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First off, I highly doubt that Gran Turismo 4[japanese] is going to be this holidays top seller for the holiday season for Sony. I'll go out on a limb here and predict that the top seller will be GTA: San Andreas.

With that fairly obvious prediction aside, Gran Turismo 4 will be a big seller, but as a December 14 release, Polyphony Digital still has time to work the bugs out of the online side before release. This seems to me to be an inadequate explanation as to why the title isn't going to include the online functionality.

Raw power doesn't mean anything when you can't do anything with it.

Also, Sony and Microsoft state theoretical numbers. Nintendo states real world numbers with "Real-world polygon : 6 million to 12 million polygons/second (Peak) (Assuming actual game conditions with complex models, fully textured, fully lit, etc.)."

Here are the websites if anyone is curious.

Nintendo
Sony

The absence of a bay for the HDD doesn't bother me as much as the fact that The Multitap for the current model cannot be used with the new model PlayStation 2 (SCPH-70000 CB). I believe that there are a lot more multitap owners (and potential future owners) than PS2 HDD owners.

How good did you feel when you discovered that the Linux kit is basically useless? I have to ask though, after buying/supplying a Ps2 network adaptor, hard drive, keyboard, mouse, memory card and monitor cable, wouldn't it have just been cheaper to buy the whole kit from Sony? Granted, they don't sell it anymore, but it was only $150.

If you live in the US or Canada you'll have to get your Linux kit from ebay. As it appears Sony is no longer selling it in North America.

Man I should have bought it when it came out.

-Sam

Sony has something similar with the EyeToy. It's doens't really make cartoons, but will put you live in the action of a video game. It probably woudn't be too hard for them to add some filters to "cartoonize" the video.
--
Constant deal updates. Every 10 minutes!

Sony says the PS2 is progressive scan - do you have a contradictory cite?

however, Sony DOES sell a 40GB hard drive for $99 that works with the PS2 if you have the ethernet adapter. You can also purchase the PS2 linux kit for $99, which I have heard can be used for games as well, and comes with a VGA cable and a keyboard to boot. PS2 $129, hard drive $99, total cost $228. Of course that's a lot more storage than the Xbox, but it costs more nonetheless.

um... no dev kit?
dev kit?

Since there is a Linux upgrade kit ($99) for the PSX, will the EPSX also be Linux capable?

This would make a great all-in-one platform for Freevo or MythTV.

Thus, the only reason the PS2 wouldn't be practical is because it doesn't have an HDTV port.

What exactly is an "HDTV" port? Are you referring to Component? VGA? DVI?

Sony PS2 Component Video Cable - this cable lets you connect a PS2 to a television or PC monitor that has component video input. There's also a VGA cable available with the Linux kit, but it says that the cable only works with monitors that support Sync-on-Green (most monitors don't).

Thus, the only reason the PS2 wouldn't be practical is because it doesn't have an HDTV port.

What exactly is an "HDTV" port? Are you referring to Component? VGA? DVI?

Sony PS2 Component Video Cable - this cable lets you connect a PS2 to a television or PC monitor that has component video input. There's also a VGA cable available with the Linux kit, but it says that the cable only works with monitors that support Sync-on-Green (most monitors don't).

Get one of these, Sony actually have a relatively inexpensive kit to get you started it includes full documentation, code samples and libraries to get you started . The only thing they wont give away is how to crack the CD/DVD protection. But hell this kit is available to anyone which , in my mind shows that Sony are much more "Homebrew" friendly (by actually selling this kit) than any of the other console manufacturers.

Nick ...

Well, that picture won't display for me, but check out any of the spec reports since E3 or indeed Sony's news site: the PSP does have an analog pad, which was once though to be a speaker. And that pad is going to make a difference to the quality and scope of games. Now, the DS' touchpad will also offer a lot of control potential, just to keep things balanced. And you're right that the DS is going to be more portable - I can see the PSP being more of a "take it to your friend's" kind of portable, an easy alternative to lugging your PS2 around and organising extra TVs/displays. The DS looks like more of a pocket portable. But that's fine, both have their place, and I hope they're both great.

http://e3.playstation.com/games_details.php?game='

That gives us a handy link to :
http://e3.playstation.com/include/search/

Now where is the directory traversal link...

http://e3.playstation.com/games_details.php?game='

That gives us a handy link to :
http://e3.playstation.com/include/search/

Now where is the directory traversal link...

