Orpheus Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Check out this this story. Some interesting upgrades... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 More here: http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/news/news_6029048.html 120 Gig HD, DVD burner, OTA & Satellite TV tuner built-in. On sale in Japan this year and elsewhere in 2004. Interesting that they're really using the name 'PSX' It looks a lot like their current HD receivers. Note that the controller ports (still only 2) are on the back of the unit. (!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I'm not too excited about this one. It looks nice (except the controller ports) but for the $$ this thing will probably sell for I'm not buying. That said, I do think this is an important occurance. It's been speculated that the next generation of consoles will incorporate more "media center" like features. Xbox2 & PS3 will assume PVR, music server, and Internet roles. This box is confirmation of that. It allows Sony a head start on manufacturing and design so that when PS3 does come out with all of these integrated features it can retail for the typical $300 new console price. Another interesting outcome may be to force Nintendo to make a decision. I don't think anyone expects Nintendo to relase a console with media center capabilities. They'll need to decide on their response. Another bare bones "game only" console would do it but I still think further integration into portable gaming is the direction they'll take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I want one. Also where are the PS2 memory card slots at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whooter Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Also where are the PS2 memory card slots at? Maybe that's them on the back on the right-hand side? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I thought that was the PS2 joypad connecting slots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I want one. Also where are the PS2 memory card slots at? I assume it will use the HDD for saves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potempkin Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Much cooler design than the current PS2. Questions that come to mind: how much? And isn't it a little late in the product cycle (with the PS3 already well into development). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoisonJam Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Questions that come to mind: how much? And isn't it a little late in the product cycle (with the PS3 already well into development). That's what's puzzling me as well. If this comes out in 2004 and the PS3 hits in 2005, what's the big incentive for buying this versus waiting a year for the major upgrade? Unless as Camp suggested it is mainly to ramp up for production of the PS3. I'm just wondering from a consumer perspective why it would make sense to buy this if you already have a PS2 and the actual PS3 is coming in a year or so? If this was hitting the stores now I could see it making sense, but the timing just seems odd to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I'm thinking this is the test run for the PS3. Sony is hurting in their Bling Bling department, they need to slap the PlayStation name onto something, as once they do that everybody in Japan will immediately buy 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Game saves are also done via Memory Stick. I never understood why Sony didn't just use Memory Sticks in the first place. They would have supported what was then a flegling format and sold small capacity versions with no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 That's what's puzzling me as well. If this comes out in 2004 and the PS3 hits in 2005, what's the big incentive for buying this versus waiting a year for the major upgrade? I think this is confirmation that we won't see PS2 in 2005. This gives the PS2 another year or two at least. Could make MS and Nintendo hold off as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whooter Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I thought that was the PS2 joypad connecting slots. Oh yeah...good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherbz Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I can foresee two problems with this: Since there is no memory card slot, there will most likely be no way to use saves from old games (ie saves you currently have on your memory cards) and looking at the controller slots, one would need a new multi-tap as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potempkin Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 This gives the PS2 another year or two at least. Could make MS and Nintendo hold off as well. Well there have been lots of doubts about the "cell" computing model that Sony was considering for the PS3. Perhaps they need an extra year to make it viable, or maybe they need the time to find an alternative. I would be more interested to see if Nintendo and MS, if faced with the possibility of a delayed PS3, would delay their own machines as well. I would bet that Microsoft (using their current technology model of off-the-shelf PC parts) tries to get the jump on Sony. Nintendo would benefit by doing the same, although I don't think they have development on their new machine as far along as their competitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 No question about it MS will release with their current plan of before the next World Cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I don't necessarily think this device says anything about the life span of the Playstation 2. I stand by my opinion that the PSX is first and foremost a manufacturing and design clinic aimed at reducing costs of technologies Sony intends to employ in PS3. Second, I see it as a warning shot across the bow of Nintendo (not Microsoft) and any other upstarts hoping to release a new platform. It's an announcement that the features found in PSX will be the standard by which the next generation consoles will be measured. The message is clear: if, in 2 years time, your company cannot deliver a next generation console with a DVD writer & a 120GB hard drive for the accepted $299 entry price you need to get out of the way. (this message is not intended at Microsoft as they ought to be able to match these features as easily as Sony) Finally, I think PSX is a technology statement to consumers. It's a cool looking DVD recorder and music player