Xbox, PS2 or Gamecube?

[Buddhaboy]

The only thing I really miss from my Peecee days is NBA Live.

With the NBA season more than a month away, I've been feeling the terrible terrible itch to play NBA action titles again.

Would anyone have any advice on where to get a good machine at a reasonable price?

What "extras" should I look for? i.e. Modified chips or anything of that sort...

Which system is the most advanced? I know I'm getting into console gaming a little late in the game so I'd like something that wouldn't feel too much like yesterday's technology a few months from now.

Which has more NBA titles that are easily available?

Anyone selling a preowned console?

Thanks guys!

[vicicasas]

The Gamecube is definitely not a sports gamers' console. Scratch it off of your list. That leaves you with Xbox and Playstation2 .... rumor has it that Sony is about to introduce a smaller, sleeker version of its console called the PSTwo, just like they did with the original console. This would probably have an effect on the price of the older PS2, so you may want to wait for that before you decide.

Personally, I have an Xbox (Adel Gabot's old Xbox, no less) and I play driving games and sports games, including NBA2k4.

[sinch]

I have a GameCube and I'm loving it! Wouldn't trade my gaming utopia in Metroid Prime, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, and Mario Kart: Double Dash with anything less.... even Halo 2 nor MGS3: Snake Eater :beer:

[brain1976]

It depends on what games you want to play. If you have kids who you allow to play videogames, the gamecube is a good buy because of Marios, Zeldas, Pikmins, Animal Crossing and Pokemons that are exclusive to the console. If you miss your PS1 then the PS2 is the logical choice for your fix of Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo, Ace Combat, and so on. If sports games is your favorite, EA and ESPN makes the games for both Xbox and PS2. But check out the controls and the button layout if it is to your liking. In my opinion the difference lies there.

[jsaure]

IMHO the best basketball games, or any sports game for that matter, come from Visual Concepts. They're the ones responsible for the ESPN NBA2K's and NFL2K's, better than NBA Live or Madden as far as I'm concerned. However, they won't be releasing any new games to the GameCube AFAIK. Thus if you're looking for a larger selection of NBA titles, your choices are down to the Xbox and the PS2. I would go for the Xbox.

[Buddhaboy]

Hey Jsaure,

Do the Visual Concepts game have anything like the Dynasty mode of NBA Live?

[Tantantiniiin]

PS2 - if you are into the sports gaming genre (basketball, tennis, golf, racing etc). The one sport you wont get to play here is badminton. F1 racing hasnt been updated since 2003 so if youre looking for one here, youd be disappointed.

For the kids, there are lots of games for kids, but not much are supported by franchise animation like pokemon, and super mario. But, you can always have "eye toy", which Im sure your kids and "the-kid-in-you" will love.

And if you want to have really immersive games, you can finally see that FF8-11 is all about. Though there are tons of wanna-bes.

For PS2, here are some must haves (for me at least)
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec / GT 4 preview (buy a mini firewire cable and invite a friend over to bring his PS2 and GT3 disc and play head on - on separate TV screens - kahit talikuran pa kayo
Initial D (I dunno where Jones got his disc, but I'm still looking for one)
Tekken / Dead or Alive 2
NBA live 2004. (and if you wanna play 5-on-5, invest in some of those control pad adaptors)
Need for Speed Underground
Eye-toy games (any - really fun for all the parties you will have at home, though at a point, you will look stupid and looney if you play it by yourself.
Silent Hill series - something to play when the kids are all tucked in bed.
Final Fantasy X (but please, not the X-2). If you have the money and the broadband connection, you might wanna add the hard disc attachement of FFXI, but the reviews of late isnt good enough, so im gonna hold on to my cash for a while.

[Carlo]

I'm a loyal PS2 owner. It still has the biggest and best library among the three. A well balanced mix of US and Japanese games. Not bad for an old system.

[yapi]

I'm an RPG nut, so it's PS2 for me I also love Silent Hill games

haha, I actually enjoyed FFX-2. It's like Final Fantasy goes Mahou Shoujo.

[gbbles]

NBA Live on the XBox will almost give you the same experience that you get on the PC. For one, you can run the game from the internal drive, cutting down on load time. Also, there are downloadable roster updates that can be administered via LAN, if not ingame thru it's online capabilities. I'd get an XBox if only to play NBA Live more specifically, the 2005 version.

To check out the latest

http://www.easports.com/games/nbalive2005/home.jsp

The new features are mind-blowing fantastic.