these days. I'm not saying that it's better, but an argument could be made that it's better value for money.
 
I've got the paper with me now, they gave the Gameboy colour 64/100 at £29.99 and GBA 59/100 at £69.99

The review methods are questionable, they tested the system using "three compatible games (one fighting, one racing and one platform game)" but don't actually name which games they test, or even mention if they test the same game(s) on all formats.

The tetsing panel was made up of "adults in their mid-twenties and children aged 10-12".

The XBOX is "by far the best console" the GC's "bright graphics and clear sound make it a good console for children", and the PS2 is "a good all-in-one console for the adventurous gamer".

The PSOne gets 84/100 as "Remarkably good value for money. Suitable for a teenager".
 
Originally posted by cleggy

The XBOX is "by far the best console" the GC's "bright graphics and clear sound make it a good console for children", and the PS2 is "a good all-in-one console for the adventurous gamer".

Thankfully I keep a pair of shades close by for when I switch off my XBOX and fire up my Cube. Afterall, I much prefer palying Timesplitters 2 in the Gamecub's bright orange and yellow colour scheme :rolleyes: :D.

Those reasons are the lamest I've ever heard.
 
Originally posted by groundy
Those reasons are the lamest I've ever heard. [/B]

There's a couple more pearlers from their XBox round up, "models graphics in real time, so there's a greater choice than usual of angles from which to watch objects on the screen" and "very easy to assemble" (Is the Microsoft/MFI flatpack Xbox then?)

I'm not sure but the Guardian probably has more non-console owning readers than the console magazines so this is probably the kind of thing most new console owners will be relying on to help them decide which to buy... Although the console mags are inherently biased so they are probably not much more help.

BTW the Guaridan on a thursday has their IT suplement, this is normally a good read, and if the IT news is thin you can laugh at the weekly "How do I stop getting 20 spam emails a day to my hotmail inbox" letters to the Ask Jack help column.
 
Meh.. Basically its just something to pass the time. I find many of these "analysis" things quite funny because more often than not they are wide of the mark because they are not gamers at all. For exmaple, would you take serious medical advice from someone who has just started education or from a seasoned doctor?

This "baggage" issue thing as well... Sure some people have fond memories when they talk about their speccy, amstrad, NES, Master System etc etc... But that also counts for the recent consoles like the PS2, Xbox and GameCube. If we didn't have fond memories playing on these consoles then why are we talking about them in the first place? (PS2, Xbox and GC) And why are we buying these consoles if we don't get any form of entertainment?

Fact is that if I need advice on something I am unsure on, I will ask someone in the know. Like if I was unsure about a subwoofer I was ask Uncle Eric for information and opinions as his knowledge and persona on various questions speaks for itself.
 
Yeah, with anything (consoles, games, movies, etc), no matter how bad something is, someone will give it a brilliant review. And, no matter how good something is, someone will trash it.

Either you've got to know who to ask, or just look at as much info as you can, and make your decision from there. Anyone who decides what to buy based on a single review might as well pick the one with the nicest packaging, because they are just rolling the dice.
 

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