OK, Sandman’s a big baby, but he has money burning a hole in his pocket (thanks Spiny Norman ) and wants to buy a Sony Playstation 2.
However, he’s also heard of these Gamecubes and X-boxes. And he’s also heard that you can’t get English-language games here and that you have to send your brand new machine away to get neutered or spayed or something, otherwise all the characters jabber away at one another in Japanese. This he doesn’t want.
He thinks he should be able to get a PS2 for 7 or 8 grand.
Can anybody give him some advice on what he should buy (PS, Gcube, Xbox), what he should look out for, what modifications need to be made, where to get decent games, etc.
He might even stop limericking if the advice is good enough.
I say skrew X-Box (really, skrew it). Game Cube is cool, but if you want one you have to buy a PS2 first (sorry, rules are rules).
I was looking into getting my PS2 Modded, but the cost didn’t justify things (over 3000NT, can’t remember). I’d say find a friend that speaks good chinese (maybe you) and go ask around. If you want one modded it’d be best to buy one that’s modded already so you know it works and it’ll be cheaper then doing it in 2 steps (buy then mod).
With a modded one you can play US, JAP and “back-ups” (PM me about that one). X-Box and Game Cube are cool, but you MUST buy a PS2 first. There are more games, more better games and with the PS2 you can play PS-one games, which (IMHO) are still very cool.
I’m gonna be shoppin’ fer me computer this week/end, I’ll keeps me eye’s peeled :shock: for a place to buy a “fixed” PS2, but from me searches so far it looks like it won’t be hard.
Gamecube - very limited games, uses proprietary dvd discs. can not play DVD movies. Some games uses pre-rendered graphics.
Xbox - limited games, most advanced graphics of the 3. Can play DVD movies with optional remote. Need to call microsoft for the code to reboot your machine. Subscription needed for online. Since it’s authantication process is centralized in microsoft, joining servers take a longer time.
PS2 - most games (even if youo don’t count ps1 games), Does not need optional remote to play DVD movies but it’s better with remote. No subscription needed for online games but that might change in the future.
I personally like the PS2 and recommend it to anyone. Xbox and gamecube just doesn’t have the games. Also I don’t like to be under the thumb of microsoft for their services.
Modding the PS2 is just too expensive due to the fact that 3 chips need to be modded. Last I checked in the US, it cost $150 to mod. The console only cost $199 in the US. Just not worth it to mod.
I was in Indonesia…and talk about pirate heaven. They have mods that not only makes your PS2 DVD region free, it also can play pirated DVD games from all countries (each game cost US$10). THAT would be reasons enough to buy the PS2. Same way to kill it just like Sega Dreamcast
Xbox’s hardware is definitely more robust then the others. Over the long run, I am sure more games will become available. PS2 does have the advantage of being able to access PS One’s library of a million games (I am sure you can grab pirated PS1 games online too). Nintendo has always been more into “Family” entertainment…so if you would like to have access to more mature games…I would just chose between XBox or PS2.
I bought a PS2 just because of Grand Turismo2…I love driving games…yeah, I am spoiled
Thanks for all the replies, lads. So let me get this straight – the best option seems to be PS2, unmodded, straight from the shop.
Now, does that mean I can’t play games with English-language at all? They’ll all be either in Chinese or Japanese? I mostly like the driving games, too, and football, but half the fun is from the celebrity in-game commentators. Not much fun if its all in Chinese or Japanese.
Sorry for the questions, but I really don’t have much idea about the gaming world!
And PS2 plays regular DVDs too, right? If its from a shop here, unmodded, that means it’ll only play region 3 DVDs. Am I correct?
I still say finding a modded one is a better idea, but I guess it depends on what you’ll use it for. I know this guy that had a Dreamcast with 300+ “BACKUPS”.
games that are made by american developers are usually in English. Things like NFL2k2, SSX Tricky, and other sports games are usually in English. Things like ICO, Metal Gear Solid 2, and other games that require you to understand the story line and developed in Japan would be in Japanese or Chinese.
Xbox’s hardware is definitely more robust then the others. Over the long run, I am sure more games will become available. [/quote]
That might not be true. Since development companies are signing exclusive deals with the console companies, that affects the whole scheme of things. PS2 already has 40 million units shipped worldwide. Xbox only has about 5 million units. As a developer you would want to sign an exclusive deal with PS2 since it has more potential users. Usually exclusive deals would last about a year or so and the game then gets launched for different consoles. By that time, the next cool game would be out and the demand is just not really there anymore. Microsoft is trying to combat this by buying game developer companies. Microsoft has an uphill battle against Sony. Eventhough xbox has better specs, PS2 is still the better choice in term of playability. PS2 was released a year before the xbox so the technology would be older. There are a lot of PS devotees out there that are looking forward to buying the PS3. The only good thing I can think of to do with an xbox is to turn it into a cheap linux server.
