Ps2 = Hype. Never before has a system been so undeserving of the top spot in retail sales. Underpowered, poorly constructed and plagued with endless sequels and look-alike games. Heck this thing even scratches discs when it's in the upright position. Not to mention all those disc read errors you've heard about.
Yet, with all my complaints, I still own one. Why? First I'm a hardcore nut, but second, and most importantly, there is always that one game you can't play elsewhere. For me it was GTA3/GTA:VC. However, with Rockstar ending it's exclusivity deal w/ sony, and no hopes for future, unique titles. I doubt very much that I will own a PS3. You can count me as yet another victim of the Ps2 hype machine. (I slept in front of a store all night to get mine, never gonna do that again)
X-box is a decent machine, highly underated. Still it barely has any playable games. Also, now with long delays on both Halo2 and Half Life2, the problem grows worse. Plus Microsoft still has to deal with that whole "losing over a billion dollars on the console since launch thing." Even for M$, thats a lot of dough.
In the end I have gotten tons of use out of my GameCube, and for not a lot of money. Many great games are cheap and there are tons of fantastic titles available. I think gamers are starting to see the light as well. Many people are starting to wake up from the Ps2 fog.