PC vs PS2 vs Dreamcast

[BOOKERREESE]

hey ya, i have a P3 650 with 128mb of pc133 memory & an Elsa Gladiac geforce2 card. so which platform is good for gaming. i do like the dreamcast.

 

[Modeps]

pc is the best, ps2 is second and dreamcast is a close third...
all are getting v.close to one another in terms of graphics and fun factor.

 

[Chad]

PC will always be best, but the DC is a viable alternative. I am having great funb with Shenmue right now, and I just finished Resident Evil Code: Veronica.

Also, NFL2k1 and NBA2k1 are fun if your into sports.

PS2 isn't even an option, ubnless you know of some way to get one? Even if you do, there's not to many great games out right now for it. Madden and SSX are about it.

 

[Deeko]

The PS2 is the most powerful of those three options. The PS2 version of Madden 2001 blows the PC version out of the water. Also, PS2 games well get MUCH better graphics wise....the current games are using the main ALU/FPU of the Emotion Engine, but the vector units are where most of the PS2's power is. They aren't being used yet because they are different and difficult. Once programmers harness them, graphics will dramatically increase. PS2's graphics may not be much better than Dreamcast's right now, but PS2's will get much, much better.

 

[noxipoo]

PS2 isn't the most powerful. and the graphic are not the best. Take a look at UT for pc and ps2 and you will see the difference.

 

[Need4Speed]

As far as consoles are concerned, the PS2 is the most powerful on paper...but in reality the DC has much better graphics etc. Some of this comes from the fact that the PS2 engine is much more difficult to program for. In a couple of years, the PS2 will be better than the DC, but by then something new will be out.

Not to mention the cost/benefit of the DC is much better. I picked my DC up for $120. You can't even get your hands on a PS2 in the retail market. Besides, at a cost of $300 MSRP it just doesnt make sense to me why anyone would buy it. Unless u already own a ton of PS games and need a DVD player. Though DC will play PS games using bleem, and supposedly they will look better than playing them on the PS2.

The PS2 is nothing more that hype. Congrats to SONY for selling a ton of these to people that don't even need/want them and are only buying them because they are so hard to get. Kinda like the Tickle Me Elmo doll all over again...but i digress.

 

[Maverick]

Ps2 will *maybe* have a 2 month window where its graphics exceed the PC's. Thats a BIG maybe. Graphics on the PC just get better much faster. Remember when the original playstation came out its graphics were much better than doom, or duke or whatever else was out there on the PC. But when GLQuake and such came out, the PS was blown out of the water. Nowadays PC graphics development is going at an even faster rate. I remember buying me Geforce2 thinking I'd have the fastest vid card for at least a year...within 3 months the Geforce2 Ultra came out. Any lead the PS2 ever has on the PC will not be for more than a few months. The PS2 will be around for 3 or 4 years before new hardware from Sony comes out, while PC games look better every 6 months.

As for the dreamcast, its much easier to develop for than the Ps2. In order to use those vector units you're talking about, you have to do all the programming in assembly code. Don't just assume that "oh yeah the programmers will just figure it out and it will be all good." Programmers are human beings like you and me. The problem with working in assembly code is not so much difficult as it is time consuming. If it takes them 5 days to make a cube move in three dimensions versus spending 5 minutes doing it on DC, which do you think they'll do? The one that allows them to develop faster and more efficiently. I'm not saying the PS2 is gonna fail like the Saturn did (incidently the Saturn used assembly code too), but its definitely not gonna blow the Dreamcast out of the water. Sure, some PS2 games will look a lot better, but those will be few and far between because of the high development costs.

As for me, I'm happy with my PC and my dreamcast. When the X box comes out, I'll definitely get it since it'll have the power of the PC with the developers of the console. Just my .02

 

I think PC gaming got into a bit of a rut for a while. Too many FPS games. The online aspect of the PC is great but speaking for myself I am sick of buying a new video card every 6 months just to keep up with things. I love the Dreamcast right now. Sure, the games don't look as good as high-end PC games but the game content for the most part beats the PC, depending what you are into.

I have yet to see anything like Soul Calibur on the PC. At the same time there aren't any good RTS games for the DC. Then again, you would be hard pressed to find good sports games for the PC. I am not at all interested in FPS anymore. That whole genre has been done to death.

The PS2 has a while to warm up. No one knows how to code for it 100% efficently right now. I think by this time next year there will be some decent PS2 games on the market. The first gen title I seem are pretty lackluster.

As much as I hate it, the Xbox is really looking like a good platform for American developers. If it takes off it could be then end of PC gaming as we know it. Let's hope not.

 

[BDawg]

I'll try to answer this since I own all 3. ^_^

They're all good for different things. One of the limitations of the PS2 and the Dreamcast is the fact that they're broadcasting to a 640x480 interlaced TV.

I'm still not sure what all the hubub is with the PS2...I still think that Dead or Alive and Soul Caliber are much better looking than Dead or Alive and Tekken Tag for PS2. Kessen is very cool though!

 

[NoreagaCNN]

I'm a huge DC fan, DC is way better compared to crappy PS2, IMHO until the Gamecube comes out DC is gonna kick all systems ass.

Peace,
Nore

 

[Optikal]

In response to what Dwell said: "As much as I hate it, the Xbox is really looking like a good platform for American developers. If it takes off it could be then end of PC gaming as we know it."

