Need some input: Playstation 2 vs. Xbox (1 Viewer)

[Brian Kissinger]

I am not very wealthy, and can't afford both of these little gems. I want to get one, but I'm not sure which one to get. I'm leaning toward PS2, simply because its been out longer, and I would have an easier time finding more inexpensive games, and more used games. However, the Xbox seems to have some great games. What do you guys suggest. I want the better gameplay. Which to buy?

 

[Chad Ellinger]

Well, from a purely hardware perspective, I wrote an FAQ last week that should give you a good comparison with regard to Home Theater features.
As for better gameplay, its a tough call. If you look at both systems RIGHT NOW, PS2 is the one to get. The PS2 library has more games than any other next-generation system, and the latest batch (Jak & Daxter, MGS2, FFX, GTA3, Devil May Cry, etc, etc) is tough to beat. Of course, Xbox will likely have a strong future ahead of it and will see many of the same games as PS2 in the future, with better graphics and sound due to superior hardware.
My only question to you is: Have you considered Gamecube? Nintendo has always been a leader in setting new standards for gameplay (just look at how many Mario 64 imitators are out there), so if that's what important to you, you may want to check them out.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Short term - PS2

Long term - XBox.

By the end of this year this question will no longer be asked.

'Nuff said

 

[Ricky Hustle]

Played both Xtensively.

The Xbox to me is far superior in sight as well as sound.

 

[Rob Varto]

Gotta agree with the XBox recommendation. It has superior graphics and sound. Give it 6 months to build up it's library and we'll all know the answer without speaking it.

I have a feeling that the PS3 will be here much sooner than anyone anticipated.

 

[Brian Kissinger]

Thanks for the information. I'll probably go with the Xbox.

We have a gamecube (bought it for my son) and I like it, but I want my own. I figured why not get one of the others. We did this with Dreamcast and Nintendo 64. Worked out pretty good. Only if my wife was a little more understanding. Thanks everyone.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If you want the power and performance, definitely go with the X-Box, but if you want a lot of great games right now, definitely go with the PS2. I would reccomend the PS2 since I don't have an X-Box, but after 40 some odd hours of FFX, playing Frequency in the dark, and getting nearly $800 worth of games for it, I am in gaming heaven. An X-Box would improve it, but not as much as my PS2 has.

I would also say that you shouldn't just go for the X-Box because its the most powerful. You will be doing more than just looking at the thing run and watching the pretty graphics, you also will be playing it. AFAIK, there aren't many great games for X-Box (there are some, but not as much as the DC or the PS2). Also, the PS2 has a lot of great games that are now cheap.

 

[RANDY FISHER]

I have all (3) of the new systems. The XBOX wins hands down for Tech. specs, the cube has some nice Nintendo exclusives, but the PS2 is still getting most of my gaming time. Too many godly games out for it right now...MGS2 anyone? Next year if MAY be a different story but I would not count Sony out just yet.

Randy

 

[Andrew Grall]

One I discovered the superior video and audio of the X-Box, I sold my PS2...

 

[BrianB]

One I discovered the superior video and audio of the X-Box, I sold my PS2...

Yeah, cause it's all about the tech specs, the games don't matter do they? :rolleyes

 

[Derrick_Ellis]

I agree with Walt. I have one word for ya.... HALO. And this is coming from someone who owns a PS2! I played Halo at a friends house on his nice Sony Wega monitor and was blown away. (This is without surround sound as well.) The next day I made him buy the component cables and he was blown away all over again. I think he needs to bring it over to my house so we can check it out in surround sound. (He knows if he does that, he's not leaving with it!)

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If someone was buying a new console right now, I would reccommend the PS2 because it not only has something for everyone, but has a good something for everyone. The X-Box and GCN have a lot of genres covered, but they don't have several good games per genre, plus some revolutionary or amazing games. The PS2 has everything (minus HD and real-time 5.1 in everything).

 

[Ike]

I have both, and it depends on what kind of games you like.

Halo, NFL 2k2/NFL Fever/Madden, and Dead or Alive III make the X-Box the choice for FPS, football, and fighting fans.

Grand Theft Auto III, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Tony Hawk 3 make PS2 the choice for action, adventure, or skating fans.

To be honest, since I got my X-Box, my PS2 has been played less and less. But, the value I got out of Devil May Cry, GTA III (it'll be coming out for X-Box in March, though), THPS 3, GT3, and others make it a fantastic console.

I think if I had to choose, I'd pick the X-box, unless there is one or two absolute can't live without PS2 titles. The best titles are going to be ported (MGS2 and GTA III), and it is the best technically, so in theory, should have the most room to grow. It also seems to have a lot of action titles coming out, which I like. I think the prime year for PS2 was last year, and the prime year for X-box is in the near future.

 

[BrianB]

The best titles are going to be ported (MGS2 and GTA III)

Except of course, there's been zero concrete info on either port in the last few months.

 

[Ike]

Does that mean they aren't coming?

 

[Sean Oneil]

Having both, I find myself wishing for more games to be released on the X-Box, and fewer to be released on the PS2.

