Slashdot Mirror
Smaller Networked Sony "PStwo" Officially Announced
Asriel86 writes "Tokyo Game Show has
just kicked off, and with quite a bang. Sony just
officially
announced the PStwociting a stateside release date of November 1st, 2004. The
system will be 25% smaller than the current model, will feature a sleeker
design, and a built-in Ethernet port (no adapter required). Sony also says that
there will be 120 new Playstation 2 games with online compatibility by the end
of the year. That equates to thirty games per month or about one game per day
for the rest of 2004."
One hundred-twenty new online games before January? That equates to 30 games per month, or over one game per day until the end of 2004.
Woop! I am totally calling in sick -- for the rest of the year.
AC
"Sony also says that there will be 120 new Playstation 2 games with online compatibility by the end of the year." Developers are getting to the point on the PS2 where they've got to decide between creating a game that might be for a redundant system, or creating a game that might be ready for the new system's release. The change in status of the PS2 to the PStwo is symbolic, as it was for the PSone. It means that it's getting close to the end of it's lifecycle, which can only be downhill for developers.
Does anybody else get a little annoyed by this kind of thing? 25% smaller, half the weight and an included Ethernet port... enough to be jealous when my brother buys one, but not enough to buy one myself.
Will anyone that owns a regular PS2 buy one of these?
I think all of us agree this is a good thing from a gamers perspective. After all, we all agree smaller is generally better and what not, and dialup is evil.
However, on the flip side, how many people will buy them? Most people I know who enjoy using consoles already have a PS2, and are not likely to go buy a new one just because its a bit cooler. Even me being an addict, owning ever semi-modern console, I doubt I'll purchase anything that doesnt allow me to play more games.
And 120 games! By the end of the year? Do they realize what kind of a task that is? I realize its probably been planned for a while, but we all know that game developers have a hard enough time meeting deadlines without attempting to coordinate with a console release. They'll be lucky to clear 50.
Support more choices in goverment-Vote 3rd party.
"Sony also says that there will be 120 new Playstation 2 games with online compatibility by the end of the year. That equates to thirty games per month or about one game per day for the rest of 2004."
Would his next words happen to be?:
"We don't seriously expect most of these games to make any money. We are just using our marketshare to push X-box and Gamecube out of the market."
Seriously, 120 games!?! What ever happened to quality over quantity?
Thats 75% smaller, not 25%. Its top loading as well. Check Gizmodo.com or engadget.com for better coverage.
I want 2D games back.
How much will these improvements increase sales? I would suspect based on the age of the PS2 that most folks who have wanted a PS2 already have one, which would diminish the value of this "new and improved" model
See a couple of pictures here.
It seems to me that Sony has always favored quantity over quality. If you go to any game store or video rental place there are many more PS and PS2 games than there are for the other consoles. And most of the PS2 games aren't all that good. I'd bet the ratio for good games to total games for PS2 compared to the GameCube and X-box is much lower.
"Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home" - Cicero
No hard drive bay, which means no Final Fantasy XI.
Sort of similar to how they dumped the parallel port on later models of the original PlayStation, I suppose. It's interesting how support never really matierialised for the hard drive; but then again I can't think of an console expansion that has ever really flown in the marketplace.
Squenix can't be thrilled though.
The critical thing about the slimmed down version is that there doesn't appear to be anywhere to put a hard disk drive - which might well be a thinly veiled attempt by Sony to stop HDLoader or clones from being able to play copied games on newer consoles.
What about games that use or need the HDD? Final Fantasy XI in Europe? Hmm. The BBC and IGN are both running the story.
Meep meep
http://www.engadget.com/entry/8413288107686276/
Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant
The PS3 will be like another year at least, maybe another two years. We won't even see first *signs* of the PS3 until March of next year. There has been zero indication whatsoever, even in the deepest depths of the rumor mill, that any developers even have the option of developing for the PS3 available to them yet.
Meanwhile unlike, say, XBox developers (and it does look possible the XBox2 may even be out before the PS3), PS2 developers have the comfort that their games will be compatible with the PS3 once it's released. For some time after the PS2 was released before the best-selling PS2 games were all PS1 games-- that's encouraging for developers of PS2 games.
I think it's 25% compared to previous version -> 75% smaller
External power supply
With that aggravating beauty, Lulu Walls.
It is more then 75% smaller, not 25%! It is sleek and this just might make the SO agree on another console under the TV :-)
I've got to say I'm suspicious of the number of games promised; the figure sounds incredibly high. However, there's no denying that Sony's greatest strength in the console market has always been their ability to get a vast number of third party titles on the shelves. The quality isn't uniformly high by any means and the PS2 probably has a higher ratio of turkeys to stars than any other platform. Nevertheless, the "shotgun" approach ensures that most gamers can find a good number of titles they like in their genre(s) of choice. I've owned all three consoles for over a year now and my PS2 is over two years old. However, I still find myself buying more games for the PS2 than for any other platform, because the sheer volume or releases means there are more titles that I want.
