The Battle of the Systems
 

We currently have three major power consoles available.

Gamecube
XBox
Playstation 2

The question is, which is the best? Let's have the public decide. State your reasons on which one is best based on games available, difficulty to use, money worth (is it worth the price tag?), and reputation.

Ready?! Fight!

Gamecube. Reasons:
1. Price. It's only $100 bucks.
2. Only a gaming system, not a DVD player. I consider this a good thing as the money you save on the Gamecube can easily buy a cheap DVD player.
3. Controller. Fits my hands perfectly. Better than the other consoles controllers.
3a. Wavebird controller. Best wireless controller on the market for any console.
4. Gameboy Player. Turns the GC into a suped-up Super Gameboy. Gives GC owners access to a huge library of games spanning some 14 years.
5. GBA connectivity. Used most notably for the new Pac-man game. GBA also doubles as a controller.
6. Mario. Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine are definately kiddie games, but they are both great platformers.
7. Other games. Plenty of good games, as in plenty of games that not kiddie games and are also exclusive to GC.
8. More experience in the home gaming market than Sony and MS combined. Famicom (NES) was released in Japan in 1983. Playstation was released in 1994. X-Box was released in 2001. Nintendo fought and won the wars between Sega, a company with equal experience.

Despite what people say, Nintendo's not going anywhre. They are here for the long haul.

For both hardware and software, Xbox. Totally.

Hardware--these are probably things most of us know about the Xbox, but I'm listing them for reasoning's sake:

Xbox has an internal hard drive, so memory cards are not needed to save games. It has the best graphics of any console, it plays DVDs (and even though it requires the DVD playback kit to do so, the remote is a convenience so it doesn't matter). Its not as fast as GC but its a lot faster than PS2. It has a built in network adapter, so all you need to buy to play online is a subscription. It has four controller ports with system link capabilities for up to 16 players. I have a high definition TV, and Xbox games look and sound so awesome with the Xbox high definition AV pack. I also have the regular advanced AV pack for my analog TV, which helps at least in improving the audio.

Software--Hmmm...I hate to complicate things but I really think it depends on the type of gamer a person is. I personally like the Xbox's games best because I love action adventure games and first person shooters. Xbox has the most FPS games. Each system has its fair amount of action adventure games, most of which are found on all systems, but I'm a big graphics person so I tend to like the Xbox better. I also love Xbox Live. Its a lot of fun and worth the cost of the subscription.

As far as difficulty to use, I don't think any of the systems are that hard to figure out. I think some of the Xbox games are more advanced that GC or PS2 but that's because the Xbox is really made for people 18 and over (and it tends to draw some of the 14-16 crowd as well). Most GC games are specifically designed to be a bit simpler because their target is kids 13 and under. PS2 is kind of mixed but generally at both stores I work at, we recommend PS2 for kids 13-18 or for gamers big on RPGs.

Worth the money? I think so.

Reputation? We get a lot of complaints in my stores about broken PS2's, how fragile they are and how easily they break. Everyone is always telling me how their PS2 will slow down and start lagging and then just freeze. I've never had these problems with my PS2 but I hear it all the time.

I like them all for different reasons. I hate them all for different reasons.

I may be out of line for saying this, but the PC owns all video gaming systems. No console will be better with games without actually becoming an actual computer.

I can't really choose between all of the "Next Gen" systems because they all have their ups and downs and It's hard for me to delcare an absolute favorite
Games: (TIE)
PS2 - Has a good amount of my 2 favorite genres, Racing and RPGs. Also, backwards compatiblity is good for major kudos in my book.
GAMECUBE - Unlimited potential to remake games using exclusive liscensed nintendo characters of the past that I've grown fond of since the SNES. Also, augmented with the use of a gameboy link.
Features:
XBOX - has a hard drive, DVD capability, Network/Online capability without a special adapter, just a simple fee for Live!...not to mention the cool ability to integrate your favorite songs from CDs into the games you play (or at least, some of them)
Control:
XBOX - excellent for FPS games and general use, control schemes are fit well to various games. (I'd still prefer a keyboard+mouse for FPS)
Technology/Graphics:
XBOX - best looking graphics currently availible for a console (even though the technology and the graphics are nothing compared to a modern PC)
Worth the Price?
PS2 - no, 150 is more reasonable
XBOX - yes
GAMECUBE - barely yes
PC - barely a no. unfortunately this is the most expensive of the group since a computer is obsolete in about 4 years, but the unsurpassed flexibility of a nonrestricted piece of hardware almost make it worth the price tag. Either way, if you've got a good one, it's the only way to fly.

