I'm not sure what I want, though the games for PS2 are more plentiful. DO you think the X-box and Gamecube are here to stay and compete, or are they going to be another Dreamcast (which I DO have and love, but feel like I wasted the money).

Is there another PS on the way in a year or two? (wouldn't doubt it).

Thanks!

Any system will do, although you will probably want to buy a second system or all of them in the future.

It's too hard to choose for someone else. I'd need to know your age and what kind of games you prefer, action, rpg etc. You have to consider also if you really need another dvd player as well and do you want more games right now or would you rather have just a few games and be willing to wait for more? Myself I plan to get them all when and if I can ever afford it. I have a ps2 and a gamecube and could never choose between the two. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

This topic has been done about 50 times by now. A search will find you all the answers you want.

There's a "one and only" thread on this subject that's pretty comprehensive:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=153453

It's dropped to page 2, so I'm not surprised you didn't see it. Perhaps it should be made sticky?

word!

No, it didn't. That's why I posted a new poll/question, for ME. While I appreciate your suggestion, it's already been attempted.

For whoever else asked: basically, my favorite games are Mario Kart and Bond, though I don't own a N64. For DC, I love the sports games, which are great. I'd like to have a better Tony Hawk, a snowboarding game, and Bond-like games, if that helps. I'm 23, and will be heading to law school in the fall. I hope this helps.

I own all three systems. My favorite is the XBOX.

The PS2 has the best library of games. Tons to chose from and a lot of good ones. I would never give that system up.

The gamecube I bought for one game, the Star Wars game. I also bought wave race. Cool system, but not much to choose from when it comes to games. Seems like most games are directed towards the kids now. Next year looks to have a nice line up of games.

Now for my favorite, the XBOX. The graphics and speed blows away the other systems. I have Madden 2002 for PS2 and XBOX. The XBOX version looks better and runs smoother than the PS2 version. If you read the reviews and comparisons on Max Payne, you'll see the same things applies to that game between the systems.

I also like knowing I can go online now with the XBOX to play HALO. In April, Microsoft will launch the official online service with Unreal Championship. Though I wouldn't hold Microsoft to that date since nothing seems to run on time in the gaming world. I'm still waiting to hear when the online functionality will be available for gamecube or PS2 in the U.S.

My vote is XBOX!!! I would of voted for all three if the option was there.

Cyberock -- thanks for that great post. It reminded me of 2 things:

1) I refuse to get all 3 systems
and
2) I always like having the newest in technology. (Not to say ALL new things, but rather the newest version of whatever it is I am buying ... ie. I wouldn't be buying a Saturn right now because there's much better systems out)

So, I guess I wonder which one is the BETTER system which has hope for the future. Would you, Cyberock, say that X-box has good hope for the future?? No Bond is a bad thing for me , but that's okay ... as long as something good is coming down the road!

As I said, I would hate to get PS2, only to have it fade away by next year.

Yes, PS3 is in the development stages... 2004 is the only thing I've read about it.

No one knows a thing about it of course, but if it follows suit, then backwards compatibility with the PS2 and PSX seems logical. That's a whole lot of games... With a user base of 6 million+ and growing every day, Sony is going nowhere.

According to the post that contains all the XBOX game release dates, Bond is coming out 2nd quarter of next year. I think all 3 systems will be around for a while. An earlier message from Sony said that they may push up the PS3 from 2004 to 2003. Nintendo is just too much of a household name to just fold up. Sony is extremely strong and Microsoft is not a company to admit defeat. I think the library of games looks really promising for the XBOX in over the next year. XBOX seems to want to have that extra edge with their games too, such as Silent Hill 2 and Star Wars Star Fighter being released with more levels. I strongly suggest going with the XBOX and it's obvious I'm not saying that just because I own it since I have all 3 systems.

Here's what I think. Right now, MS is learning about the console market. They've given us a great machine to play with and now they are seeing how things work. They want a lot of market share, and they realize it probably won't happen in this generation. So they realize they need to have a well-supported machine with a lot of great games to build up a good name with a good reputation in the console market. They also realize if they want to do well in the long-term battle right now is crucial. So we may see MS buy up more developers and such.

Now Sony is ready to be the next company with a console coming out. At that point, MS is going to make a strike at Sony. With a good console reputation given to them by the XBox, they will undermine Sony's release with an even better console just like Sony did with Sega. Now all they have to do to make a better console is put the latest Intel or AMD chip, along with the latest and greatest NVidia video card. They can tune up their soundcard as well, but it's already excellent so not much to do there. At that point, they could do damage to Sony's market share. But remember it's contigent on what they do now. If they can have a decent success now, they can have bigger success in the future. So don't expect them to pudder out. People here (ScandalUMD, et al) want MS to fail because otherwise MS could undermine their console (PS2) and cause Sony to jump the gun and put the PS3 out early. I don't see MS puddering out.

No one can help you decide, because deciding on a game system is a very individual thing. What appeals to a person varies greatly. Go look at the games available and the games coming soon and decide which system has the most games you want.

You can't go wrong with any of them if you like the software available. Don't get hung up too much on the hardware. The differences between the three are much smaller than most people would like to believe. Decide by comparing the software.

These two things might end up being mutually exclusive. The XBox is pretty much a sports gamers wet dream with the unlimited file space and a ethernet port right out the box. But you wont see the big N's franchises on anything but the Cube. EA's Bond is probally not going to come close to Perfect Dark Zero. By what youve posted about wanting cutting edge you can rule out the PS2 though.