How did you choose between PS2 and Xbox (or PS3 and 360)?

[psydswipe]

I was late to the 32-bit generation as I was busy with college and couldn't afford much. Having owned Sega systems since the Master System I got a Saturn when I could, not realizing that it was more or less on the way out. Although I waited a while to jump in, I did work at a toy store during the PlayStation launch and I remember we only had three pre-orders so I initially didn't expect much from it but then after it launched we were selling out of the system and just about all of games before Christmas. Anyways, jump ahead a generation and again I wasn't sure if I should spend money at a system launch. I did have my Dreamcast already so I could wait on the PlayStation 2, but then I played SSX and was hooked. Got a PS2 within a month of its launch. Being a Shenmue fan I ended up getting a Xbox when Shenmue II released.

This generation I actually got a Wii first even though I had never bought a Nintendo console before. Again, money was tight and at the time I was doing some freelance game reviews and figured I better get a new system, and the Wii was the least expensive. Admittedly, motion controls sounded intriguing at the time. The Wii had its moments but I'm not a Mario or Zelda fan so the system eventually fell flat and I needed something new. I chose the Xbox 360 since it was a less than the PS3 and the holiday bundle had Forza 3 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. This is October 2007 so I got it two years after launch. At that time Xbox 360 had more exclusives and I did try the system and liked the gamepad quite a bit (never too fond of the Dual Shock). Obviously the PS3 has had the better exclusives of late, though it doesn't matter much since I'm in a good position to borrow one and play the exclusives whenever I need to. In fact, I've had a PS3 at my place for some time now since it hasn't been needed at work. I have no loyalties to any one company, I really don't see any reason to. I like games and if there is something I want to play I'll find a way to play it.

[burningdoom]

I had a Dreamcast and a PS1 before those systems came out. For the first year (give or take a little) I was more than content with my PS1/Dreamcast combo especially since there were still PS1 games coming out. What finally convinced me was seeing Morrowind and to a lesser extent Halo: Combat Evolved on XBox.  I just had to have Morrowind. The game looked so immersive, large, and explorable. And it was one those games that you couldn't just play at a friends house because it was so consuming. Needless to say, I went with the XBox. Plus the hard-drive was a big point for me. I actually used it as a personal jukebox in my bedroom. Great move on my part because I love action-RPGs and Xbox was chockfull of them, plus it had the best versions of multiplatform games that generation. And at the time, I definitely didn't want a Gamecube because the N64 left a sour taste in my mouth.

Now I own all the mainsteam systems from that generation: Dreamcast, PS2, XBox, Gamecube, GBA, & Neo Geo Pocket Color. And every one of them are fantastic systems with unique libraries that are more than worth owning, especially considering the low price that they go for now.

[disgaeniac]

Heh - My decision between the PS2 vs. the X-Box basically came down to fate/a flip-of-the-coin 

I'll admit to having a pretty 'unusual' gaming-history...

When I was 7-8 years old - I spent A LOT of time down the shore in a time & place where arcades were very popular & populated...I was quickly hooked-on the likes of Dragon's Lair, Zaxxon, Galaga (*Always* had my initials next to the top score), Donkey Kong, Robotron, Tempest, Joust, Dig-Dug, air-hockey, and; hell - even Pinball.  Then...

...I started playing on Ataris (C-380 & 2600) when they came out.

I had an Apple ][E for stuff like Ultima.

I kept-up with/stayed current & connected to gaming on/during the Commodore 64, Intellivision, Colecovision, and then, in my early teens, the NES (Mario Bros. & Zelda) came out & I played those.

Nothing unusual, so far...right?

Well...this is where it diverges from most of the friends/other gamers that I used to game with...

They liked (and kept-up w/ gaming) - I liked (and kept-up with) the "wrong crowd", skipping school, getting high, growing my hair 1/2 way down my back, getting/learning how to play a guitar...and everything, good & bad, associated with having long hair, playing a guitar, joining a band, chasing (and, once in a blue moon - getting chased *BY*) girls who were into such things...