[quote=“monkey”]I asked this question a while ago, but here goes again:
Where can you get a Japanese PS2 modded in Taipei? Has anyone actually had this done recently (like within the last year)?[/quote]
I asked about it at one of the places at NOVA by Taipei Mainstation. They asked me about models numbers and told me they could get it done there if it was the right model. I didn’t even have a T.V. at the time so I didn’t pursue it further.
[quote=“monkey”]I asked this question a while ago, but here goes again:
Where can you get a Japanese PS2 modded in Taipei? Has anyone actually had this done recently (like within the last year)?[/quote]
Monkey, why do you want your machine modded? Does it just give you more game choices, or what? Sorry to be a pain, but I really don’t know enough about what it is I should be buying, so any info helps. If I buy a regular one here, will it be Japanese too, or what?
The reason that they ask which model you have is that there are a bunch of different mod chips out there for different models. Sony released about 6 versions of the circuit board for the US version. There were four Japanese versions. There were also plenty of other versions out there for Europe. The older mod chips put there only allow playing backups for the region that the machine is from. The newer mod chips allow playing backups and original games from different region. The older chips were about $30US at guanghwa. The newer ones cost about $150. Which makes it just about the cost of a new PS@ in the US. If you want to watch DVDs from different region, get te Region X CD and then it will allow you choose the region you want to use. Region X cost about $30-40 in guanghwa stores.
there’ s a place near zhong xiao xin sheng mrt in that guang hua electronics market building…its a games shop characterised by a load of tv screens around the tops of the walls. they charge 2800 if you havve a scph 3000(0) the latest japanese model. can say what they charge for other models tho
Sandman, the reason I want it modded is so it can be useful here in Taiwan. It won’t play DVDs on rental from blockbuster here or imports from the US – i.e. the DVD system is all but useless – AND it won’t boot any games other than Japanese releases.
markshih: hmm…its a confusing circle…
I thought developers would rather not sign a contract because they don’t want to limit to just one console? And how come companies can advertise that their games are available on all consoles? so many questions…
That is so like Microsoft…can’t persuade them…buy them (swallow them whole).
The real reasons for mods is to play back up games! Being able to play games or watch DVD from other regions is just a plus. So where can I get some back up games?!!
Its too expensive if the mod is just to watch DVDs from all regions and play games you can’t understand. You can watch DVDs with a PC…just type “DVD region killer” on google! I can’t stand spending so much time on a game I couldn’t understand…I can’t get into it…its like watching a foreign movie without the translations…its even worst if you spend all that time finishing it and then the ending is all in foreign language…
Limited contracts only last for about a year or so. Then the developers get to release it for other consoles. Prime example is DOA2. It was released on the Dreamcast first. Then it was released as DOA2 : Hardcore for the PS2 after the contract with Dreamcast was over. I’m sure there are incentives for the developers to sign the contracts. If the console industry is anything like the PC gaming industry, most developers wouldn’t see much money unless the games sells tens of thousands of copies. Most of the initial cost of a $49.99 pc game is for the marketing cost. Usually games that are for multiple consoles are from larger companies. Lucas has enough money and power to set his own terms. Just like his film distribution.
Microsoft’s plan to buy the developers might end up backfiring on them. It’s not like one devloper is dominating the market. It’s very easy for one small company to up with a huge hit. It would be easy for developers to sell their company to microsoft and then leave to another company. Even though people talk about how easy it would be to port pc games to the xbox, it hasn’t happened. Xbox is still lacking games. If Sony really want to flood the US and European market with games, they can just spend time and money translating smaller games that are made in Japan and never released outside of Japan.
I want one so I can play backups of all the games I bought in the US (for PS1 and PS2) and didn’t bring with me. It will give you more game choices. Buying one here you can only play Japanese games, the modchip let’s you play US games as well.
Now I didn’t twist arms trying to get the price lower cause I wasn’t buying that day, but you can probably knock a few hundred off of each of those prices.
) and wants to buy a Sony Playstation 2.
that had a Dreamcast with 300+ 