My son is saving to get a PS2, but we’re a bit gun shy after the N64 jipping.
Does anyone know if the price will drop this year or if something better is just around the corner and one should wait a bit?
There’s always something better around the corner. If you keep waiting for the next best thing, you’ll never buy one. I don’t think PS3 is due until 2005 anyways, so there is still a few years in it.
My advice: Wait until the next price drop (probably around $50US) and buy one then.
What bernse said–including the release date of the PS3.
Actually wait until later the same day of the next price drop. Xbox will surely follow with an equal price drop of their own and it’s a superior system.
This is assuming you want the most superior system available now and in the near future, which I think was your GQ. Debating systems beyond that is fodder for another forum.
It all depends on whether or not you like the games that the PS2 offers. Also, remember that you can play your old Playstation 1 games as well on the PS2. I bought my PS2 in May 2002, when the price dropped to $200. For me, at least, it was a no-brainer to pick the PS2 over the Xbox. However, you should review the types of games that are available on each system, as well as each system’s capability, and then make a decision then. My two cents. 
Yeah, Xbox is a better system but has a smaller game catalogue (mainly because it is newer). But then, how many games do you need?
Um, maybe beajerry’s son doesn’t want an X-Box. They said he’s saving for a PS2. If he was saving for an X-Box I’m sure it would have been mentioned.
Plus, I for one think that PS2 is just now coming into its own. It’s gen-3 games are simply incredible, IMHO. Ratchet and Clank for instance - almost ZERO load times, remarkable detail and draw distance, no aliasing, steady framerate, and solid (and LONG) gameplay, taking place in HUGE levels. It’s the best $50 I’ve spent in a long time. I read an article a few months ago saying that games for the PS2 utilize only about half of its full potential; as programmers learn more and more about how to use it, the games just keep getting better and better. This is clearly evident in some of the more recent games. Although I suppose the same could be said for Xbox… still, I don’t regret choosing PS2 even for a second.
That’s just my opinion though…like habs said, it’s all about the games, and what appeals to you…
Also, while the X-Box may have had better hardware specs, it was a commercial flop. Don’t expect a huge amount of new development for it, unless MS continues to subsidize it.
Online gaming is another thing to think about. It hasn’t really started up yet, but I believe it will bring about a lot of changes soon.
PS2’s online system is better, IMO. You buy the hardware once and play the games for free. Some games will charge (e.g. EverQuest, Final Fantasy), but you can subscribe to them individually. You can also use either a modem or a broadband connection, although some games require broadband (e.g. SOCOM).
On the other hand, XBox Live charges a monthly fee and only works with a broadband connection. If you’re like most Americans, who are still stuck with dialup Internet access, you’re out of luck.
I have both a PS2 and an Xbox. While I love 'em both, if I could only have one of them, if I had to give one up for some reason, I wouldn’t even have to think about it. I’d keep the PS2. You can talk about ‘superior systems’ and quote specs until the cows come home, but it all comes down to the games. And right now, today, I find myself playing the PS2 way more that the Xbox. I find myself lusting after PS2 games more than Xbox games at the store. I find myself more looking forward to upcoming releases of PS2 games than Xbox games. Again, it’s not because I don’t like my Xbox; I do. I just like the PS2 better, despite the Xbox being a more powerful system, on paper. Maybe this’ll change in a year or so. But if you’re asking right now which one to buy, that’s my answer.
But of course, the original question wasn’t “Should my son get a PS2 or an Xbox?” anyway, it was whether a PS2 is worth buying. And I say, undoubtedly, yes. It won’t be obsolete for quite some time, and almost all of the hottest games will be released for it for years to come.
bernse - he asked if a better system was just around the corner. I was just letting him know that there was already one out there.
occ - the only thing not to expect is for xbox to go under. Micrsoft has explicitly stated that their strategy is to keep pumping money into until it works, and M$ isn’t going to run out of money anytime soon.
Mr2001 - even PS2 frothing at the mouth fanatics that I know have to admit that Xbox’s online service is vastly superior. And you don’t pay by the month - at least not yet. The first year is free with the purchase of the hardware and no games charge extra.