TL;DR - Let's say that I got..."detoured"/"distracted" from gaming until right around the time that the PS2 & X-Box were young.

By the time I was interested in buying one, I was so far gone & out-of-touch w/ gaming...that I didn't even know what the differences were between Sony & MS' consoles.

At the time I was ready to buy, it was in December (no stores had either one in stock *or* any idea when they might be getting more in); so, it all came down to me buying whichever became available 1st...turned-out to be the PS2.

I currently own a PS2, (2) PS3's (one's b/c with PS2 games the other's a Slim), a PSP 3000, a Game-Cube, a DS-i-XL, a 3-DS-XL, and a Game-Boy Color...I've also owned an X-Box & a 360.

All things being equal, I've come to find that I prefer Sony's consoles & controllers.

If/When everything is equal...Sony will still always be my 1st choice.

The "FAT" PS3 was the 1st/only console that I've bought at launch for full price, so far.
Next Gen...Sony's "got a lot of s'plaining & convincing" to do if they value & want to keep *This* customer!

However, not being a fanboy/feeling like I "owe" any loyalty to any company or corporation...despite my preference in Sony's products...when it came down to choosing between getting a 3-DS vs. a Vita first (I'll eventually get the other one, too) - I had to go w/ the 3-DS...well...the 3-DS-XL; actually - since I was lucky enough to not be an early-adopter -which is very good- because - had I bought a launch 3-DS at launch 3-DS prices...only to have Nintendo release a "bigger & better" version so quickly...I would *NOT* have been a happy customer

Really, what won me over to the 3-DS-XL was:

Devil Survivor: Overclocked,

SMT: Soul-Hackers, and Etrian Odyssey 4 (I was very confident that we'd be getting these when I bought it) *Compared* to Vita's (IMO) lack of any "must-have" RPG's out or announced & confirmed.

[kimimi]

I didn't choose - I've had multiple formats every gen going as far back as the Amiga/ST.

That doesn't mean I don't have preferences, but I'd never want to be without a few options.

[burningdoom]

I didn't choose - I've had multiple formats every gen going as far back as the Amiga/ST.

That doesn't mean I don't have preferences, but I'd never want to be without a few options.

I was a kid/teenager through most of the generations of gaming, so I didn't have cash of my own to buy multiple systems. I had to beg my mom for one, and even then I usually got them a few years after launch when they were cheaper.

[kimimi]

I was lucky enough to have parents that were actively interested in gaming

[pceslayer]

I originally had a lot of hope for the PS2, but eventually developed a grudge against Sony during the PS2 era due to them being f'in assholes (shutting down import shops and other nasty things)... Its too bad because I Love the PSX/PS1... The xbox1 was a superior system albeit lackluster 3rd party support and the spiritual successor to the Dreamcast, so it was an easy choice for me.

Over promise and under deliver is Sony's motto it seems. The hype machine that is Sony failed again with the PS3, So naturally the 360 (with its better hardware and software toolkits) have won over the PS3.



I am a collector so I own them all, but only buy Sony's hardware for exlusives. Just about every game performs better on Microsofts hardware.

[artikskarab]

For me, it wasn't really complicated: Own all the consoles and the problem is done.

Seriously, when I was young,  my dad and I decided that, if we had to choose between consoles and exclusives, it was just better to own all the consoles and play a little bit of everything... Too bad we lost all of them to a fire...

When I restarted buying consoles, I went with Nintendo consoles, because I wanted to play with my family and they were generally cheaper. I later went with a PS2, because I am a fan of RPGs the Xbox selection of RPG is... well, limited.

Nowadays, I own all of the major consoles, though my main console is the PS3; it's easier to find good condition used PS3 games.

[bikingjahuty]

PS2 vs XBOX: I chose the PS2 because it had more games that appealed to me and I also got into the PS1 late in its life, so naturally I wanted a PS2. The XBOX was the new kid on the block and I think many of us had our doubts. While the XBOX has grown on me a ton since it first came out, I still vastly prefer the PS2.


