Support NeoGAF

[UnravelKatharsis]

Not at all. I still play my PS2, and I still watch those movies.

Comparing a few movies to an entire console library of 2,000 games isn't exactly fair either.

Next caller please

Oh ok I thought you were reasonable. My mistake.

This shouldn't have to be explained. Wether it's a few movies or a whole library of games it makes no difference. Once you've found the best of anything, why bother with anything else? It won't compare.

No offense but it's honestly kind of a stupid question and if you don't accept my answer it seems like there is no answer you'd accept.

Variety is the spice of life.

 

[Tschumi]

I think they're trying to speak in relative terms, think about how important the console was. I don't think they're quite saying that's as good as it gets and it'll never get better - just that, compared to its contemporaries, it was the best. And like that 'best'ness was far superior to any other console. Which I dunno, is itself open to debate.

Maybe they're not, maybe some people genuinely think, say, God of War 1 and 2 are better than God of War reboot... I personally can't possibly feel that way because the gameplay is chalk and cheese, and the gameplay in the reboot is just miles better. But yeah, this is subjective because I have never really liked any Hack'n'Slash games save Spartan: Total Warrior on my old chipped xBox~

I'm gonna be real here. With the exception of a very few titles which came along which I thought were historically relevant and had to be played (Pillars of Eternity, Starcraft 2, probably Age of Empires 4 if it's not too mangled, Doom 2016, Half Life 3, and the like) all of the games I keep buying are purely an exercise of impulse purchasing and addiciton. Someone help me please.

 

[NomenNescio]

It is the "best ever" when appreciated within its historical context. Obviously PS2 hardware and software has been far surpassed a long time ago, and pale when directly compared to what we currently have. Games today are achieving much greater things, but only in strictly technological terms. PS2, when it came to sheer quality of entertainment, was Sony at the peak of their power. But those experiences, by today standards, are obviously obsolete.

I hope one day we're graced again with games as groundbreaking as Snake Eater, Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill 2, among so many others, in a row within the same gen, like we were in PS2 times.

 

[teezzy]

Oh ok I thought you were reasonable. My mistake.

This shouldn't have to be explained. Wether it's a few movies or a whole library of games it makes no difference. Once you've found the best of anything, why bother with anything else? It won't compare.

No offense but it's honestly kind of a stupid question and if you don't accept my answer it seems like there is no answer you'd accept.

Variety is the spice of life.

I didnt say I dont play new games. I have a One S and an RTX 2070 for a reason. This was just a thought I had while taking a dump. It's a fun discussion nonetheless. Thanks for conversing, friend.

 

[teezzy]

@Tschumi

*weeps in Steam library*

 

[Trogdor1123]

To experience the new stuff still? Just cause it has a great library doesn't mean it has everything... Isnt this obvious?

 

[Yoboman]

Its all relative

A lot of games that felt incredible in that era would be absolute trash released in the same state today

 

[UnravelKatharsis]

I didnt say I dont play new games. I have a One S and an RTX 2070 for a reason. This was just a thought I had while taking a dump. It's a fun discussion nonetheless. Thanks for conversing, friend.

I understand and I didn't think you don't play new games. I just don't see there being a definitive answer to your question other than, no one ever stops at "best thing ever."

If steak is your favorite meat, why ever eat chicken? Fish? Pork? Turkey? Ground beef?

If you have a favorite movie, why watch anything else?

Moving on from ps2 doesn't diminish it's greatness. And just because I only played a hundred or so ps2 games doesn't mean I want to play the two thousand I missed.

You asked "why do people even bother playing the newer games or getting hyped for PS5/Series X when they already have their favorite so readily available?"


No matter how good a thing is you will get bored of it. We have a finite amount of time to experience the world and everything In it. I guess I'd rather experience a wider range of good things than just what I think is best

 

[Zog]

So, why do we bother with the new consoles when the so-called 'greatest ever' already exist?

