PS2 Console Still Worth Buying?

[stuman74]

I have a boy and girl who are almost 6. I saw that they are selling the slim PS2 now for $99 and was wondering if it's worth it to do so for kids that age? The controllers are better for their hands than the Xbox and I doubt the graphics upgrade from PS2 to PS3 would matter for them. We have a Wii that they have been playing for a little over two years (which they like as well) but my son is getting into some games like Lego Starwars, Batman, and Indy Jones that aren't that great on the Wii. I know PS2 came out a long time ago, but if they still make games for a few years, would it be a good choice for kids that age? Thanks!

 

[A Casual Fitz]

PS2 has the largest collection of quality titles of that gen IMO so I'd say yes especially for little kids that won't have a ton of friends on XBOX Live or anything.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Katamari Damacy is $10 at Amazon. There are tons of other all-ages games, often $10-15 new instead of $30-50, and $5-10 used.

Platformers like Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper still look good.

You can also pick up a JRPG or two for yourself, like Final Fantasy X.

One thing you'll need are memory cards for save games, I'd get the genuine Sony 2 pack red/blue for $25 (Amazon) not third-party cards that are less reliable. Get 2 x 2 packs and one kid can be red while the other is blue.

Edit: I'd suggest browsing Amazon to see what you might like to buy, and if there are enough titles to make it worthwhile.

 

[RaiderJ]

Well, I think the PS2 is a great system, but not sure how many kids games there are for it.

 

[Dominato3r]

Yea, stick with the PS2 for now.

 

[Eeezee]

Hell yes, it's a great system and super cheap right now, as you noticed.

Then again, if you already have a Wii, remember that it also runs Gamecube games, which is full of good games for kids.

 

[stuman74]

Thanks for the feedback. I forgot that the Wii can play games from the Gamecube. We haven't ever bought any games in that format, but can certainly look.

The tip on those memory cards is good. For PS2, is 8MB really all that's needed? My Wii has a 2GB SD card and I barely have any data stored on it though.

Even though there is a generation difference, are the Wii and PS2 comparable graphics-wise? Not as much a question for the kids, but rather me

 

[NoWhereM]

Your Wii is also a virtual console that can play games from a number of classic systems. I would think your kids would love playing their way through all the SMB games from the various systems.

http://www.nintendo.com/wii/virtualconsole

 

[DaveSimmons]

Looking into Gamecube games first makes sense, that might keep you in games for a long time.

The tip on those memory cards is good. For PS2, is 8MB really all that's needed? My Wii has a 2GB SD card and I barely have any data stored on it though.

Depending on the game that's anywhere from 4 to 20+ save slots. You only use the cards for saves not for any downloaded content.

The other brands store 2-4 times as much, but sometimes get corrupted and lose all of your saved games, which doesn't seem worth the risk to me.

 

[RaiderJ]

I think two cards is more than enough for the PS2. I have a ton of games for my PS2 and haven't needed more than two myself.

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: NoWhereM
Your Wii is also a virtual console that can play games from a number of classic systems. I would think your kids would love playing their way through all the SMB games from the various systems.

http://www.nintendo.com/wii/virtualconsole

I'd definitely vote for this. The Wii has a whole library of former Nintendo platform games to DL/play. Gem upon gem upon gem in that archive. I'd go looking through that before picking up a PS2.

 

[mugs]

Yeah it is, but I vote for getting Gamecube controllers and playing Gamecube games on your Wii.

 

[dguy6789]

+1 vote for Wii being a great console for the kids. There are tons of great Gamecube and Wii games that are very kid friendly.

 

[zerogear]

Katamari damacy!

 

[JTsyo]

I had gotten Cookies and Cream to play with my wife for the PS2. It's a 2 player games that is co-op platformer. Similar to some of the mini-games from Mario Party where 2 players work together.

 

[Industrial]

I think it's a great pick up for your kids (and yourself). Still lots of fun games and a huge library. If they like the Wii graphics, then graphics isn't an issue as the Wii and PS2 is comparable. You can pick up lots of games for under $10, and even under $5, used of course. Even unplayed games can be found in clearance sections for $10-$20. My only caveat of course is I never looked for kids games, my son always wanted to play any game and not necessarily "kiddie" games, as he quickly got bored of the kiddie and movie themed games. This was when he was aged 5-10.

And with more and more retailers clearing out their last gen games, it will only get cheaper to get relatively new games.

 

[stuman74]

Yeah, it looks like many of the PS2 games can be had for $10-20 or even less in some cases as you said. Way better option than a PS3 where I've seen most games in the $60 range. However, if I had a 1080p TV (I only have a 1080i and a 720p), I'd be tempted to throw down for the PS3 since it has a BD player.

They also each have a PC where they can play some games which aren't bad, but they fight over sharing controllers and I'm thinking of getting them 1 or 2 more (which would set me back $20-40 respectively for Logitech Dual Action USB controllers. Could save that coin and put it into the PS2.

Still debating if we are good with the Wii or should get the PS2....hmmmm....

 

[AbAbber2k]

At $99 with such a huge library of games... many of which are pretty cheap even brand new... hard to beat. I picked one up as soon as the last price drop and now I have a ton of games I'm trying to get through. Lots of Strategy RPGs too for those who are fans of games like FFT.

 

[stuman74]

I think I'm gonna get it. Cheapest I've found so far (new) is $99.99 online with free shipping and no tax. Any other better deals out there (non-ebay)?

 

[Injury]

IMHO, buy the PS2 new, then hit up craigslist and buy games. Gamestop probably has most of their kid's games in the $5-$15 range, but I've seen people in my area selling groupings such as 10 games for $40 and such. A couple of those deals and you have yourself a nice library of games.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

I think one trip to Gamestop should be enough to know the PS2 is still a very viable platform for newcomers into console gaming. I have a PS3 (60GB model with PS2 BC, thank goodness), and I never owned a PS2 really, but my PS2 games collection of $5-$20 games I've picked up has long eclipsed my PS3 game collection, which sits right at 30 games right now.

 

[zinfamous]

Yes of course! please buy mine + ~21 Ps2 + PS1 games!

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: RaiderJ
I think two cards is more than enough for the PS2. I have a ton of games for my PS2 and haven't needed more than two myself.

well, if you play any of the EA sports games, a single season on one of those can oftentimes take up to 75% of an 8 mb memory card.

i have a non-sony card that is a single-slot 8x32 card (essentially 32 8mb cards in one with a little button and lcd screen for you to switch through the library of memory cards)

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: Krakn3Dfx
I think one trip to Gamestop should be enough to know the PS2 is still a very viable platform for newcomers into console gaming. I have a PS3 (60GB model with PS2 BC, thank goodness), and I never owned a PS2 really, but my PS2 games collection of $5-$20 games I've picked up has long eclipsed my PS3 game collection, which sits right at 30 games right now.

Same here. Never owned a PS2 as I was big into PC gaming at the time. I picked up GT4, God of War 1 &2, Jak II, Sonic Mega Collection Plus for it all for under $20 used. I also picked up Okami for it, which is at least in my top three favourite games of all time. That said, I don't know about games for children that young. It was mainly targeted at teens and adults. The Wii is still your best bet for family friendly games. A DS Lite might be a better choice. Portables are really ideal for kids. They're going for around $110 refurbished at Gamestop right now, cheaper online. Plus it can integrate with your Wii.

 

[stuman74]

Really? How does the DS integrate with the Wii? Like a controller or something?