Console advice

[Tanky]

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

[Satanist]

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.

[Dunk!]

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)

[Waddie]

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.

[Jared Katooie]

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

[Pyroxian]

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