What if people thought that the SNES was the greatest console ever and then the PS2 took that title for them? What if they had never tried the PS2?

 

[Rentahamster]

Just because you think something is the best doesn't mean everything else is invalidated or that you don't seek out new experiences.

Perspective, OP.

 

[eyesabitdull]

You dont stop having sex after you have the best sex of your life do you?

Literally no other replies needed.

What an odd thread that really makes me question the thought process in the creation of this thread in the first place.

Do you stop taking a dump too once you've taken the most relieving dump in the world that shooketh the core of your heart by how amazing that felt?

What an odd thread, truly.

 

[supernova8]

The Playstation 2 has an amazing library, and so much of it perseveres in terms of overall quality to an insanely strong degree to this day. The sixth generation of consoles all hold a very special place in my heart, and the Playstation 2 was undeniably the hands-down winner of that generation, despite not packing the most horsepower inside the plastic casing when compared to either the Gamecube or Xbox. The library was phenomenal, including full PS1 backwards compatibility, and had more exclusives than you could shake a stick at. So much so, that I'm still discovering new favorites on PS2 in 2020 that I never got a chance to play previously.

For these reason, people often consider the Playstation 2 to be the greatest console ever. I've read this opinion stated objectively countless times on this forum alone. In my opinion, Xbox 360 absolutely gave it a run for its money and if you consider that Xbox One plays a good amount of Original Xbox and 360 titles as well.... you could even make an argument there too - but so few do.

This argument isn't exclusive to the PS2 though. People will say this about SNES, Dreamcast, etc.

I guess my question is, why do people even bother playing the newer games or getting hyped for PS5/Series X when they already have their favorite so readily available?

I don't buy the story that most people have played all there is to play on a library as diverse as PS2/PS1 combined (or 360/Xbox for the sake of argument) yet. Both Sony and Microsoft spent a lot of money on research and development towards new technologies and studio acquisitions to secure that their upcoming products continuously provide a superior gaming experience to their previous iterations. Shouldn't this ensure a better gaming experience overall? Doesn't the truth of GAF focusing so heavily on next gen and current gen right now reflect that directly? Why aren't we all still talking about Dark Cloud 2?!!

As much as I love the now-classics, there's plenty of modern QoL features which retro titles just can't deliver on, and sometimes formerly well regarded games age like milk and feel awfully clunky compared to their modern counterparts.

So, why do we bother with the new consoles when the so-called 'greatest ever' already exist? How many people here apart from myself still even have a PS2 hooked up? What about your original Xbox? Gamecube? Do you play them more than your PS4, Xbox One, and/or Switch?

Something tells me you know exactly what people mean when they say "X is the greatest Y ever" and you're just being daft to warrant this equally daft thread.

 

[UnravelKatharsis]

Literally no other replies needed.

What an odd thread that really makes me question the thought process in the creation of this thread in the first place.

Do you stop taking a dump too once you've taken the most relieving dump in the world that shooketh the core of your heart by how amazing that felt?

What an odd thread, truly.

Makes no sense to me either but we fell into the trap.

 

[lock2k]

The Playstation 2 has an amazing library, and so much of it perseveres in terms of overall quality to an insanely strong degree to this day. The sixth generation of consoles all hold a very special place in my heart, and the Playstation 2 was undeniably the hands-down winner of that generation, despite not packing the most horsepower inside the plastic casing when compared to either the Gamecube or Xbox. The library was phenomenal, including full PS1 backwards compatibility, and had more exclusives than you could shake a stick at. So much so, that I'm still discovering new favorites on PS2 in 2020 that I never got a chance to play previously.

For these reason, people often consider the Playstation 2 to be the greatest console ever. I've read this opinion stated objectively countless times on this forum alone. In my opinion, Xbox 360 absolutely gave it a run for its money and if you consider that Xbox One plays a good amount of Original Xbox and 360 titles as well.... you could even make an argument there too - but so few do.

This argument isn't exclusive to the PS2 though. People will say this about SNES, Dreamcast, etc.