The alternative approach is best embodied by Nintendo (I'd say Microsoft fall somewhere in between the two). These days, Nintendo have a pretty sparse line-up of third party games. Their strategy seems to be to put out "big name" first party games on a fairly slow rotation. I won't get drawn into the argument over how good these games are; to some people they're the greatest and most innovative things ever, to other people they're insipid remakes of fifteen year old concepts. The point is that no game is going to appeal to all gamers. With a larger spread of games, the odds of you reaching the critical point at which your console becomes a "must buy" for an individual are inevitably going to be better in all sections of the market. This is why Sony have won the last two rounds of the console wars so comprehensively and why they will continue to do so (leaving aside the question of handhelds).
As many of us are aware, the youths in Asian countries, specifically Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia (in that order) are very, very, VERY into online games.
Sure, Americans play Quake and Half-life and has its fair share of NeverEndingKnights (insert MMPORG of your choice), but what many people in US and EU may not realize is the extent and length of most games here in Asia-- all leading titles are Final Fantasy-type soap operas involving complex character building or multiple levels of progress, or are extended Command & Conquer-type 2-hour long epics dramas. There is an entire channel in the basic cable TV package that is essentially GTV (GameTV) and shows nothing but tournaments of overweight acne-ridden basement-dwellers duking out C&C-type games in a studio with cheeleaders, music, commentary, and bright flashing lights (it puts Iron Chef to shame).
Even car racing games have extended season-long stories, and you must match up against your arch rivals from across town. The arcades here have point cards not unlike the comp point cards at the casinos (which came first?).
In short, launching an electronic consumer good (TV, Stereo, Monitor, stand-along HD, Game Console, Guitar Amplifier) without an ethernet port nowadays is unthinkable.
davejenkins.com |
That sounds great and all but did they solve the most important problem with the original PS2? Did they remember to put the power button on the front of the machine this time? IMHO, that's gotta be one of the most irritating design flaws in console history -- did it not occur to tehm that some of us would be putting our PS2's inside entertainment centers and may not have easy access to the back of the machine? I seriously hope they fixed this problem. The article seems to be slashdotted already, but I'm sure someone with more bandwidth will post the info later on in the day.
The new design of the ps2 is special, but it's nothing extraordinary. Ever since the new version of the PS1 came out people have been waiting for a better looking PS2. What is amazing frankly is 120 games by the end of the year. I know that was announced in Japan, so it will filter down a little before it gets to us, but this strikes me as kind of strange. From what I read it looks like sony has made all of these games and not had any outside companies assist with the 120 to come.
Considering that sony announced the PS3 would debut at next years E3, I would have thought that they woud have used the rescources to create 120 PS2 games, to create PS3 games for the first launch.
In nature, there are neither rewards or punishments, there are only consequences.
The last model required an adapter. Like you'd plug the adapter into the PS2 USB port and plug the ethernet cable into the adapter.
Does this mean the CD-ROMs only last 25% as long? Ohhh, Zing!
Really though, it is interesting about the apparent lack of HD room, though it appears that there might be some sort of access pannel on the top left of the machine, possibly large enough for a drive? Anybody know the answer to that?
I might just have to make the leap from my good 'ole SNES one of these days. I should get a TV first though.
-Jesse
Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
Did they remember to put the power button on the front of the machine this time?
What's wrong with the power button on the front? I know it's not exactly the same as the physical switch on the back, but I've literally have never used that switch beyond the first time I ever turned my PS2 on (I got it a week after the original launch).
They reduced the size of the thing by 75%, which either means they bought much more expensive components and gave some people in PCB layout headaches, or they did a MASSIVE cost reduction of the board. Either way, I haven't bought a PS2 yet and this just means I'll wait untill these are out....
This will go down in history just like the top loading NES.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
Here are a official press release(pdf) and some images by SCEI.
It comes smaller and slimmer: 900g weight(-55%) and 230x28x152mm size(-77% !!). It also have a new feature, a network interface(100BASE-TX/10BASE-T) as standard.
And still more, SCEI also announced PS3 will adopt blue-ray disc(pdf).
----------
Slashdot Japan
http://slashdot.jp/
snowy
http://slashdot.jp/~snowy/
They cost the same as the original console.
This is straight from the news wires, posted minutes ago. We'll have pictures for you shortly.
