Xbox or Playstation 2, what to buy???

[hollowman]

whats the big deal.. it's only a game console.. buy xbox or playstation or whatever.. play for a while, then if you don't like it, just sell it or trade at Forsale/Trade forum. easy as that

 

[Slacker]

I bought a gamecube when it first came out, been playing it a lot and I like it, I just got a PS2 a couple of weeks ago and one big difference I noticed was the price of the games, there are very few gamecube games under $49.99
but for the PS2 there are a whole bunch of games at $19.99 :Q like Gran Turismo 3 and twisted metal black 😀 and lots more, I cant comment on xbox game prices, I havent looked at them and I dont plan on buying an xbox..............

 

[dionx]

PS2. many game choices for your own good.

if i got an xbox, i'd prolly only have 3-4 games such as halo, jet set radio future, DOA3, and the upcoming robotech.

 

[Gomce]

PS2, for PC games you've already got a PC :Q

 

[mchammer187]

<< PS2, for PC games you've already got a PC :Q >>



if u have friends that have a ps2 that would be where i considered a gamecube then lastly a box

x-box is tanking in japan so there will be a lot less games coming from japan to the xbox also

 

[GermyBoy]

PS2

 

[schdaddy]

XBOX

last night my best friend and I was up till 4am playing Halo over the net! i would have stayed up all night if I didn't have papers to write

 

[Valinos]

bicherford = idiot

I can't believe people like this are still alive. I hope you're in a car wreck bicherford.

On that note, I'd like to say the major influx of PS2 fanboys is unexpected on a forum I thought had intelligent people. It seems most of the people on this board consist of your average "well since I don't own it, it sucks" types.

Example:
Topic: Should I buy a Ford Mustang or a Nissan Sentry?
Majority of replies: I own a Nissan Sentry, Ford sucks.

Why does Ford suck? Have you ever owned a Ford? Have you ever owned a Mustang? Have you ever driven a Mustang? Oh wait, you wasted your money on that Sentra and you're jealous of your buddy who just bought a Mustang for the same price. I see...so that's why Ford sucks?


This is the mentality of console kiddies. I try to stick with mostly PC gaming discussions because of the influx of idiots, flamers, fanboys, and asskittens that play console games.

I give props to both systems, I recommend you stay away from Gamecube at all costs. Nintendo owners = brainwashed.

I'd recommend you get an Xbox just because it will last longer, and as someone pointed out above...PS2 is already showing its age. The graphics are about on par with most 1999 era PC games and aren't getting any better. The lack of any anti-aliasing really makes the jaggies more pronounced with the 640x480 graphics of the PS2. The lack of a HDD causes you mucho grief in purchasing memory cards and causes load times to be slightly longer. The HDD adds so much more, along with the higher memory count.

I'd get the Xbox now, and a PS2 later when the price drops soon. Great games on both systems, but I can't find $340 of value in the PS2 (adding in the cost of a memory card because it is required). I can find $300 of value in the Xbox though.

In the end, the PC destroys all home consoles along with the majority of console gamers.

 

[jazzkat]

Go away bickerford, aka titaniumdonut. Register again, and we'll ban your entire town.

AnandTech Moderator

 

[olouie]

Valinos,

I agree wtih some of your points. But it is really not good to hope someones dies in a car werck just cause of their opinions. You on the otherhand are one fine piece of work. If you think there are too many wackos with their "console kiddies" views try talking to computer nerds for while. Have you been outside lately?

Regardless, yes I do think PC's CAN be better gaming rigs, but at what cost? Build me a gaming rig for around $300 that can match speed and graphics and Stability of the consoles and I will take however many you can build. Keep in mind that the PC you build has to be able to pay multiplayer games with little or almost no slowdowns, be small enough that I can put it in the living room and hook up to some kind of a display over 25 inches (well i guess 20 inches is the minimal).

