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The PS2 - A Betamax In the Making?

Posted by Hemos on from the what-to-make-of-this dept.

Feedmag is running an article that talks about the "openness" of the PS2, as well as the upcoming competition with the widely anticipated X-Box. Well thought out and interesting.

6 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. Dreamcast by Fervent · · Score: 4
    Personally, I'm putting my early money on the Dreamcast. Sega has always put innovation before profits, and games like the new Ecco and Jet Grind Radio are no exception.

    Plus, you *have* to play NFL2K1. The gameplay and artificial intelligence are outstanding.

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    - I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.

  2. Epiphany by Jordy · · Score: 5


    At first I was going to wait for the Nintendo 64, then I was going to wait for the Dreamcast, then I was going to way for the Playstation 2, and now I'm thinking of waiting for the X-Box, but it finally hit me.

    Man can own multiple console machines at the same time.

    Apparently, there is no crime against owning both a Playstation 2 and a Dreamcast at the same time or even, dare I say it, a Nintendo 64, Playstation 2 and Dreamcast at the same time.

    Now, I'm not sure why I thought that I couldn't own two consoles at the same time. I guess it just feels a bit wrong owning two machines which do basically the exact same thing only because sony, sega and nintendo can't get it through their heads that the money is in the software.

    --
    The world is neither black nor white nor good nor evil, only many shades of CowboyNeal.
  3. PS2 has optical digital outs by bbk · · Score: 4

    The PS2 has a TOSLINK (optical digital) on the back for digital audio and can do AC3 and DTS out to an external decoder just fine.

    It's in the specs somewhere. Games will be able to use this as well - it'll be nice to have full home theatre surround instead of the tinny 4 speaker setups that most PC surround sound is today.

  4. Re:PS2 - Not worth it by Yardley · · Score: 4
    You are way off. I quote from Sony's website:

    Official PlayStation 2 Release: October 26/2000 at a price of $299 USD.

    $299 for a DVD player with digital sound (Dolby 5.1), FireWire, USB, game controller, 3.5" drive bay, backwards compatibility with PSX games, and an intitial selection of more than 30 games, including Unreal Tournament. (There are only about 7 obscure PS1 games which won't play. All current DVDs including the Matrix do play.) Here's the list of games:

    Consumers can find the following titles in October at more than 20,000 retail locations
    (listed in alphabetical order):

    • Armored Core 2, published by Agetec and developed by From Software
    • Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, published and developed by Tecmo
    • Dynasty Warriors 2, published and developed by Koei
    • ESPN International Track & Field, published by Konami and developed by KCEO
    • ESPN X Games Snowboarding, published and developed by Konami
    • Eternal Ring, published by Agetec and developed by From Software
    • Evergrace, published by Agetec and developed by From Software
    • FantaVisionÔ , published by SCEA
    • Gun Griffon Blaze, published by Working Designs and developed by Game Arts
    • Kessen, published by Electronic Arts and developed by Koei
    • Madden NFL 2001, published and developed by EA Sports
    • Midnight Club: Street Racing, published by Rockstar Games and developed by Angel Studios
    • Moto GP, published and developed by Namco
    • NHL 2001, published and developed by EA Sports
    • Orphen, published by Activision and developed by Kadokawa Shoten
    • Q-Ball Billiards Master, published and developed by Take 2 Interactive
    • Ready 2 Rumble"! Boxing: Round 2, published and developed by Midway
    • Real Pool, published and developed by Infogrames
    • Ridge Racer V, published and developed by Namco
    • SSX, published and developed by Electronic Arts
    • Silent Scope, published and developed by Konami
    • Silpheed: The Lost Planet, published by Working Designs and developed by Game Arts
    • Smuggler's Run, published by Rockstar Games and developed by Angel Studios
    • Street Fighter® EX3, published and developed by Capcom
    • Surfing H30, published and developed by Take 2 Interactive
    • Summoner, published by THQ and developed by Volition, Inc.
    • Swing Away Golf, published by Electronic Arts and developed by T&E Software
    • Tekken Tag Tournament, published and developed by Namco
    • TimeSplitters, published by Eidos and developed by Free Radical Design, Ltd.
    • Top Gear Daredevil,published and developed by Kemco
    • Unreal Tournament, published by Infogrames and developed by Epic Games
    • Wild Wild Racing, published by Interplay and developed by Rage Software
    • X-Squad, published by Electronic Arts and developed by EA Square

    More than 10 additional titles are expected to be shipped in November and at least 9 titles in December, totaling more than 50 PlayStation 2-specific software titles in market by the holidays.

