Well, I finally caved in a bought a console last night.
I ended up with a PS/2 for a few reasons. First and foremost, my friend has one, so I can borrow his games. Also, I do want to play Madden 2004 against him and firmly place my foot on his neck. Not that I’m competitive or anything!
I did give the X-Box a serious consideration. I do plan on playing Halo when it comes out for the PC.
Anyway, thanks everyone for your input! 
Well, I finally caved in a bought a console last night.
I ended up with a PS/2 for a few reasons. First and foremost, my friend has one, so I can borrow his games. Also, I do want to play Madden 2004 against him and firmly place my foot on his neck. Not that I’m competitive or anything!
I did give the X-Box a serious consideration. I do plan on playing Halo when it comes out for the PC.
Anyway, thanks everyone for your input!
There’s four player Gauntlet on the PS2. You need a multitap ($20?) to hook up more than two controllers, but with two multitaps you can use 8 controllers (or 10, if you use unofficial 5-way taps).