BTW which console do you own? I have all three right now and must say each has its own appeal. Xbox is awesome cause of Halo and the HD (little use right now though), PS2 rocks cause it has tons of games and is IMHO just as if not better than most Xbox games. Cube is fun for the party games that become addictive (Supermonkey ball = stupid but additictive, smash brothers etc).



So build / show me where I can pick up my dream gaming PC... I am waiting and could really use a nice new PC 😉

 

[Lucky]

Valinos, I'd comment on the hipocracy of you bashing the PS2 "fanboys" and then labeling nintendo owners as "brainwashed", but somehow I dont think it would matter.

 

[darthmango]

I find it interesting that people who bash the xbox are saying things that are misinterpertations of the truth, or in some cases completly not true. i.e. xbox is bad because of theses 10 reasons, all of which i just made up. Where as people who have played both for more than 5 min say that xbox is better.

 

[blues008]

If you want instant gratification buy the PS2. There is no doubt that the PS2 has more games, but the Xbox has been holding its own since the launch.

The game library has been getting better:

Halo
Project Gotham Racing
Madden
Genma Onimusha
JSRF
Ralisport

And Morrowind coming soon.

 

[jazzkat]

<< If you want instant gratification buy the PS2. There is no doubt that the PS2 has more games, but the Xbox has been holding its own since the launch.

The game library has been getting better:

Halo
Project Gotham Racing
Madden
Genma Onimusha
JSRF
Ralisport

And Morrowind coming soon. >>



All of these games are ports of games from other systems with little to no improvement at all.

Halo is a PC port.

Project Gotham Racing, Madden, JSRF are ports of Dreamcast games.

Onimusha is a PS2 port.

I have no idea what Rallisport is.

Not a single exclusive game in this whole bunch.

What does that tell you?

 

[mchammer187]

<< bicherford = idiot

I can't believe people like this are still alive. I hope you're in a car wreck bicherford.

On that note, I'd like to say the major influx of PS2 fanboys is unexpected on a forum I thought had intelligent people. It seems most of the people on this board consist of your average "well since I don't own it, it sucks" types.

Example:
Topic: Should I buy a Ford Mustang or a Nissan Sentry?
Majority of replies: I own a Nissan Sentry, Ford sucks.

Why does Ford suck? Have you ever owned a Ford? Have you ever owned a Mustang? Have you ever driven a Mustang? Oh wait, you wasted your money on that Sentra and you're jealous of your buddy who just bought a Mustang for the same price. I see...so that's why Ford sucks?


This is the mentality of console kiddies. I try to stick with mostly PC gaming discussions because of the influx of idiots, flamers, fanboys, and asskittens that play console games.

I give props to both systems, I recommend you stay away from Gamecube at all costs. Nintendo owners = brainwashed.

I'd recommend you get an Xbox just because it will last longer, and as someone pointed out above...PS2 is already showing its age. The graphics are about on par with most 1999 era PC games and aren't getting any better. The lack of any anti-aliasing really makes the jaggies more pronounced with the 640x480 graphics of the PS2. The lack of a HDD causes you mucho grief in purchasing memory cards and causes load times to be slightly longer. The HDD adds so much more, along with the higher memory count.

I'd get the Xbox now, and a PS2 later when the price drops soon. Great games on both systems, but I can't find $340 of value in the PS2 (adding in the cost of a memory card because it is required). I can find $300 of value in the Xbox though.

In the end, the PC destroys all home consoles along with the majority of console gamers. >>



your comments about ps2 fanboys and nintendo owners being brainwashed destroys your whole argument

and FYI the mustang and sentra not sentry are not in the same price range to make a better comparision it would have to be vs an altima 2.5S for the standard but the altima is a sedan

or the GT vs the altima 3.5 SE

and IMO i would take the altima any day in either comparision because the altima will be almost as fast
at 13 less hp for the standard 20 less hp for the GT plus it will be much bigger and be a 4 door sedan

sentra vs ford focus would be more accurate and i would take the sentra their too

 

[Smolek]

<< All of these games are ports of games from other systems with little to no improvement at all.

