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Sony Playstation 2 North America Launch
trazom28 writes: "According to ZDNet, Sony has announced the release of the Playstation 2 in North America on Oct. 26. MSRP is $299 with an 8 meg memory card, controller and multiport for $34 extra. Predicted software prices will be $49. Can you say drool? :-) " [Updated 18:20 GMT by timothy] According to dairypope, the price of $299 will not include the 8-meg card, but rather "only an AV cable, power cable, and one Dual Shock controller, as reported by DailyRadar."
Although it looks like Sony has the upper hand when it comes to hardware and there are some other powerful systems due out this time next year, I think this round of the console wars might just go to the Dreamcast. Starting on June 4th and ending on August 31st, all Dreamcast purchasers will be eligible for a $50 rebate. This drops the price down to $150. Also, if you sign up for Sega's online gaming service you get a $200 rebate. Sega's basically giving their hardware away to build a strong customer base. Even though it's not quite as powerful as some of the yet unrealesed systems (PS2, X-box, and Dolphin) it's here now, it's cheap, and it has a fairly good software library with more on the way. I'll probably pick up a PS2, but I think when the dust settles this round is going to go to Sega.
I'm trying not to be biased. I've loved gaming on computers and consoles since the C64, Apple ][ and NES. Like many people, I've played most of the great hits that came out on such systems ever since Wizball and Paradroid were released.
When the Playstation 1 came out, I was a Saturn owner, and naturally felt threatened by the huge company called Sony entering the games market. But after a while I got used to the new player and saw the Saturn face certain death, despite all the great and innovative titles available for the system. Sony crushed Sega. First through huge price drops, then by seducing all sorts of highly acclaimed developers to develop for the PSX. I bought a PlayStation and watched it catch dust. There were NO good games. Nothing innovative. Sure, Metal Gear Solid was nice and seeing all the transparency effects in Wipeout had something cool to it, but the games lacked substance. They were geared towards a new crowd: the "Casual Gamer".
That was the day when I started analyzing the new games. What makes a game good or bad etc. I discovered that lots of my friends, who weren't gamers before, suddenly bought PlayStations and loved games that I'd never touch (Parappa The Rapper anyone?). These games had nothing in common with what I was used to. They lacked quality and tried hiding that behind glitzy graphics. Look at Tekken. Some would argue that it's the best fighting game ever created, but in the end it's a very primitive button basher. Even Super Street Fighter II had more depth.
Since history repeats itself, I expect to see something similar on the PlayStation 2. More games for casual gamers, and less games for hardcore gamers. And slowly, without anyone noticing, you'll see the PS2 turn into a private little marketing machine for Sony. Keep in mind that Sony is not a games company. They also offer music and movies, for example. If the PS2 catches on, they'll be like the Microsoft of entertainment. They could potentially control what you view and listen to on your PS2, and they'd automatically control what you're playing.
The Dreamcast, on the other hand, is one of my favorite consoles ever created. It has style, it's innovative, and with Bleemcast you might even be able to play PlayStation games on it. The two or three of them that are interesting, at least. There have been quite a few games on it that are novel and old-school (as in: for hardcore gamers) at the same time. That's something that seems to be very hard to accomplish in this new "casual gamer" market Sony created with the PSX.
So, before you buy your PS2, take a look at the $149 Dreamcast. You might get much more entertainment from it, and you'd know that there's a games company behind it, not a media and electronics giant.
According to an article in The Register, this'll also be the date for the European launch. And according to the Register, they're only shipping a million to each territory, and will have sorted out the DVD `issues'.
Matthew @ Bytemark Hosting
I found this article about the difficulties PS2 developers have had with the system. Given how unconventional the PS2's design is, I'm going to wait and see until some games arrive before plunking down cash on it. Call me skeptical, but I don't see what all the drooling is about at present. Let's see how the launch titles shape up first.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
Man, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but ever since they finally deactivate Selective Availability on the global positioning system, I've been chomping at the bit to get my hands on a couple of those weapons grade ps2's to finish off this cruise missle.
I take it that sony has all of the export paperwork done, since they actually announced a date. I personally cannot wait for one of these.
Now, who is going to take it apon themselves to write a patch that lets me play dvd's from other regions?
Just to add a little bit of information. Look for Square to continue the FF franchise up to part 15.
;)
Registrant:
Square Soft Inc (FF66-DOM)
949 South Coast Drive Suite 200
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
US
Domain Name: FF15.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact, Billing Contact:
I wouldn't be suprised if it goes past there, but it looks as if ff16.com & ff17.com have already been taken by some 'fans'. But with the release schedule of the Final Fantasy series, I wouldn't expect those registrations to last by the time anything past FF15 is released.