What game console to buy?

[OSUBeaver]

I have an Xbox and PS2. the only reason I play the Xbox way more is because it is modded If you are going to play sports games a lot, I find the xbox controller really sucks for madden, ncaa 2k5, nba live, nba streets 2, ssx3, basically any sport type of game. The lack of 4 shoulder buttons and having to use those stupid black and white buttons really suck. Take nba streets for example, they expect you to push down on the analog stick button as a turbo, are you kidding me?

 

[Tom]

Since it's being discussed..

the thing I don't care for as far as the xbox dvd kit, is that it is so completely a rip-off that you have to pay extra to play dvds at all.

It's just so over the top marketing-wise.

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: Tom
Since it's being discussed..

the thing I don't care for as far as the xbox dvd kit, is that it is so completely a rip-off that you have to pay extra to play dvds at all.

It's just so over the top marketing-wise.

So.... Why isn't it "completely a rip-off" that you have to purchase a memory card just to save games on the PS2? Or how about purchasing an adapter to play games online? And what about needing to buy a multi-tap to play four player games? Or a hard drive to download content?

Add those things up and it comes to ~$180. Compared to the $30 for the Xbox DVD kit, THAT'S a rip-off.



By they way, do you realize that MS would have to pay royalties on every Xbox if they could play DVD's out of the box?

 

[imported_theEman]

No matter what the game, I'd go with the Xbox. The Xbox is the best system based on value. Nothing can even come close to beating it . That's just my opinion though.

 

[Carskick]

I've really stoped argueing this after about 2 or 3 years of it.

I only own a PS2, yet I have a good amount of XBOX experience, and a little Game Cube experience. The PS2 is a very good system. It was released about a year before either the XBOX and Game Cube, and has a TON more games. I'm not a huge console fan, but I'll tell you why I got the PS2.

1. I owned a PSX before it, so it would play my PSX games. It also acts as my DVD player.
2. The Gran Turismo and Armored Core series. These two series are found only on the Sony consoles, and since they are the only ones I'm really on the have to have level for console games. I'm not a huge FPS fan, so I can live without Halo.
3. The PS2 controller is much more comfortable in my hands, but that's just me.
4. As far as the stats, I can't believe the PS2 can run with the tiny 32MB RAM. There must be a large cache in the complex emotion engine. Instead of a castrated PC, the PS2 is a unique design, as a console should be.

Also, someone said there are no good shooters on PS2. Well, apperantly they never played SOCOM or SOCOM 2, which are great shooters that are very online capable. There is a good game in every genre for PS2. Except for maybe a business strategy, which is meant for a PC. But no one has made a good one yet anyways, so, you know.

 

[bcoupland]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
If you want to buy now, i'd probably get Xbox. It has the best graphics, the best sound, controllers that are big enough for big hands. PS2 is good too. GC would be my last choice since I hate its controller and it doesn't have a lot of titles that stand out in terms of multiplayer. Someone disected the power and hardware of all the consoles. But lets be honest, what do you look for, the end product, being games - how they look, how they play, and how they sound. GC in this category has the worst graphics in my opinion. Xbox also has Ninja Gaiden, Halo and the sports games will be just as good as on PS2. I guess it's a toss up between Xbox and PS2.

If you read my post you would realize the xbox does not have the best graphics. The gamecube easily outperforms the video card in the xbox. And best sound?? I dont notice a sound difference between any of the 3 this gen consoles? That is more dependant on the software. I do agree that the xbox controllers are the best too, but again that is based on personal preferance.

So in the end it is based on what you want. Xbox is good but she may seem to like the titles on xbox or might like the PS2. Use the info all of us have provided to amke the best decision.

Hardware wise the gamecube outperforms both xbox and PS2, game wise you will have to decide yourself. While PS2 is the worst hardware wise it has a HUGE selection of games and I know whe will like some of them. Xbox is also getting some good games thet she MAY like. As for gamecube it does not have many games I like but your wife may like them so chevck them out.

We all know that the processor of the GC is more efficient than the Xbox's. However, one can easily tell visually that xbox has the best graphics. I'm not talking about graphical processing power because i'm not sure about that, i'm talking about the actual gameplay. Also, the xbox is the only console that can output is Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 surround. Gamecube and PS2 can only output prologicII. In certain games Ps2 can output in digital DTS, but only stereo. GC and PS2 can output in digital, but this is still a PrologicII
signal converted from analogue to digital. I have an Xbox and a PS2, and enjoy them both. I think it all depends on the games you want to play.

 

[Weeeman]

Originally posted by: Coquito
Get a big lcd screen along with some wireless usb controllers & run your pc games on it. The consoles are all starting to look dated. Much better resolution & modding scene on a pc anyways.

Well ofcourse they are. Pay $150 on a new computer, see how the graphics look.

I have owned a PS2 and now an xbox, and played GC a bit too..

Everygame that I enjoyed playing on Ps2 was released on XBOX, and the xbox version seemed to be better [although, i did like nba live 04 on ps2 more..dunno why]

GC has the mario series.. thats about as far in depth as i can go

 

[KhoiFather]

Does this mean, less sex and more game time? Uh ohhhhhhh..... Hehhe just kidding....

