Ok I got my X-BOX earlier this week and spent some quality time with itand now as an owner of all 3 systems I feel a bit more comfortable comparing the three. To start out with I am not a fan boy for any system although I do feel a bit nostalagic towards the big N. I bought my systems in the following order PS2-GC-XBOX. PS2 got my money first for a couple reasons. First was the backward compatiblity because of it I wa sable to sell my PS1 for $50 which took a good chunk out of the cost of buying the PS2. If Microsoft thinks not being backward compatible won't hurt them in the next generation cycle they are wrong and it just may make them be the last console I buy in that generation too. The PS2 also stuck with pretty much the same controller as well which was genius because it felt comfortable right off the bat. Game cube got to be second because it was cheaper and the strong first party games. Although it seems every generation they do something stupid when it comes to their consoles. For the N-64 it was being so stubborn with sticking to cartridges and then with the cube it was the small disks which made playing dvds impossible and their total ignoring of internet games(For how many people here was the PS2 their first dvd player? Who knows how much nintendo lost in sales for being so stubborn. Microsoft got my money last because even though in my opinion it is the best console hardware wise it had no games to back it up. The PS2 kicks everybodies ass in their third party support and the N has its proven first party titles. The Box had three games unique to their system that I would qualify as must plays Halo, Ninja Gaiden and KOTOR. It's a shame they didn't have more titles because quality wise I love the X-BOX it really feels right and if every system had the same games it would be the one I would buy. Now with the next generation it is looking like my console purchases will be in pretty much the same order. Although this time I am waiting until every system has been out for a while before I make my purchase. I will not let the mania hit me like it did with the PS2. those games and sytems will be available to me two years down the road just the same as in launch and will probably be cheaper as well as a better machine(Like how Sony improved on its buggy DRe hamprered first batch of PS2s) My advice would be to the developers is stop worrying about your system get the dame games to back it up. In my opnion hardware wise the PS2 beat a surperior X-Box because it had the games behind it.