PS2 and PSP, worth owning both?

[baad bwoy]

I wondered what peoples thoughts were on owning both of these consoles, is it worth the time and effort.
I will hopefully be receiving my new psp sometime next week, and have been considering whether to also buy a ps2, as I have never owned one of these, although I used to own a ps1, some years ago.
Is the ps2 worth getting this late in its lifecycle?

[in5ane]

I would say yes. PSPs are really great, but you'll never be playing them on anything other than a tiny screen. Get a PS2, and you'll playing them on a big telly, with maybe Dolby ProLogic II- see what i'm getting at?

Plus, people say the games are similar, which is true, but AFAIK there are no direct PS2 to PSP ports, i.e. most games, even if based on PS2 franchises, will be sufficiently different.

As for it being so late in the PS2 lifecycle, well, that's a good thing. You've got nearly 5 years of PS2 games to pick up cheap, as well as 10 years of PS1 games! There are a few big games still knocking around this year (Tekken 5, Devil May Cry) that aren't PSP bound to my knowledge, and a few (GTA, Gran Turismo) that are.

[baad bwoy]

I like the idea of stuff like VF4 evo, Gradius V, and maybe Ico + those games you mention.

[Concept]

No gamer should be without a PS2. It's utterly essential.

[Geoff D]

I
Is the ps2 worth getting this late in its lifecycle?

Most definitely. If you go without one then you're letting some of the best games this gen pass you by.

[Kotatsu Neko]

No gamer should be without a PS2. It's utterly essential.

Well that's not something I would agree with. ICO is the only game that ever really impressed me on PS2. Gradius 5 is nice, but not a patch on Radiant Silvergun or Ikaruga. Nothing else on PS2 has ever interested me.

As for PSP vs PS2, I'd skip both. Personally I'm much happier with a DS for innovation, a Gamecube for Nintendo games, and an Xbox as my media centre and for third party games once in a while.

PC is there too for the odd good FPS that comes along.

But then I rarely watch Hollywood movies, prefering the more original stuff that is coming out of other countries, such as Korea, Japan, China, HK, and from time to time France. Mainstream just doesn't interest me.

But if it had to be a PSP or a PS2, then surely it's a no brainer. PS2 is dirt cheap, and has lots of cheap games. PSP is very expensive, and has hardly any games. If it continues as it has started then it's releases will largely be re-runs of PS2 games in various forms. Which is enough to send anyone to sleep.

[C']

Most definately. There is not a single PS2 port on the PSP so far and whilst their are a lot of well-known franchises in the announced lineup many have been confirmed as being all new titles as opposed to direct ports.

[C']

Well that's not something I would agree with. ICO is the only game that ever really impressed me on PS2. Gradius 5 is nice, but not a patch on Radiant Silvergun or Ikaruga. Nothing else on PS2 has ever interested me.

As for PSP vs PS2, I'd skip both. Personally I'm much happier with a DS for innovation, a Gamecube for Nintendo games, and an Xbox as my media centre and for third party games once in a while.

PC is there too for the odd good FPS that comes along.

But then I rarely watch Hollywood movies, prefering the more original stuff that is coming out of other countries, such as Korea, Japan, China, HK, and from time to time France. Mainstream just doesn't interest me.

But if it had to be a PSP or a PS2, then surely it's a no brainer. PS2 is dirt cheap, and has lots of cheap games. PSP is very expensive, and has hardly any games. If it continues as it has started then it's releases will largely be re-runs of PS2 games in various forms. Which is enough to send anyone to sleep.

oh **** off and take your elitist nonesense with you.

[Concept]

Well that's not something I would agree with. ICO is the only game that ever really impressed me on PS2. Gradius 5 is nice, but not a patch on Radiant Silvergun or Ikaruga. Nothing else on PS2 has ever interested me.

We'll just have to disagree. I value the PS2's diversity.

[Baseley09]

PS2 is the default console.

Anything else is a bonus.

[in5ane]

Hmm, Kotatsu Neko, it sounds like either conciously or subconciously, you've decided to discredit anything remotely 'mainstream' for no reason other than it's mainstream-ness.

There are over 2000 games for the PS2, and you only like ONE!! And you say the PSP has very few games, whereas it already outnumbers the DS catalogue despite it's later launch.

I don't want to take this thread off topic, but it's ok to enjoy mainstream stuff you know

[Kotatsu Neko]

oh **** off and take your elitist nonesense with you.

I do enjoy a nice civilised debate.

[Concept]

Most definately. There is not a single PS2 port on the PSP so far and whilst their are a lot of well-known franchises in the announced lineup many have been confirmed as being all new titles as opposed to direct ports.

That's partially why the PSP attracts me. It seems to be to a format that's being host to reborn series. Ridge Racers and Wipeout Pure seem to be early examples.

The original likes of Lumines and Mercury also have me extremely excited for the fresh experiences it may be able to offer. Add these two aspects to playing established games, such as Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe on the move, and I feel the PSP can carve out its own niche away from the PS2.

The PSP and DS both offer an exciting future.

[bowser123]

I sort of agree with Kotatsu in that the PS2 doesn't have that many exclusives that appeal to me, but the ones it does have are superb. The PS2 is definitely my least used format, but it's best stuff is damn good.

Obviously there's ICO and Gradius as mentioned by him, but I'd also add Amplitude + Frequency, Gitaroo Man, Mad Maestro (so, so under rated), Ape Escape 2, Klonoa, Disgaea and Dark Chronicle.

There's also stuff like the Taiko games, Kamatari, Mojib and wordimagesoundplay that I'd love to play if my PS2 was modded.

Then there's loads of above average stuff like Jak, Ratchet and Clank, Castlevania, Dogs Life (heh, I like it) etc that are perfectly playable.

Obviously they may not be to his tastes, but I'd wager the majority wouldn't look out of place on a Nintendo machine if circumstances were different.

[C']

That's partially why the PSP attracts me. It seems to be to a format that's being host to salivaged series. Ridge Racers and Wipeout Pure seem to be early examples. And the original likes of Lumines and Mercury have me extremely excited for the fresh experiences it may be able to offer. Add these two aspects to playing established games, such as Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe on the move, and I feel the PSP can carve out its own niche away from the PS2.

The PSP and DS offer an exciting future.

Exactly.

Obviously this all boils down to what the developers do but so far a nice precedent has been set that whilst some names may be somewhat familiar, the game does well to build on what has gone before and take it forward in a completely natural way as opposed to making uneeded 'innovations' for the sake of being 'innovative' (whilst not a part of the series as such compare R:Racing to Ridge Racers. Whilst it is clear one of them has changed more than the other, I'd certainly not have to think twice about which I'd rather play).

Like yourself, I am truly excited about the prospects of the coming year (which definately seems to be Year of the Handheld). I've just come out of an 18 month stint of Final Fantasy XI Online and it feels like I've reappeared at just the right moment to be excited about gaming again.