Tokyo, September 21, 2004 - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), announced today a completely new look for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system (SCPH-70000), which will become available in Japan, North America and Europe for the year-end peak selling season. The new model will be available in stores on November 3rd in Japan, and on November 1st in North America and Europe.
While inheriting the basic functions and design philosophy of the current PlayStation 2, the internal design architecture has been completely overhauled, resulting in a slimmer and more lightweight design. Internal volume has been reduced by 75%, overall weight has been halved, and thickness trimmed down to 2.8 cm (thickness of current model is 7.8 cm). Its size is almost as small as a hardcover book, making it easier to carry around and enjoy games and DVD videos anytime, anywhere.
Equipped with an integrated Ethernet port for network gaming, the new PlayStation 2 sets new standards in the fusion of design and functionality. In North America, approximately 40% (*1) of the PlayStation 2 on-line game users connect their PlayStation 2 to the networks through analog modem and reflecting the American users' preference, North American model is equipped with both Ethernet and modem ports. During the year-end peak-selling season, about 80 on-line game titles are expected for release in Japan, and 120 titles and 65 titles respectively for North America and Europe. With the launch of the new network ready(*2) PlayStation 2, the further expansion of the world of on-line gaming is accelerated.
Gaining an overwhelming support from a wide range of users from all over the world, more than 72 million units of PlayStation 2 have been shipped as of today. Strongly supported by software developers and publishers, PlayStation 2 is indisputably the most popular computer entertainment system in the world and the new design will position it for ever greater success over the next half of its life. In the run-up towards the launch, the new PlayStation 2, will be displayed at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's booth during the Tokyo Game Show 2004, held from Friday, September the 24th to Sunday, the 26th, 2004, at Makuhari Messe, together with a rich number of exciting and attractive new titles scheduled for release towards the end of the year.
With the new PlayStation 2, together with the lineup of forthcoming new game titles, SCEI will continue to contribute to expand the market and to create a new world of computer entertainment.
(*1) According to SCEI's DNAS (Dynamic Network Authentication System) data. (*2) Internet Service Provider and appropriate Internet access (e.g. ADSL, cable, fiber, etc.) required. For further details regarding network connection, on-line games and peripherals supported with the new model (SCPH-70000 CB), please visit our customer support website (http://www.playstation.jp/info/).
What does all this mean? Here's a summary:
PStwo will release on November 1st in America It will be 25% smaller than the current model It will also be half the weight of the current model The system will have an included Ethernet port, no need for a peripheral device Also, Sony claims there will be 120 new PS2 games with online play by the year's end One hundred-twenty new online games before January? That equates to 30 games per month, or over one game per day until the end of 2004.
-Aaron Dunlap [POSTED: 9/20/04]
Support more choices in goverment-Vote 3rd party.
Personally, I think that integrated WiFi would be a better addition, either in addition to or in place of wired networking capabilities. This might make it a system-seller, but I doubt the slated feature set will sell many extras. Most likely just to the parents at Xmas time...
Sony needs to release a more advanced sdk for game developers. The PS2 isn't even near reaching it's potential and xbox games look SOOO much better simply because the authors can code in c++ and directx, which is what pc programmers have been programming in forever.
People say "graphics don't make the game" and are correct to a certain degree, but when aliased edges suspend your disbelief, it significantly reduces the amount of fun to be had in a sitting.
When you can get into the game and totally forget you're playing a game and just have fun in the "virtual world", that is when you know the developer has made a truly awesome game.
Chris
In casual conversation one needs to tell things apart. If PStwo supposed to be pronounced the same way most people say "PS2", then we should refuse to go along with that plan. Fortunately, "P-STWO" (long "O", non-silent "W") is a pronouncable alternative. :)
If MS were to somehow make the xbox 75% smaller, it could be about 10x more appealing. Not to mention the fact that it would make a much sexier set top box. Considering that they are already losing the big bucks on every console, it's not likely to happen though. *sigh*
The one thing that really bothers me with the original PS2 is its noisy fan. If you play for a few hours or watch a movie on the DVD-player it really is annoying.
Are those new ones just as loud or did they improve the cooling?
For someone who's never seen a PlayStation before, what does it mean that no adapter's required this time? What did the Ethernet port on the last model look like, and why did it require an adapter?
--A PS noob.
in europe its 149...still a miracle to me a gamecube with better technology is 99 (nintendo makes real profit with it) its not called pstwo..its still ps2 usb1 only (no hdd available)
With a "stateside release date of November 1," this is coming out just in time to distract the young voters from performing their civic duty. We're being repressed!! Whoa, okay. Too much medication...
