Since I'm aiming to break into the games industry I figured it's probably time I ditched my platform prejudice & buy a console. Since an XBox is little more than a low-spec PC (and my real PC's better), I'm thinking of getting a PS2.
Where can I get one cheap? Is the new tiny PS2 worth having, or is it hideously expensive? Help an anti-console PC elitist become a more well-rounded gamer!
The tiny PS2 isn't hideously expensive and it's got a massive back-catalogue, plenty of fantastic, cheap games as well as plenty of big-name current releases. It's a very mainstream console, but it's definitely the most rewarding option for someone who only wants a single console.
If you've got the money, I'd go for a GameCube as well. Nintendo are still making some of the greatest games on the market, the 'Cube has better third-party support than the N64 - so there are more than just a handful of wonderful Nintendo games - and it's now well-established and can boast a decent back-catalogue of titles that should cover all of your gaming tastes. It doesn't have the big-name titles like GTA, or Final Fantasy (the main series, at least) but it's got some of the best console games you will ever play.
X-Box is the most superior technically (sorry, but true. PS2 is more powerful but no bugger knows how to program it efficiently!) - I mainly use my PS2 for GTA games and Eye-toy. Everything else of worth I can generally buy on the X-Box as well. And X-Box has Halo 2 :)
If you can pick up a cheap Gamecube it's worth it though.
Steve
You can't sway an elitist PC gamer with Halo 2 when he can go play Half Life 2 or Vampire: Bloodlines :p
For consoles though, GameCube is the cheapest and with a surprisingly small amount of worthless cack. That said, the PS2 has the greatest selection and some of the biggest games of the moment - GTA: San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3 and soon Gran Tourismo 4. If you're into console-rpg's the PS2 is really your only option too.
Dunno, the Gamecube's quite tempting, too. I mean, PS2 has San Andreas, but that'll be out on PC before too long, and it'll look much nicer. There's a lot of good stuff that's only available on Gamecube, isn't there?
San Andreas probably won't see the PC for at least another 6 months. But you're right it will arrive eventually and be shedloads better like Vice City was.
If you have friends then you can't go wrong with the Cube, 4 player games in abundance on it. It caters for loners to with Metroid, Mario, Skies of Arcadia, Resident Evil... lots of GameCube owners seem enthused about coming releases.
PS2 more powerful? I know nothing about the technicalities but my misconception had always been; X-box for sheer power, PS2 for widest selection and Gamecube for intellectual properties.
I love me Gamecube me, but we are thinking of picking up a secnd console for mdeium sized Tips or Christmas - I think we'll go for the X-box.
I bought an Xbox the other day for Halo 2, and spent about fifty quid raiding the bargain bin of my local video store's Xbox ex-rentals, but still have to say that the PS2 is the console that's given me the most enjoyment over the past few years. The Gamecube's nice enough, the games are cheaper than the Xbox's, but there's really only about twenty must-have games - although Metroid Prime 2 is out soon, and I wasted about a month playing Zoids not too long ago. Also, Zelda: Wind Waker has been out long enough to pick up on the cheap - top game, and it comes with the two N64 Zelda games free. And Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3 is sickeningly good fun while it lasts, too.
Xbox - great specs, unsurpassed online service (for a console), some top exclusives (Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden), but the price of games is still a rip-off. Don't know why they go for more than other console's games, but they do. Halo 2 is great, Halo 1 is fantastic, and many people swear by the racing games.
PS2, by comparison, isn't as powerful as either, but has a massive back-catalogue, you can find the games anywhere, and older titles can cost around ten quid or less and still hold a candle to more up-to-date games.
But it's all relative, at the end of the day. You really want the Xbox or PS2, since the Gamecube might not have much longer to go in terms of shelf-life, but it does have Pikmin.
Bear - XBox games are probably jacked high to compensate for the cash Microsoft has lost, and is losing on hardware sales. It's traditionally the cut from software sales that bring in profits for console manufacturers, and IIRC Microsoft are losing a *lot* of cash in hardware sales.
I'd say that the GameCube and X-Box are about equal on "must-have" games for a typical gamer - personally, I don't like most of the exclusive franchises the X-Box has and apart from them it seems to just have the PS2 library with all the interesting stuff missing.