Halo is a PC port.

Project Gotham Racing, Madden, JSRF are ports of Dreamcast games.

Onimusha is a PS2 port.

I have no idea what Rallisport is.

Not a single exclusive game in this whole bunch.

What does that tell you? >>



Until Halo (Exclusive) comes out for pc (a longer and longer shot) it is not a pc port
Madden nor any EA games were on the Dreamcast
Jet set radio future (exclusive) isnt a port its a sequal
Rallisport (Exclusive) is a racing game toping GT3

Going by your logic MGS2 is a nes port, Virtua Fighter is an old genesis portm and gta3 is as well.

 

[thraashman]

The mods should come in this thread and do a round of banings for all the personal attacks going on.

As I've already said. It all comes down to the exclusive games.

Halo - X-box - it has not been ported to any other system. MS owns Bungi, and does not have to release it on PC if they don't want to.

Squaresoft titles- PS2 (later GameCube) - With games like the final fantasy series and soon Kingdom Hearts (the disney/Square joint venture) Squaresoft should always be considered when buying a console.

MGS2 - PS@ later X-Box - From what I've heard, the X-Box version will actually be MGS2X and will have some things added.

Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Smash Bros. - Gamecube - Nintendo has some pretty kick ass exclusive titles and despite the graphics going a little kiddie, it's all about the story and gameplay.

Morrowind - PC, X-Box - Yes this one is officially a PC game and I've been waiting for it since '95 when I played Daggerfall.

If you only play games for the graphics, go watch a movie. Games are all about story and gameplay, graphics are nice, but not near as important.

Personal suggestion - hung up between PS2 and GameCube.

Sidenote - I work in a retail store and the X-Box has a tendency to come back defective, the PS2 also, but not quite as much, and I've never seen a defective GameCube. Remember that you only get a 90 day warranty from the company so whatever you get I suggest buying a replacement plan.

 

[bozack]

Lol that is too funny that bickerford/titaniumdonut/jazzman got busted.

However back to the subject at hand.

Xbox

why would you waste your time with anything else..the hard drive and ethernet port alone make it worth it. Everything else is last years technology or just kids stuff.

 

[Gomce]

"why would you waste your time with anything else..the hard drive an"

Well, if you think like this, let's all sell our computers, and just buy Xboxes.

Anyway, I wanted to ask something else,
How is the quality of the PS2 "backed up" Cd's? The movies from the original DVD title are backed up like Divx or completely left of? And there aren't any changes made to the game right?

The reasons I am going to buy PS2
a) It is available where I live > Macedonia, and MS doesn't even plan on distribution of the Xbox in here

b) I can play backed up CD's, not because I support this kind of stuff but because my country is poor, (average sallary is 200$/month so I can't afford 50$ for a original title... I plan to buy only few games originals, I highly regret this kind of actions but I am forced to do it 🙁 )

c) I think PS2 is superior technology from that of the Xbox, although it lacks RAM, but I think SONY can resolve this with future add-on of memory using the firewire port (Thanks to FishTankX for this info, although it is just a speculation it opens some new horisonts)

d) XBox is MS Windows/DirectX based, and well, this speaks for itself.

e) Sony has many many many sold consoles, and developers knows where the potential lies, so why make a game that has a potential of 1 000 000 buyers (number of Xbox sold consoles) when they can sell their game ten times more? (number of PS2 consoles)

f) I think PS2 has better controller and kinda looks more attractive than the Xbox (I think because I haven't seen Xbox irl)

g) The games on PS2 I think are more interesting and fun to play, and I am talking about the PS2 exclusives, I don't speak of PSX games because their graphics are outdated...so no use for them.

etc...

 

[LiQiCE]

Wow, I thought all the X-Box/PS2/GameCube arguements ended around Christmas time 🙂 ... I guess I'll put in my 2 cents for old times sake ..

