Which console

[aiken drum]

Geekers, heres the lowdown. I've promised my 14 year old bro a games console for christmas as the poor cunt is still playing my old snes and saturn.

The kid loves Final Fantasy, he's played number 3 on my snes about 7 times. So logically I thought well I'll get him a PS2, but then I read how you can mod a x-box and copy games onto the hard drive and play, as well as all kinds of emulation divx etc.

So now I'm starting to lean more toward x-box as he's probably going to get more out of it in the long run. Also reportedly the x-box is twice as powerful of the 3 year old ps2 so I'm thinking its not going to be outdated soon...

So I'd like some opinions on what you guys think. Theres also the game cube option and Zelda and Mario... EEK!

[DarkMaTTer]

Just buy him all three :D

If thats not an option :P go out and look at the games for each console. Nowadays most of the games are available on any console - but there are still the exclusives. Check out the range of games and see which one your brother would most like.

Personally I would go the xbox (Im getting my brother one for Christmas) because I have a thing against the PS2, however ignore the marketing hype about the XBox being the most powerful system around. It is true, but that really isn't that big a deal. The modding options are, the XBox is far more customisable - but again its whether your brother will get into all that crap (and hey with an XBox and emulation software - there is no reason that your bro can't keep playing the snes games :) )

The PS2 is the most popular games console out there and will be supported for a long time, and has the biggest range of games, but the XBox has a lot more potential to expand with modding options and suchforth, not to mention Live! is so much better than the Sony online offering....

[Necron]

If anything, get the Box, Iv'e got one and the mods make it hella cool, 120gb hdd put in and chipped so I can copy games and DVDs to the HDD. Also the games are pretty good, not anything like a PC.

Live is awesome

Top few games in my opinion: In no particular order
1: Star wars - KOTOR
2: Rainbow 6 - 3 (damn good game online and off, headset and speach recognition AI rule)
3: V8 Supercars - race driver
4: Halo
5: THPS - Underground
6: Mechassault (mad online play)

[Kyle]

Although the XBOX has more flexibility because of the hard drive, the PS2 is going to have a hard drive very soon as well, so it will have just as much flexibility....also, the xbox really doesnt have that many quality games, my friend owns an xbox and he loves the xbox games he has, but he complains about the amount of really good games for xbox...like all of these games that every xbox owner is raving about i've played and not really enjoyed (halo comes to mind) Live is cool and all, but i'd go for ps2 for the overall quality of games

[scathing]

Originally posted by aiken drum
The kid loves Final Fantasy, he's played number 3 on my snes about 7 times. So logically I thought well I'll get him a PS2, but then I read how you can mod a x-box and copy games onto the hard drive and play, as well as all kinds of emulation divx etc.

So now I'm starting to lean more toward x-box as he's probably going to get more out of it in the long run. Also reportedly the x-box is twice as powerful of the 3 year old ps2 so I'm thinking its not going to be outdated soon...

Don't let the "power" thing influence your purchase. That's just marketing fluff.

One thing that Microsoft learned the hard way with consoles is that its the quantity of quality games that moves units, not how technically impressive the hardware is. Its a completely different market to the "I'll pay the extra $1,000,000 for that extra 30MHz so I am teh most l33t" mentality in the PC market.

Go through the catalog of current and upcoming games, and find out what games your bro likes. Then get the console that supports most of them. Otherwise the unit is going to end up as a crappy DVD player.

You can do lots of mods to your XBox, but then it won't be Xbox Live compatible. You could always buy two, and mod one. :) That way you've got one that you've got a 120GB hard drive loaded with MP3s, DivX, and games you've downloaded off the Internet because they're not available in Australia yet, and another for Live play.

If you're planning on going down the online gaming route, my understanding that the XBox's is heaps better. The comparisons I've read with the PS2's service (this is overseas) is that Microsoft's is far more cohesive.

[aiken drum]

If I was to mod the X-box, is it easiest to go and find someone who can do it, or is it easy enough to do this myself?

If I can do it, is there a guide you can point me to?

Thanks.

I think if I where to give him mame and some snes emu's he'd be happy for quite a while.

Its hard cause there are games on all 3 systems that make them all worth buying. But at this stage I think as you can do more stuff on the x-box its a winner. Plus it seems to be cheaper than the PS2.

I didn't realise you could copy dvds to the drive also. Thats pretty cool.

[BlueBoy]

You could always get a switching mod chip.
I don't know if it'll cause any hassles with the bigger hard drive though.

[Drakin]

I would lean towards a ps2, all you have to do is walk into any game store and look at the sections hmm "gamecube small selection of games, xbox medium selection of games, ps2 whole fucking wall off games."