PS3 vs 360: Funny enough, I actually went with a 360 before I bought my first PS3. I remember specifically wanting to play Forza, Mass Effect, Project Gothem Racing 3, and a few other XBOX exclusives at the time. There just wasn't as much on the PS3 around launch that impressed me that much, and the 360 got a 1-year head start. However, about a year and a hald into owning my 360, the damn disc drive broke and out of warranty would have cost like $150 to replace. I sold it as is on ebay, some guy fixed it, and then contacted me 4 or 5 months later because it went RRoD. He was wonderng about a partial refund even though it didn't have that issue at the time lol. I ended up not getting another 360 for a long time, and instead got a PS3. That system really grew on me and it's still my preferred system over the 360.


On a side note, it's crazy to think this thread was created before the Wii U, PS4, and XBONE came out. Freakin time flies...

[wolff242]

I chose the 360 over the PS3 because I had no idea playstation existed. All I knew is my brother like Xbox so when I decided to jump back into the gaming world, I went with Xbox. I started noticing the PS3 when I would go looking for 360 games, and started to pick up ones I found cheap. Less than a year later, the Uncharted 3 bundle was too tempting and I got a ps3. Love them both. I'm on my 2nd 360 (Disc drive needs to be fixed on my original) and I'm still on my 1st ps3.

[AstralSoul]

So I've always been Nintendo first and it wasn't until Final Fantasy IX came out that I got a PS1, them from there I always just went with PS consoles for Final Fantasy and Resident Evil games.

[kamikazekeeg]

PS2 released before the Xbox and I was much more interested to see what that system had over the Xbox.  I got an Xbox probably sometime in the next year after it launched, almost entirely because of Halo.  I did play other games on it, but that console, for most people really, was a Halo box lol PS2 had more of the actual games to play though overall.

Things after that flipped, as it was the Xbox 360 that interested me and not the PS3.  Xbox was starting to have the games I want, Halo 3, Dead Rising, etc..., I didn't see a lot with the PS3 that interested me and the PS3 had that super high cost.  I never even got a PS3 till I got the slim as a gift and that was maybe a year or so before the PS4 launched.  I was glad I made the choice as the PS3 did not have a lot for me outside of a couple games.

Things THEN flipped again, where Xbox went full stupid on the Xbox One, had zero interest in anything they were doing, while the PS4 seemed super decent and was absolutely the right choice.

Now the PS5 isn't super great, but it's fine, and Xbox might as well not exist for me because everything is coming to PC right away anyways.  Sony is bringing stuff to PC also, but it's usually a good year or so after release, but there is starting to become less reasons to own a console if owning a PC, other than a Nintendo system. 

[tripredacus]

Both of these were true at the time I purchased them:
- the PS2 was the cheapest DVD player on the market
- the PS3 was the cheapest BD player on the market

Xbox never entered my mind. By the point I got around to buying a PS3, HD-DVD was already dead.

[marvelvscapcom2]

PS2 was a dvd player, a ps one and a walkman all in one with at least 2000 more iconic games than og xbox. That one was easy money.


I chose xbox 360 because its what all my friends played om and in fairness its achievement system and UI was superior. Its controller as well. However rrod and lack of industry changing exclusives drove me to ps3 which im more into now.

[Warmsignal]

Actually, it always mostly came down to which console was the most established, or the most affordable at the time, whenever I'd decided I was ready for an upgrade.

I was more than ready to pounce on the Dreamcast when it launched, and then, my brother and I not sharing so well with it - I decided to save up and buy another one for myself. Before I could do that, the PS2 was out and it was spring of 2001. They had just started to become more readily in stock, and I thought.... well, that's the latest and shiniest toy, may as well go for a PS2. So PS2 kept me occupied and I was not interested in any other console for quite some time after that. I didn't feel like I needed to own multiple competing platforms back then.

Similar as with the Xbox 360. It was more established in my mind, I knew friends who had it, it had more value-oriented bundles available by the time I decided I wanted a 7th gen console. So, Xbox 360 it was.
 
I never spent much time weighing the pros and cons of competing systems. It wasn't based on specific games, or system specs, or bias for a brand. Just a gut feeling.