PSX was an acronym used mainly by the videogame press. Sony of America's press releases (like this one) use "PlayStation", "PS" and "PS one" to refer to the original Playstation. They've been doing that at least since 2001.

AFAIK, after Nintendo dropped Sony's contract to create a SNES console with CD capabilities (which was referred as the Playstation), Sony decided to create its own console using the Playstation as its base, and this project was baptized as Playstation X. When the console was marketed the 'X' was dropped fron its official name, but the press still used the X in the acronym. Dunno why... maybe because it sounded cool?

I agree that Playstation X may sound unoriginal, but since Sony of Japan never used the name in a released product in that market I don't see much trouble. I think it fits - after all the PSX is more than a PS2, but it is not a new Playstation console. Of course, they might run a bit of a problem when they try to market a PS3 with added functionality... will it be known as PSX2? Or a PS3X, maybe?

analog face buttons that feel just like digital click switches--WHY?? (really, they should have made the 4 triggers analog, although they would have probably still ended up being cheap feeling)

that came with the game system. It may will indicate that the system should not be used, period, by anyone who suffers from photosensitive seizures. For instance, the Playstation 2 manual (available here) clearly states on page 2:

WARNING: READ BEFORE USING YOUR PLAYSTATION(R)2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM. A very small percentage of individuals may experience epileptic seizures when exposed to certain light patterns or flashing lights. Exposure to certain patterns or backgrounds on a television screen or while playing video games, including games played on the PlayStation 2 console, may induce an epileptic seizure in these individuals. Certain conditions may induce previously undetected epileptic symptoms even in persons who have no history of prior seizures or epilepsy. If you, or anyone in your family, has an epileptic condition, consult your physician prior to playing. If you experience any of the following symptoms while playing a video game - dizziness, altered vision, eye or muscle twitches, loss of awareness, disorientation, any involuntary movement, or convulsions - IMMEDIATELY discontinue use and consult your physician before resuming play

Moral of the story: Don't assume that merely because the game manual does not repeat this warning that the game is safe for your child; any game (indeed, anything that flashes light, including your TV when it is not being used by the game system) can trigger a seizure.

Microsoft is a champion of DRM (under various names) to control and monitor users. So I would not put it past them to do what Amnesty International suspect them of doing.

DRM is just a tool. It's actually a tool to protect rights -- copyright. Is the right to own property not a human right? By your twisted reasoning the following groups are to be suspected of human rights violations due to their support of DRM.

• Microsoft
• Open Source Project Athena
• Apple Computer
• Open Source Project Media-S for Ogg
• RealNetworks
• Sony

DRM is all about producer control using private keys that you, the user, has no access to. Contrast this to Cryptography where strong cryptography can be used to ensure your privacy and that you are in control.

Please explain how DRM would actually be used to violate human rights. It's designed to allow distrubution of material to large groups. Cryptograhy is designed to keep secrets among a very small group -- just the tool that that the bad people actually need.

The article doesn't mention the conversion of the technology demo'ed by Richard Marks into an actual product, which took place at Sony UK's Camden studio. That's where they added the fun gameplay that turned it into something worth buying. It's not a big deal, but it's strange that it's not mentioned at all in the original article.

It's quite cool reading about the initial presentation of the technology to a bunch of awestruck developers. :-)

Actually, the PS2 Linux kit doesn't require a mod chip or some swapping method, all you have to do is buy it from Sony and get going. It comes with a hard drive, monitor adapter cable, keyboard, and that Linux DVD that you just pop into the tray, more or less.

You mean something like this?

How is this flamebait if its true?

Taken from their own website

The hardware warranty is 90 days from the date of purchase.

If your system was purchased from PlayStation.com and arrived damaged or defective, you may return it to PlayStation.com for a refund or replacement under our normal return policy, provided that you return the product within thirty days from the ship date on your invoice.

If you did not buy your product from us, check the return policies of the retailer from which you purchased your PlayStation product. If the return policy has expired, you will need to send your unit to a Sony Service Center (follow the "Obtaining Service" instructions below).


