Sony's PSX Game/Media Hub Loses Features For Early Release

StingRay02 writes "Sony's recently announced 'digital media hub', the PlayStation 2-based PSX, is getting a feature downgrade to facilitate getting it out of the door for the holidays in Japan, according to a GameSpot article. Apparently, the following features are being cut: HDD to DVD dubbing has been downgraded from 24x speed to 12x speed, CD-R playback will not be supported, DVD+RW playback will not be supported, MP3 file format will not be supported, TIFF and GIF file formats will not be supported, Sony's Cybershot movie format will not be supported. There will also be no antenna output, nor will it be compatible with the Playstation BB service. The original specs can be found on Sony's website." The company "plans to offer firmware updates to owners", but it's unclear as yet what features this will add.

Comments

Uh oh!

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

Boy, it's always good news when you hear about a company pushing a product out the door in order to hit a sales date. Screw the long term effects of disappointing the consumer! We need sales now!

This is bad practice. The PSX always seemed like this poorly thought of device that was just going to test the waters for the PS3 (and gauge what people wanted from their PS3 - video game device or all-in-one media powerhouse) anyway. The poor selection of a name coupled with this news about the downgrade really makes me wonder who's in charge at Sony and whether they are thinking long term at all.

Sony's idea of firmware updates for PS2

[Artifex]

The only way you can get a more recent version of the DVD player app for the PS2 is to use the disc that came bundled with the optional Sony-branded remote. Then you have to install it to a memory card. Remember, it's illegal for you to copy and distribute the disc, though it might not be illegal to install the software on a friend's memory card for him.

Also, I'm told that later models of the PS2 have support for extra media like DVD+R(W) playback, but my early model certainly doesn't.

I'm still waiting for Sony to explain how to add a hard drive in the hard drive bay; without a filesystem the PS2 won't see any drive. They have or had a Linux distro bundled with a hard drive, but that had a noncompatible filesystem on it so you couldn't use it for game storage.

Console vendors have a history of promising more than they can deliver. If Sony is already admitting to scaling back on the original PSX, I don't have faith that any promised add-ons or upgrades to firmware for it will actually materalize, especially since this is just an interim product.

You are not seeing this in the correct context

[Dot.Com.CEO]

The sony PSX is neither competing with nor complementing the PS2. It is a PVR with a HD that aspires to being a good place for your media to be centrally stored. The lack of certain features bring the featureset of this beast down to Sony's DVD recorders, the GX3 and the GX7, and that is not a bad thing per se. I own the gx3 and even though the lack of mp3 and svcd is a bit disappointing, it has the best recording and playback quality in the business, excellent media support (will burn to anything but dvd+rw and the useless in Europe DVD-RAM) and excellent aftersales support (in Europe at least, from what I hear the US is a different story). I know a lot of people who cannot wait for the PSX, hoping it will offer something better than Pioneer's and Panasonic's excellent HD/DVD recorders, and if they keep the recording quality to GX3/7 standards, they can't lose - as an indication the GX7 was voted EISA dvd recorder of the year, a very important accolade here in Europe. These people, who will not flinch at spending the 1000-1500 euro selling price, don't care much for the "bonus" package.

So, yes, it doesn't play MP3s? Oh well, if Sony say they will fix it in an update, they WILL fix it. They know how to make music, and they actually have a very good, unobstructive system for copyrighted songs as anyone who has used their NetMD knows. Philips did the exact same thing (upgrades, that is) when they first put out DVD recorders - although quality-wise Sony is miles ahead.

Fall of Sony?

[AvantLegion]

This does make one wonder what the PSP and PS3 have to look forward to. The PSP seems like it might be the next overpromised device to get cut down.

Is this foreshadowing Sony's fall from the #1 spot? Sounds impossible, but it also seemed impossible that Nintendo would fall after the NES and Super NES (and Game Boy, for that matter), but all it took was the Nintendo 64 to send them free-falling down the totem pole.

Sony needs to not be screwing with this PSX crap, and maybe not even the PSP, but better focus attention on the PS3. There won't be a big head start for them this time.

Of course, for Sony to fall, it means Microsoft has to step it up to the next level. They had a good first showing, and really led the way on complete online console gaming, but they have to bring in more balanced, broad development for the second go-around (and no flubs like too-big-for-some-people controllers on release).

Whats left for the gamers?

[MMaestro]

Or for the would-be gamers? Obviously Sony [whatever branch here] was never targetting gamers from the beginning since it was basicly a souped up PS2. Now me being the minority (I STILL don't have a PS2) would have been interested in the PSX since I'd get all the cool swag along with a PS2. But now, whats the point?

'Apparently, the following features are being cut: HDD to DVD dubbing has been downgraded from 24x speed to 12x speed, CD-R playback will not be supported, DVD+RW playback will not be supported, MP3 file format will not be supported, TIFF and GIF file formats will not be supported, Sony's Cybershot movie format will not be supported. There will also be no antenna output, nor will it be compatible with the Playstation BB service. '

Slower DVD dubbing? Considering DVDs hold 4.7 gigs of space, that can't be good. No CD-R playback no supported? Does this mean I can't play my own re-mixed CDs? No DVD+RW playback? Two words : Bad Investment. No MP3s? Wtf? Why not take out the PS1 capability at the same time? No TIFF and GIF format? COMON! Last time I checked there were no complaints about photo privacy. No Sony Cybershot capability either? Great, one more type of Sony product I'll have to avoid in the future, assuming I still get the PSX. No antenna output and no Playstation BB service? Gee, thanks. Nice way to wrap up the list of nerfage. If the PSX was a game, this would be the equivaliant of removing the crowbar, the AI, the storyline, and the voice acting from Half-Life followed by a press release saying that the game will make "its bitch".