 

[dguy6789]

KoolDrew, do i need to get the numbers out? Here it comes.

The XBOX uses a modified Geforce 3 based video card named NV2A. This gpu runs at 233Mhz and produces an effective 125 million polys/sec.
The cube uses a video card named flipper, and runs at 162 mhz and can render 12 million polys/sec.

From pure polys, the xbox gpu is faster, by a long shot,ad to that the fact that it has far more flexible texture memory subsystem, combined with the then top o the line shader power of the geforce 3, nothing could touch it, including your crappy gamecube junk.

The ONLY thing the cube has better then the xbox is a more l2 cache on the cpu. But that alone is not enough to help it. The xbox cpu has a 30-40% power advantage. If they were both at the same clock, yes the cube cpu would be faster, but the xbox is ALOT higher clock then the cube, which completely smashes any possibility of the cube's cpu being superior.


The cube can do 10.5Gigaflops, while the xbox can do over 60. The xbox has 6.4GB/sec of memory bandwith, while the cube has 2.6. The cube has 40MB of ram, while the xbox has 64. The cube has a 1/2 MB memory card, while the xbox has a 10GB harddrive and 8MB memory cards.

The xbox controllers also dont break half as often as the cube's.


After all this, tell me the cube is more powerful, and explain it to me, i just gave you the majority of the specs of both.

 

[Wingznut]

Where'd you get all the details about the Xbox and GC hardware performance? I did some searching the other day, but didn't come up with anything decent.

Btw, your pm's don't work.

 

[dguy6789]

mine dont work?? Just get them from game sites, and such. im sure microsoft.com has some info on it's xbox, and nintendo.com just says their console is inovative and fast.

i got most of my info from ign.com

 

[Wingznut]

When I try and send a PM to you, I get an error saying:

ERROR: User does not want to receive private messages.

Error Code 556

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: Wingznut
When I try and send a PM to you, I get an error saying:

ERROR: User does not want to receive private messages.

Error Code 556

same eror here..think it is a setting in Profile..but I dunno.

 

[dguy6789]

ok fixxed it.

 

[homey297]

ok i went out last night and got the xbox bundle
now which games are the all time best in rpg and
some kind of mindless racing of somesort

 

[Wingznut]

There are two awesome racing games for the Xbox... Burnout 3: Takedown is full on arcade racing. Lots of speed, lots of crashing. The crash mode is second to none. Both IGN and Gamespot gave it a score of 9.5.

Project Gotham Racing 2 is more of a complete racer. More of a sim than Burnout, but not so much that it's tedious. A ton of cars and tracks to unlock, and the online play is flawless. IGN gave it a 9.5, as well.

 

[dguy6789]

You must get Halo, GTA double pack, Project Gotham Racing 2, Jedi knight knights of the old republic. Those are some killer games that each one got at least 9.0/10 from ign.

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
You must get Halo, GTA double pack, Project Gotham Racing 2, Jedi knight knights of the old republic. Those are some killer games that each one got at least 9.0/10 from ign.

Definitely. And if you get Halo now, you'll have time to finish it before Halo 2 comes out in 37 days!

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by: Wingznut

Originally posted by: Tom
Since it's being discussed..

the thing I don't care for as far as the xbox dvd kit, is that it is so completely a rip-off that you have to pay extra to play dvds at all.

It's just so over the top marketing-wise.

So.... Why isn't it "completely a rip-off" that you have to purchase a memory card just to save games on the PS2? Or how about purchasing an adapter to play games online? And what about needing to buy a multi-tap to play four player games? Or a hard drive to download content?

Add those things up and it comes to ~$180. Compared to the $30 for the Xbox DVD kit, THAT'S a rip-off.



By they way, do you realize that MS would have to pay royalties on every Xbox if they could play DVD's out of the box?

None of those things you mention are strictly necessary to use a PS2 or xbox, out of the box, for their primary uses, which in the case of the PS2 and xbox, is supposed to be somewhat more of an entertainent device, instead of just a gaming device. At least that's the way I remember them being marketed.

But the intentional crippling of the xbox's built-in ability to play dvds, without buying a remote that is over priced and not really necessary, technically speaking, for an xbox to play dvds, is like an auto company selling a car but charging extra for seats.

And I know about the licensing fee for dvd players, Sony has to pay it too; but the PS2 plays dvds out of the box.

I think Microsoft's reasoning was, back during xbox pre-launch, a stand alone dvd player cost $100 or more, so they could justify bundling dvd playback as an option, but even before the launch, stand alone dvd player's prices dropped, and continued to drop a lot, which is why I think MS's strategy was/is a mistake.

Also, since it was possible to hack an xbox and avoid buying the kit, at least as far as I understand it, I think MS created an incentive to hack the xbox, which since the hack also made piracy easy, probably cost MS a lot more than including dvd playback originally would have cost them.

Not to mention that the only way people with HD setups can get progressive scan dvd playback is to hack, even though MS originally advertised the xbox as having progressive scan dvd playback. And once again, if a person hacks their xbox to get progressive scan, then it is all too tempting to make a copy of that game that was rented, or even cross the line into downloading games and dvd movies in divx, etc.

