It really depends on what you like to play Sculli. I don't own and X-Box, but my roomate has his in the living room, so.. I know what it has to offer. I do however own a PS2, and I've had it eversince about 2 weeks after its release (remember how everywhere was sold out or preorderd, I had mine pre-ordered and I still had to wait a little bit. There was also that thing where 1 out of every 10 PS2's were defective and didnt work. Thankfully I got a working one.)
If your a hardcore RPG fan, then by all means id say get a PS2. The sheer selection of RPG's playable on the PS2 is incredible, mainly due to its ability to play Playstation games. (another reason to buy it too, one system that can play old games as well as new is always good in my book) Backwards compatabilty rules. ^^ The system also had roughly a year lead on the other two consoles. Also, if you like the Final Fantasy series, its almost all available on the playstation format in one way or another and is only exclusive to it, out of the big 3 consoles that is. There are also other titles that are pretty much PS/PS2 exslusive. Like the Resident Evil series, the original series is just for that system. New RE games are Game Cube exclusives, but eh, its all for the best. (the new RE games are quite amazing)
As far as graphics go, some PS2 games are trying their best to push what the PS2 can do. Seriously though, if your interested in what game is going to look best and be good. Well, don't come to PS2 for that, or atleast don't come with high hopes. While PS2 is still alive and kicking, it really just can't stack up to what the X-Box and Game Cube are capable of.
If your a big sports game fan, then by all means get an X-Box, its a system overrun with sports titles, and the titles are going to generally run best (smoother) on X-box or Game Cube, PS2 just comes in last. This really applies for all kinds of games, PS2 just can't match smoother gameplay than the other two systems can.
X-Box also has the best online support. Microsoft really put a lot into its ability to play games online with other people. (personally I wish Nintendo had put more thought into this; PSO I&II could have been so much better)
Almost all sports titles on X-Box are able to have some kind of online game play with other real people. Also, almost all X-Box games for that matter have some kind of X-Box Live component, be it downloading new maps, or new vehicles or new whatever.
And now, infact I believe today is the release of the first fighting game that may successfully have online play against other people. I'm talking about Dead or Alive: Ultimate. If this game lives true to what ive read, heard and watched about it. It may very well be a great day to be an X-Box owner with X-Box Live. Supposadly(sp?) the online play against another real person will be realtime, with no hangups or lag. Techmo and Team Ninja have been working real hard on making that part of the game be as flawless as possible. Since ofcourse, getting that part right is the hardest thing to do.
As a person who's played both systems and even owns a PS2, I can tell you right now that out of those two consoles the X-Box is the best console hands down. Also, I will note that, if you want a wider game selection, Playstation 2 has an enormous upper hand, though finding a lot of the older titles may require a trip to ebay or if you happen to know a real good place near you that sells older or used games, check it out.
Basically what it all boils down to, is what kind of games you like to play.
So, Sculli, what kind of games do you see yourself investing money in?
I could probably tell you what system your better off with that way.
