Sony Unveils New PStwo
- September 21, 2004 13:12 PM PST
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Sleek and miniaturized PlayStation 2 to launch on November 1st stateside.
Sony has unveiled the new PStwo, revealing a svelte PlayStation 2 console that's more than 75 percent smaller than the original.Designated SCPH-70000CB, PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi has called it the "Ultimate PS2." Ultimate seems to be no understatement--the console is only 2.8cm thick, 1/4 the size of the PlayStation 2 (approximately 23%), and about 45% of the weight of the original.
To achieve its sleek proportions, dramatic changes were made to miniaturize the internal hardware--Sony was able to cut down costs by reducing the number of parts from 1,614 to 1,216. Also, the EE (Emotion Engine) and GS (Graphics Synthesizer) chips in the original PlayStation 2 have been combined for the PStwo to create a single 90 nm chip that is 28mm thick.
Most of the features in the PlayStation 2 have been retained (still having an IR receiver for the DVD remote and a Digital Out port), and the console will have the network adaptor integrated into the system. With its diminished size, it is still unknown whether or not the PStwo will support a hard drive--though very few titles make use of the peripheral anyway.
As the current PS2, the PStwo will retail for $149 and launch on November 1st in the U.S. and Europe. The Japanese release follows two days later on November 3. Unlike the PSone, no accompanying LCD/speaker peripheral has been announced.
