I'm not up on this stuff, but thought about getting one of these for my girls (ages are 5 and 9).  Which one is the biggest bang for the buck?  

One of my sisters want me to get the Playstation2 since that's what she is getting her boys for Christmas and said we could share games.  Not a bad idea.

If I go with the playstation, what accessories should I get?

Thanks for any help.

vmax84

I'm in the same situation.

From what I can tell Xbox has the highest performance and best features, hacks, etc.

Playstation though has considerably more games, particularly more preschool and female games.

I'm sure there are people out there that are more into this than me with their opinions though.

Good luck!

Edited to add:  Don't know about Game Cube, but wanted to make sure that I got some enjoyment out of it by going with PS2

well being the young'in I am.. the ps2, has a lot of games, easy controls, and for younger girls, and them xbox controls.. it just won't work out good, besides xbox makes not many games for younger kids.. and the playstation2 and xbox has about the same graphics IMO, nintendo gamecube might be the best though.. since they're a lot of cartoonish type games, and they'll like that, and the controls aren't that hard to manage.. so yeah, i'd go with the gamecube

XBOX

DAMMMMMMMM, I just purchased an xbox for my kids for xmas. Well, for the past week after they go to bed I unbox the darn thing and play the hell out of it. I actually spent like 500 bucks on games. I think daddy is going to take it over after xmas morning..

^^^^^^
hahahah, i'm amazed, most parents i know don't even know how to turn them game consoles an that on.

You summed it up and drove the point home nicely.  XBOX is Daddy's toy.  PS2 is the best option for family gaming, for all the reasons listed above.  

GameCube isn't even an option.

[b]If I go with the playstation, what accessories should I get?[/b]

A memory card and an extra controller.

Game cube is designed from children, the graphics have a cartoon quality and the controls are super-simple.

PS2 is a fun all around console

Xbox is definitely a grown-ups system, lots of cool games.

So you need to ask yourself, How much are you going to play with the system?!!?

How about books? Novel idea, eh.

get them chillins' some twenty-twos.

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my ps2 with 6 games including socom the navy seal game you can really talk and command your troops.. never have time to play it..

so how thick ARE your glasses hehehe?  

I'd agree with your recommendation of the GC for kids, but I'd also go ahead and recommend the PS2...they have so many kids oriented games out for that system, you'd have to consider it if it's only for kids.  

As for hardware, though, the PS2 sucks hind tit behind both the GC and the Xbox...I've had all three, and the PS2 just looks shi**y compared to the other two...and the component cable for the PS2 is a complete waste of $40...it makes virtually no difference.  

If you can find ANY PS2 game that looks as good as the XBox version of Dead or Alive 3 in 480p, I'd like to see it; or any Xbox game that's not a straight port of a PS2 title, for that matter.  
I've sold both of the PS2s I've had over the last couple of years...I just keep it around for GT3, and I get tired of that after a while.  Plus, with Project Gotham 2 and Xbox online, who needs it lol.