Nintendo systems carry a twelve-month warranty. no matter where you buy it.

Or better yet, get a playstation that runs linux and write your own games. :)

Actually, I can tell the PS2 games list at EB is not complete...this is a more complete list. Hmm, probably EB doesn't have a complete listing of XBox Live games either...XBox Live Games. Sorry for posting those half-right links before.

The same reason PSP's has 7.1 sound.

"Does Sony support a linux kit for there PS2? I don't think they do."

The fact that you don't understand this and had no knowledge of it probably means that when you said "I have yet to see anyone do blah blah blah on a PS2" you meant, "You can't do blah blah blah on a PS2." But if you want to argue semantics and take steps backward in your argument, be my guest. Now I'm done feeding you troll.

Ever tried to find a decent flight simulator on a console?

That is possibly the only genre that isn't well represented on the consoles (except, of course, the best remote controlled helicopter simulation ever, RC Stunt Copter - it really teaches you how to fly a RC heli).

However, the best car simulator / racing game on any platform is Gran Turismo 3 on the Playstation 2 (GT4 coming soon) - especially when you're playing with a force-feedback racing wheel. Some PC games come close, but in the end they simply can't match the attention to detail and depth.

Some of us older gamers can remember the time when consoles couldn't even save game

Who cares? I've been playing games since before save carts as well. And the Dreamcast has been online since 1999 - four years ago.

Still, try finding a real equivalent of Everquest or even Warcraft III on a PS2/X-Box/GC

Yeah, well the Everquest equivalent is called Everquest Online Adventures, and the Warcraft III equivalent is called Goblin Commander (from the designer of Warcraft 2 and Starcraft).

You can purchase new music using the unit's built-in LCD display and hear it 'instantly'. No PC required.

It's always amazed me how high tech gadgets are marketed as being "not computers" when that's exactly what they are! Things like the "Earthlink Mailstation" that allows you to "check your e-mail without a computer". I'm pretty sure I've even seen advertizing for TiVo claiming that it wasn't a "computer". Amazingly, Joe Blow consumers seem to not even think of gaming consoles as computing devices! I realize that this is done so as not to scare away the technilogically illiterate, but I still reserve the right to incredulity every time these claims are made! Seriously, without computing technology how do people think these things work? Little men with pointy shoes and long beards reaching to their knees inside the case?

Yes, it is.

1.) It's not a PC.

Yes, it is.

2.) It only plays games. No apps have been ported to it.

Lies. That's because they don't need to be ported.

3.) Nothing different going on here that Sony or Nintendo has going in their camps.

Sony is a completely different story.

Now looking at the PS2, it's easy to see that it is designed as a gaming console. The primary input method is by a controller that is designed for playing games. It is hard to find a piece of software for the PS2 that is not a game (are there any except for the linux kit?). Looking at the playstation website, it's obvious the PS2 is being marketed as a gaming console ("Live in your world, play in ours").

I'll give you that the PS2 is a computer, but I don't think you could ever convince me that it's not a gaming console. I'd also ask you to agree that all gaming consoles are computers, dating back to the Atari 2600 and before. They all have CPUs, memory, input devices, output ports, and ways to run software. It all depends on the definition of "gaming console" on where you draw the line. I'd be surprised if there wasn't at least a paragraph in the tariff regulations doing just that, but I can't find them. I just know that from all the evidence and my experience, it's a gaming console.

Let's see they could get with lexmark and make a P2 Printer.

It's already been done -- at least in Japan. An inkjet printer called the "Pop Egg" was released there some time ago. As well, there are several photo printers for the PS2 on the market:

• http://www.jp.playstation.com/item/4/6149145.html
• http://www.jp.playstation.com/item/4/6149144.html

There's some pretty weird PS2 software out in Japan to take adavantage of these printers :P.

Yaz.

Let's see they could get with lexmark and make a P2 Printer.

It's already been done -- at least in Japan. An inkjet printer called the "Pop Egg" was released there some time ago. As well, there are several photo printers for the PS2 on the market:

• http://www.jp.playstation.com/item/4/6149145.html
• http://www.jp.playstation.com/item/4/6149144.html

There's some pretty weird PS2 software out in Japan to take adavantage of these printers :P.

