Is It A Good Time To Buy A Ps2?

[thingley]

My main consoles under the TV are Dreamcast and Gamecube right now.

There is no way I can afford a PS3 if current price predictions are to be believed so it's Nintendo for me! I've got a load of gamecube games that will already run on the Wii.

But I was thinking of replacing my Dreamcast with a PS2 - so I can play a load of Sony titles that I've missed out on over the last few years (plus my girlfriend wants to play the second part of baldurs gate and the Norrath games).

I was probably going to buy second hand but there seem to be a LOT of broken consoles in the PS2 ebay section - way more than in nintendo or Xbox. Most of them go for about £60 which is roughly the same as I paid for a gamecube nearly 3 years ago - or I could pay more for a slimline.

So -

1) Should I buy now while people are offloading their PS2 stuff or should I wait until PS3 launches? Do you think the price is going to improve in the near future?

2) How reliable is the PS2 - does it really break that easily? Is the slimline one any better? I don't want to buy a console that is likely to die within a year.

3) Is it easy to get emulators running on a PS2? Can it be softmodded? Or do I need to keep my dreamcast handy as an emulation box?

Does anyone around here own one of these who can give me some advice?

 

[mdinire]

Maybe you should get an XBOX.. I have a ps2 and I'm pretty happy with it as far as commercial games but xbox emulation is far better.. and you can get most of the same games for it too.. I think xbox's go on eBay for £60

 

[thingley]

Thanks - I'll have a better look at the Xbox section.

Hadn't even looked into getting an Xbox so I don't know what games are on it. I think I'm doing more research into spending £60 than lot of people will do before spending hundreds on Sony's latest machine !

 

[Angel]

Xbox and PS2 are pretty close in comparison. I play my Xbox more than my PS2, but the Xbox can't play DVD's out of the box and the XBOX can't play PS1 games.

As for the quality. Bought mine at launch and it's still going strong.

Emulationwise i can't help you there, but from what I've read, the XBOX would be the way to go for emulation.

 

[shinneri]

Getting rid of your Dreamcast? Blasphemy!

The original design PS2 is notorious for breaking. I haven't heard of reports of the slimline ones having similar errors, but I think those are still priced pretty high. PS2's not a good choice for emulation, but I think it provides the greatest bang for your buck regarding commercial games.

 

[Angel]

Getting rid of your Dreamcast? Blasphemy!

I was thinking it, but didn't say it.

 

[Flack]

Xbox and PS2 are pretty close in comparison. I play my Xbox more than my PS2, but the Xbox can't play DVD's out of the box and the XBOX can't play PS1 games.

Actually, the Xbox plays PS1 games pretty well through emulation.

I own both consoles (and 20 or so more) but I'd have to give the nod to the Xbox for a couple of reasons. One, the PS2 is notorious for failing after a few years, so if you're buying one now you'll most likely be getting a used one that may or may not last very long. The other key would be the emulators -- I've basically shelved several of my systems (Atari 2600, NES, SNES, Genesis, etc) because of the available Xbox emulators.

 

[Ravnos]

Xbox and PS2 are pretty close in comparison. I play my Xbox more than my PS2, but the Xbox can't play DVD's out of the box and the XBOX can't play PS1 games.

Actually, the Xbox plays PS1 games pretty well through emulation.

I own both consoles (and 20 or so more) but I'd have to give the nod to the Xbox for a couple of reasons. One, the PS2 is notorious for failing after a few years, so if you're buying one now you'll most likely be getting a used one that may or may not last very long. The other key would be the emulators -- I've basically shelved several of my systems (Atari 2600, NES, SNES, Genesis, etc) because of the available Xbox emulators.

Off-topic, but is this the same Flack that used to write for WTD?

 

[OMars]

Getting rid of your Dreamcast? Blasphemy!

The original design PS2 is notorious for breaking. I haven't heard of reports of the slimline ones having similar errors, but I think those are still priced pretty high. PS2's not a good choice for emulation, but I think it provides the greatest bang for your buck regarding commercial games.