Re: the OP - Expect a price drop at or slighty before E3 in May. That’s what they did last year and they’re likely to repeat the strategy with the PS2 going into it’s third year. My guess is that it will drop to $149. You just have to decide if it’s worth waiting 5 months to save $50.
The best bang for your buck is to buy a game system just after the first price drop. This gets you a huge discount ($50-$100) and allows for the system to build up a large enough library of games that whatever your taste, you’ll be able to find enough games that you like to sustain your interest.
Right now, both the PS2 and the X-Box are a good deal, because they both have gone past the first price drop, and both systems have more good games available to them than any person would reasonably be able to afford.
The PS2 is well established, and though it’s unlikely it’ll reach the market penetration of the Playstation, Super Nintendo, or Atari 2600, it’s the clear winner for this round.
That said, the X-Box ain’t going anywhere. Microsoft just dropped nine figures for Nintendo’s share of Rare. You don’t spend that kind of dough unless it’s a long term investment.
Both the X-Box 2 and PS3 are likely to see their next incarnation in 2005, but unless you’re planning to upgrade right away, which isn’t the best course and seems unlikely given the position stated in the OP, either should be a viable platform for the next 3 years. And even if they both stopped producing games at the end of 2003, both would have a library large enough that you could go until the launch of a new system just buying already existing games.
Bottom line:
The PS2 is a good system with a huge library of games, and will be viable for 2-3 years. If he wants one, and the $200 is available, it’s a good system with a bunch of good games.
The X-Box is “something better” technically, most multi-platform games look best on it and are less likely to have frame rate problems, and will be supported for the foreseeable future. The current X-Box bundle has two top notch games included.
I wouldn’t expect another price drop until just before the 2003 Christmas season. PS2 is most likely to drop first, but it’s a guarantee that once one system drops in price, all three will. I agree with Cisco that it’ll probably be $50 for the PS2 and X-Box, and I’d guess $20-30 for the Gamecube.
I bought my PS2 because there were games out for it that I wanted to play. That a PS3 was in development or that there were ‘superior’ alternatives out there was irrelevant. After all, a system in development wasn’t going to help me play the games anytime soon, nor were the alternative consoles able to play the games I wanted.
If your son wants to play PS2 games, and if it’s true that a new version of the console won’t be out for another two years, then a PS2 is worth getting, even if the post-E3 price drop doesn’t happen.
Remember that the X-Box is essentially a mni PC-system. This is a good and bad thing. On the up-side, it carries many PC game titles, including some very good ones you might not be able to play except on the computer (so if you don’t have a PC its a strong buy). In fact, if you don’t have PC, I’d suggest you get an X-Box. It isn’t right for me, though, 'cuz I have a good computer.
I do love my PS2, since it is backwards compatible and a DVD player.
PS2 is definitely worth the buy. Final Fantasy X, Ratchet&Clank and Jak&Dexter, are my 3 favourite games, and FFX alone is good for hours and hours of gameplay.
Is it true that the PS2 is compatible with the PSone because the PS2 “soundcard” is essentially a modified PSone? My brother told me this, but he could have been drunk
Basically, but I believe that it is actually the I/O controller, not the sound chip.
So, what are the chances that Sony will continue with this trend and make the PS3 backwards-compatible?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Very few people seriously thought they would have done it with the PS2 as that’s one of the major reasons that the next-generation consoles came out, planned obselecence. It “forces” people to spend more money. Sony broke the historic trend with that one.
[sub]Exception. I think Atari did this once or twice in the mid 80s[/sub]
I’d bet very much that the PS3 will play PS2 games, and that X-Box 2 will play X-Box games. I think game sales have shown backward compatibility to be a hit.
As for market penetration, I don’t have all the stats, but from what I’ve read in gaming publications, Sony is king. Actsofgord.com says the NES and Super NES sold about 40 million each throughout their entire run, and that the PS2 sold 22 million in just its first year. The PS1 sold nearly 100 million units.
But yeah, go for it. I don’t think the price will drop until Christmas 2003, and if $50 is an issue, try getting a used PS2 at a game store. They usually cost $20-$30 cheaper, and are backed up by at least a 30-day return policy at the store (ask before you buy).