Which console? PS2, Cube or X-Box?

Sinzer

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Yup, which console should I buy thread?

Now we all love these threads, however if you are about to post one, please be aware of the following guidelines :-

a) Read this thread first and then the console FAQ, these threads will contain all the details you need to get you started and will be an active discussion.

b) If you have a pertinent question you feel is not covered by this thread, then please post a new thread, however make sure you search the forum first, there is plenty of tops information already to be had.

c) Any unneccessary comments will be deleted.

d) Any hijacking on others peoples threads about which is the best shall be deleted, this is currently the Avforums official "Which is best" thread.

Let the besting begin!
 
'Bout time we got a sticky for this. :smashin:

I guess I'll chime in with my standard "value for money" argument that convinced me to buy an XBox in the first place. Note, this doesn't take quality or quantity of games into account at all.

-XBox is cheaper than the PS2, despite being a higher spec machine. (theoretically providing better graphics, faster load times, etc)
-XBox and Gamecube both come with 4 controller ports standard. PS2 requires the purchase of a multi-tap to play more than 2 player games.
-The built-in XBox Hard Drive removes the need to buy expensive memory cards. (unless you want to swap saves with a friend) It also provides the benefits of ripping MP3s to use as custom soundtracks and all of the mod-chip goodies as well. (game emulation, running games from HD to reduce load times, etc)
-XBox has proper 5.1 in-game sound capabilities.
 
Best Machine - X-Box (this can not be questioned really as it's fact)
Best Games - well down to personal choice I guess - listed are some great games for each format which, if you really love your games and have the time to play them all you should have all 3 consoles:-

PS2 - Pro Evo 3, Gran Turismo 3/4, Virtua Fighter 4 (evo), Ico, Final Fantasy series, Sega Ages series, MGS series, GTA series

X-Box - Halo, KOTOR, PGR2

GameCube - Zelda thw Windwaker, Metroid Prime, Mario Kart DD, FZero.

Metal gear solid and Grand theft auto are now multi platform but the latest versions come out on the PS2 first so i've put them under PS2.

So i'm sure people will come on here and say - "oh but the X-box comes with a hard drive and 5.1 sound" or "the PS2 has a huge back catalogue of games that you can pick up cheaply" or "Nintendo provides superb playable games aimed more at the 'hardcore gamer' " but at the end of the day each console has it's own merits and shortfalls.

I personally still feel that the Dreamcast takes the **** out of the PS2 but alas the buying public did not.

The answer to this thread is to buy them all if you can afford it otherwise review the games available on each platform and buy the best system for your needs.

Best value system is Dreamcast - can pick them up second hand with loads of great games for next to nothing! Shame this console isn't mentioned in the thread title as it gives all of the other 3 a run for their money and whilst not available 1st hand anymore, it's still a current generation console.
 
Typical, lol, it becomes a sticky and the debating ceases! After all the threads there have been on this subject as well....perhaps it's all been said before!
 
Hehe, worked a dream :)
 
Get all three if you have the money!

If you're skint get a Gamecube, if not get an Xbox, that simple! ;)
 
no, no, no not that simple at all i'm affraid. Your first point was correct
Get all three if you have the money!
as you then can play all of the grerat games released. Your next point is merely your opinion.

Say you are there running your own gaming shop for example and someone walks in with some money to buy a console. For this exercise we'll asume the person is male. He has around £150 to spend but would love to pay less if possible. The person hates arcade racers but loves car simulation games which while remaining good fun offer a good degree of realism. The person is also footie mad and would love a good footie game that him and his mates can get really into! Online gaming is not a major factor as he does most of his online gaming on his PC, but he is also not against the idea of online console gaming. He plays his FPS games on his PC as he prefers to use a mouse and Keyboard for them. Playing FPS games on his console is therefore not really a factor. He wants a console as his PC is in his office and would like something to play with his mates in the living room and doesn't want to have to lug his PC downstairs to connect to his TV. His mates all have PS2's and they have loads of games for the console. He has heard someone mention dolby digital and 5.1 sound before but he doesn't know what it is and isn't particularly bothered.