Yaz.

check here, here, or here for further reference.

Thank you for playing.

> One major problem: CD-ROM drives are waay slower than harddisks.

> Remember when people used to do "minimal" installs of games to harddisk and have > most of the game content on the CD?

> Doesn't really happen much anymore because the loading times are unbearable.

does it really?

Go buy a game console.

Gamecube
PlayStation
XBox

Microsoft is hostile to supporting Linux on their own platform as it undermines the business model of the X-Box and obviously Linux is the closest competitor to their own flagship operating system (XP or Server .NET 2003).

I find Microsoft breathtakingly arrogant and their products extremely inefficient and bloaty but you cannot be surprised when they want to patch their own product to reduce the likelyhood of hackers messing about with the X-Box Live network!

No, the most worrying aspect about all of this is the support that it lends (to average users) to the 'Palladium' initiative and to trusted computing in general - i.e. to turn all computers into turnkey systems that cannot be modified by the end user.

My suggestion? Support other vendors that actively encourage Open Source such as Sony and their PS/2

Playstation 2 Linux Kit

Playstation 2 Linux Home Page

and withdraw any support for products (such as the X-Box) that encourage 'trusted computing' and Palladium.

BTW I use both M$ XP at work/home and various flavours of Linux.

I'm assuming that you think that after one installs Linux on a PlayStation 2, it can't be used to play games anymore.
Well, guess what? You can still play games on a PlayStation 2 even if it has Linux install on it.

What would a Linux Playstation2 be used for?

It's primary purpose is for creating PS2 games without having to spend thousands of dollars on a T10K. Other than that, you can use it like any machine that has Linux installed. If you don't want to use Linux at the moment, you can play PlayStation games with it.

One would need to hack away at least the video drivers for it to become something of a MAME arcade emulator.

No you don't, Sony did a fine job already of writing Linux video drivers. And MAME is already ported.

Making a PVR with that is impossible, no tuner!

True enough. You'd have bigger problems than that, though. There's only one spot for an IDE drive, and it only supports 40GB. You could use the USB ports to hook up a hard drive, but the PS2 only has USB 1.1. The PS2 wasn't designed to be a PVR.

I don't really see the point of always trying to fix some linux or some BSD distribution on every freaking piece of processing hardware there is. A commitment to portability?

Sony ported Linux to the PlayStation to promote the creation of PS2 games and allow developers to become familiar with the PS2 hardware interfaces without having to purchase a very expensive PS2 development station license. It wasn't just because they could. Sony uses Linux on their development platform, the T10K, so it wasn't too much of a stretch. The Linux kit comes with almost all the PlayStation hardware information and manuals that the T10K development kit comes with, so not only is it a good deal in terms of cost to the developer, it was a nice gesture by Sony.

Yup, there's now several distributions:

• Sony
• BlackRhino
• Gentoo

As far as porting the Linux kernel to the PS2, though, it's not quite that simple. Linux in general is not as portable as you might think, and it's a major pain on the PS2. First some background:

It's impossible to run Linux on stock PS2 hardware. Why? It's because the stock PS2 DVD-ROM drive is unable to physically read anything other than the Sony proprietary game-disc format, audio CDs, and DVDs. The drive has been specifically designed in hardware to be unable to read CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVD-recordables, etc. in an attempt to keep people from pirating games. Note that you can get a MOD chip to get around this limitation, however, that is a moot point, because...

The way you run Linux on a PS2 is to purchase the Linux Kit from Sony. This kit comes with a bootable Sony proprietary DVD-ROM that loads a hardware adaptation layer upon which the Linux kernel can run. This disc is required to run Linux on the PS2, and all of the kernels for PS2 use the hardware interfaces provided by the runtime environmrent on this disc. The kit comes with a modified version of RedHat that contains a 2.2 kernel. TMK, Sony has never upgraded this, nor do they have any plans to, as the kit is purely for hobby-oriented development of PS2 games and for becoming familiar with the hardware.

