My siblings and I are planning to shop for a game console which also will be our standalone DVD player for the family. We are stuck, and don't know which to choose. T

Anyway, i just need to get some ideas from you guys. I hope all of them will be unbiased and also honest opinions which i m pretty sure everyone is capable of giving. Remember, no flamming each other.

Thanks a million!

They both have established main titles now and really the Xbox is newer technology so I would be tempted. The only thing that bugs me is that I have a reasonably decent PC, I don't want to buy a slow HD, Celeron733 GF3 1/2 PC in a little black box which suffers GSOD (green or blue screen of death). I almost bought one second hand with a load of games but that was only because of the exceptionally low price I was offered it for. I like the PS2 as it tends to have different titles from the PC the majority of the time, whereas a lot more of the major titles on Xbox seem to be cross over titles. Just my view on it. I may be wrong, at least its not as bad as the N64 was with Doom64, thisThatandTheOther64 titles...

If you plan on getting Dolby out of your PS2 you really need to get an optical cable for the output and feed it to a speaker system or home cinema amp. Whilst the Xbox in my limited experience seems to have better options for video and audio output (RGB component out for video out available as a separate kit).

A couple of other things to keep in mind:

1.) You will need to buy the DVD kit to play DVDs on your X-Box
2.) The PS2 will drop to $99 in November
3.) The X-Box is newer technology than the others, and it's starting to get some really decent games.
4.) X-Box already has integrated 10/100 networking. You have to buy a network kit for the PS2

To be honest, I'd get the X-Box with the DVD kit - I have both and I really only use my PS2 for RPGs and Tekken 4.

PS2's have had serious failure rates with many units dieing (blue-screened when trying to play discs) after just over a year's use. There was a consumer program that brought this issue to light in the uk, as many users were unhappy because their units would pack in just outside of warranty. I don't own a PS2, so I can't say if Sony managed to fix the problem, but at the time they denied all knowledge of it. Something to think about.

I would opt for the X-Box. Like LNC said one draw back is you have to buy the DVD kit to go with it. I think before I buy the kit for the x-box, I would just buy a separate DVD player. But that may be just me, I like having separate components. Kinda like the printer, fax, copier combo I had once. One thing takes a dump and the whole thing is down.

Also there are several mod chips for the xbox. I had a PS1 that I put mod chips in. I don't know really if there are any for the PS2 though.

And if you can't get halo to play well on your home PC, xbox does a fine job!!!

Huh? Your talking about needing the Xbox remote control right? That's all I had to have.

YnW, go for the Xbox ;-).

Maybe yours had the DVD already installed?? Mine did not come with the DVD nor did my brother-in-laws. I always heard that you must buy it separate.

well i have had a ps2 for a long time (3 years?) and its never given me any problems

I've had my PS2 since European launch. Never had a problem.

i've had all 3 systems, i sold my x-box because it didnt have many games the other systems didnt have already. i like the xbox but i didnt like the choice of games on it. if you like your RPGs and good platform games pick the ps2. my friends like the xbox for the sports titles, mainly because the graphics are better.

a few things.

-yes you will need to buy a DVD kit to play DVDs on your X-Box (a remote control with a sensor thing to plug into a controller port)

-someone above said that the PS2 will drop to $99 in November assuming this is correct xbox will also drop to $99 along with it. so that wont make a difference cost wise.

-The X-Box is starting to get some good games and has along wit the newer tech. comes the better graphics.

- you dont have to buy a memory card with an xbox unless you want to take the saved stuff to a mates place.

-X-Box already has integrated 10/100 networking. You have to buy a network kit for the PS2

-XBOX Live! (not sure if the ps2 has anything to compete with that.)

i myself went for the xbox i played a few games on ps2 and didnt impress me and now most games come out on both systems and the xbox has its xbox exclusive games.

You mean the remote/sensor right?

I guess. I have never really looked into what it exactly is since I have a separate DVD on my home stereo. Always assumed it was just a separate drive.

Are you sure? The GameCube dropped to $99, and PS2 and XBox haven't, now if the PS2 dropping is true then there is still a lag behind that from when the gamecube dropped, so why do you think XBox will drop at the same time?

ps2 is the daddy, not only r the ps2 titles un-beatable but the x/box needs add ons to run dvd's etc...as already mentioned above, and ps2 runs them with j-pad controls with out problems( no need 2 buy r/controls), and can run multi-region dvd's vcd's at a minimmum cost at local computer fairs, if u know what to ask 4(chips/flip tops)::p

the xbox has better sound and graphics (true 5.1 surround sound in all games).

the ps2 has alot of games you cant get on the xbox or pc, and can play the entire back catalogue of ps1 games.

in britain tho, sony have sqeezed every last penny out of the ps2 owner, and for that i'd opt for xbox anyway.

cant believe how much sony have been charging for a 4 yr old console.

im in the same boat as you, i;ve been asking everyone i kno for about a month and i have got mixed results. i never knew it was so hard to choose a game console. also, if i purchase a ps2 or xbox in hong kong, would i need to purchase a mod chip in order to use it in canada? if so how much are they?

Both of those are still $179, maybe I'm wrong but I don't see them dropping $80 in the span of 1.5 months.

I think what you need to take into account before buying a games console is the amount of people using it. One of the main disadvantages of the PS2 is that it only has 2 controller ports as the X-BOX has 4.

A huge rip-off on the PS2's is the memory sticks. I mean how
much do you have to pay for a stupid small memory stick......£8? The X-BOX has a built in hard-drive. And the beauty of it is that they both cost the same price!!

I once had a PS2 and it never played the games to the pure cutting edge of the X-BOX so I full recommend an X-BOX.The games are so good now that I personally think that the PS2 titles suck.

-PS2 dvd playback is atrocious- no progressive scan, no 5.1 audio.
-XBox dvd playback is excellent- and it has realtime 5.1 for dvd and real-time gaming positional audio as well as HDTV support in most games not a very few like ps2
-and it has a hard drive to operate as a music server

The debate is long over as to what is the better machine- Xbox wins hands down with the quality of the hardware. Now if you have the time to play 400 games a year you might consider a ps2. I have about 20 games for Xbox and still find that Halo is always in when I turn it on.