I guess my question is, why do people even bother playing the newer games or getting hyped for PS5/Series X when they already have their favorite so readily available?

I don't buy the story that most people have played all there is to play on a library as diverse as PS2/PS1 combined (or 360/Xbox for the sake of argument) yet. Both Sony and Microsoft spent a lot of money on research and development towards new technologies and studio acquisitions to secure that their upcoming products continuously provide a superior gaming experience to their previous iterations. Shouldn't this ensure a better gaming experience overall? Doesn't the truth of GAF focusing so heavily on next gen and current gen right now reflect that directly? Why aren't we all still talking about Dark Cloud 2?!!

As much as I love the now-classics, there's plenty of modern QoL features which retro titles just can't deliver on, and sometimes formerly well regarded games age like milk and feel awfully clunky compared to their modern counterparts.

So, why do we bother with the new consoles when the so-called 'greatest ever' already exist? How many people here apart from myself still even have a PS2 hooked up? What about your original Xbox? Gamecube? Do you play them more than your PS4, Xbox One, and/or Switch?

My favorite genre is fighting games and PS2 has a crapload of them. Many are exclusive. I'm platform agnostic and I also love the Xbox consoles and I also like to play newer stuff so I keep buying consoles from all brands when possible. But the PS2 remains unbeatable for my tastes because of the humongous fighting library. It also has games for any kind of genre possible. A juggernaut of a console.

 

[BigBooper]

People like to argue.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Because they know the truth.

Games have been getting objectively better as time passes.

In other words, old men yell at clouds.

 

[Northeastmonk]

The Dreamcast did well with Soul Calibur and Code Veronica at the time. It just didn’t stay at that pace for very long. The PS2 had Squaresoft, Capcom, Konami, and other various developers creating new ideas and Sony had the platform for them. The Dreamcast had a lot of hype to it. Sega had arcade graphics and a laundry list of new ideas. It was just not implemented very well when it was time to compete. You had a long list of franchises that had their start on the PS2.

Games got better because they were improved upon greatly. Even though Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, Silent Hill 2, Devil May Cry, Grand Theft Auto III/VC/SA, and etc came out. There was still room to improve upon what was created. “Spiritual Successor” is a term I’d use. More recent examples are BioShock being the spiritual successor to System Shock. Sekiro is in someways the spiritual successor to Tenchu. It all sorta birthed itself or at least got started somewhere. That was the best part of the PS2. Metal Gear Solid took what it did so well on PS1 and created another loyal fanbase on PS2. Silent Hill and various other games were the same way.

I recently replayed Symphony of the Night. I originally finished that on PS1. Bloodstained and a bunch of other GBA Castlevania games were created after Symphony of the Night. If you enjoyed SOTN’s formula then you probably played the GBA, NDS, and the Bloodstained games. New versions of old IP’s were crafted from the PS2 generation. You still see games that came from that gen get made today. Would you want to replay GTAIII or Devil May Cry for the 100th time? For the most part, you get to a point where you have a favorite game or at least something to bring up in conversation. For some people that’s Final Fantasy X or Grand Theft Auto III. That was a game that further established itself in the medium. For some, that’s enough. They aren’t exactly wanting to replace that or discover a whole other role playing series. Some people just want to move onto something better or they don’t care. People who don’t play games today will often remember the PS2 gen or even the NES gen. Ideas came from pre-existing ideas and people curious about games received a much more defined version of what was considered a classic.

