PS2 Question

My console history is a Nintendo (8bit) and a Playstation.  I liked both of them.

I am strongly considering buying a new console.  There are good arguements both for the X-box and for the PS2.

Question:  I have read that the PS2 is noisy when playing movie DVD\'s, can anyone confirm and explain this?  My understanding is the PS2 is 4X and the Xbox is 5X (no progressive scan) so viewing movie DVDs will be very similiar (except that possible noise problem I asked about above).  I don\'t have a DVD player so whatever console I buy will play my movies.

PS2 Advantages:  
I can play my PS games.
A good assortment of games.

Xbox Advantages:
Newer system with more horsepower (I have been comparing graphics from the same games and the Xbox does appear to have better graphics)

If the PS2 could have some kind of price drop (say $50 lower or bundle it with a good game for $299) then I will probably get one.  It is a year old with competition now, this isn\'t an absurd expectation/hope.

Xbox titles so far don\'t seems to score well ( I use Gamespot) except Halo.... plus most of the games don\'t really do much for me... if they get a larger selection of good games available, then it might be attractive.

Researching these two systmes is giving me a headache!

Dogkat1

Hi firstly welcome to the boards!

Yeah its a tough choice. Don\'t forget GameCube in the equation.

I\'d go for PS2.

The main reason is the games. It has a substantial back catalogue at the moment and I can\'t see the new game releases stopping anytime soon. Things have been rocky to begin with but they have improved.

The X-Box on the other hand like you say is the most powerful machine but you got to remember that power isn\'t anything if the console goes bust after a year or so. Im not saying this will be the case but Microsoft are going to have a hard time ahead of them considering the great PS2 userbase and the fact that X-Box has little jap support just like the Jaguar did, 3do did etc.

As far as im concerned playing games is the issue here and no matter how well Microsoft do I can\'t see PS2 "dieing" (not with the userbase already establised) or game releases siezing up. So why play it dangourous and choose X-Box when its a good cert that 3 years down the line the PS2 will still have game releases.

On the issue of noisey DVD drives, as far as im concerned its a rumour. I have the first model PS2 (they have been improved since) and my PS2 is very quiet.

Hope this helps.

Rich.

I think the noise they mean is the fan in the back of the PS2, you can hear it humming when the DVD\'s go quiet, usually at speech only parts of the movie (no background music)

stick with ps2.  better games

more powerful I don\'t think so.  emotion engine vs pentium 3.  emotion engine wins.

I have one of the older versions of the Ps2, and I dont have any problems what so ever with playing dvd\'s. What you hear is a rumor. But maybe, I have heard of people Ps2\'s starting to make some semi-loud noises while its in its vertical position, and due to the fact the lens hasnt been cleaned can cause some different sounds. But nothings that is to the point where you can hear it over playing your games/dvds.
Go with a Ps2, in about a year or so.. thats when you should start looking into the x-box, since by then im sure it will have better games n such.

dogkat1 welcome to the forum.  Hummm.......My PS2 don\'t make nosie when I play DVD movies but it makes some low nosies when I play PS2 blue game disc.  The noise issue is nothing to worry about.   One thing about Xbox playing DVD movies, you have to get the DVD remote to play back the movies. It costs about $30.  I have not seen the DVD play back on the Xbox yet but the PS2 play back is sweet.  

  Get a PS2!  

From my personal experience...

DVD playback on PS2 = Sucks donkey balls.

It worked fine for a few, but then it skips all the time on discs that I rent that have minor scratches.. So I don\'t bother popping in a DVD movie in anymore..

Otherwise, for playing games... PS2 totally rocks!

TY for the info and the welcomes.

It is good to hear that noise isn\'t a problem.  I will very likely buy a remote with whatever system I get, so the PS2 is nice that a remote isn\'t needed but that won\' really factor in.

For the Xbox better graphics that I mentioned, I was looking at screenshots on gamespot such as F1 2001 and thought the Xbox looked better... but graphics are mainly luxery.

There are rumors of US PS2 price drops in Jan.   I hope this is true, though a price drop before X-mas would be great cause I could  play during my vacation.

Dogkat1

I think you should get a ps2. Especially with the great games already out for it. Games like Metal Gear Solid 2, Ace Combat 4, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, Gran Tourismo 3, Capcom VS Snk2, Grand Theft Auto 3, Devil May Cry...the list goes on. Not to mention the games that will be soon released, like FFX.

As for the dvd issue, I\'ve only had certain problems with some dvds where the movie would freeze up and skip but that only happened twice. Plus its extremely quiet. I rarely hear the fan or any noise coming from the ps2 when its playing a game or a movie.

As for the remote, dont expect much out of it for the ps2. After all the ps2 is a gaming console. If you are expecting to be able the turn the ps2 off, or "soft off" (when you hold the reset button down till it turns off), then prepare to be disappointed. As far as I know, the dvd remotes that are out for the ps2 does not have the feature of turning the ps2 off, which is one of my biggest gripes. Its so annoying to have to get out of bed after the movie is done to turn off the ps2, but like I said, its a gaming console after all. Hope this helped.

Get a PS2 ! The DVD playback is exelent no matter what some ppl might say...
And it doesn´t make a noise, only the van makes some, but you´ll hear the same noise on the X-Box !

LOL, I blast my speakers so high I can\'t even hear the fan.