Ideally, I would like to see the same games on all three platforms (PS2, X-BOX, GC) but it seems that the exclusivity game is being played by all three manufacturers. Hopefully that will change soon, and we will see 'Final Fantasy' on the X-Box and Gamecube, and 'Halo' on the PS2 and Gamecube, and the Resident Evil re-makes on the X-Box and the PS2. Wishful thinking I suppose,

If all games were available for all platforms, then I would say X-Box, because it has the capability to reproduce the best versions of those games.

However, the PS2 has the most games right now, and the most well known titles, but the X-Box has some amazing looking games up ahead. Picking any one system is your call, and it's a gamble. Right now it looks like all three systems have strong support, but look at the Dreamcast ...a system can always fail in the end, no matter how great it is.

Game fans may be forced to buy all three systems because most of the great games are exclusive to one console. It just becomes a question of looking at the systems and basing your decision on the games available and the games upcoming.

If you are a home theater buff however (and you must be to have found this forum), then there is no other choice but the X-Box IMHO. It shines in a HT system, where the PS2 lacks a bit. If you do your gaming on a smaller interlaced TV and a standard stereo system, then you probably won't notice much of a difference between the systems.

 

[BrianB]

Does that mean they aren't coming?

I have no idea about the state of play with MGSX. Konami were very quiet about Silent Hill X, and it appeared almost out of nowhere. With MGSX, I have no more information than anyone else here.

 

[Kip]

One I discovered the superior video and audio of the X-Box, I sold my PS2...

Yeah, I don't get this kind of thinking at all. I realize this is the "Home Theater Forum" and therefore an extra emphasis is placed on graphics and sound, but come on. Doesn't the quality of the actual games matter a little bit?
I fortunately can afford all the systems and have played them extensively. At this point in time the PS2 gets the lion's share of my gaming hours. Why? Because it has a vastly superior collection of games. Anyone who argues the XBox has a better library is smoking crack. Besides Halo, there isn't one A+ game for the XBox. (Well, I'm a big Max Payne fan, but since it's currently available for both consoles I'll leave it out of this discussion.)
The PS2 however, had arguably the best release year ever in 2001. The many releases include GranTurismo 3, GTA3, MGS2, FFX, Devil May Cry, Jak and Daxter, THPS3, TMB. Those games are among the best ever in their respective genres. The XBox cannot compete right now. Period.
Look if pretty is all that counts and you simply want a system to show off every now and then by all means pick up a copy of DOA3 and an XBox and you're all set. If you want to play the best games now, and since you're looking to spend $300 now I assume you do, the PS2 is the best choice. Next year who knows, but one never knows about next year.
Finally, let me say this about graphics. Just because a system has the best specs, it doesn't mean it always has the best looking games. For my money, the best looking game on any console right now is FFX. It is simply beautiful. Second would have to be MGS2. That has a lot to do with style and presentation. The point is great graphics are as much about artistic vision and talent as they are about polygon pushing power. A true gamer owes it to themselves to consider more than just technical prowess.
BTW: Don't count on ports being better on a more powerful system. It often doesn’t work out that way. I for one cannot play THPS2 or SSX Tricky on the XBox very well because of the controller. It just isn't designed very well for that type of game. Regardless of the graphics I have much more fun with the PS2 versions.
Kip

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Porting a game does often mean doing a sloppy job of making it run on different hardware. Sometimes, a company will remake a game or make a Special Edition that comes out good (like Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore), but it technically isn't a port then, its a different game.

While MGS2 and GTA3 are great, big name titles, I doubt they will get good port-treatment. I haven't played SH2:RD for X-Box, but a lot of the reviews of it said there were problems with the controls and a little bit with the graphics (though I haven't played it, so someone else could confirm or deny this). While the game was still good, there were some problems with the graphics, and on the more powerful hardware.

As someone said somewhere else, porting a game onto a more powerful console gives it the chance of being better than the original, but doesn't necessarily mean it will be.

 

[Joseph Young]

There is a clear superiority in terms of graphics and audio, for many Xbox titles. This is not the debate. We all recognize the superior technical specifications and understand what that potentially means for Xbox in the long term.
I'm not a big sports/fighting genre fan so automatically that makes the Xbox less appealing. A year ago my PS2 felt sorely lacking in quality titles, with one or two exceptions (sounds a lot like Xbox now, eh?). We need to give the 'Box some time and it will definitely see a 'golden age.' Maybe then it will appeal to me.
My PS2, hands-down, has a library that is going to keep me occupied for a long, long time. DMC, GTA3, GT3, J&D, MGS2, FFX... the list goes on. Not to mention genre-defying titles like Rez and Frequency, even many of the PSX titles that I missed out on (like ape escape and Castlevania:SOTN).
I mean, right now, I can't see why anyone would want to 'take the piss out of' PS2's viability and staying power as a gaming console (this is what we're talking about, right?), other than to look back later and say 'look, I put money on the winner!'
Judging inferiority/superiority from console to console may be comprised as a group of objective criteria, but when you add it all up, you're looking at a very subjective process depending on the motivations of the buyer. For instance, the PS2 came along at the right time, I never owned a PSX, and I didn't own a DVD player... it was a no brainer for me.
I say, take all the advice and then use that which you feel applies most to you (ie: makes the most sense to you). So then, be it Cube, Xbox, PS2, (PS3 for chrissakes!) you'll be making an airtight decision that makes complete sense to you.
There is no 'loser' system unless one wants to see it that way... and IMO that takes the fun out of gaming.
Cheers,
Joseph