Not to mention the fact the original playstation was around for ages and the latest games on it in no way resembled the first games (graphics wise) they managed to tweak the shit out of the hardware to suck every last bit of power from it.

Now the ps2 has been around for nearly 4 years now, if you compare say NFS-Underground with the original smugglers run and you can see the steps they have taken on the ps2.

I personally cant see the same steps being taken on the xbox. I mean dont get me wrong the games look good, but they all seem to be to formula in the graphics (i guess its the fact it has a nvida chipset, just makes me think pc style).

Moddings all very well and the dvd player is nicer on the xbox but you have to look at the game range in the end cause thats what its all about..

S'up to you.

[jambo]

If you havn't bought an xbox yet; buy a pre-modded one (with an Xecutor 2 mod chip).

I modded my brothers xbox and it was a hassle.

Although you can buy 'solderless' mod chips which, i assume, would make it a lot easier. Good luck ;)

And oh yea... and get an xbox over a ps2.

[scathing]

There are software-based mods for the XBox. You still need to fuck with some hardware to get the softrware onto the machine with the non-standard USB plugs, but at least it means you're not breaching your actual console (in case you need to do a warranty job on it later).

[r0p3 g1rl]

buy the xbox and the PS2

[RASPUTIN]

I have been umming and arrring for ages about this.

We went out and bought a PS2. Mainly because it has Gran Turismo 3 and we have heaps of PS1 games. Also the fact that I refuse to pay anything to play on online servers. Like bugger that for a joke. I am sure that atm xboxlive is superior but I am sure the ps2 online stuff will catch up.

Oh yeah one little point I will make is if it is available buy your xbox/ps2 on ebay. We got ours for $253-00, it is one month old and is the latest version.

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by RASPUTIN
I have been umming and arrring for ages about this.

We went out and bought a PS2. Mainly because it has Gran Turismo 3 and we have heaps of PS1 games. Also the fact that I refuse to pay anything to play on online servers. Like bugger that for a joke. I am sure that atm xboxlive is superior but I am sure the ps2 online stuff will catch up.

Oh yeah one little point I will make is if it is available buy your xbox/ps2 on ebay. We got ours for $253-00, it is one month old and is the latest version.

I paid $278 for my PS2 with the eye toy.

[r0p3 g1rl]

I don’t think price is really an issue at the moment with either the xbox or PS2, both are very cheap at the moment and you can get some great deals with heaps of extras thrown in (unlike when they were first released and some silly ppl, me included paid top dollar for them), its I guess it all comes down to personal choice, I went with the xbox

[Fuzzy Dice]

I'd say xbox. Of course, I have one, so I'm biased. If you get a mod chip with a switch, you can still use the xbox live services. There are enough great games for it to make it worthwhile, and Halo2 IS coming out very soon. Limited options for role playing though. KOTOR is pretty darn good, but there's no final fantasy. If you're a starwars nut it's the console to get. All the big starwars games are coming out for xbox and pc.

Of course, once modded, you could use a playstation emulator. *whistles nonchalantly*

Oh, that hard drive for the ps2 is going to run you at least another $100. Xbox comes with one. Imagine that. Xbox comes with a network adapter too....


*side note - gamecubes cost, what? two bucks now? mm..metroid prime...*

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by Fuzzy Dice
*side note - gamecubes cost, what? two bucks now? mm..metroid prime...*

$199 with a gameboy adapter thingo.......my 11yr old informed me about it yesterday in his painful bout of conciousness(he has an extremely severe case of chicken pox). I just about screamed at the poor kid, they have a Playstation, PS2, nintendo, gameboy advance, 2 gameboys and a colour gameboy. What more do they want?????????????????????:(

[scathing]

Originally posted by Fuzzy Dice
I'd say xbox. Of course, I have one, so I'm biased. If you get a mod chip with a switch, you can still use the xbox live services.

What happens if one of the mods you make is to put in a bigger hard drive? Will it still work when you switch the mod chip off?

[Salted_Chipmunk]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
$199 with a gameboy adapter thingo.......my 11yr old informed me about it yesterday in his painful bout of conciousness(he has an extremely severe case of chicken pox). I just about screamed at the poor kid, they have a Playstation, PS2, nintendo, gameboy advance, 2 gameboys and a colour gameboy. What more do they want?????????????????????:(

Ummmmm a Gamecube with a Gameboy adapter thingo???? :D:D:D

Go for the PS2. If you want an Xbox, just use your PC.

