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US PlayStation 2 To Have A Modem & Hard Drive?

Posted by Hemos on from the beating-the-giant-to-the-punch dept.

rit writes, "It looks like Sony is trying to beat Microsoft to the punch with the Playstation 2 - according to this article at CNet, they have announced plans to release the U.S. Version of the Playstation 2 with a modem and a hard drive. No details on modem speed or hard drive, but we can assume it will be at least up to par or close to what Microsoft plans to offer with the X-Box; giving Sony a one-year head start on Microsoft for gaining a stronger foothold in the gaming market. Now if only they'd ship it with an ethernet card... "

3 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. why care? by Max+von+H. · · Score: 5

    It's not running Linux. Its OS is not open-source. It doesn't use a Transmeta CPU. It doesn't have Ethernet. They don't even talk about it on Userfriendly, and Hubble hasn't spotted one near yet.

    Really, I wonder why any slashdotter would be interrested into it...

    But... I WANT ONE!!!!

    max

    --
    -- It's always darker before it goes pitch black.
  2. Re:Nah - Develop a Front End. Leave the rest Alone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5

    No, no, no! No offense, but you just don't get it. I used to be a hardcore console gamer several a few years ago. It might seem strange to the tech-heads here, but the way the console game industry works is different than the computer game industry.

    As a console gamer and developer, if the system doesn't come with a harddrive or a modem or whatever peripherial, then they do not exist, period. Sure, Sony themselves could sell an official harddrive addon and an official modem addon, but almost every developer and gamer will act as if they do not exist. Its the all-in-one-shrinkwrapped-box theory of the console game industry.

    They key to the console industry is that you have fixed hardware. So this pretty much rules out most peripherial components. I could name tons of examples with past console systems... but I will let you do your homework on that, if you need.

    Lets all hope that the harddrive and modem for the PSX2 don't mean that console game developers will develop buggy games like most computer game developers.

  3. Smells like a rumor by Junks+Jerzey · · Score: 5
    This is looking like an incorrect rumor for a couple of reasons:

    Sony has stated in the past that they wouldn't be shipping a modem because it didn't make sense to slap such outdated technology on a machine as cutting edge as the PS2. They're waiting for more people to get DSL or cable modems.

    The PS2 case has already been designed and is in production. Is Sony really going to start over on this now?

    There's no purpose for a hard drive. The Sony Network isn't ready yet. No online games are in development. People are writing games for 32MB RAM and a huge DVD. What is a hard drive going to add to the mix that will justify the significant extra cost? It would be cheaper to just add another 32MB of memory, or to double the VRAM.

    Hard drives are a consumer nightmare: relatively high failure rate, not suited to being kicked around in a console.

    On the other hand, a US release date for the PS2 hasn't been announced yet, so anything is possible.