Now, that being said, there has been an attempt to upgrade the stock 2.2 kernel to the 2.4 kernel. However, it has been a slow process. Why? It's because of various incompatibilities with GCC, the Linux kernel code, and the PS2's odd version of a MIPS processor. In other words, a lot of the kernel code needs to be ported by hand, and is rather difficult. So far the xRhino project has succedeed in upgrading the 2.2.1 kernel to a 2.2.21 kernel, but they have not gotten further than that.

Yup, there's now several distributions:

• Sony
• BlackRhino
• Gentoo

As far as porting the Linux kernel to the PS2, though, it's not quite that simple. Linux in general is not as portable as you might think, and it's a major pain on the PS2. First some background:

It's impossible to run Linux on stock PS2 hardware. Why? It's because the stock PS2 DVD-ROM drive is unable to physically read anything other than the Sony proprietary game-disc format, audio CDs, and DVDs. The drive has been specifically designed in hardware to be unable to read CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVD-recordables, etc. in an attempt to keep people from pirating games. Note that you can get a MOD chip to get around this limitation, however, that is a moot point, because...

The way you run Linux on a PS2 is to purchase the Linux Kit from Sony. This kit comes with a bootable Sony proprietary DVD-ROM that loads a hardware adaptation layer upon which the Linux kernel can run. This disc is required to run Linux on the PS2, and all of the kernels for PS2 use the hardware interfaces provided by the runtime environmrent on this disc. The kit comes with a modified version of RedHat that contains a 2.2 kernel. TMK, Sony has never upgraded this, nor do they have any plans to, as the kit is purely for hobby-oriented development of PS2 games and for becoming familiar with the hardware.

Now, that being said, there has been an attempt to upgrade the stock 2.2 kernel to the 2.4 kernel. However, it has been a slow process. Why? It's because of various incompatibilities with GCC, the Linux kernel code, and the PS2's odd version of a MIPS processor. In other words, a lot of the kernel code needs to be ported by hand, and is rather difficult. So far the xRhino project has succedeed in upgrading the 2.2.1 kernel to a 2.2.21 kernel, but they have not gotten further than that.

Linux has been on the PS2 for more than a year now. Sony released the distro themselves. They sell a kit with everything you need to get up and running with a RedHat-like distro.

Someone above said 'don't tell sony'. Sony sells the kit to do this! Anyone who wants to run Linux on their PS2 can easily do so by ordering it.

Lots of families have a black sheep.

Considering that Sony put out the linux kit for PS2, I believe it's highly likely that they will produce one for the ps3 as well.

OK, here's the link : PS2 specs

Basically, it says :
IOP (I/O Processor)
CPU Core: PlayStation (current) CPU (R3000)

Most people still have dial up, remember that. These people aren't going to get broadband just to hook the ps2 up to the net.

The PS2 network adapter includes a modem, you know. Actually, you probably didn't know that. Sony seems to keep it a secret for some reason, when they should be making it well known, since, as you pointed out, much of their market probably doesn't have broadband.

With the Playstation 2 Linux Kit, they managed to use a playstation 2 game disc as the runtime environment, where you would boot to whatever kernel you wanted (stored on a memory card). They could easily make a bootloader for the PSP with BOOTP support with the 802.11 interface, or hard drive with the USB 2.0 interface.

The PS2 Linux Kit (which I am a proud owner of) is bundled with a 40 gig hard drive (with mounting brackets). This was a big factor in driving up the price of the kit and thus discouraging more geeks from buying it. The kit includes an ethernet adapter, hard drive (with mounting brackets), usb mouse/keyboard, vga adapter and the linux distribution.) With a $200 price tag, and the decline of hard drive prices, it makes it even less economical to buy one today (as opposed to when I bought mine about a year and a half ago).

I would certainly hope they decide to make linux available, and for a cheaper price. Besides, what could be more cooler than wardriving with kismet on a PSP? :)

Very important difference.
Rockstar is a publisher.
Rockstar North, formerly DMA, is a developer -- the people behind the Grand Theft Auto series.

Don't assume a GTA-level of quality just because Rockstar is publishing the game. One link within the article mentioned Rockstar North, but not in an official or definitive way. We'll see, I guess.

And while we're at it...Hideki "Dick" Komiyama thinks you might like a brand new Sony television. You deserve it! Be good to yourself! The new HDTVs are cool!

:P