A Boy's-Eye Look at the Consoles

Thirteen-year-old Matthew has played all three. Here, he lets go of the controllers for a few minutes to tell us what he thinks

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December 13, 2001 at 5:00 AM UTC

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GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 are the three most advanced and popular video-game consoles on the market. They have some similarities but also many differences -- including graphics, their controllers, and the games available. Which one is best for you depends on what you like to do with it -- apart from playing games, some consoles can play CDs, DVDs, and/or connect to the Internet for online gaming.

The main thing I like to do is just play games -- sport games, especially skateboarding ones, and a few story games, such as Luigi's Mansion, where the goal is to find a character named Mario by overcoming dozens of obstacles. I only use a system's DVD player now and then -- to play a movie or get video tips for skateboarding. I don't go on the Internet to play against other people online. Competing against the game -- by myself or with a friend -- has been enough for me.