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  • #1

    Gaming Console for the kids.

    I'm looking at get my kids a gaming console for christmas this year. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money for it so that rules out the Xbox and PS2 at this time. But I do want one that can last them at least a few years and has a good selection at games. I've looked at Sega's Dreamcast. It's the cheapest but doesn't seem to have that many games. Then there in the PS1 and N-64. Both are about the same in price and have a good selection of games but I think the PS1 uses CDs while the N-64 cartridges.

    So what do y'all think?

    Joel

    BTW Girl - 8, Boy - 5
    Libertarian is still the way to go if we truly want a real change.

    www.lp.org

    ******************************

    System Specs: AMD XP2000+ @1.68GHz(12.5x133), ASUS A7V133-C, 512MB PC133, Matrox Parhelia 128MB, SB Live! 5.1.
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  • #2
    I'm really no expert on consoles since I've never owned one, but my kids (boys 11yr & 8yr) suggest PS1 (from playing on friends). I think this Xmas I will buckle to the pressure and buy them the Xbox.
    Since your kids are still young and probably won't notice any quality differences between the Dreamcast, PS1, or N-64, I would get the one that supports the types of games your kids would most likely enjoy.
    Also, when my kids were the age of yours, I got them Gameboys -- and they actually still enjoy playing with them 3 years later.
    My rig: P4 3.0GHz; Asus P4C800E; 1GB DDR 3200; AIW Radeon 9800 Pro; WD 120GB SATA; Plextor DVD burner; Liteon DVD reader; Audigy 2ZS; Logitech Z560 4.1; NEC FE991SB

    Kid's rig: AMD XP 1600+; 512MB ram; GF4 Ti4600; Maxtor 60GB; Plextor CD burner; Sony DVD reader; SB Live; Cambridge 4.1 speakers; NEC FE991SB

    Other kid's rig: Athlon 2700+; ASUS A7N8X mobo; 512MB PC3200 ram; GF4 Ti4600; Maxtor 80GB; SB Live; Cambridge 2.1; NEC FE991SB; Liteon DVD-ROM

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    • #3
      I would say Gamecube for your kiddies, and an Xbox for you.

      Here are the targeted age groups for the consoles:

      Gamecube: 8-14
      PS2: 12-18
      Xbox: 18-35

      It's worth mentioning that the Xbox is the only game console with a parental control feature because it'll be the only game console with pr0n on it.

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      • #4
        N64 has many more "kid" titles than the other options. I almost picked one up myself a few weeks back because they are getting so cheap. Toys-r-Us had a 'Pikachu' version of n64 on clearance for 75 bucks...but add a second controller and a couple cartridges, and suddenly it becomes >$150.

        So, like Beezer, I got both of mine Gameboys (color). They seem to enjoy those more than a console, because they can take them wherever they want, and can connect to their friend with GBCs that have the same game titles. Gamboy Advance is also out now, so GBC has dropped in price a little too....
        Core2 Duo E7500 2.93, Asus P5Q Pro Turbo, 4gig 1066 DDR2, 1gig Asus ENGTS250, SB X-Fi Gamer ,WD Caviar Black 1tb, Plextor PX-880SA, Dual Samsung 2494s

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        • #5
          Being the super geek I am, and former console salesguy, I will lay down my opinions for you.

          Do not buy any out-of-date console. Their life span is up, and development will completely halt for them shortly. This includes (plus any gen older than said system): PlayStation 1, N64 and The Dreamcast. Sega has officially stopped their hardware business and is now programming for the other guys as the largest game maker in the world. The Dreamcast will be dead within a year.

          isochar's target range is accurate, but remember that there are always exceptions to the rule.

          The GameCube will target Nintendo's favorite audience, children. This will make adult games a niche for their market, but there will be several mature games (there are already several Star Wars games planned). If you do not plan on playing the console by yourself and it is 90% for the kiddies, the GameCube is your best bet.

          The PlayStation 2 is going to be the best all around platform. It has been on the market the longest, so it has had the chance to build up the largest stock of titles and hardware. I would put their target audience at 8-25 years old. If you are going to do a decent amount of gaming yourself, I would pick this up. Plus you can play DVD's on it out of the box.