that just happens to play PS2 games too. If it went on sale today I'd guess it would sell for ~$600 (a $400 price upon US release next year would be reasonable, IMO) -far too much to attract someone interested in a $179 gaming system. It isn't supposed to compete with consoles so I don't see it as representing a lifespan increase for PS2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Check this out: http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/cocoon/CSV-E77/ It looks like this is the begining of a new design idea for Sony. Might everything be silver/white in the near future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted May 29, 2003 Report Share Posted May 29, 2003 Oh, one more thing! In today's announcement Sony released a .pdf with various PSX info. It also has a picture of what I assume is the Japanese version of the "redesigned" PS2 (the one announced at E3). To my surprise, it looks virtually identical to the current unit. I'm not sure if what's pictured is really the one we'll see but here's the link to the .pdf so you can make up your own mind: http://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/IR/info/pre...kuta_j_0528.pdf The file has other cool info too. Pictures of the media to be used by the PSP (1.8 GB was not a misprint! -wow!). It's aparently not re-writable though. They also hint that the PSP will play movies! How's that for a GBA killer feature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted May 29, 2003 Report Share Posted May 29, 2003 They also hint that the PSP will play movies! How's that for a GBA killer feature? Er, it's not? Well, it wouldn't be for me anyway if I were in the position to get a handheld. Think about it. That means that in addition to hardware for the gaming, you have to have a DVD player. The unit has to be DVD sized. Then there's a screen to watch the movie. Plus controls for the games themselves. Compare that to a GBA the size of a credit card? Pfft, no contest. Size does matter, but smaller rules the gaming world. Where handhelds go at least. I just think DVD disc capability will make the unit too large and destroy some of the on-the-go ability. Hey, spec could prove me wrong though . But that's been my thing, just how unwieldy will this unit prove to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted May 29, 2003 Report Share Posted May 29, 2003 Er, it's not? Well, it wouldn't be for me anyway if I were in the position to get a handheld. Think about it. That means that in addition to hardware for the gaming, you have to have a DVD player. The unit has to be DVD sized. Then there's a screen to watch the movie. Plus controls for the games themselves. No, not movies on DVD. They hint that the new optical media to be used in the PSP may be used by movies. The format is smaller than a MiniDisc and holds 1.9GB. Not nearly DVD capacity but plenty to hold a Divx or proprietary format movie (especially considering the small screen). It would be pretty cool...but I may be totally off base too. It's just my interpretation of the .pdf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted May 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2003 The pdf say it's a a 60 mm diameter disc, so a bit less than 2.5 inches. That could bring a PSP down to GBA sized in a hurry. Looks like they want this to be an all around gaming device/media center. With USB 2.0, a memory stick slot, and a healthy amount of video options, this could be really sweet. I just hope the Universal Media Disc doesn't end up being another PITA storage format (we have LC-120 drives at work, man I hate those things, especially since all of them are starting to go bad on us). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted May 29, 2003 Report Share Posted May 29, 2003 The doc appears to specify that the movie format will be Mpeg4. Which should get an average movie length in under the capacity limit at a good enough size to look ok on a small screen without any difficulty whatsoever. PSX sounds intruiging; I've got to say, though, that the fact that they recently claimed that the PS2 chipset has been condensed to a single chip says to me that they have just decided that, since the machine is probably going to be using the Emotion Engine cpu for its encoding/decoding of video that turning on the ability to play PS2 games is effectively 'free'. Somewhat ironic given that the PS2 started out with the plan of 'free' DVD playback on top of its console design. Does this mean we can stop people referring to the original PS as the PSX now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted May 29, 2003 Report Share Posted May 29, 2003 Oh, another thing. This whole "should Microsoft and Nintendo get a jump and do their next machine before PS3 hits" question. Absolutely, uncatagorically no. 1) Dreamcast. Wonderful machine, died (in part) because people believed that Sony's next machine would make it look like a Sinclair Spectrum. A release when Sony's hype machine has everyone comparing you to wild performance claims, rather than reality is death. 2) Consumer anger. If you're going to speed up the tradional 5 year cycle by any serious amount then a lot of parents are going to be annoyed that the expensive item they just bought is obsolete already. Remember, a lot of people buy consoles specifically to get away from this on the PC. 3) Next-next-next Gen. Despite rampant stat-mongering from Microsoft, the average Joe on the street doesn't see any big difference between the performance of the PS2 and the XBox. Are they really going to believe that its worth upgrading from one to an XBox 2? Besides, even if the thing is capable technically of rendering the cellulite on Lara's arse, when the majority of games are available cross-platform, using generic tools like Renderware etc, is it really going to get pushed properly when the main platform is still Sony's PS2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted May 29, 2003 Report Share Posted May 29, 2003 that the fact that they recently claimed that the PS2 chipset has been condensed to a single chip says to me that they have just decided that, since the machine is probably going to be using the Emotion Engine cpu for its encoding/decoding of video that turning on the ability to play PS2 games is effectively 'free'. Excellent point. Agreed. I also agree this new has little to no effect on the life cycle of the current generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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