So, GT 3 is looking like the Playstation 2's killer app. Does it have any others? Do I need to get one of these babies now?

SSX.

I don't care if you don't like snowboarding. It doesn't matter.

SSX.

Sure, even I liked SSX, but it isn't good enough to make me want a PS2 yet. MGS2, plus a price drop, and I'll think about it again.

- Alan

Ring of Red, Dynasty Warriors 2, Star Wars Starfighter and Dark Cloud (and the MGS2 demo) have been my faves so far. Beyond that I wasted a lot of money on mediocre games, but that seems to be the sign a console's made it big -- when it floods the market with mediocrity that you have to wade through to find both the hyped and the hidden gems. :)

And if nothing else, it plays DVDs a lot better than my $160 DVD-ROM player does. :)

If you don't need it as a DVD player you might wait for Gamecube and XBox and the like. It just depends on what kinda games ya like.

"Ring of Red, Dynasty Warriors 2, Star Wars Starfighter and Dark Cloud (and the MGS2 demo) have been my faves so far."

Ring of Red blows.

>Ring of Red, Dynasty Warriors 2, Star Wars Starfighter and Dark Cloud

I found all four of these to be totally mediocre.

SSX is awesome. Even Bob and Cindy, who both have NEGATIVE interest in snowboarding, were hopelessly addicted to it for months. Now they're hooked on GT3.

Madden is another one if you're into football games.

Twisted Metal: Black is supposed to be the next best PS2 game, but I haven't played it.

There are lots of fantastic-seeming PS2 games on the horizon. MGS2 will be a system-seller, particularly if they can shave $50 off the price.

>If you don't need it as a DVD player you might wait for Gamecube and XBox and the like. It just depends on what kinda games ya like.

It's really starting to look like you can't go WRONG with any of the systems, long-term. PS2 obviously has an 18-month head start, but in two years it'll be getting long in the tooth while the other systems hit their stride.

Whichever one(s) you pick, it's almost a sure bet that, over the 4-5 year life span of the system, there will be plenty of great exclusives for it that are worth the $199-299 price of entry.

And then people like me have to have 'em all... SIGH...

And you two obviously are the king arbitrers of what's fun and what's not. Gee, suddenly I remember why I stopped hanging out here.

Ya know, the game (er, demo) that's actually impressed me the most on PS2 is the ICO demo included on one of those "Jampack" deals. I think it even impressed me more than the MGS2 demo, but almost certainly because of the fact that it blindsided me. Or maybe it's just the style of the thing - it reminds me a bit of Panzer Dragoon Saga in that department, for some weird reason. It just oozes style and ambience, though it certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea, by any means. It's centered around environmental puzzles, which sounds like a PC gamer's conception of the 3rd circle of hell, but was actually entertaining in the demo. If the full game can keep the puzzles of a high and interesting quality, it should be a real winner.

>And you two obviously are the king arbitrers of what's fun and what's not. Gee, suddenly I remember why I stopped hanging out here.

No more than you are. I mean, geez, you said they were "killer apps" and we said we found them lame. You're stating our opinion, we're stating ours. It's not like anyone said you're an idiot for liking them or you have bad taste or anything. Lighten up! =)

If we want to be a little more scientific about it, let's look at the averages at gamerankings.com:

Ring of Red: 78%
Dynasty Warriors 2: 74%
Star Wars Starfighter: 85%
Dark Cloud : 79%
Madden '01: 92%
Gran Turismo 3: 95%
SSX: 94%
Twisted Metal Black: 94%


The top rated of all PS2 games (in order) are:

GT3
SSX
Twisted Metal Black
Madden '01
Klonoa 2
NBA Street
DOA 2

"Whichever one(s) you pick, it's almost a sure bet that, over the 4-5 year life span of the system, there will be plenty of great exclusives for it that are worth the $199-299 price of entry."

The key is how many titles will be exclusive to each platform? Once you get beyond the hardcore video game fan who has to have all the systems, why should a more casual player buy more than one? How many people who buy a PS2 between now and the launch of the other new systems will be in the market for an Xbox or Gamecube?

There isn't a lot for the Xbox initially that interests me. Same with Gamecube. Maybe by next Christmas there will be. Halo I want, but I want it for the PC.

It's also unknown just how the Xbox's power will translate into superior graphics. Certainly at E3 there weren't any games being shown that looked significantly better than games on the other platforms. It could be that for all its vaunted power, the limiting factor of the TV as the display device might hold back the Xbox. It also looks like the online stuff for the Xbox might be problematic due to the lack of penetration of broadband.

I think the Xbox will have a tough go of it this Christmas. The PS2 beats it on games and the Gamecube beats it on price, and probably games too, at least for games aimed at the kids whose parents are looking for Christmas presents.

Game Boy Advance might be something of a wild card this Christmas season too. There might be a lot of families that opt for that instead of a $300 next gen system if they're pinching pennies.

I'm a bit worried about all these systems and the impact they may have on the individual game publishers. I can't help but think that there will be too much product on the shelves and not a big enough customer base to sell to. We're going to have three next gen console systems plus Dreamcast plus GBA plus the legacy systems (PSOne, N64) plus PC titles all competing for shelf space. Who's going to buy all these games?

Yeah, I wouldn't typify the Xbox as a sure bet at this juncture. It's starting to look really, really niche. The latest Next Gen had a little blurb about an Xbox game Mikami, the Resident Evil guy at Capcom, is working on. It's apparently this super-hardcore giant mech simulator meant to be controlled by this huge control panel accessory they've designed. Gives you an idea of the kind of people Japanes developers, at least, expect to buy an Xbox.

Brad Grenz

>There isn't a lot for the Xbox initially that interests me.

What did you think of the PS2 in fall of '99 (a few months before its initial release in March of '00 in Japan)?

>Gives you an idea of the kind of people Japanes developers, at least, expect to buy an Xbox.

I think Dead or Alive 3 and the Sega games are maybe a better indication of what Japanese developers are doing with Xbox (ie...making typical console games). There's more Japanese development going on for Xbox, and Gamecube for that matter, than we know. They're just notoriously tight-lipped over there, much more so than US and Europe. We'll see much more of Gamecube at Spaceworld (next month I think), I'll bet, and I bet a dozen new Japanese Xbox games will be unveiled at TGS.

I'm not actually talking so much about what Japanese developers are doing with the Xbox so much as what they think of it.

I don't believe titles bought and paid for by Microsoft give us any insight into what The average Japanese developer is thinking. Mikami's game, the one I spoke of, isn't one MS wrote a big check for. Rather it is a game Mikami wanted to make and which he felt worked best on the Xbox. What the hell do we learn from DoA 3? That MS has big pockets and Tecmo likes money? That's not news. But Mikami believes that the kind of Japanese gamer who owns an Xbox is also the kind of game who will pay over a hundred dollars to play a simulator that comes with an elaborate dash-board/controller.

Brad Grenz