Was GameCube more powerful than PS2 and Xbox?

Nintendo GameCube However, it's just as powerful, graphically, as the Xbox. "It would be stupid if it wasn't," Anthony said, "because it came out at the same time. It would have no excuse to have poorer-looking graphics." The GameCube's graphics processor is 162 MHz compared with PS2's 147 MHz.

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(Published in the March 2002 issue)

More: The Top Gaming Innovations of the past decade.

The Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2) finally has some competition. After standing virtually alone in the video game spotlight for the past year, life got interesting for the PS2 when Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube hit store shelves in November 2001. If you're trying to decide which console to purchase, we understand your confusion. We know you've been deluged with articles highlighting the differences between the systems, but most of those pieces were written before the consoles were available. We decided to hold off giving you our opinions until all three consoles were in our hands--and ready to play.

We Want It All

We had an opportunity to see the demos before the consoles were completed and in stores. Microsoft and Nintendo held several press events at which journalists could play the games, but PM felt it made more sense to put all three consoles together and create a realistic testing ground. And who better to help us with this shootout than the real gaming experts--teenage boys?

We asked three self-proclaimed gamers--Richard Goldstein, Anthony Tamalonis and Matthew Weinberger, ages 14 to 15--to put each of the machines through its paces, and help us pick out any variances we may have missed during all those separate beta tests.

Testing, 1-2-3

These guys have been waiting for the new consoles since the middle of last year. "Richie had a timer counting down the days until the Xbox came out," says Elliot Goldstein, Richard's dad. "And we made him sell his other game system on eBay before we bought the Xbox." Listen up parents. There's wisdom in those words. On the floor in a dark room we lined up the PS2, the Xbox and the GameCube in front of a 27-in. Panasonic Tau PureFlat TV. Next to the TV stood a stack of games. The boys were seated on the floor, chomping at the bit. In order to make sure it would be a fair fight, we used the same game for all the boxes: Midway Games' NHL Hitz 20-02, which was sent to us in three formats. As for the game discs, both the PS2 and Xbox use discs the size of a CD, while the GameCube uses a smaller 3-in. disc. When it comes to the actual specs, the Xbox is the most powerful with a 733-MHz processor, leaving PS2 and GameCube in the dust at 295 and 485 MHz, respectively. It also comes with a 233-MHz graphics processor and 64MB of total memory. But instead of dial-up capability, the Xbox allows only a broadband connection for Internet gaming.

Microsoft Xbox

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The guys were especially psyched to try the Xbox--the newest of the three consoles--so we threw in the disc and went to work. When the hockey players skated onto the ice, we were all impressed with the details: the reflections on the ice, the ads on the sides of the rink and the detail put into physical characteristics of the individual athletes, even their shadows. "The picture's so clear and the faces are much more realistic," said Richard. Then, a game announcer's voice, sounding like the real deal, boomed over the music playing in the background. "Tonight in Dallas, the New York Rangers clash with the Dallas Stars." The game buzzer sounded, and the heat was on. The first thing we noticed was how the ice shavings flew from underneath the players' skates. We could hear the sound of their blades cutting across the ice--and the action was frenetic. "Look, that guy's helmet fell off!" Anthony yelled. The Xbox's controller is much bigger than those of the other consoles, but Richard, for one, preferred it. "It feels heavy, like you're really holding something. And it fits right in your hands." Matthew got the hang of the controller after a few minutes of play, and even managed to get his player into a good fight. Of course, what impressed our testers most was the Xbox's memory. It comes as a hard drive instead of a memory card and measures 8GB, which reduces game-loading time significantly and lets you rip your own soundtracks for games.

Sony PlayStation 2

Next, we plugged in the PS2. It's the console we've come to know and love, but the differences in image quality were obvious from the start. "See, the reflections on the ice are much more blurry, and you don't see the ice chips flying," Anthony said. Our testers also noted that the players' facial features were less sharp and the motion was sluggish compared to the Xbox. "You can't even tell if you're hitting the puck or not," Richard said. "It's just not as elaborate." But, one thing everyone liked is the PlayStation 2's ability to play DVDs. The GameCube doesn't play movies, and to play DVDs on the Xbox you have to purchase a separate DVD Movie Playback Kit ($29), which unlocks this feature in the hardware. Though the other consoles were clearly more powerful, the boys are still big fans of the PS2. Matthew said that of the three manufacturers, PlayStation offers the best games. "You can get almost anything you want, plus, I think the Xbox controller's too big. I think the PS2 controller is just right."

Nintendo GameCube

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The GameCube is the smallest console by far--and its snazzy purple casing makes it stand out. As Richard put it, "It's the baby." However, it's just as powerful, graphically, as the Xbox. "It would be stupid if it wasn't," Anthony said, "because it came out at the same time. It would have no excuse to have poorer-looking graphics." The GameCube's graphics processor is 162 MHz compared with PS2's 147 MHz. While acknowledging that the GameCube is more powerful than the PS2, Matthew said he still prefers the PlayStation because of its games. It's important to note, however, that Nintendo has a loyal following for many of its proprietary games. Remember, Nintendo is the proud inventor of Donkey Kong and the Mario Brothers games (which we at PM hold close to our heart). Starting NHL Hitz, we noticed that, indeed, the images did look about the same as they did with the Xbox, though the boys agreed that the reflections on the ice weren't as clear, and the motion was not as sluggish as the PS2. "It's much smoother, and there are less vibrations in the movement than the PS2," Matthew told us. Richard thought the GameCube would be more suited for younger kids. "Because it's smaller and easier to control," he said, "and there's less to figure out. Plus, the controller is much too small and it doesn't have enough buttons. It feels like it could easily break." As for the console's smaller game disc, it doesn't change anything when it comes to the game itself. It has 40MB of total memory compared with Sony's 32MB.The problem is, it can only play games. "You can't play CDs, there's no hard drive, no built-in modem," Matthew said. "It is what it is."