If you have the money to only buy one console right now, my choice would be X-Box. I personally own an X-Box and a PS2 (and a Dreamcast, but thats besides the point now).

What advantages does the X-Box have?

1. Built in Surround Sound support. Dolby Digital 5.1. Yes PS2 can do DTS-Surround which is really sweet, but it takes up extra processing, where as the X-Box can do it in hardware. (Always remember, performing calculations in hardware is better than in software.. Sortof like playing a game with a 3D card versus playing one using Software rendering).

2. Native support for 480p (HDTV) (plus *TRUE* VGA Adapter support with a little coersion, or wait for the official VGA adapter) and future support for 720p and 1080i (in 4:3 or 16:9) ... PS2 may have 16:9 support, but it will never render anything higher than 640x480 Interlaced. Every single X-Box game on the market support 640x480 Non-Interlaced, and future games can support up to 1280x720 Non-Interlaced (aka 720p 16:9).

3. Good game selection, X-Box has a good game library considering how long its been out. If you're hesistant about the gaming library, wait until more games are announced in May. Games like Halo, Rallisport Challenge, Amped, Wreckless, DOA3 have all been enjoyable for me personally. Halo still provides lots of hours of replay value due to its multiplayer nature (and online play if you have broadband and a PC). Unreal Championship is another game which I anticipate will be great... plus it will sport official online play.

4. To respond to comments that the X-Box is defective, and crashes all the time, I have never had my X-Box crash on me due to heat or anything of the sort. There are games out there which have bugs and crash, but PS2 has the same thing! I've had my PS2 crash on me more than my X-Box. My X-Box has worked 100% perfectly since I bought it on launch day (I bought my PS2 on launch day too, got lucky enough to get one)... I'm sure there are defective X-Boxes out there, just like there are defective PS2s out there... but I dont think either one is more likely to break.

5. Controller complaints - if you've got small hands, buy the X-Box S controller (aka Japanese controller). I own one and its great, the original controller works just fine in my hands though (and I dont have abnormally large hands or anything like that).

Dont get me wrong, PS2 has great games, and I love them (MGS2, GT3, GTA3 etc).. But for the same $300 you get so much more with the X-Box, and a handful of good games immediately (dont forget when PS2 launched in October of 2000 there weren't any real good games, it took almost a year before GT3 came out, and more than a year for blockbusters to come out). I'm pretty sure X-Box is here to stay, especially with its good console sales here in the USA. And with great games already out for the X-Box, I can only imagine how many great games will be out when the X-Box turns 1. Don't forget, with the Nvidia programmable pixel shader, programmers can customize their games to do certain special effects. This means that X-Box games will get better and better and the possibilities of new whiz-bang features are countless. So I dont believe that the X-Box has reached its peak in graphics capability already.

BTW- At least X-Box has FSAA, PS2 really doesnt have anything of the sort (its more of a hack for PS2)... (And X-box w/o FSAA has less noticeable jaggies than PS2 does!)

 

[Desturel]

I own all 3 next gen systems (4 including Dreamcast. 6 including Game Boy Advanced and GP32). Anyway, my take on it is to get a PS2 if you like RPGs and get a Xbox if you like FPS or Racing games. The controller on the Xbox is better for racing games period. I've played GT3 and the dual shock sucks hard when trying to ise analogue acceleration. As for RPGs, well... PS2 just has more. Unless you are a big fan of Fable/Project Ego or The Elder Scrolls series, you'll get more bang for your buck on PS2.

As far as cost, the Xbox is cheaper overall. With the Xbox you buy the Xbox and the DVD remote. With the PS2 you but the PS2, at least 2 memory cards (one for DVD drivers, one for games), probably a multitap adaptor, the stand, the modem/ethernet card that is coming out soon, optional remote, the hard drive if you want to play EverCrack or FFXI, the upscan converter if you have a good TV, and the Linux kit if you are a tinkerer like I am 😀 (BTW, the linux kit requires another dedicated memory card).