Now seriously. Why not throw in wireless support? Maybe they have and it wasn't mentioned in the /. article (I haven't RTFA yet). But this is really surprising to me. I suppose I could spend $70 and get one of these but that just bites. Why Sony? Why?
I don't know how much the current PS2 is retailing for in Europe, but if the PStwo is going to cost 99GBP ($177) or 150EU ($184), then it sounds like it would be at least $150 or more. I don't currently own a PS2; only a price reduction would get me to consider it. I imagine only a price drop to $99 would get me to consider purchasing another console of this generation. And I imagine Sony is likely targeting people like me.
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
I doubt the internal circuitry will have changed all that much, aside from the move to an external power supply. The circuitry to support the hard drive will probably still be there, so people with a little experience with a soldering iron will probably still be able to add in a hard drive.
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
Will the mod chips have to be 75% thinner too? Maybe they'll have 75% less wires to connect?
The earlier models needed a network card, they don't have any networking at all. (In North America and Japan you can get a modem as well, but Europe didn't get one, probably becuase games companies just so care about us...)
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
To the 50 - "blah blah blah how will they make 120 new games in 3 months, blah blah blah".
9
Here is a copy of the offical press release: http://www.gamegossip.com/pressrelease.php?id=995
And if you don't want to RTFA:
"During the year-end peak-selling season about 80 online game titles are expected to be available in Japan, with 120 titles and 65 titles respectively in North America and Europe. With the launch of the new network-ready(*2) PlayStation 2, the company expects to continually expand the world of online gaming in this generation."
I almost prefer people just copying other peoples work when submitting a story to reading something out of context and passing it along to the masses.
Has nothing to do with style, selling more consoles, or getting more people online.
Its because Sony figured out a way they could make more PS2s, cheaper, by changing the design... and probably get more cash per-sale for the units.
This is the same reason for the PS1.
This isnt necessarily a bad thing. I rather like the new PStwo (just as i really like the PSone) but dont go fooling yourself on the reason why. Its a cost-benifit analysis. Thats all.
no
Can anyone tell me if the PStwo can, with additional software/hardware, be used as a streaming media receiver? As small as it is, I would like to be able to use it to stream music and video over my home network, as I've been doing with my modded Xbox. The Xbox worked great, but its cooling fans were kind of noisy, the case is kind of clunky and awkward, and now it also just happens to be broken.
This doesn't mean they will release 120 new games, it means they will release 120 games with online compatability. Which basically means they will take existing games and modify them so they can be played online. End of story. Nothing to see here move along.
Well we can probably expect a large number of "arcade classics" style titles. Expect on the shelfs soon: Pong! Super Pong! Pong Pro Pong now with blue background! They will probably release quite a few racing games, with the cars changed and the levels changed. Small things compared to creating new games.
120 new version of the PStwo! and a 75% smaller game all before Crimbo.
No RTFA, no clue
You don't need a lab to make mud.
Anyone care to enlighten me?
Reviews with a twist! http://www.sardonicbastard.com
Look at the press release. Or the pictures. At no point does they use anything other than the PS2 logo or PlayStation 2.
People are going to call it the PStwo informally, but technically it's still the PS2, or perhaps the mini-PS2, or techincally the PlayStation 2 (SCPH-70000).
In other news, I notice the US model has a modem as well as the ethernet adaptor (PAL models don't, we've never had a modem), which seems a bit of a waste.
I wonder if Final Fantasy XI is comming out in Europe on PS2 either, the advert I've seen in Edge only mentions PC, perhaps they've given up on it as Sony are dumping the <s>MegaCD</s>[1] Hard Disk Drive (unless an external model is being reintroduced).
[1] Oi, they should enable strikeout tags, it has endless comic potential. ;-)
I'm just bitter they didn't greenlight my submission.
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
I have heard from many sources that Sony released the slimmed down PSone because they had created a new chipset to allow the PS1 hardware to be integrated into the PS2 for backwards compatibility. Thus it made sense to package it as the small, inexpensive, stand-alone PSone to help revive that older market.
I wouldn't be surprised if this new PStwo stems from the exact same type of technology - a redesigned (aka smaller) PS2 chipset designed for integration into the future PS3.
Dan East
Better known as 318230.
I mean, I'm really excited that a product like this can last for as long as it has, but it's a good number of years old now. Why re-release newly packaged old hardware so late in the game? Are they really going to sell enough of them to make up for the expense of at least having to redesign the packaging of the thing, not to mention the tooling to construct it in the factories where they're made / assembled? I guess I just don't understand the _why_.
Can anybody clue me in?
-Jesse
Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
teh coral is good
... it won't play resident evil 4, so who cares anyway?
MORTAR COMBAT!
