You can still find an arcade near you? Wow! That’s almost as impressive as finding an arcade game that’s not a fighter, racer, or shooter.
Heck, toss in Monster104 and you can sell pay-per-view tickets. 
Actually, I read an article in Next Generation where they were talking to some Nintendo mucky-muck and he was saying one of the focuses of the Gamecube was going to be adult-oriented games, not in the porno sense, but more mature than the usual Nintendo Pokemon demographic.
Nintendo has Zelda, Metroid and Mario, so for me, there never was and never will be any contest. It’s Gamecube or nothing. Cute and fun is how videogames should be.
-fh
Well, not an official PS2 owner but my roommate got one soon after it came out. I was, shall we say, impressed with its potential.
I, as well, am holding out for an XBox, though I probably won’t even buy that when it comes out. I’m still catching up playing PS1 games for chrissake.
I think by next summer(maybe even spring) the best two of three will be clear, and that’s when my money will go down. My bet is that it will be the Gamecube and the XBox. I think Sony has not ridden their wave very well, and a system can’t stand without game designers(what the hell was with their video RAM anyway?!?!). The join-up of Sega with Nintendo is, if Sony has a brain in their whole outfit, a truly frightening proposition. The two best game designers ever, IMO.
I, too, think the DC was let out a little early. It is an incredible system. I still play Soul Calibur every day! 
I even went so far as to make Soul Calibur Techno songs, hahaha.
I have a PS2, and I think it’s a good machine. I probably wouldn’t have gotten it if it hadn’t been effectively free. I managed to get six on the day they were released, sold five of them for $600 each, leaving me with a tidy profit of $1000 and a free PS2. I have Ridge Racer V, Tekken Tag, and Madden, which IMO, is the greatest video football game ever produced. Don’t play a lot anymore, except for Madden, but at first, I had a great time, especially given the cost.
So, Number Six, does that explain your screen name?
It should be Number SICK- as in he’s one of those sick vultures that probably went out and bought 25 “Tickle Me Elmos” or Furbees for $30 then turned around and re-sold them for $300 to some desperate parents who just wanted to make their kid’s Christmas special.
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As a complete capitalist pig MYSELF, I LIKE IT!!! 
Over the long Easter weekend we rented one, plus a movie and a couple of games. In-laws were out of town and I let myself in the back window with a brick so that I could hook the PS2 up to their 36" flatscreen Wega TV and the surround-sound. I planted my FIL’s recliner four feet from the TV and kicked it back to the half-reclining, shuttle-launch position. I played “Oni” for hours.
(One major bitch about renting a PS2 - they don’t rent memory cards, too! Ya get killed, ya starts all over! Arg.)
This was really my first experience with a console after being a life-long keyboard warrior, (FYI, my favorite games are the Wolfenstein, Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Marathon, Duke Nukem, Quake types. FPS is de best!) so I actually played a little Tomb Raider first to get the hang of a game controller, before launching into Oni.
I figger I’ve played it on the near-optimal setup, so I gotta get one. I mean, I can’t go back to the iMac with the 15" screen.
FWIW, I just rented “Twisted Metal: Black” and it’s amazing. The levels are HUGE and the graphics detail is incredible.
rjung - There’s two arcades near where I live, three others fairly close that I go to on occasion, and one indy place that I reserve for special occasions ('cause it’s in the good part of town and it’s kinda hard to find parking). Forget all the paranoia; there are still many, many places in the country with a terrific arcade scene. Fun Factory, in particular, is absolutely flying; there isn’t a weekend where it isn’t packed.
hazel-rah - I’m not concerned about the Nintendo’s traditional favorites staying fun 'n cute. But I don’t want to be overwhelmed with family-friendly cuteness (c’mon, some of us actually liked House of the Dead), especially when it comes to arcade conversions. Dammit, if it has blood, I want to see blood, not excuses. Furthermore, I detest in principle any company that makes needless changes to games due to political pressure. We’re the gamers, not politicians, and we decide if you make a profit or loss, not them.
erislover - “Potential” means they haven’t done it. And with each passing month, it looks increasingly unlikely that they ever will. The biggest problem, bar none, is the sheer lack of variety in the games. Where are the arcade conversions? The simple, dynamic (“arcade style” to you fanatics) sports and racing games? The extremely popular music games? Just because the Dreamcast didn’t have a lot of RPGs doesn’t mean they should produce nothing but RPGs, you know.
