Playstation II Launch Notes From the Field

ksquire writes "Joystick101.org has a feature on the release of the Playstation II, detailing how the launch was experienced in one sleepy midwestern town and exploring what all of this craziness really means."

Comments

PS2 has digital audio outs...

[bbk]

As one of the few people who preordered and got a PS2 today (Fantavision kicks butt!), I can assure you that the PS2 has an optical digital out (TOSLINK) for AC3 and DTS, and that it works fine - I have mine hooked up that way right now, games and DVD's playing just fine.

The DVD playback is improved over the Japanese release, compairing it with my friend's import PS2, which got a bit blocky at times. The DVD playing software has been moved off the memory card into firmware, due to the weird memory card corruption problems in the japanese release.

Supposedly the Macrovision in DVD playback is catching people offguard - a lot of people are having problems using their VCR's as RF converters to go to their TV's, which doesn't work well for some reason. The guys at EB exhorted people to read the manual for this reason.

BBK

Corporate conspiracy to build the uber-geek?

[Anne Marie]

...I look around and notice that every female in the area is connected to a male somehow....
...They all look like college students, and are about half men, half women....

Isn't it odd that geeks seem so ready to line up at all hours of the night, sometimes weeks in advance *cough*Starwars: The Phantom Menace*cough* to partake of these feeding frenzies of American consumerism? I did too, until I figured out the real reason:

American corporations are conspiring to build the uber-geek by selectively breeding male geeks with female geeks at toystores and movie theatres across the nation in order to staff the great technological campaigns of the future. Think about it: those long hours together in darkened parking lots, with nothing but fastfood caffeine for sustenance, snuggling in sleeping bags to ward off the cold, basking in the glow of the occasional palm-pilot and humming the theme to Tron to keep up morale....

And how to get these geeks together? American pilot-programs during the cold war indicated that sociability and people-skills were insufficient. You have to have toys, and they have to be slick:

"Hey, what a neat joystick you have there. Wanna come over to my place and play Mario together? I'll be the Princess and you'll be Luigi *rrowwrrr*."

It's time we put an end to their sinister conspiracy. We don't need them to fall in love. Set free the romantic inside all of you! Love will set you free!