Overall I kinda lean more towards the XBOX, but the lack of good "Only for XBOX" games I find enjoyable *COUGH*HALO IS OVERRATED*COUGH* makes me sad.

Hardware, X-box rules over all. Software, PS2 can't be touched.

Personally, I'd rather play good games than have a big , powerful black box that might be able to play good games if they ever make any. :P

I play rpgs. A lot. Ergo, I own a PS2.
Simple, eh?

Anyway Raiden, tell me that you didn't just PURPOSEFULLY start a topic which will almost certainly end in a screaming match?
:P

If I absolutely had to pick one system, i'd have to say PS2, mainly because it's just about the only place to go for RPG's. However, you're better off owning all three. I'm 2/3 of the way there, I may end up giving in and picking up an Xbox next year. More than likely, I'll hold out 'til E3 in case they decide to do another price drop.

PS2 for me:
Games: Gamecube's are too kiddiefied. Xbox's have no substance*.
Controlers:Gamecube:I liked the rectangle better.
Xbox:seriously it doesn't fit the human hand
Ps2:Normal=good analog=real nice superpad=horrible
Features:
Gamecube has zip.well theres that gameboy thing but thats crap.
xbox has dvd playabilitiy, a harddrive, and online capabilities, for a fee.
PS2 plays dvds and ps1 games which is a HUGE up.
Hardware:Xbox hands down but really if you think about it, its just a crappy 1997 computer.but then useing that logic all systems would be crap.
Software:PS2 again
Price:Gamecube
Total Scores:Gamecube:1
Xbox:2
PS2:4

I might buy a xbox if they come out with some better games or drop the price. Nintento just plain let me down.
Spiffy Has Spoken.

*If you want good frist person shooters just get a PC.

Well... let's see...

GC: Including the gameboy games with the gameboy player is really just crap, because you have to buy that seperate, the console by itself can't play them. It's an add on. And the fact that you can use the GBA in conjunction with the GC is even more of a pisser, because if you don't have the GBA you can't access parts of certain games. It's all an evil marketting ploy, forcing you to buy their handheld system, just so you can use the little floating dude in windwaker, or get to the island in animal crossing, etc. An evil marketting ploy that makes the gameboy player even MORE useless, because you have to have a GBA anyway, if you want to play your games to their fullest, so all you're doing is gaining the ability to play them on the tv, not increasing your library. As for the games that they actually have... and this isn't a rip on nintendo at all, there are only two I ever want to play. Windwaker and SSB:M, Metroid Prime may be a great game... but I can't stand FPS unless I'm in a death match. I just can't. And, for godsake, don't point out Mario Sunshine... I've gone off on rants about how much I hate most 3-D platformers before. 2-D and 2 and a half-D platformers and shooters own all. I did buy this system, however... JUST for Windwaker... I'm a die hard Zelda fan, and to me, that made it worth it... even at it's original price. And the gameboy player doesn't annoy me until people start counting it as an advantage of the GC. AND I already had a GBA so their marketting ploy didn't affect me either.

X-Box: Again, not many games I want to play here... and they don't have a Zelda to draw me in. I'll probably buy it eventually. Granted, it owns the market in hardware... but all that hardware means nothing if there aren't any games I like.

PS2: Absolute weakest hardware, and it DOES break extremely easily. (I accidently tipped mine over on a hard floor and it broke). Big issues with the hardware for me... could even say I'm pissed at Sony now. However... it has a huge collection of games that I like, and it can play the PS1 games WITHOUT buying an adapter, which allowed me to get rid of my PS1... the only system I've ever gotten rid of. So, I'm going to go with the PS2... it has wonderful games. At least for my tastes... I'm an RPG and 2-D side scroller affecienado.

In summary... I have big problems with all the systems... and thanks to my taste in games, the only one that really overcomes those weaknesses is the PS2.