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Smaller Playstation 2 Theorized
Tim Grube writes "According to Gaming Horizon and several other industry insiders,
Sony will be
celebrating their fourth-year anniversary of the Playstation 2 on October 26th
by releasing a smaller, more compact version of the game system with the new
name PStwo.
Some analysts believe the PStwo will retail at $149.99, the
current price of the Playstation 2."
You do know that if you call up Sony and say anything about a "disk read error" that they will have you ship them your PS2 and send you back one with a new DVD-ROM and/or a new mobo with all the latest firmware updates and DVD player software right?
Creative Demolition
Instant access to the entire GC library coupled with a fairly low price ($200?) would make it the obvious choice.
That said, I'm still getting a DS over the PSP. However, the more I think about it, with Nintendos lackluster console sales and their continued dominance in the handheld arena, it might be smart to let MS and Sony duke it out with the PS3 and XBox2, while releasing a P(ocket)GC rather than a GC2.
It seems console companies always put out these small, streamlined versions... that lose some features that nobody's using or that they don't like. Power LED, keyboard slot, mystery connection that nobody knows what it's for, MIL-CD support, that kind of thing.
Any bets on what we're going to lose this time?
Well, we may not necessarily lose anything. The PS2's business is starting to depend on the presence of a modem in the machine, so there's a good chance that Sony could release the PSTwo at the same price as the PS2, but with a modem built-in. If a NIC costs less than $10 at your local Best Buy, CompUSA, or Mom & Pop Computer Shop, just imagine how little it must cost Sony.
And besides, there's not a whole lot to lose in the PS2. The hard drive slot is mandatory for certain games, so they can't lose that. The modem slot is also mandatory for some, so they can't lose that. Removing the USB port would stab Logitech, Mad Catz, Namco, Sega, and a whole lot of other peripheral manufacturers in the back. The only thing it might lose is the DVD player, because the unit can be produced cheaper without the DVD licensing cost.
On a related note, how come Nintendo doesn't do this and utterly destroy the PSP? Like you said, the DVD disc would never work for a handheld, but the GCs discs are already the same size as Sony is plannign for the PSP. The GC is already fairly small, and by now they must be able to put the whole thing onto a single low power draw board.
Instant access to the entire GC library coupled with a fairly low price ($200?) would make it the obvious choice.
Most Sony consoles, or at least the two that have existed so far, begin their life cycles as serious loss leaders. Sony loses tons of money for the first two years, at which point their slow refinements to the manufacturing process finally begin to draw a small profit. By the system's fifth year or so, they're actually out of the hole and profiting from the hardware itself.
Nintendo, on the other hand, based on what little they've told us in the past, likes to make at least some money on their consoles, and they're probably making a small profit on every GameCube they sell right now. If they were to make it a handheld competitor to the PSP, they'd have to start losing money on it and bet that they can make it up in software sales. The problem with that is that even though they could conceivably make up the difference in software sales, they're a much smaller company than Sony or Microsoft. If they produced a loss-leading console or handheld and Sony happened to royally kick the crap out of it, the one-two punch would probably knock Nintendo right out of the hardware business.
Let me back up this speculation with one more fact:
Sony has more or less recently stopped sending retailers Playstation 2 systems. This has been going on for at least two months and word is, we're not going to be getting any more in the next month, either. So of course you have to wonder, if they do intend on releasing this PStwo, what would be the point of supplying the market with more older models? Exactly!
Can't wait to see what this thing looks like (and if it has a broadband adapter built it...and where the HDD will go and if it actually plays media!)