No console will ever be the death of PC gaming. PC gaming gets more impressive every 6 months whereas consoles only improve every 3-4 years. So there is just no way console's can stay ahead of PC's in terms of game graphics and performance. However in relation to the other consoles I believe XBox is going to blow them all out of the water, it is basically just a snapshot of current PC technology. And from what I've seen if you have a semi-powerful PC with a GeForce2 there are no consoles that can even come close the the power of it.

 

[Wingznut]

As BDawg said, they are all good for different things. For instance, there isn't a PC fighting game that can touch any of the latest console offerings. Same with sports games, imho. Now take FPS and strategy games. You aren't going to find many quality games in those genres, on a console.

Besides, there's something to be said about sitting on a comfy chair, in front of a 32" tv while playing games. And isn't that really what it's all about... the games? I don't think you can simply say which system is better.

 

[TheNemesis]

I use to love pc games, then my pc became outdated, and I got tired of the sammme old games. My pc does everything I need right now, and for games I play my dreamcast. It has q3a, which you can play online. Sports games are great on it, as well as fighting games. For the price, it's great IMHO. I also think that PC will remain king, but intil I get a new pc/broadband, I'll be playing on my DC.

 

[Dulanic]

Xbox is gonna rock the hell out of PS2 according to alot of reports from Comdex. Lets just hope it doesnt crash all the time

 

[gplracer]

How can you say the graphics on the ps2 are better? The thing runs at a low 300mhz. My voodoo 5 and my brother's geforce 2 are much better. I think the ps2 is a good idea. The fact that it comes with a DVD player will help to sell the product because parents can use it too. Although, I race Grand Prix Legends online and it rocks! The best thing for me is multiplayer. The people in my league are from all over the world. We use roger wilco to chat too. I have never seen a consol that had good sims. They are all geared toward kids or the arcade audience. Dont get me wrong, that is ok. It is just not for me. I hear it comes with a 56k modem or you can get one? Well that sucks compared to the cable that i have. Also most televisions do not let you run a resolutions of 1280 and higher. Does the ps2 work on a monitor too. You would need that. What resolution would the picture be then?

 

[Wingznut]

I don't have a modem for my DC, but everyone who uses SegaNet says the online gameplay is perfect... even better than PC broadband.

 

[StageLeft]

Nobody aware of how these things workout will claim that a Console is consistently a better gaming platform - hardware wise - a PS2 is great now, but in 6 months we'll see the new generation of PC vid cards...and in two years how will the PS2 look? Not so great.

That said I'm still buying one because for $300 you get some great fun - and a dvd player...But if money is no object and you upgrade your PC consistently it will always outperform the consoles (except as soon as they come out and are on par with hardware).

 

[chiwawa626]

think of it this way, UT and Q3 are written so that they work with many graphics cards, and many systems. Ps2 is always the same stuff, their written just for the ps2. If all games were written only for the Geforce2 cards, they would proably be better.

 

[randomlinh]

i hate it when the PC gets thrown into a console war.... different markets i say

 

[Sephiroth_IX]

You get a DC now, and a Xbox later. Simple

 

[erikiksaz]

noxipoo, you're wrong. epic didn't take the time to fully utilize the ps2's power. they just wanted the game out as soon as possible. if they did want to fully optimize ut, then the graphics in the ps2 version would of blown the pc version away.

 

[Crovakiet]

PS2 and dreamcast all tend to have better graphics(at first), etc because the programmers who make the games for them have no qualms with compatibility issues. Its all out optimization with the hardware they see and utilize. The hardware in a PS2 and Dreamcast will be the same now, as it was yesterday and will in the future ie. a playstation2 is a playstation2, is a playstation2(you get the idea). The PC is a whole different story, the hardware NOW is not the "same" as yesterdays hardware, and in the future it definetely wont be the same. The programmers of PC games have to deal with this aspect of the PC, and thus they go for compatibility rather than performance. IF we ALL had a Geforce 2 Ultra and an TBIRD 1.2gig DDR system, then in my opinion games and such would be MUCH MUCH MUCH better because then games are optimized for that sort of system with no compatibility issues whatsoever, so games and such run much faster, controls better, and hopefully no patches needed . And people wont be complaining about the graphic glitches etc in certain graphic cards, or certain motherboards, etc. They would be complaining about gameplay . I cant tell you how many times that I couldnt play a game that other people said was awesome just because my PC couldn't run it(Ie Deus EX, hella slow fps) at decent speed or graphics were definitely lacking, whereas with a PS2 and dreamcast, I know I can play it at decent speed and graphics. My .02$

 

[Deeko]

UT was simply ported to the PS2. It wasn't designed to be better. The Madden games were designed to look their best on each system. And I own the PC version and have played a friends PS2 version, the PS2's is so much better. I own a Dreamcast, I don't own a PS2, nor do I intend to, but it is much more powerful than the Dreamcast. Have any of you seen screenshots for GT3? It destroys anything I've seen on Dreamcast. Actually, the PC is lagging a bit right now, even NFL2K1 for Dreamcast is better than Madden 2001 for PC. Hopefully that will change with the latest video cards, but right now the PC is NOT the optimal gaming platform. Sure it can be upgraded, but guess what, for the same cost as buying a next gen video card you can buy a next gen console + games. Someone said that the PC has to be faster, look at the MHz(I'm too lazy to check who ), consoles are designed for one thing only, gaming. Clock for clock the Emotion Engine rips an Athlon to shreads in 3D. Personally, I'm gonna wait until both Gamecube and XBox come out, and see which of the three have the best devolper support(That's what makes a console, look at the N64 vs PSX), and get that.