Playstation (1 Viewer)

[Jay W.]

I am on a budget so I can get a Dreamcast for $ 50 or a Sony playstation 1 for $99. Which is better? Is it true i can play P2 games on P1? Could anyone provide a link to a site where i can get a list of all titles avaliable on DC and P1.

Thanks

 

[Romier S]

Jay,
You have a difficult choice ahead of you. Honeslty both systems have stellar line-ups. The PS1 has more games than the DC (given that its been out about 4-5 years before the Dreamcast I'm sure you can understand why). The PS1 also has some spectacular games and allot of them are considered classics. By the way the PS1 cannot play PS2 games. The PS2 can on the other hand play PS1 games.
On the other hand the DC is a "next gen" machine so you will be getting a newer system for 50 dollars that has a very unique and full library of games (close to if not above 300 If I remember correctly). It offers quite a graphical upgrade over the PS1 also. I have enjoyed my Dreamcast and you find allot of DC lovers on the forum.
It really is a decision you need to make for yourself. Do you want the PS1 with a huge library and classic titles like Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Castlevania SOTN, etc....? Or do you want a newer system with games like Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Skies of Arcadia, etc.....? You cant go wrong either way. To be truthful you can buy a used PS1 these days for around 40 bucks, combine that with the 50 for the dreamcast and you can get them both. (Thats my recommendation!) Games are cheap for both systems so you shouldn't have to spend allot to get a game for each (hell 25 at the most).
If you at all plan on getting a PS2 in the future by the way this decision is a little easier as the PS2 as mentioned above plays PS1 games so you may not have a reason to buy the PS1. That is of course only dependant if you plan on getting a PS2 later on.

 

[Iain Lambert]

As Romier says, there are a fair number of games on the Dreamcast, and technically it knocks the PS1 for six. The PS1 had thousands of games released for it though, and while Metropolis Street Racer and Soul Calibur are great on the DC, so were Gran Tourismo 2 and Tekken 3 on the PS1. Its a tough call to say, but I will admit that my PS gathers dust sitting alongside a Dreamcast thats in regular use, and that despite that huge number of titles released, I have twice as many DC games as PS ones.

Basically, as with all console advice its down to the games, but in this case practically everything that will ever be released for the two machines is already out, which should at least make your life easier.

 

[Ike]

I'd say between the two, I'd go with Dreamcast. Yeah, they are classic games for the PS1, but there are also fantastic Dreamcast games. Sonic Adventure, NFL 2k series, Crazy Taxi 1/2, Unreal Tournament (the only version on console with online multiplayer), Soul Caliber, Seaman, Tony Hawk 2 (the best version released of 2, IMO), and the NBA 2k series. My one complaint about the DC (besides the sometimes awkward controller) is a lack of great shooting games. They are a handful, but not many. However, if your a sports/racing fan, it's no contest, the DC wins hands down.

 

[Chris Bardon]

True-sports/racing are the DC's domain, as well as some of the strangest games from Sega that you've ever seen. I have no idea what kind of drugs their designers are on, but they come up with some weird stuff... But I digress-if you're an adventure/RPG fan, then the Ps1 is for you. Plus, there's the added bonus of games being a LOT easier to find right now, since most stores seem to be getting rid of their DC inventory.

 

[NathanP]

I actully went through the same dilemma a few weeks ago.

I chose to trade in my PS1 for a DC..

Why?

1. Graphics! I kept in mind that I will soon be getting a projector.

So, I figured the PS1 will look blocky and clumsy on a 100' screen.

2.It has connections for 4 controllers. While with the PS 1 you have to buy the 4 player adapter.

3.Sports games.

I'm a big player of sports games, and alot of sports games on the PS1 look like Sega Genesis games.

The one's on the DC look fantastic.

4 It's so friggin complicated!

I like complicated-multi button things, and the DC is definately more complicated allowing for different configurations and many different kinds of add-ons.

Nathan

 

[Brad_W]

Buy a Dreamcast. Eventually you can buy a Playstation 2 and still buy games for PS1, however Dreamcast is slowly phasing out so you should buy it now and grab as many games as possible for it. Plus, with games real cheap for both systems you can buy games for the PS1 so you'll have lots of games when you finally get your PS2.

The Dreamcast has better graphics than the Playstation, but way fewer games. So you can't go wrong buying a Dreamcast and getting as many games as they have right now for it. A lot of DC's games are between 10-20 dollars depending on where you go.

Grab it now before you can't. Playstation will be around for a long long time.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I would say buy a PS2 and a DC right now. PSX and DC games are becoming harder to find (the good ones, at least) and getting one over the other will make you miss out on a lot.