Even if King’s Field was cryptic with its majestic world, nothing stopped Demon’s Souls from establishing and even replacing that franchise. That brought on Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and etc. Now we are going back to the beginning with Demon’s Souls. It was established yes, but it was improved upon greatly due to new ideas and technology. Same could be said about a possible Metal Gear Solid or Silent Hill Remake in the future. It got better because people took those ideas and either improved upon them or they crafted something from their existence. The PS2 was the foundation for a lot of games we play today. I just don’t think people have the patience to stay in that mindset. They want bigger, faster, and smarter. Imagine an IP being crafted because someone didn’t like what one franchise did? Some franchises have to reinvent what they established on PS1 and PS2 because what got the point across then can’t do the same thing today. Tank controls for instance. It’s great if you enjoy them, but we all knew what happened when they made the modern version.
We see hybrid genres being applied to existing franchises. Resident Evil Village is first person and it has established itself after already gaining a very large fanbase. A lot of that success took time and it all came from somewhere.

I think a lot of people are sorta set in their ways. Not the “Final Fantasy VII is better than VI” debate. It’s more like “I owned it at its prime and thus its superior to something that looks different”. I for one am glad we moved beyond the PS2. A lot of games grew and grew along the way. There will always be a point where it feels like they hit their peak and that’s probably been the case with most popular franchises. It’s just that it’s gotten better for the most part. Instead of playing Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition on PS2, my best port is on the Switch. When I want something more I play Devil May Cry V because that new RE engine makes everything look and play awesome

 

[ReBurn]

Well, the main reason is that they aren't making games for the old consoles any more.

 

[Kdad]

The Playstation 2 has an amazing library, and so much of it perseveres in terms of overall quality to an insanely strong degree to this day. The sixth generation of consoles all hold a very special place in my heart, and the Playstation 2 was undeniably the hands-down winner of that generation, despite not packing the most horsepower inside the plastic casing when compared to either the Gamecube or Xbox. The library was phenomenal, including full PS1 backwards compatibility, and had more exclusives than you could shake a stick at. So much so, that I'm still discovering new favorites on PS2 in 2020 that I never got a chance to play previously.

For these reason, people often consider the Playstation 2 to be the greatest console ever. I've read this opinion stated objectively countless times on this forum alone. In my opinion, Xbox 360 absolutely gave it a run for its money and if you consider that Xbox One plays a good amount of Original Xbox and 360 titles as well.... you could even make an argument there too - but so few do.

This argument isn't exclusive to the PS2 though. People will say this about SNES, Dreamcast, etc.

I guess my question is, why do people even bother playing the newer games or getting hyped for PS5/Series X when they already have their favorite so readily available?

I don't buy the story that most people have played all there is to play on a library as diverse as PS2/PS1 combined (or 360/Xbox for the sake of argument) yet. Both Sony and Microsoft spent a lot of money on research and development towards new technologies and studio acquisitions to secure that their upcoming products continuously provide a superior gaming experience to their previous iterations. Shouldn't this ensure a better gaming experience overall? Doesn't the truth of GAF focusing so heavily on next gen and current gen right now reflect that directly? Why aren't we all still talking about Dark Cloud 2?!!

As much as I love the now-classics, there's plenty of modern QoL features which retro titles just can't deliver on, and sometimes formerly well regarded games age like milk and feel awfully clunky compared to their modern counterparts.

So, why do we bother with the new consoles when the so-called 'greatest ever' already exist? How many people here apart from myself still even have a PS2 hooked up? What about your original Xbox? Gamecube? Do you play them more than your PS4, Xbox One, and/or Switch?

Best blow job I ever had was at a pool party when I was 18...doesn't mean I haven't tried to top it in the 30 years since....

 

[The Fartist]

Just because you have a favourite food doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat other foods.

Mm.. Food

 

[teezzy]

Just because you have a favourite food doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat other foods.

I have a very strict diet.

 

[GardenOfAbbylon]

New games being released. Simple as that.

 

[Kamina]

I have a very strict diet.

It’s licking feet right?

 

[teezzy]

It’s licking feet right?

 

[bender]

PS2 generation was great because games weren't so expensive to make which made publishers and developers less risk averse. We also had less standardization in controls and game mechanics so we were often left with, for better or worse, more unique games. This all started to change with the X360 era and was somewhat offset with the rise in popularity of Indie games. The PS4 generation feels like a natural evolution of the homogenization brought forth by the previous generation and as we are on the cusp of a new generation, it just seems like a further evolution.