Xbox and PS2 are pretty close in comparison. I play my Xbox more than my PS2, but the Xbox can't play DVD's out of the box and the XBOX can't play PS1 games.

Actually, the Xbox plays PS1 games pretty well through emulation.

I own both consoles (and 20 or so more) but I'd have to give the nod to the Xbox for a couple of reasons. One, the PS2 is notorious for failing after a few years, so if you're buying one now you'll most likely be getting a used one that may or may not last very long. The other key would be the emulators -- I've basically shelved several of my systems (Atari 2600, NES, SNES, Genesis, etc) because of the available Xbox emulators.

I can tell you that ps2's are not that fragile. I bought my ps2 five years ago, my brother broke the lens on it a week after I bought so I replaced it and it's been working ever since. I think I will buy a wii this holiday, though.

 

[thingley]

Getting rid of your Dreamcast? Blasphemy!

I was thinking it, but didn't say it.

Please don't start that!

I unplugged it from the amp at the weekend when we were tidying the front room and now there is a great big Dreamcast shaped hole staring at me from under the TV. It's making me feel bad .

I'm keeping it close by so I can easily plug it in to the front of the amp to play my quick games of Virtua Tennis or Hydrothunder - But I think my days of spending hours and hours on Dreamcast games are sadly over...

I'm completely split between a PS2 and Xbox right now - The PS2 has a few more games I want but the Xbox seems to be built like a tank and has good emulation(from what I've read today).

Thanks for your help - I might be able to decide any day soon...

 

[i_am_a_noob]

If your going to emulate, it's not the cheapest thing.

 

[AcidiC]

There was this movie (youtube maybe) of some lady.. a "doctor" smashing a ps2, GC and xbox and dropping them off ledges, smashing with hammer etc. The xbox broke first, followed by ps2 - and the GC survived.

That is all.

 

[Iorgy77]

There was this movie (youtube maybe) of some lady.. a "doctor" smashing a ps2, GC and xbox and dropping them off ledges, smashing with hammer etc. The xbox broke first, followed by ps2 - and the GC survived.

That is all.

Heh, I think your memory is failing you, the PS2 broke way before the xbox. And she didn't even test if they coud run games... pfft hardly a scientific test.

I would recommend a modded secondhand xbox or a new PS2. Getting a used PS2 is asking for trouble.

 

[Macleod]

Didn't Sony just announce a price drop for the PS2?
I would imagine you will get a good deal on PS2s over the next few months as Sony looks to shift stock for the arrival of the PS3.

 

[Goity]

You can softmod fat ps2s, and afaik
(but don't quote me on this) the later fatties don't break as much as the slimlines. It's a fairly long process to get your ps2 softmodded, and it involves needing a cheat system the first time you use it, and also a big ps1 and a big ps2 dvd game. Or you could use that Swap magic system.

 

[Jarska333]

Didn't Sony just announce a price drop for the PS2?
I would imagine you will get a good deal on PS2s over the next few months as Sony looks to shift stock for the arrival of the PS3.

And you might get the pink one. Sure the GF would love that...

 

[OMars]

There was this movie (youtube maybe) of some lady.. a "doctor" smashing a ps2, GC and xbox and dropping them off ledges, smashing with hammer etc. The xbox broke first, followed by ps2 - and the GC survived.

That is all.

That was Morgan Webb from X-Play on G4TV(American channel). I saw that episode, apparently Nintendo has amazing build quality. I remember when my brother got mad at me a long time ago. He took my GBC and through it onto a tile floor an then it hit a chair 30 meters away. There wasn't even a scratch on the thing and it worked the same as when I bought it.

P.S. It still works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mudi]

IIRC, the PS2 broke on the very first test, the Xbox broke a couple tries later, and the GC survived (though the drive latch broke)

I'd say go for X-box personally, unless there are specific series on PS2 exclusive you want to play. Also, for dreamcast, have you tried the new NesterDCSE released a couple months ago? It's awesome.