    November 2000 releases include (listed in alphabetical order):

    • Disney' s Donald Duck Goin' Quackers, published by Ubi Soft and developed by Disney Interactive
    • FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer, published and developed by EA Sports
    • F1 Racing Championship, published by Ubi Soft and developed by Video System
    • Gradius 3 & 4, published and developed by Konami
    • NASCAR 2001, published and developed by EA Sports
    • Rayman® 2 Revolution, published and developed by Ubi Soft
    • Super Bust-A-Move,published by Acclaim Entertainment and developed by Taito
    • The Sky Odyssey, published and developed by Activision
    • Theme Park Roller Coaster, published and developed by Electronic Arts
    • World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks, published and developed by 3DO

    December 2000 releases include (listed in alphabetical order):

    • Army Men - Air Attack 2, published and developed by 3DO
    • Army Men - Sarge' s Heroes 2, published and developed by 3DO
    • Carrier Morphed, published and developed by Jaleco
    • Formula 1 2000 CE, published and developed by EA Sports
    • MDK"! 2: Armageddon, published by Interplay and developed by BioWare
    • NBA Live 2001, published and developed by EA Sports
    • Oni, published and developed by Rockstar Games
    • Star Wars Starfighter, published and developed by LucasArts Entertainment Company
    • Warriors of Might & Magic, published and developed by 3DO

    First quarter of 2001 titles include (listed in alphabetical order):

    • 4 X 4 Evolution, published and developed by GOD (Gathering of Developers)
    • All Star Baseball"! 2002, published and developed by Acclaim Sports
    • Army Men Vikki's Adventures, published and developed by 3DO
    • Dark Angel Vampire, published and developed by Metro 3D
    • Driving Emotion Type-SÔ , published and developed by Square EA developed by Square
    • ESPN MLS Game Night, published and developed by Konami
    • Fur Fighters, published by Acclaim Entertainment and developed by Bizarre Creations
    • Gauntlet®: Dark Legacy"!, published and developed by Midway
    • Gran TurismoÔ 3, published by SCEA and developed by Polyphony Digital
    • High Heat Baseball 2002, published and developed by 3DO
    • Kengo, published by Crave and developed by Lightweight
    • NBA® Hoopz, published and developed by Midway
    • Onimusha"!: Warlords, published and developed by Capcom

    First quarter of 2001 titles continued (listed in alphabetical order):

    • Star Wars Super Bombad Racing, published and developed by Lucas Learning
    • The BouncerÔ , published by Square EA and developed by Square/Dream Factory
    • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001,published and developed by EA Sports
    • Ultimate Fighting Championship, published and developed by Crave
    • World Destruction League: WarJetz, published and developed by 3DO


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    --
    He lives in a world where those who do not run the client software of the omnipresent meme are unacceptable.
  5. Rambus uses less pins so it's cheaper. by bbk · · Score: 4

    Rambus uses less connections/chip, so it can be packaged smaller, and more channels per chip can be used - the PS2 uses 4 channels of RDRAM for 3.2 GB/s of bandwidth, using fewer pins than the 1.066 GB/s PC133 SDRAM bus in most PC's. Fewer pins means fewer traces and that makes boards cost less. It was the only way that Sony could get the bandwidth it needed for the PS2 while still staying in budget.

    The N64 uses an early form of RDRAM as well, one of the first uses of the technology.

    It's not that it's bad technology, just misapplied to PC's when supply was not availible,and managed by a company with a overzealous legal department.

    BBK

  6. There are important differences between the two! by Anne+Marie · · Score: 4

    When Sony killed the betamax format, the vcr market was still a very very new and undeveloped market. The same can hardly be said about the videogame console market, which sony currently dominates and has had years of experience dominating.

    The second important difference to note is that Sony completely screwed up the marketing/promotion side for betamax. Sony actually cut back marketing expenditures when sales initially rose and failed to raise them when vhs started making headway. But if you've seen any of Sony's marketing efforts recently, you know there's been a lot of change.

    The industry is a different place from what it was back in 1975. PS2 might still fail, but if it does, it won't be because it too much resembled betamax.

    --
    -- Anne Marie