Is the Playstation 2 really worth it?
There are many opinions out there regarding this latest attempt to corner the market by the all-powerful Sony. Some fanatically bang on about the console as if it’s the next messiah and the cure to all ills. Where as others dismissed it as a failure before it even left the shelves.
It’s still far to early to say if Sony is to have the same sort of huge success that they have already achieved with their Playstation 1, including the revamped model Psone (same thing different box). They have a great track record being the current market leaders with the biggest user base for Europe, America and the far eastern territories, this might lead you to believe that the Playstation 2 will follow in its tracks. Will it?
The PS 2 has got some great features, DVD film playback, ability to connect a multitude of peripherals via its U.S.B. ports, Digital sound output and in the near future broadband connection to the Internet.
But does this make it good? Well to be quite honest at the present no. At the moment it is still to early to say if this is going to be the market-leading console.
DVD playback is available but suffers from poor playback quality and unchangeable region coding. It is much better to purchase a separate DVD player for around £150 to receive better quality picture, sound and compatibility with all DVD regions and disks. If you want something that plays DVD’s buy a DVD player.
Broadband Internet connection in the U.K. is still only available in limited regions of the country and priced quite highly compared to your average Internet connection charges (all be it a damn site quicker).
There are still some contenders to come. Microsoft’s eagerly anticipated X-box and Nintendo’s Gamecube are two consoles due for release in the early part of next year. The X-box looking the favorite to knock Sony of its number one spot, if it can just crack the Japanese market.
Now should you really pay £300 for a console, which at present is only supported by some quite average games with quite average content? Two of the major games that have been announced have suffered from constant delays, MGS2 being delayed by over a year. Which should see it released in time for the X-box release.
There is an alternative though, The Dreamcast is a console, which has been around for at least a year and a half in the U.K., has a great collection of games and only costs £99.99.
Sega may have stopped production of the unit but there is at least a years supply of stock about and Pace have announced that they are going to build the unit instead. Put this with the list of over a 100 more games to come and Sega’s commitment to producing quality games for other formats this should keep you going until either the PS 2 drops in price or the X-box is released. All this for a fraction of the cost leaving you some left over hard earned cash to go and buy yourself a decent DVD player.