People buy new consoles for new experiences so the premise of this thread is odd. These new generation might not live up nostalgia we hold for older generations but it doesn't mean they don't provide great experiences.

I have my PS2 hooked up as I wanted to play Silent Hill 2 without Comic Sans.

 

[teezzy]

PS2 generation was great because games weren't so expensive to make which made publishers and developers less risk averse. We also had less standardization in controls and game mechanics so we were often left with, for better or worse, more unique games. This all started to change with the X360 era and was somewhat offset with the rise in popularity of Indie games. The PS4 generation feels like a natural evolution of the homogenization brought forth by the previous generation and as we are on the cusp of a new generation, it just seems like a further evolution.

People buy new consoles for new experiences so the premise of this thread is odd. These new generation might not live up nostalgia we hold for older generations but it doesn't mean they don't provide great experiences.

I have my PS2 hooked up as I wanted to play Silent Hill 2 without Comic Sans.

 

[bender]

 

[justiceiro]

1. Even if I got my favorite meal everyday i eventually would want something else.

2. It also means that I hope that I eventually they will make a console even better.

 

[Jeeves]

Just because I enjoyed A more than I'm enjoying B doesn't mean I don't enjoy B at all, or want to miss out on it. A will always be there for me to go back to.

 

[DAHGAMING]

We live in hope there will be anotner gen to match the greatest or better it. Untill that comes we must keep spending our benefit money supplied by the hard working tax payer on all the consoles, pc and games we can.

 

[Neff]

1) PS2 is not the best console of all time, it's not even the best PlayStation.
2) I'm not just going to sit around eating my favourite meal forever without trying anything else.
3) This thread is stupid.

 

[teezzy]

1) PS2 is not the best console of all time, it's not even the best PlayStation.
2) I'm not just going to sit around eating my favourite meal forever without trying anything else.
3) This thread is stupid.

What's your favorite console and top 3 games for it?

 

[cireza]

How many people here apart from myself still even have a PS2 hooked up? What about your original Xbox? Gamecube? Do you play them more than your PS4, Xbox One, and/or Switch?

Currently plugged and ready to play :
MegaDrive+MegaCD+32X
Saturn
Xbox OG
Wii U
Dreamcast
NES
(coming soon Xbox Series)
CRT and HD TV

Also : Vita, Game Gear and Switch.

Best console of all time ? MegaDrive or Saturn.
Still playing them as much as recent consoles ? Maybe, all my consoles get a good share of my free time. A lot of Wii U since I got the console, day-one.
Because I love older consoles, I have no right to enjoy recent ones ? The answer is : Wrong, of course I have the right to enjoy recent consoles.

 

[ChoosableOne]

I have my favourite trolls on internet but that didn't stop me from liking your post op.

 

[Hudo]

Just because I enjoyed A more than I'm enjoying B doesn't mean I don't enjoy B at all, or want to miss out on it. A will always be there for me to go back to.

 

[teezzy]

I have my favourite trolls on internet but that didn't stop me from liking your post op.

Man was born to love. Though often he has sought like Icarus, to fly too high, and far too lonely than he ought. To kiss the sun of east and west, and hold the world at his behest. To hold the terrible power to whom only gods are blessed. But me, I am just a man who wants to talk about old games, dude.

 

[teezzy]

Currently plugged and ready to play :
MegaDrive+MegaCD+32X
Saturn
Xbox OG
Wii U
Dreamcast
NES
(coming soon Xbox Series)
CRT and HD TV

Also : Vita, Game Gear and Switch.

Best console of all time ? MegaDrive or Saturn.
Still playing them as much as recent consoles ? Maybe, all my consoles get a good share of my free time. A lot of Wii U since I got the console, day-one.
Because I love older consoles, I have no right to enjoy recent ones ? The answer is : Wrong, of course I have the right to enjoy recent consoles.