I'd still recommend the GC over the X-Box. If the N64 is anything to go by I expect Nintendo to be supporting it for quite a while yet, and the line-up of exclusive titles is simply stellar - and with top sequels like the new Zelda, Metroid Prime 2, RE4, Pikmin 2 and Paper Mario 2 due soon or out now, as well as new titles like Geist, Advance Wars and DK: Jungle Beat and some top multi-platform titles (Prince of Persia, Call of Duty...) it's got to be worth a look.
i have an XBOX
i had a PS1 before.
you will find to get a PS2 modified is no problem,games easily avaible. SONY dont seem to be bothered about such things.and with a huge back catalogue of games and the ability to play the PS1 stuff you can get a decent game library for a decent price any way.
aslo lots of gadets for the PS2, guns swords, punch gloves,karate hands,cue sticks the world is your oyster on the accesories and new controllers are far cheaper then other consoles cost.
but the XBOX is far superior in terms of graphics and game play. and if you like online play XBOX live is second to none of course.
plus the exclusive xbox games are amongst the best on the market.
it comes down to price really. if you have a reasonablely high level of disposable income get an XBOX, as it will cost more all the time, for as long as the sky is blue.
but the PS2 will offer just as much fun and keep you entertained for years.at a fraction of the cost.
its a personal call really,if you mates have PS2 then go that way,so you can trade and borrow.
don't forget the drum phericals for the PS2
also to add the long list. electric giutar keyboard, dance mat and steering wheels,fighter pilot joysticks and the cockpit array for japanese line of games. in fact overall PS 2 has an arsenal akin to an aladins cave when it comes to toys which plug in.
i have recently seen a silent scope rifle with recoil and and uzi machine gun which was infra red. as in no wires.
Get a gamecube. Loads of exclusives plus no affiliation with microsoft or sony.
It's made by a GAMES company. Imagine that.
Get a gamecube.
Only you can't play Metroid Prime 2 on it. Well at least I can't on my TV, as the game is pesky 60Hz only.
That's gonna ruin a lot of Christmas Days across the country.
M@
You're gonna need a couple of consoles if you want to get the best out of gaming. Personally I own a PS2 and Gamecube. The Gamecube games look better, Zelda: The Wind Waker probably being the best game I've ever played, but the PS2 has a bigger library and more adult orientated titles. If I didn't mind ending my marriage in divorce I'd probably go for a crystal X-BOX as well!
there's a bit of a supply problem with the new ps2's right now, so if you're after one of those, might be better to wait til after xmas
I've got all three and the Xbox gets used the least.
I've been playing GTA since it came out & post pub you cant beat a game of pro evo (also out now on xbox).
But for down right originality you cant beat the gamecube. Its got Animal Crossing,Viewtiful Joe,Ikaruga,Harvest Moon,Zelda,Mario,Metroid,Mario Kart & my fave - Super Monkey Ball. They're also cheap as chips nowadays.
Scarily the next gen of the next gen consoles (X-box2, PS3) are on the horizon so if you're looking to become an artist within the games industry you're probably doing yourself a favour by developing models and environments for the PC. These machines will be rivalling/beating Half Life 2 for graphics; so high end modelling will be called for. The days of religiously counting polys in everything you create are coming to an end. Very good realistic high poly modelling is going to definitely separate the men from the boys (or girlies from the woman to be fair)
PS2 more powerful? I know nothing about the technicalities but my misconception had always been; X-box for sheer power, PS2 for widest selection and Gamecube for intellectual properties.
If I remember correctly, for sheer polygon-shifting, the PS2 still has the edge (at least over the GameCube, not sure about the Xbox). For all the texturing and effects stuff that makes those polygons look nice, Xbox and GameCube are both better, and what the PS2 can do is hampered by it being mind-manglingly complicated to program for.
So the PS2 does misleadingly well in polygon-based benchmarking but in practical terms is the least powerful.
The order is:
PROCESSOR
1) X-Box
2) PS2
3) Gamecube
GRAPHICS
1) X-Box
2) Gamecube
3) PS2
GAMES
1) Gamecube (Based on quality, not quantity)
2) PS2
3) X-Box
Yeah, the x-box has a blisteringly fast processor compared to the PS2 one, but the PS2 has 3 other chips to take the load off it - it's just a bugger to sychronise them all. And if you're doing a title that needs a lot of raw processing power (like the one I'm working on at the moment), then the PS2 really struggles.
Most game programmers say it's best to design the game for the X-box and then try and squeeze as much of it into the Ps2 :)
I have all the consoles (well - I'm missing an Atari Jaguar and an Intellivision) and the X-Box gets the most play-time, probably followed my my Gameboy Advance :)
The best thing to do is work out what exclusive games are available to which platform and which ones you want to play the most. Most games are cross-platform and there's not a lot of difference between each one apart from a bit of graphical sheen.
Oh, and if this sways you - Call of Cthulhu is only going to be on X-box.
Steve