The top loading NES was a great machine, except for the lack of RCA A/V connectors. It was not meant to be a world-beater, it was just a redesign of the NES that was cheaper to manufacture.
I bought one new after my third refurb front-loader started refusing to acknowledge a cart was inserted in it. I still curse whoever invented that POS temperamental ZIF cartridge slot in the original NES-- those damn things ALWAYS failed eventually, no matter how careful you were.
The top-loader, on the other hand, is still going strong today. The units themselves are rather rare anymore, there are a few on eBay now for upwards of $50.
I might buy another used front-loader someday, but purely as an addition to my classic game console and computer collection. I'll still play my library of NES carts with the top-loader.
~Philly
My Acer laptop and my GameCube both have an external power supply, but it sits halfway down the cord rather than inside an oversized plug.
Guess I'll have to get the chunker PS2 instead to use this unless anyone out there knows a Knoppix equivalent for the PS2/two?
If I'm going to put a network aware console into my TV I'd prefer one that I and fire up a web browser on.
Omnis amans amens
So they cost the same, and have the same name.
So now we have the PSX, PSone, PS2, PSX, PStwo.
How hard is it to think of a name people can say, without getting confused about wtf ver of the console someone is talking about?
> with 120 titles and 65 titles respectively in North America and Europe
As usual, Europe gets the short end of the stick with the videogames. Don't think I'm going to buy one of their consoles, I'll stick to my general-purpose PC without region specific shit, thanks.
---- Take the Space Quiz!
Will a top-loading system make it easier to load imports and "back ups" with the Swap Magic Fix? Of course, it's still cheaper to get a flip top cover.
So I got an xbox soon after it came out in Europe. The reason was clearly Halo, but I figured I could put that ethernet jack into good use once they would release some online games for it.
Sure enough they did come out with Xbox Live which was susbscription based in pure MSFT style.
WTF? why do I need to pay for gaming service? $50 a year? Are you kidding?
On my PC the SAME games (ie Medal of Honor, Unreal etc.) can be hosted on dedicated servers or homebased servers (free).
Now I have to pay for 20% more expensive games plus subscription for Xbox Live?
My Ethernet jack on the Xbox is now used to stream content for Xbox Media Center.
Sony make it happen, bring us through online experience.
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity
I can't believe this hasn't already been posted -
How much will the subscription fees be, if anything, to play these "120 new Playstation 2 games with online compatibility" ?
This is what bothers me most about Xbox live - the monthly fees.
I'm assuming there's no way one could squeeze a hard drive into those things. Looks like no FFXI for PStwo owners.
Who said Freedom was Fair?
"Before January" in weasel terms is between Christmas and New Year :)
...
So you have 12 reverse-days of christmas playing and sucking at 10 games a day while the beta testers wh00p your a$$ on the ones they've played for a couple of weeks more
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
Ethernet port (no adapter required). Sony also says that there will be 120 new Playstation 2 games with online compatibility by the end of the year. That equates to thirty games per month or about one game per day for the rest of 2004.
Or, 120 games on Dec. 20th, ready for the xmas season.
can it take a memory stick?
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
From this Slashdot article:
They will also be using the PS2 chips in TVs- and the original was waay to bulky.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
As far as I understand it is not 25% smaller but its 25% of the size of the original PS2. Here are some pictures (Norwegian site)
If you live in the US or Canada you'll have to get your Linux kit from ebay. As it appears Sony is no longer selling it in North America.
Man I should have bought it when it came out.
-Sam
I like it, it's really tiny. If it plays DVDs, I might opt for it to reduce space consumption in the living room, plus the odd PS1 and PS2 game I might fancy playing.
Sigged!
Looks like it'd be pretty hard to mod this PS2 design.
That's a Laserdisc in the picture.
Please stop stalking me, bro.
For accessing their software over the Internet with only a web-browser... A very nifty little device by RSA, I might add.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Do they seriously expect to be able to compete against Infinium Labs' Phantom? Good luck!
Anything worth doing is worth doing badly -- G.K. Chesterton
PR pictures that show the new model from every angle... and get this, its a top-loader, no more slidding trays...
--
*Cancels Halo 2 preorder (not!)*
IIRC, Sony realized about two years ago that they could massively cut costs if they drop their part count and use more 'unified' chipsets in their products. They realized that they had over 120 VENDORS to build a PS2, and it was a disaster in corporate relations and design.
So this is probably the result of a good consolidation of parts.
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
Here's a guess; assuming that the main reason for the redesign is cost (which it probably is), I'd be interested to find out (in general) what the sales of a console are like as the price comes down.