What console would you recommend that this bloke buys!
 
They would recommend X-Box unfortunately :p
 
The post asks you to put yorself in the position of helping this person. So are you saying that you would seriously recommend an X-Box to someone wo wants the best footie game, best racing sim game, hates the likes of NFSU and PGR2, isn't bothered about sound quality and has a ready source of borrowable PS2 games.

If so I feel your video game shop would be a short run venture. If a customer wanted broadband out of the box, a build in hard disc, 5.1 DD sound, a huge ugly box to stick uner his TV, currently the best online game support and the option to play PGR2 then I would say X-Box all the way.

The thing is that if you are selecting just one console to buy then the decision is far from simple and will be different for everyone.
 
Originally posted by gthom3
no, no, no not that simple at all i'm affraid. Your first point was correct as you then can play all of the grerat games released. Your next point is merely your opinion.

It's your opinion that my first point was correct. Not that it is correct. Of course my next oint is my opinion, what else would it be? :rolleyes:
 
Valid point, I guess by saying that I meant that your initial point made sense to me and that I did agree with it.

To go on to say that if forced to chose one console (if unable to afford all 3) then that should be either an X-Box or CG is rather dismissive of a console that has sold around 7 times more units than each of the ones you mention. I therefore see the choice as far from simple.

The user base of the PS2 is now over 70 million, whilst the X-Box and Game Cube are way, way behind on around 10 million each! Sony actually sold almost 8 million PS2's over November 03 and December 03 alone!

It doesn't take a genious to work out which systems developers are going to favour. Look at it from the deveopers point of view, the chance of selling 7 times more units of your game would tend to leave you leaning towards the PS2.
 
Well thats my opinion innit! Thats the sole purpose of these forums mate! :)
 
Exactly games guru, and I enjoy the debate I have on here with people such as yourself:) . It takes people with varying opinions to make a forum and a thread interesting I feel.

As the saying goes, if we were all the same life would be very boring.
 
I was referring to "they" as in the people who frequent this forum who are X-Box proponents, not my advice as the shop owner.

Perhaps I should have invoked the sarcasm filter :p

Personally, I don't really care which is better I like my Gamecube, what the rest of the population buy is their business.

No one listens to me anyway :)

Of course you could always argue that the person in the store doesn't really know what they like, so they wouldn't be asking for advice in the first place, and would most probably love FIFA footie and PGR2 anyway.
 
No one listens to me anyway
Aint that the truth :p

Is it just me or is this Xbox v Ps2 v GC v Pc (just for my mate lol)
Getting old now?
 
It is getting rather old now and to be fair it's a pointless thread anyway but at least having this sticky stops people making up other threads about it. Besides there's enough info on the net and in magazines for people to make their mind up which is the machine for them.
 
Just wait for the next round of consoles *ding ding*
:rolleyes: :laugh:
 
Boooo no Sega console this time though, how dull!:(
 
Isn't it funny how some people get so uptight and defensive about the console they own though???

People must get so attached to their console, they won't let anyone say a bad word against it!.....

Especially not a stranger on the other side of the interweb!!!

:D
 
Yeah, it is odd, after all if we dissed each others washing machines or even DVD players I don't think it would spark such passion. Computers and Consoles have always been the same, maybe it's because we interact with them in such a way. You can chart the great battles all through the history of games machines.....C64 v Speccy, Atari ST V Amiga, NES V Master System, Megadrive v SNES, Saturn/N64/Jaguar V Playstation, DC V PS2, X-Box/Game Cube V PS2. Things used to be a lot closer in the old days...the C64 and the Speccy were both decent and shared the popularity. Nowadays Sony has so much of the market that they have actually become the Microsoft of the console market. Must be an interesting position for M$ to be in though and I can't see them giving up until they are in a position of dominance. With only 1/9th of the market and with Sony having around 7/9ths of the market it will be a tough battle though.
 