I'm in a similar boat man.

All three Xboxes, PS2, PSP, and a three monitor setup for my PC with a CRT. I've got PVMs too.

Thread is really just for funsies. I'm glad to see theres others here who spend just as much time playing the classics as modern stuff. It's all love.

 

[TonyK]

I tasted the best meal in my life a few years ago, yet I still eating new meals because, you know, being alive and such.

 

[mcz117chief]

It WAS the best at the time but isn't anymore. I still have my PS2 plugged in but I play it only a few times a year. If it were 2001 and I had to pick between PS2 or PS4pro I would 100% pick PS4pro, but since back then the best we had was PS2 I got PS2.

 

[playXray]

No-one thinks that PS2 is the best console ever. They think it was the best console ever for its time.

 

[jonnyp]

Deary me....

 

[teezzy]

No-one thinks that PS2 is the best console ever.

I do

 

[ZywyPL]

Same way no one want' to use Nokia 3310 nowadays, time simply moves on and you along with it. Which doesn't change the fact that PS2 did pretty much everything right from the get-go throughout its entire lifespan, which cannot be said about other consoles released ever since.

 

[Compsiox]

Rainbow Six Siege is the best shooter ever, yet I still play all other shooters.

 

[AV]

Thing 1 is great
Thing 2 is good
Thing 1 being better than Thing 2 doesn't mean that Thing 2 is useless

 

[Cato]

PS2 is a really great console. Possibly the best ever, or one of the best.
Sorry if this makes your butt hurt.

What makes the PS2 so great? The catalog of course. but also that it was an interesting platform to write software for.
Still to this day it has a mature audience of developers and well maintained SDK for homebrew. IMHO even better SDK and more well maintained than PS3.
I write and port software to PS2 event this day. Because it is fun.

Is great console, it brings joy, what else do you ask for?

 

[danielJackson]

I have PS2 (had around 15 different consoles of them, sold 6-9 away)

I had over 900-1000 PS2 games, still have maybe 350-500 left

I have 14" crt for ps2, gamecube, snes, nes on side table

I have multiple systems above those, and hundreds of games

I rarely play those games, I havent even booted 90% of my ps2 collection

I drown in games, send help

 

[turtlepowa]

Seriously? Everbody has a favorite movie/book/game/song/console or whatever, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy other things. Greatest food ever is pizza, guess what, i only eat it once or twice per month.

 

[Yoshi]

I don't quite get the point of this question. Because games are stopped being made for old systems, so staying on the system is less attractive than buying new systems. At least if your taste is as limited as mine, there are usually at most 50 games per console that you can enjoy a lot. So even if those 50 games on system A are the best out of all consoles, system B's 50 most fitting games are likely to be much more enjoyable than games 51-100 on system A.

 

[Stilton Disco]

What a stupid question.

Do you never eat any other food than the one flavour you consider to taste the best? Do you only ever listen to one song? Read one book? Take one holiday? Wank over one pornstar?

Whenever you have more than a single non identical object, regardless of what it is, there will always be one amongst them that is the best.

That does not, however, invalidate the existence or remove the value of all the others, nor eliminate the possibility that another, better individual will superceded the previous one to become 'the best'.

Consoles in particular are a silly example to pick as to there being a pinnacle that invalidates further experiences. Taking the PS2 as an example, it may well be considered the best by most due to it's library, generational leap in graphics and ferrules, and the amount of games those people were able to play on it due to the circumstances in their lives at the time.

Today however, it would appear dated visually, many games are clunky and with poor controls compared to the improvements made since, and most who played it then do not have as much free time to get that same enjoyment out of the experience as they did when they were younger. Never mind the fact that they have already played those games, lived through the twists, innovations and surprises, and thus would not gain an identical enjoyment out of a repeated experience.

TLDR: there will always be a 'best console', but that doesn't mean there cannot exist other great ones that are a continuation of the same enjoyment you received from that 'best ever'.

Now stop being a massive twat.