This is only a guess, but it wouldn't surprise me if a large proportion (33% plus? *50%*?!) of a console's total sales (all versions) were made during its twilight years when it was being sold at a bargain basement price. Sure, most of those sales would be to kids (second systems?) and impulse-buying non-serious gamers, and would not merit attention from gamers and magazines focused on the latest generation systems.
But a sale's a sale; and when a console is being sold cheaply, you want to make savings in any area you can. I'd be willing to bet that there are enough PS2 sales in the pipeline to make a money-saving redesign worthwhile.
I'm going to stick my neck out here and guess that PS2 sales to date (by unit, not price) won't be anywhere near 50% of their eventual total. Okay, I make no claims to being an expert in the field of consoles; but it seems reasonable to assume that the great unwashed masses doing their afternoon shopping will keep the PS2 alive long after the 'serious' crowd have moved onto the PS3.
I doubt the same will apply to games, as the later PS2 buyers won't be willing to spend vast amounts of money when they can get older stuff cheap (making the market extremely hostile); however, as mentioned elsewhere, EA are still converting their key titles to the PS1. But, we're discussing new hardware here; not software.
To cut to what I'm trying to say: Yeah; redesign is almost certainly worthwhile. It might even be redesigned *again* in a few years time, as an ultra cheap-n'-nasty "I didn't know they still made that" category toy (probably *without* the ethernet and a lot of other stuff).
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
With all these people buying new PStwos come Nov... think It's time to start the "Donate your old PS2 to Rogabean" Campaign....
"why don't you just slip into something more comfortable...like a coma!"
I think it'll be 2 years before we see a ps3 system and game running. Why? Sony's marketing department's a genius!
rant::
For those into the console market, remember the sega dreamcast. It was the true, leaps and bounds over the competition. Before then, it was all about, "is it 16bit? 32bit 64bit?". Dreamcast knocked everyone away, graphics were no longer the centerpiece, b/c it took the throne. But the system didn't sell well. Mostly b/c of the ps2 hype machine.
For almost a year, trade magazines and fan magazines were helping spread the rumor mill about the new chipset or graphics or this and that about the new ps2. I couldn't believe how excited people got over numbers!
This is another case of the hype engine. This year's E3 will consist of Nintendo's new games and systems, microsoft's offering in the next gen market, but I'm willing to bet sony will only show off their portable system, the psp. At most they'll talk about how it may tie into their ps3 unit.
Microsoft: will be more about expansion into other genres and games and partnerships and their new advanced hardware.
Nintendo: enphasis on gameplay, originality, playability, and how the portable will tie in
Sony: lion's share, we want exclusives!
I've been wanting something like this for quite some time now. I put a PS2 inside my car and the most annoying thing is the space it takes up, I took apart my PS2 to see if I could save some space and I noticed there was a LOT of room inside of the case. I wanted to relocate the DVD drive, add a longer ribbonand move it above my cup holders below my radio. I would have done it except I can't make a long ribbon and I don't know any places that sell the one I'd need. I was gonna put the controller/memory card ports above the drive too, but still there was the ribbon problem. Then I was gonna put the remaining hardware in a smaller case (probably just a project box) and hid it under my seat.
I eventually gave up on that idea (sort of, found a multitap and put that under the stereo, has memory card and controller ports, but I still want the DVD drive there too) but I still have a PS2 in my car, and a PS2 in my house. If this thing came out a few months ago I would have bought it specifically for the car (although when I bought a PS2 for the car I bought it with the network adapter so I could use it for the PS2 in the house, wouldn't have that option with this one since it's built in.) I really hope the PS3 comes in this form, or at least smaller than the PS2 so I can fit one in my car much easier.
(hmm.. now I need to buy an Escalade)
I've played Burnout 3 on the PS2 and Xbox back to back in the last couple days, and there's no huge difference. I actually do most of my playing on the PS2, and these edges are no problem.
I have to wonder, how long have you had a PS2? Haven't these edges driven you mad before? Most games have them. You must have gone really crazy back in the old 2D days... The pixelated sprites of Robotron must have really suspended your disbelief.
What about people who still want to play good 2D games? Sony pretty much won't allow them to be made on their system unless it is a multi-game disc or uses some of the PS2's capabilities.
press release and pics
It's 25% of the original volume. Look at the side-by-side pics...the system is tiny compared to the origianl.
-psy
Microsoft caught the entire industry napping by breaking their 5 year console cycle down to 2-3 years.
The other console makers are complaining but once xboxnext is first to market with an ATI chipset and developers onboard I think they may be too busy running scared to try and cut a deal with the big M.
Yeah, that being out early with the weakest console sure helped Sega and the Saturn!!