Ive now owned a playstation for 6 weeks.

When I first got it for christmas I was convinced I opted for the wrong one. The graphics werent as good as a demo of the cube id seen and out of the box the xbox had more bells and whistles. i even wrote an underawed thread on here.

Well 6 weeks on and Im highly addicted to burnout and Tony hawks 4 and having great fun.

Would my experience be enhanced with DD5.1? No, good old stereo is fine and I can use 6 channel or DPII settings if I want.

Would a hard disk enhance my experience? No, it would have saved me £25, but wouldnt enhance the games.

Would 720p or 1080i graphics make the games more enjoyable? No graphics look fine with componant on a Z2 projector. Anything more would be an improvement, but whats there is fine

So is one console better than another? Hell no, its the games that are important.

I think there are two types of Home entertainment users. Those that tweak and play and get a lot of enjoyment out of the technology - and maybe watch a film/play music/play a game as a by product. If this is you, then get an xbox. 20 years ago you would have bought a ZX spectrum and programmed it.

Then there are those who watch films/play music/play games and thats where their enjoyment lies. If you are in the second camp then the cube/xbox/playstation feature comparison is largely irrelevent as all three provide games that will grab you! 20 years ago you would have bought a ZX spectrum and been addicted to Jetset Willy.

20 years ago I programmed my ZX spectrum (in Z80 assembler too). Given my time again I would have finished codename MAT or Elite instead!

[EDIT] Read the stickies please there is one thread for this type of post.
 
Couldn't agree more nunew33! It doesn't matter in the slightest which console is best at all. The only thing that's important is that you enjoy gaming and get the most out of the machine you have. Personally i'm playing through Shenmue2 on the Dreamcast at the moment, which I am enjoying hugely! It's connected to the stereo with several other consoles in my games room and to be honest I haven't even bothered to connect the surround speakers up here. I can always pop downstairs to my 5.1 home cinema set up if i'm fussed about that.

I've always gone down the route that it simply doesn't matter what box you play your games on but for one reason or another this matters to some people. Personally these days I just go for the market leader, as you have the best chance of developers releasing the most games for that system through the lure of more sales. That is the reason I have a PS2, if the X-box or Gamecube enjoyed the most market share i'd have one of those instead. I don't see the point in having some sort of bizzare loyalty to one company or console.
 
Originally posted by gthom3
Personally these days I just go for the market leader, as you have the best chance of developers releasing the most games for that system through the lure of more sales. That is the reason I have a PS2, if the X-box or Gamecube enjoyed the most market share i'd have one of those instead. I don't see the point in having some sort of bizzare loyalty to one company or console.

I generally do the opposite. Market leaders in many businesses often tend to rest on their laurels and milk the cash cow. (that's not a knock on them, it's just business as usual) It's usually the company that's in second or third place that is doing the hard work, and innovating. Market leaders rarely set the pace. It's the ones fighting to get on top that usually give you the best value-for-money and are willing to take a few chances.

That's why competition is good for the consumer and monopolies are good for the company.
 
Yep, true to a certain point. However the games developers and games console manufacturers are generally different companies. Ok M$, Ninty and Sony do make games but there are loads of 3rd party developers. The games innovation generally comes from these and when it comes to choosing a platrofm to release their games on, they do a risk assessment. This obviously means picking the right console to sell the most games. This isn't always the market leader as they may have built up a following on one specific console (or the game may be so good that it actually becomes a console seller! ie. Halo, Gran Turismo etc.). More often than not though the games developer will look to release on what is currently the most successful machine.
 
The point of "which console is best" questions, for me anyway, is that you can only afford ONE console and therefore you want it to be the right one. Also you dont want to pick one, only to find it is superceded very quickly and you are left with only a few decent games on it ie dreamcast
 

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