my humble 2 cents...

A console with a hard drive will only encourage developers to get lazy. This is EXACTLY what is happening with Internet-based gaming developers (see Funcom ala Anarchy Online). When this happens (and you know it will) we'll basically have buggy PC-like games that will require an Internet connection (can you say XboxNet… cha-ching) to download the latest and greatest patches.

Go with PS2, GC, hell even DC because all of them are HD-less and all of the games on those systems are for the most part bug-free. Your decisions as a gamer basically boils down to a choice of which games are cool to you and which games are not.

Personally I don't want to have to worry that a $50 Xbox game I'm thinking of picking up, may need to connection to Microsoft's proprietory Internet service (you know they will) to download a bunch of patches.

A Pro for the X Box (and trust me i hate Gates!)

Microsoft has soo much money and resources that they can afford to support the Xbox to the death ! The xbox is likely to around considerably longer than the gamecube and PS2

I don't know. They have stockholders to keep happy and if the Xbox is dragging down profits they really can't keep throwing money at it any more than Sony could.

Another con for you to consider - only two controler ports. What rocket scientist came up with THAT idea? A very bold move for Sony, releasing system with only 2 ports in this 4 port world.

I know it's all about the almighty dollar at the end of the day, but such naked greed (planning to sell the multi-tap for an extre 30 bucks) is just bad policy in my book.

Gamecube

Pros:

-Name recognition. Many "joe six packs" call all video game systems "nintendo." Will help with sales to the casual gamers.
-$100 less than the competition
-gaming only machine, not forced to pay for features you don't want (a con if you want them obviously)
-Great, IMO, line-up of Exclusive games. Nothing tops Nintendo and Rare IMO, plus they've got RE locked up.
-Small size, means less space take up. Especially grate to go under the tv in an entertainment system or even just a plain TV stand
-very, comfy, ergonomic controller.
-4 controller ports

Cons:

-kiddy image turns of some
-some don't like the small size
-gaming only machine, will turn off those that want HD's, web browesing, dvd playing, etc.
-the normal mem cards are only .5 MB, a good deal smaller than the ones for the other systems.

Xbox

Pros:

-most powerful "specs"
-fully loaded, HD, network adapter, DVD etc.
-Two good exclusive launch games in Halo and Oddworld
-no real need for memory cards
-would look nice when stacked with other home theater componets
-4 controller ports

Cons:

-many, myself included, don't like the controller
-hasn't lined up much killer exclusive games yet. Really only Halo and Oddworld. That's sure to change though.
-Large size is a pain for those just putting it under a TV.
-hatred of Microsoft turns off some
-the fact that it's fully loaded sucks for those that don't care about an HD, DVD etc.
-Having to buy a remote to use the DVD, should have been able to do it with the controller.

PS2

Pros:

-Already the industry leader
-Name recognition
-Some good exclusives, Devil May Cry, GT3, Square games etc.
-a great controller
-support from almost every third party developer (though it looks like most everything will eventually end up on all 3 systems, first and second party games excluded).
-backwards compatibility with PS1 games
-looks good with other home theater equipment

Cons:

-lackluster first year of released turned of many, and the lineup still isn't super impressive, though it is beginning to pick up, and fast.
-only two controller ports
-size sucks for putting under a tv.
-costs same as X-box, but lacks HD and Network adapter

Aghama: I know it was off the offical topic, but where else to get some good advice, but from an "unbiased" forum? So thanks for the help

It's good to know that GC's graphics are supposed to be better than PS2. That fact along with Nintendo's exclusives make the GC a choice for us.

Poriuex: I think that may be a good suggestion also. We may pick one up at that price along w/ the GC. Also is nice that Dreamcast's games are really cheap!

Thanks to all in this post for suggestions and help! I can always count on DVD Talker's for good advice

Just updated the list-------many thanks to joshhinkle, jsut about everything you suggested was put up------thanks again for pointing out the holes!!

Also, the words pros and cons do not contain an apostrophe.


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