Actually, that’s one of the most utterly baffling things about this system; it’s lacking in areas I never even gave a second thought to for other systems. I took it for granted that the perhiperals would be produced and widely available, the system would be widely available, there’d be a wide variety of games, there’d be games I’d want to buy, and there wouldn’t be horrendous delays. All this has been true for each and every system I’ve ever played on (yes, even the Neo Geo for a while). Now Sony’s much-overballyhooed system arrives, and it seems that the only thing they ever produce for it is delays. I know ridiculous when I see it, and believe me…this is ridiculous.
3 words: Game Boy Advance
The PSX is dead (sigh…I hoped it wouldn’t happen, but alas…the good part is I can find a lot more used games for sale nice and cheap now). The Dreamcast is cheap and has some good games, but it’s dead (sure, they SAY it’s not dead and they’ll support it for a while longer, but realistically…). The PS2 is expensive and doesn’t have the greatest selection of games yet, and probably won’t for a little while until people push the system to its max. The X-Box and GameCube aren’t out yet.
The GBA is out. It’s really cheap (if you want to buy an X-Box in 6 months you could probably save up the money by then) and has anyone doing handheld games developing for it so you’re guaranteed to get some good games…there’s no competition and Nintendo isn’t going to bring out an “Ultra Advance” or something dumb when they don’t have to, so it’s going to be around for a long time. And it’s pretty damn cool, to boot, heh…That is, if you like 2d games. If you’re dead set on playing 3d, then ignore this post and wait for a few months to see what happens when the X-Box and GameCube come out…
- Tsugumo
4 words: Game Boy Advance Sucks
GameCube has lots of kid & some adult games:
“Nintendo also showed gameplay footage of many other GameCube
titles in development, including Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi’s
Mansion, Starfox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, Star Wars Rogue
Leader, Raven Blade, Wave Racer Blue Storm, NBA Courtside
2002, Disney’s Mickey, Donkey Kong Racing, Animal Forest,
Metroid Prime, Mario Kart, Eternal Darkness, Kameo: Element of
Power and Zelda for Nintendo GameCube.”
(http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/news/content_item.asp?cont_id=22716)
Only $199 come Nov. 5 2001.
Speaking as a self-professed Sony whore, I have to say that I think the PS2 rocks, and that the Xbox, from what I’ve seen, doesn’t.
I have played both systems so this isn’t pure conjecture based on tech specs and whatnot, but, again, I’m not exactly unbiased either. Going purely by the Xbox’s and PS2’s E3 offerings (which pretty much make up every hot game you’re going to see for the next 6-12 months or so), I have to go with the PS2.
Metal Gear Solid 2 looks absolutely amazing, as does Capcom’s Devil May Cry if you like that kind of game (ftr, “that kind of game” translates roughly to a Resident Evil type game, but one that’s really, really good - an oxymoron, I know, but still). There are of course, a whole slew of other games coming out, but these were the “killer apps,” IMHO. Then there’s also the “old” killer apps such as the aforementioned Madden (though this will be out for Xbox as well), Onimusha, TTT and DOA 2: Hardcore, and even Zone of Enders, even if it doesn’t have the deepest game play in the world.
Xbox, on the other hand, had a showing full of less than impressive games (as did the GameCube, but that’s another story altogether). Halo was pretty cool, but exhibited slowdown, and didn’t look like anything special (kinda like what you’d expect a console port of Starsiege Tribes to look like). Similarly, the new Oddworld game didn’t look like anything special as far as utilizing tech goes, nor did Microsoft’s other E3 offering, Cell Damage, which was very cartoony and probably would have looked just as good on an N64.