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: Tom

Originally posted by: Wingznut

Originally posted by: Tom
Since it's being discussed..

the thing I don't care for as far as the xbox dvd kit, is that it is so completely a rip-off that you have to pay extra to play dvds at all.

It's just so over the top marketing-wise.

So.... Why isn't it "completely a rip-off" that you have to purchase a memory card just to save games on the PS2? Or how about purchasing an adapter to play games online? And what about needing to buy a multi-tap to play four player games? Or a hard drive to download content?

Add those things up and it comes to ~$180. Compared to the $30 for the Xbox DVD kit, THAT'S a rip-off.



By they way, do you realize that MS would have to pay royalties on every Xbox if they could play DVD's out of the box?

None of those things you mention are strictly necessary to use a PS2 or xbox, out of the box, for their primary uses, which in the case of the PS2 and xbox, is supposed to be somewhat more of an entertainent device, instead of just a gaming device. At least that's the way I remember them being marketed.

But the intentional crippling of the xbox's built-in ability to play dvds, without buying a remote that is over priced and not really necessary, technically speaking, for an xbox to play dvds, is like an auto company selling a car but charging extra for seats.

And I know about the licensing fee for dvd players, Sony has to pay it too; but the PS2 plays dvds out of the box.

I think Microsoft's reasoning was, back during xbox pre-launch, a stand alone dvd player cost $100 or more, so they could justify bundling dvd playback as an option, but even before the launch, stand alone dvd player's prices dropped, and continued to drop a lot, which is why I think MS's strategy was/is a mistake.

Also, since it was possible to hack an xbox and avoid buying the kit, at least as far as I understand it, I think MS created an incentive to hack the xbox, which since the hack also made piracy easy, probably cost MS a lot more than including dvd playback originally would have cost them.

Not to mention that the only way people with HD setups can get progressive scan dvd playback is to hack, even though MS originally advertised the xbox as having progressive scan dvd playback. And once again, if a person hacks their xbox to get progressive scan, then it is all too tempting to make a copy of that game that was rented, or even cross the line into downloading games and dvd movies in divx, etc.

First off, I'd definitely define the ability to save games as a "necessity" for a gaming console. Much more than playing DVD's.

And yes, I realize that Sony opted to pay the DVD licensing fees. But you can't expect MS to include EVERYTHING and still try to make money... Just like you don't EXPECT Sony to include everything. The other things I listed that MS did include (hard drive, four-player ability, network adapter, etc...) easily more than make up for the lack of natively playing DVD's.

And you've got to be joking about the number of people you think were driven to mod their Xbox simply to avoid paying $29.99 for a DVD remote. (As if that wouldn't cost significantly more.) I'm certain that the majority of people who have the ability/will to mod an Xbox, don't rely on their console to play their DVD's.

 

[Tom]

I think you miss my point. It would have cost MS almost nothing to include DVD playback, they just made a marketing decision, based on the same reasoning you have described, and I don't care for that kind of marketing.


As far as the "necessity" to save games, it's simple..
is it completely impossible to play a game on a PS2 without a memory card ?
no.
Is it completely impossible to play a DVD on an xbox, as sold, without the dvd kit ?
yes.

I agree that memory card is very useful for PS2 and/or Gamecube, and both should come bundled with at least a minimal one, the way digital cameras come with minimal storage cards, but it isn't quite the same as selling a hardware device that just won't function without buying some other piece of hardware to "unlock" it.

Anyways, this issue is pretty minor INMHO, it wouldn't prevent me buying an xbox, but the subject was here, and I've got plenty of time to waste arguing about nothing..

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: Tom
Anyways, this issue is pretty minor INMHO, it wouldn't prevent me buying an xbox, but the subject was here, and I've got plenty of time to waste arguing about nothing..

You and me, both.

They are GAMING CONSOLES... The fact that they can also play DVD's is an afterthought.

Is it completely impossible to play a game on a PS2 without a memory card ?
Yes, if you want to get an acceptable experience with a game such as Gran Turismo 3. Actually, one memory card would be bare minimum. You actually need two or three, if you own more than a couple games.

And my point is... If you are so concerned about it being a marketing decision, then you should be just as upset (or more, actually) at Sony for not providing the things I listed above with the PS2. After all, those things are for the gaming experience itself.

 

[Tom]

"Xbox Video Game System

Xbox® takes you way beyond ordinary entertainment. Are you ready to redefine the way you play? Games, movies, music, and more ? Xbox lets you share good times with friends and take on competition from around the world."

from official microsoft xbox sight, bolded by me for emphasis. btw, any idea what the "more" is, besides games, movies, and music ?

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Dude go with Jagaur 64 it's got the 64bit computing and the original AvP!

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: Wingznut
And yes, I realize that Sony opted to pay the DVD licensing fees.

Sony doesn't pay fees like Microsoft does. DVD Forum Steering Comittee.

I believe (It's been a while) that Sony paid a flat fee during the early days of the DVD format and now pays no royalty per unit sold. So it's really not a fair comparison.