Playstation question???

[Divameow77]

My 10 year old wants a PS2. He has a Game Cube but we are starting to notice that there are not many games for it since the Wii has come out. My fiance (live-in) has a Wii and a PS3 that are in the living room, he lets him play them some but it's the family TV so he can't play whenever her wants and he can't play the Wii at all unless we are supervising (damn thing is too fragile). I'm NOT buying him a PS3 for his bedroom, not for $500.

My question is: Will Sony continue to make games for the PS2 for a few years or will they focus on the PS3?

[AllegroRondo]

1. a good rule of thumb

the lead time to make a video game is about 3 years. so about 3 years after the 'next generation' system comes out, you will stop seeing games for the older system it replaced. When did PS3 come out - around December of 2005? So you have at least one more year of new games for it. And you will continue to find games for it at the used game stores and bargain bins for a good while after that, too.

[Divameow77]

4. The PS3

came out last December.

Thanks for your response, that really helps. I think since you can play most PS2 games on the PS3 it might be worth it to replace his Game Cube.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Yes, it is.

:P

[Divameow77]

3. Poo

on you :P

[SteppingRazor]

5. They've announced that they will continue to make games...

through 2010 at least. I've got a PS2 myself, and there are so many games available for it, I'm not going to bother with anything else for years. Even after they stop making games, there's such a huge back catalog that I doubt I'll ever be without something new to try.

Also, a great thing about the PS line is that the new systems play the old systems' games, so once your son finally does get that PS3 (when the price drops in a couple years), he'll be able to play all his old PS2 games on the new PS3.

All that said, while the PS3 is still very expensive, the Wii is only marginally more costly than the PS2. So, if your kid desperately wants next-gen, he may prefer a Wii over a PS2.

Personally, I'd go with the PS2 I have over the Wii. These are new systems, and software programmers haven't yet realized their full potential. Compare early PS2 games to, say, God of War 2 (the greatest game ever on any system ever made, says I!), and you'll see what I mean.

On the other hand, the Wii seems to be specifically targeted to folks your son's age. A lot of the games are definitely playable by age 10, as opposed to the PS2, which is often a bit darker.

[Divameow77]

6. I get you

My concern with getting him a Wii, is how darn fragile the things are and he doesn't have much room in his bedroom to actually "play" it.

Great advice :-)