Playstations - help !

hpiper · 12 October 2005 at 3:33PM

My son is beginning to mutter about Playstations and how he would like one for his birthday (his best friend has one). The new ones look really expensive (£200+). Are Playstations 2 still about ? Are they still a good buy ? Would the alternatives be better - Nintendo etc. I'm all confused - what woul be a good buy ? He'll be 6 years old next birthday.

Irishorangutan · 12 October 2005 at 3:45PM

Hi there. seeing as no one has replied I thought I'd try giving you some advice.

Playstation 2's are fantastic. I have one, (i'm 23) my 9 year old brother has one, and my 42 year old cousin has one.

The first playstation was a huge seller, and still sells consoles even now, and the second one is even bigger. You can get them new, for around about £100 but rumours are that it will come down even more before xmas. This is because the THIRD playstation is due out soon. It will be expensive, and i'd imagine brilliant.

You will get games for the ps2 for a long time to come, and you can expect games to be between £8 and £30 generally. They are of a fantastic standard, and the ps2 has the biggest range of games.

The xbox is excellent, some would say even better than a ps2, but games aren't as abundant, and I would say the ps2 is much more established.

Your only other option, if you wanted to spend a little more, would be the PSP. It is basically a handheld ps2, that plays games, dvds (in a format called UMD disc) and acts like a sort of "windows" as well. It's a very advanced, fantastic hand held console, but for the younger gamer, i would say the PS2 at this stage would be the best value for money.

Also, you will notice that ps2's are now very small, and easy to carry about.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and i'll try and reply!

all the best of luck

Irish Orangutan

wolfman · 12 October 2005 at 4:04PM

With regards to the Xbox, the Xbox 2 (Xbox 360) will be out at the very beginning of December. I'd wait until then as prices will surely drop.

The Playstation does generally have the better selection of games, although there are plenty for the Xbox. You'll also find a lot of them reduced, or sold as budget games. They usually go for £10-15, whereas a normal game with cost £30 or so.

The Nintendo Game Cube may be a better choice. The games are generally more "cartoony" (and very playable) so are aimed at younger children, where as Xbox/PS2's are generally aimed at teenagers and above.

Irishorangutan · 12 October 2005 at 6:13PM

I agree that the gamecube is great for kids, but I personally still think the ps2 is the one to go for. There are some great kid games for it, and a massive selection. I was in Morrison's today, and they had a whole selection of games i'd never even heard of for 7.99. You can pretty much (not always) get most of the gamecube games on the ps2, and there is a great selection.

Having said that, I agree the gamecube is a great system for kids - i just don't agree that the ps2 is generally aimed at teenagers. My 9 year old bro got a ps2 with spongebob etc and he loves it.

wolfman · 12 October 2005 at 6:46PM

I wouldn't say "pretty much" regarding games for the Gamecube on the PS2. There are quite a few (and most of the best ones) that are only on the Nintendo platform.

The PS2 is definitely a good games console, but the majority of games are either slightly more violent, or complex, and remember this is being bought for a 6 year old. There are obviously games for it aimed at kids, but the Gamecube excels at that type of thing with all it's cartoony Mario type games.

The PS2 is definitely aimed at older children, you just have to look at the games available and the design/look of the device to see that.

bingo_bango · 12 October 2005 at 7:00PM

Have to agree with wolfman. I'm 33 and have my own PS2. Great games for it...and just the thing when the missus won't keep her cakehole shut

(I hate the soaps!)
Have seen PS2 going for about £90 locally...and the games are v. cheap on eBay. This has the added bonus of being able to sell them on again when he finishes them.

Just bought my son a PSP for his 11th birthday. He thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread. Haven't seen too much of it since then....so not too sure about it, but the quality looked fine from what little I did see. TBH, they're not built for 6 year olds though....way too delicate. I'd stick with PS2 if I were you, and as I said...eBay has some great deals.

Irishorangutan · 12 October 2005 at 7:03PM

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit
Ultimate Spider-Man
Madagascar
Sonic Gems
Crash Bandicoot
Sypro
etc etc etc

I know you can get lots of Violent games for the PS2, and not many violent titles for the gamecube, but to say that ps2 games tend to be more violent is a bit extreme. There are loads of excellent, safe, kid-friendly titles on the ps2 and all i'm saying is that whilst the gamecube is great, the ps2 has titles for all ages, and I don't agree they are more complex games.....

It's up to you at the end of the day, you can't really go wrong with either (some amazing gamecube package deals now) but I personally think ps2 will have more longevity than a gamecube.

Irishorangutan · 12 October 2005 at 7:06PM

bingo_bango wrote:

Have to agree with wolfman. ........ I'd stick with PS2 if I were you, and as I said...eBay has some great deals.

Did you actually read what I said? Wolfman is saying go for a gamecube. I'm saying go for a PS2, not a PSP. PSP is definitely too delicate for a 6 year old. Wolfman says gamecube, which are excellent, but i'm saying ps2 would be, in my opinion, a better long term choice.

bingo_bango · 12 October 2005 at 7:23PM

he, he, he...missed his first post through the alcoholic fuzz.........

the green monkey may have a point

Irishorangutan · 12 October 2005 at 8:21PM

lol. well, as i say, best of luck with it. both are good consoles.

Playstations - help !

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free