So the PS2 unit itself can cost you anywhere from $345 (system + memory card) to $859 (system + 2 memory cards + stand + multitap + hard drive + ether/modem + dvd remote with updated drivers + USB keyboard + USB mouse) While the Xbox will cost anywhere from $299 (system itself) to $525 (system + memory card + DVD Remore + HDTV pack). Of course this is before extra controllers and games and both on new systems.

Of course there are the people that say supporting Microsoft is supporting the devil... like Sony is any better. LOL. If you wanted to support good and just gaming companies, then... well there are none left. Nintendo is quick to backstab and Sega USED to be the same way before they got out of hardware.

 

[DDCSpeed]

I got both systems. For the longer term, i would get the xbox. I am confident that more games will become available for it. The speed of loading from cd/dvd is faster and the graphics will blow you away...but that would depend on the game itself. In the shorter run, PS2 has more games but generally, the graphic on PS2 is not as good as xBox.

 

[KentState]

I say buy something else with your money and wait until November and see what's out. Personally, I will not buy another console unless one of them proves worth my time and money. I've enjoyed a couple PS2 games since I purchased it (GT3 and FFX), but that's about it. I've played a couple XBox games, but Halo was rather boring and there isn't much else out. Guess that's why I only use my PC for gaming anymore, with maybe the exception of FFXI which will be online.

BTW, I also work for a major retailer and maybe it's a bad batch, but I've seen a heavy amount of XBox systems come back defective since it was released. PS2 has also had problems, but I wouls say it's a 3:1 ratio and the Gamecube might be make it 30:10:1.

 

[Desturel]

Kent, where do you work at? PS2 has no problems? Heck, half of the people I know who have PS2's (about 25 out of 50 people) have had problems with them. Ejecting discs while they are still spinning. No longer able to read CDs or CD games. Overheating. Freezing in the middle of games. Scratching discs to the point that they need a game doctor and many other problems.

I've only seen 1 person out of 15 people who have an Xbox who had a problem. His problem was a corrupt hard drive and that was replaced the same day for free. Fixing any of the PS2 problems costs $160 and shipping to Sony for them to fix it. That's why most people either deal with the problem (i.e. 5 of the people who have PS2s that don't read CDs just don't buy CD games and only buy the DVD games), or just buy a new PS2 and sell their old one of Fleabay.

My PS2 had the problem where it would eject the disc while still spinning, but I bought an EB warrenty and replaced it right away. I know Sony makes crappy videogame hardware from experiances with the PSX so I didn't take chances. I still wonder where all of these people are that have never seen a defective playstation.

 

[mchammer187]

<< Kent, where do you work at? PS2 has no problems? Heck, half of the people I know who have PS2's (about 25 out of 50 people) have had problems with them. Ejecting discs while they are still spinning. No longer able to read CDs or CD games. Overheating. Freezing in the middle of games. Scratching discs to the point that they need a game doctor and many other problems.

I've only seen 1 person out of 15 people who have an Xbox who had a problem. His problem was a corrupt hard drive and that was replaced the same day for free. Fixing any of the PS2 problems costs $160 and shipping to Sony for them to fix it. That's why most people either deal with the problem (i.e. 5 of the people who have PS2s that don't read CDs just don't buy CD games and only buy the DVD games), or just buy a new PS2 and sell their old one of Fleabay.

My PS2 had the problem where it would eject the disc while still spinning, but I bought an EB warrenty and replaced it right away. I know Sony makes crappy videogame hardware from experiances with the PSX so I didn't take chances. I still wonder where all of these people are that have never seen a defective playstation. >>



i never had a problem with my original ps2 from launch

i bet a majority of ppl dont follow the directions to remove a game

ie u have to hold the reset button until the led turns red then eject the cd or else it will scratch the lense and possibly the cd