Think about it. If XBoxNext is out next year (and it probably is) then Sony has a year, possibly more, to add more stuff (more memory at least, and probably more powerful processors) to the standard console at the same price. Given that they also have a huge lead in market share that will propel them right out of the gate, that is a significant problem for the XBox.
Furthermore by basically saying the XBox NeXT is out next year, Microsoft is also biting into current sales. I was thinking about Halo 2 and an XBox but if the next XBox is out next year, why not wait for a PC version that will come eventually? In the meantime there's a lot of great, really unique PS2 and PC games to play.
I don't think Microsoft has a smart strategy AT ALL. It just seems hasty and short-sighted. Instead they should have released at the same time as the PS3 and made damn sure it maintained an edge in system power as that has always been its hook.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The correct number is 75%
It seems funny to me that Sony keeps trying to push online gaming for the PS2 and cannot understand why the push keeps failing. Has it occured to anyone at Sony that the majority of PS2 owners bought a PS2 BEFORE the network adapter was being given away, and are still not willing to pay $50 for a $5 piece of hardware? The only way to get online gaming to succeed on the PS2 is for Sony to stop attempting to gouge millions existing PS2 owners for the network adapter and start selling it at a reasonable price, something in the neighborhood of $10.
Don't forget PSP.
If you have an older PS2 with no network card (and I think that's still a lot of people) then this model could easily make you go out and buy a new PS2.
Not only do you get a far smaller and quieter console, but you also get a $50 network adaptor as well - and you can sell the old PS2 (which has the great side effect of getting other people PS2's that would not otherwise have them).
It's pretty smart really, I think it will do pretty well. In fact it may only take a month or two to outsell all XBoxes sold to date!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Saw one of the comments that said something like 70% quieter - if you think about it, it makes sense that a much smaller device would also be quieter.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I think a good dev kit would prolong a console's success but not because it would take advantage of the hardware's full potential. In fact, I'd say reliance on a one-size-fits-all libraray of code and tools would acutally LOWER the potential performance of the resulting software to some degree--particularly in a system with a somewhat convoluted architecture such as the PS2 design.
The ONLY way to get the maximum software performance out of any hardware is to program as close to "bare metal" as possible--and with today's hardware it's damn hard to get through the teflon coating. A lot of very fun Atari 2600 games were crammed into 4K--and there was no OS, no BIOS, no kits...NOTHING except 6502 assembly language (and it was a crippled 6502 at that). I LOVED games like Yars Revenge and Circus Atari, but you could never put them in a 4K cartrige to run on a machine that didn't even have enough RAM to use as a frame buffer (something like 256 BYTES) using anything higher-level. The same goes with some of the amazing demoes on old Ataris, Commodores and pre-486 PCs.
A dev kit, or code library, or BIOS/OS with published APIs isolate developers further from the bare metal rather than bring them closer to it--thus the result will always be less spectacular. Sony's competitors basically have a more straight-forward architecture and more raw CPU power so they are simpler to program from the start, thus their development tools require less stuff between the hardware and the programming interface (XBox is just a messed up PC so MS and XBOX developers have had years to practice on PCs as well).
It may be a matter of personal taste, but I think there is already too much emphasis on sound and graphics in todays games (especially on consoles), and it's time for developers to spend less time on anti-aliasing and texture maps and shading. It would benefit a lot of developers to re-focus on imagination and game play and stop releasing second, third and fourth sequels to original successes. But...I guess that is not where the money is.
As far as forgetting you are playing a game, I think that unless you use you imagination then you can't do that until someone makes the Holodeck aboard the Enterprise-D a reality. I suppose some people are lacking enough in imagination to be distracted by a jagged edge appearing for a half second, however I managed to get lost in a game and "just have fun" playing text adventures and Super Mario and Commander Keen, and I'd STILL rather play those games than almost all the games sold on the XBox because they are fun and easy to play, yet have enough levels, hidden rooms, etc. to keep my attention for awhile.
Perhaps I'm very easily amused. However, I prefer to think I just have a good imagination.
OK, so why would you slim down your console in such a way that it requires a base on the bottom that gives it the exact same footprint as the original version?
I mean, what's the point of a miniaturized version of something that's exactly the same size as the big one?
Philip Sandifer's academic website
Also, even for games that didn't require it, it improved the graphics quality. Mario 64, for example, would use the additional video memory (as would most of the 3D games) to extend the range you could see -- push back the "fog of war."
This is patently false. Nintendo's own webpage states that games need to have a specific icon on them if they work with the memory expansion - games that don't (and Mario64 doesn't) get no improvement from the expansion whatsoever. Some specifically-programmed games could optionally use it (like Pod Racer or Perfect Dark), which might be what you are thinking of.
I can find no reference anywhere to an N64 with the memory expansion built-in, but I suppose it is possible in certain territories.