[Ins0mniac]

Originally posted by RASPUTIN
Also the fact that I refuse to pay anything to play on online servers. Like bugger that for a joke. I am sure that atm xboxlive is superior but I am sure the ps2 online stuff will catch up.



Dude, it's the other way around. You pay for Xbox live. That's it. $100 for a year (except for one particular game). Pay for every single game server if you want to play live on a PS2.

[Ins0mniac]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
I just about screamed at the poor kid, they have a Playstation, PS2, nintendo, gameboy advance, 2 gameboys and a colour gameboy. What more do they want?????????????????????:(

An XBox.

[kré]

buy XBox if for nothing else than the fact that you get more $ for pound value :D

[utopian]

Sega Dreamcast.

[Blunt]

SNK Neo Geo.


Yeah, I'm way more hardcore than cray with his 'Dreamcast' shit. :D

[kré]

Originally posted by Blunt
SNK Neo Geo.


Yeah, I'm way more hardcore than cray with his 'Dreamcast' shit. :D

i think you have me confused with utopian :p

[Ins0mniac]

Originally posted by cray
i think you have me confused with utopian :p

That's insulting.

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by Ins0mniac
An XBox.

Maybe.......But a Gamecube would be more practical.

[RASPUTIN]

Originally posted by Ins0mniac
Dude, it's the other way around. You pay for Xbox live. That's it. $100 for a year (except for one particular game). Pay for every single game server if you want to play live on a PS2.

Damn I thought it was going to be free. Oh well I wont bother getting a network adapter.

[BlueBoy]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
Maybe.......But a Gamecube would be more practical.
Tape 8 Gamecubes together and they could pass as a Xbox. :p

[ShadowNemesis]

By practical I meant they could use the gamecube and pack away the gameboys.

[BlueBoy]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
By practical I meant they could use the gamecube and pack away the gameboys.
Well yes, that's always an option. You'd have to keep a few GameBoys lying around, lest the kids rips each other to shreads in a non-sharing frenzy. :eek:

[leprchaun]

i have a ps2, an old one it... has issues
duribilty issues that is every now and again i have to fix it, some times it chews up my games, but i have a dvd repair kit. it a hassle but i whould choose it over an x-box, there are no games i like on x-box that are not already on ps2

[leprchaun]

I would like to apologise for the poor grammar in my last post

I’m drunk
:D

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by BlueBoy
Well yes, that's always an option. You'd have to keep a few GameBoys lying around, lest the kids rips each other to shreads in a non-sharing frenzy. :eek:

That's why they have a tv and a game console in each room:D

Daddy dearest bought them a tv for each bedroom so they don't argue(more like he just got them cheap):mad:

[BlueBoy]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
That's why they have a tv and a game console in each room:D

Daddy dearest bought them a tv for each bedroom so they don't argue(more like he just got them cheap):mad:
Adopt me?

[aiken drum]

Decided on the x-box option. Thanks for the advice fellow geeks.

This was decided because Mame and emulation will give him thousands of games. Ripping games to Hard drive is better than buying them, and x-box is cheaper than the PS2. X-Box has some great games now (star wars KOTOR) and on the horizon (like fable) and most games seem to come out on both of the formats. Also mum doesn't have a dvd and x-box playback is better (apparently).

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by BlueBoy
Adopt me?

With an 18yr old daughter in the house, I don't think that would be an option.

[Ins0mniac]

Originally posted by leprchaun
i have a ps2, an old one it... has issues
duribilty issues that is every now and again i have to fix it, some times it chews up my games, but i have a dvd repair kit. it a hassle but i whould choose it over an x-box, there are no games i like on x-box that are not already on ps2

Even cross platform games look best on the Xbox. (Apart from a high end pc).

[Ins0mniac]

Originally posted by aiken drum
Decided on the x-box option. Thanks for the advice fellow geeks.

This was decided because Mame and emulation will give him thousands of games. Ripping games to Hard drive is better than buying them, and x-box is cheaper than the PS2. X-Box has some great games now (star wars KOTOR) and on the horizon (like fable) and most games seem to come out on both of the formats. Also mum doesn't have a dvd and x-box playback is better (apparently).

A wise choice young Padawan.

[Ins0mniac]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
With an 18yr old daughter in the house, I don't think that would be an option.

I don't think he'd mind. :D

[BlueBoy]

Originally posted by Ins0mniac
I don't think he'd mind. :D
Not one bit. :p

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by BlueBoy
Not one bit. :p

But I would:D

[Kyle]

Egh, at least it's his brother that's gonna be dealing with the mistake :D

[BlueBoy]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
But I would:D
Ooo. Shot down by the Mum.
Harsh! :D