          The Xbox will eventually be the most diverse platform, but initially it will be targeted at the low-mid twenties people with cash to burn. Since it uses DirectX and MS development kits it will become quickly flooded with titles from every category of the market, as porting title between the Xbox and the PC will be trivial. This is the wait-and-see console. There will be kids game for it, but they may take a while to get to market. I'd buy this only if you plan on doing most of the gaming.

          My favorite console source is the IGN/Snowball network. Here are links to their dedicated sites to each of the big three new consoles:

          http://cube.ign.com/ - GameCube
          http://ps2.ign.com/ - PlayStation 2
          http://xbox.ign.com/ - Xbox

          You can check out present and future release for each system, plus hardware specs, etc. at each site.

          Jammrock
          “Inside every sane person there’s a madman struggling to get out”
          –The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett

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          • #6
            Jammrock beat me to it, but if you get a PS2, you are getting a 1/2 decent DVD player as well. If you don't want to lay down the cash, Sony is still making new PS1s. I think you can get a good PS1 package for under $100 now. You could buy PS1 games on the cheap, and if you ever got a PS2, you can play the PS1 games on that.

            OTOH, my sister has an N64, and when I'm back visiting, MarioKart64 is a family activity.
            Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

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            • #7
              Then again, out of all the "old" ones, Dreamcast is the best performing one and the N64 probably the worst. The PS-1 is somewhere in the middle. The good thing about N64 is that it has a lot of pretty good games, eventhough its a bit lacking at the speed department, but so does PS-1 with it's shitty graphics. The only bad thing about DC is that Sega isn't making them any more, they only make software now, so should you decide to get one, go and grab it fast before they're all sold out. Otherwise, it's an excellent console, with quite a lot of good games (it even supports online gaming) and very good graphics. Heck, it has more texture memory than PS-2 so the in-game textures have a lot of detail and aren't "washed out" like the PS-2 ones.

              Oh yeah, the DC also has Marvel vs Capcom 2, one of the best arcade fighters.
              Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

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              • #8
                Oh yeah, if your kids like Pokemon, get the N64 - it's the only console with Pokemon games.
                Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

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                • #9
                  I agree with Wombat where as you could play the ps1 games on a ps2 IF you think there's a chance you'll actually get a ps2, if not then the gamecube looks very promising
                  jim

                  This picture is from Gamecube's picmin (they're attacking!):
                  Last edited by DuRaNgO; 28 October 2001, 13:30.
                  System 1:
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                  • #10
                    Wow! purdy.
                    Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

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                    • #11
                      Child's play.

                      IGN Screenshot of Dead Or Alive 3:
                      Last edited by isochar; 28 October 2001, 14:03.

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                      • #12
                        Wow! Almost makes me want to get an X-Box

                        BTW, how do they get screenshots of console games?

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                        • #13
                          I would like to see true screenshots of live gaming action, not movie mode scenes....

                          Rags

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                          • #14
                            Let's get to the "bottom" of this gamecube


                            this is from a game
                            System 1:
                            AMD 1.4 AYJHA-Y factory unlocked @ 1656 with Thermalright SK6 and 7k Delta fan
                            Epox 8K7A
                            2x256mb Micron pc-2100 DDR
                            an AGP port all warmed up and ready to be stuffed full of Parhelia II+
                            SBLIVE 5.1
                            Maxtor 40g 7,200 @ ATA-100
                            IBM 40GB 7,200 @ ATA-100
                            Pinnacle DV Plus firewire
                            3Com Hardware Modem
                            Teac 20/10/40 burner
                            Antec 350w power supply in a Colorcase 303usb Stainless

                            New system: Under development

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Rags
                              I would like to see true screenshots of live gaming action, not movie mode scenes....

                              Rags
                              That *is* ingame! Head over here and take a look at the Beta 2 Japanese demo conference:

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                              http://xboxmovies.ign.com/media/previews/video/doa3/doastage1.mov

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                              http://xboxmovies.ign.com/media/previews/video/doa3/doastage2.mov

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                              http://xboxmovies.ign.com/media/previews/video/doa3/doastage3.mov

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                              http://xboxmovies.ign.com/media/previews/video/doa3/doastage5.mov


                              The X-box ownz Gamecube & the PS2 in the Eye Candy department. As long as Microsoft can get developers to turn out lots of top notch games like DOA3 and Halo (which have game of the year written all over them), it'll be the console to get.

                              Here's Project Gotham Racing:


                              Halo:
                              Last edited by isochar; 28 October 2001, 17:49.

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