OTOOH, Dead or Alive 3 is going to be an Xbox exclusive (for a couple months, anyway), and that looks like a hell of a fighting game, if you go for that kind of thing.
And, yes, I’m comparing first gen games against second (and third?) gen PS2 games, but if we’re looking at something to buy now (or in the next few months), then that’s something we’re going to have to put up with.
FTR, although the PS2 does play DVDs, it doesn’t necessarily do this well. I, personally, have had some image and vertical sync problems with some titles, especially anime DVDs. This may be just me, though, since I don’t here much griping from anyone else.
Oh, and of course there’ll be this game for both systems as well.
I bought my PS2 in early January, and it was one of the shrewdest decisions I’ve ever made. I’m so glad I have it. Not only is it an awesome console, but a DVD player to boot. LOL, I even went out and bought a TV twice the size of my old one so I could enjoy it even more…
As said before, yes, there are a lot of games out there that…suck. But I think this’ll be the case with any new console. Remember when PSone first came out? Compare some of those games to Metal Gear: Solid. As the system matures, it’ll gain a lot. I bought Twisted Metal: Black a week ago, and it’s the best game out for PS2, bar none. I can’t wait for GT3 (I have it preordered, cackle), Grand Theft Auto 3 (which looks amazing in its own right), and of course…METAL GEAR SOLID: 2. The do-all, end-all. If I could play that game for an hour, I’d die a happy man. It’s not like there aren’t a million game review web sites out there, so you can pass on the stinkers…but there are still some very quality games out. At the moment, I own SSX, Madden 2001, Midnight Club Street Racing, Star Wars: Starfighter, Tekken Tag Tournament, Twisted Metal: Black, and Oni. I’d have to say the only game I regret buying is Oni (which I bought on the good word of mouth from my friend…WHO BOUGHT IT FOR THE GOD DAMN COMPUTER AND DIDN’T TELL ME OTHERWISE! The controls suck, and the rest of the game is pretty weak…). I’m really happy with the rest of them, especially Madden, SSX, and TM:B.
I’ll be the first in line for PS3.
I will also admit to being a Sony whore, just like KK, but my opinions of the PS2 still stand.
Additionally, I’d like to mention that Silent Hill 2 will, thankfully, be released on both X-Box and PS2. I was considering buying a PS2 just for this game… thankfully, now I don’t have to.
(Never heard of Silent Hill? Well, to put it bluntly, it’s the game that makes Resident Evil seem like a game of Chutes & Ladders).
A whole lotta words: GBA really isn’t that bad. I really don’t see why people are complaning about the screen brightness. I played it in the back seat of the car at 8:00 PM, and I could still see it. At 8:30 it was too dark to play though. If I could do that, you could certainly play it at home with a couple of lights on. All you have to do is hold it at the right angle.
As for the OP, go the retrogaming route. Get a SNES. Even if you have one, get every single good game ever made fo rthat thing. Seriously. It’s cheap, and they’re better than many games made today.
in anticipation of the x-box and gamecube, the price of PS2 in Japan is going down 4800 yen, which is sure to be mirrored in the US relatively soon. If I’m correct, 4800 yen roughly equals 50$, or a PS2 game. besides, a heck of a lot of games are coming out in the next few months, so you’ll be able to better judge the software.
BTW, I wouldn’t reccommend getting a dreamcast; manufacture of the system has halted, with less than 50 more games to be published. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great system, with a few games that definately stand out. However, the 99$ would be better spent on a Next-gen system with a bigger library. Sega’s gone 3rd party anyway; all of the good DC games likely will become ports anyway.
Ah, Silent Hill. Bar none my favorite Horror title. I, too, was a little worried about habing to get a PS2 for it, but Slick Willie Gates has saved us, hopefully.