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
It's true, he obviously knows nothing about console development.
My playstation 2 has a gaming huge hole in the back !
.... ...)
Besides a proprietary plug for the etherenet/modem adapter it is a BAY for your HARD DRIVE !
byebye modchips, byebye harddrive, byebye linux
and byebye all other stuff you bought, like stand, multitap+stand, firewire stuff, i cannot see usb (hopefully they still have
How could we forget about the PSP? It's so funny to laugh at Sony's delusions of grandeur.
Since the new ones are the same price, Sony has finally convinced me to get a PStwo. Yes, I still don't have a PS2.
I'm disapointed. It's just a thinner PS 2. I was expecting something that looks like a PSOne.
I have gas, but my car uses petrol.
If you're a kid, and your parents buy you the gamer box for Christmas, they're probably not buying every game out there along with it; they're buying you the box and a couple of popular games. You can use that money from Granny to buy a couple more games once you're bored, e.g. the Decmeber 27th sales.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
So run Knoppix from the CDROM or DVD with your /home directory mounted across the network. (Actually, if the new one only has 32MB of RAM, you probably want some smaller CDROM-bootable competitor.) You've presumably got _some_ kind of Unix machine available as a server, or else you can run a Windows file sharing protocol and SAMBA.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Also, extra credit if you can run this as a Beowulf cluster, though of course the really interesting Playstation cluster system uses the Emotion Engine graphics chip to do number crunching rather than the relatively tame CPU so it's not a straight Beowulf system. This new Playstation version is 1/3 the size and 1/2 the price of the ones NCSA used, so it's an even more attractive idea...
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
But you _can_ play a game called Linux, and it lets you play games like Adventure and Nethack and TuxRacer (actually, I don't know if TuxRacer runs on the PS2, not having one to try it with), and play as many dimensions of MUD as you want to...
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
The GS (graphic synthesizer) got just 4mb of very fast ram.... That results in the PS2 having to spend a lot of time transfering textures between GS and regular RAM... you need to order your triangles in a way that minimizes the texture changes, which is a lot of trouble and hurts performance for sure.
Wouldn't this hurt Gamecube also? GC's graphics chip has only 3 MB of RAM. However, GC has other advantages, such as the fact that its GPU does texture decompression, that its CPU has 256K L2 cache and 64K L1 cache, that its main RAM has lower latency than PS2's main RAM...
There are good reasons for that. All of Europe taken together is a market the size of the USA, with... what? A dozen major languages? How many different governments, all with their own take on legal concepts such as copyright, freedom of expression, and antitrust?
Japan's natural for Japanese companies to distribute in. The USA's a huge, monolithic market (Canada comes along for the ride by being culturally and legally nearly indistinguishable, not to mention within easy trucking distance). Europe's a complicated, tangled mess.
Naturally fewer companies will make the effort, and it will take them longer to do so.
How great a move is shortening the console release cycle? So great that I don't own one, was considering it for Halo 2, but decided to wait for the PC conversion instead. I'm only one customer but isn't that in the back of peoples mind who are thinking about buying the XBox now?
Again, what XBox is known for is a system that's the most powerful. It's better in terms of marketing to build on a consistant message, and if the message is changing from "more powerful" to "got there first" - that can only serve to weaken them.
Of course part of it depends on launch titles (an improved launch version of Halo 2 would help a lot) and initial customer support. But given there are almost an order of magnitude more PS2 owners than XBox owners, a year is not much time to build a substantial base before Sony moves in with the big guns. And in the meantime Sony is not sitting still either with a ton of great games on a very mature platofrm, along with a new and far more sleeker version of the platform that is sure to squeeze more PS2 sales out of the market.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
This is absolutely true. Sony has ALWAYS had problems with their laser units. The PS1 had the same problem, and my PSOne may be succumbing to something similar as well. Bump the system around just a little bit too hard and the laser stops working. Meanwhile my Dreamcast has sustained amazing abuse and still works - ditto my Saturn. I've been pretty nice to my gamecube so I don't have anything to say about that yet, but you can be sure that Nintendo wouldn't go optical without being pretty sure that the system would hold up, given that they have a reputation for reliability, the NES cart setup notwithstanding. (Usually giving it a blowjob would fix it right up, although you do eventually corrode the connectors that way.)
TONS of PS2s have failed, specifically because the laser unit has died, because it was made like crap. Ditto for PS1s. Marking this as a troll is ignorant. I would be extremely surprised if less than a million PS2s have died that way; I suspect the numbers are actually much higher. They are repairable but it's not much cheaper to get them fixed than it is to just buy another PS2, so I suspect lots of people have done so.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"