But if you had to only get one console, I would say the PS2. It has a lot of ex-DC games coming to it, plus it plays PSX games, plus its a next-gen console, plus it has a bunch of great games of its own.

Now since you asked about PSX or DC, I would say go with the PSX. A lot of the DC games are good and cheap, and it does have online games, but the PSX has some of the best games ever made and they span over 6 years worth of releases, plus there are more still coming. The DC is officially dead and whats there is the extent of what you'll get, no more.

 

[Kip]

I'll never pass on an opportunity to plug the DC. The graphics are far superior to what you'll get on the PS1 and at $50 it's a better value. Plus the games can be found real cheap right now. The PS1 will always be there, but you might not be able to pick up a DC in the future and IMHO you'd be missing out on some really special games.

Kip

 

[Jason Handy]

I would go for the DC as well. I jumped on the bandwagon a couple of months ago and have been gobbling games up like they are drugs.

My best friend has a PSX and I have to say that when we played it a few years ago, it was sweet (I had never seen the DC). But what pulled me back from the PSX this year was that I am a PC gamer at heart and the PSX just reminded me of games I used to play on my 486/33 computer.

The DC looked nicer and had more of the games I am interested in (racing, sports, a couple stellar RPGs), and I was finding the games for ~$10. Not to mention that I recently got a widescreen TV and the DC supports 16:9 games (there are a few out there).

Hardware issues aside, I am very happy with the games themselves. I have found them to be deep and well thought out. This is not to say that PSX games are no good - quite the contrary, PSX has a much larger library and a number of genre-defining classics. My point here is that for the length of time you will be using this console (a couple of years), you will not run out of games to play on EITHER one, so do not discount the DC because it only has 300 games vs. the PSX library of 800 games (or something like that).

Bottom line - being a tweak-geek who loves all things technology, the DC is a tremendous bargain and offers far superior performance over the PSX. You mileage may vary, and I do not think you will go wrong with either console.

Happy gaming.

Jason

 

[David Williams]

If you love platformers, by all means, get the PS1! I have bought both, and despite the lush graphics of the Dreamcast it continues to gather dust because there are very few, if any, platforming games for Dreamcast.
Shenmue and Sonic Adventure have been the only games I've gotten terribly excited over on the Dreamcast (Shenmue!!!). The controller sucks in comparison to the PS1 (and just about everyone else, except maybe Xbox which looks like a clone). I was so skeptical of the Playstation, coming from the Nintendo camp, that I just now purchased my very first PS1 this last Christmas. In the last month or so of owning one, I've been very impressed with its ability to keep up graphics-wise with my beloved N64, despite the fact that its a 32-bit machine. I live for Spyro now, just as much as Mario, Zelda, Banjo & Conker.
But the main reason for my purchase of the PS1: LCD screen!!!!! With the advent of this add-on, you can take the PS1 anywhere without the need for a TV screen (or even an outlet with the car adapter).
To sum it up, it's all in the games. Take an inventory of what you enjoy playing and purchase accordingly.
You can look at reviews of both PS1 and DC games by kind of game or just in general at
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and their Greatest Hits:
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[Jason Handy]

Wow, I have never heard of the LCD screen for the PSX. How big is it? Not that size matters mind you (), but it seems hard for me to think of the PSX as 'portable'.
I agree with David - your purchase has everything to do with the type of games you like. Both DC and PSX have great games to offer; I would decide on the games you want to play and then pick the console.
Jason

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The screen is only for the PSOne, not the old PSXes.

 

[Jackie_v]

That's a hard question to answer. I've owned both and have recently conformed and purchased the PS2. However, if you're looking for the long haul I would say either wait until you can afford the PS2 or X-BOX or buy the PS1. The Dream Cast system isn't going to be around much longer. They are only coming out with a few more games this year, and then I heard that was the end for DC. Which is unfortunate because it did indeed have superior graphics.

 

[David Williams]

Wow, I have never heard of the LCD screen for the PSX. How big is it? Not that size matters mind you (), but it seems hard for me to think of the PSX as 'portable'.

As Morgan has already said, only for the PS1. Sony did a great job of melding the two forms so that when you screw the monitor to the PS1 it looks like all the same unit. It has a 5' LCD monitor with stereo speakers and individual picture controls. The screen is a TFT so its pretty darn light for its small size. It has an amped up power adapter to handle both the screen and station all in one cord and has AV input/output so you can still hook it up to a big screen or hook stuff like camcorders to it. Sony should have it for sale soon (if not now) in a bundle for $199, and its available separately now, for $129.
Read the review:
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