Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan is preparing to take on the Xbox, and has announced a new and more comparable PlayStation 2 model.
Called SCPH-30000, the new version of Sony’s flagship games hardware will attempt to stamp out any reason to buy an Xbox, and will address the PlayStation 2’s major issues, namely connectivity and storage.
Sony has included an all-new broadband network interface that will enable the console’s Ethernet adapter to run at 100Mbps. Although Sony has no agreement with a broadband-enabling company in the largely narrowband land of Japan, it is expected that a deal will be announced soon.
You may be aware of the deal Microsoft signed with telecom company NNT to provide the Xbox with dedicated broadband support. Sony will not want Microsoft’s message of “Broadband gaming starts with us” to become too deeply ingrained.
The new console will also have a built in hard drive, enabling players to store up to 40Gb. Sony has not yet finalised the exact capacity of its new hard drive, but 40Gb is widely expected.
“We have monitored the demand for online gaming and high capacity data storage closely,” said a SCE spokesman. “We now feel the time is right to announce our intentions for the future, a major part of which is online, high bandwidth gameplay with means of storing a sizeable amount of data. We believe that the new SCPH-30000 model will make the PlayStation 2 the only console a games player will need.”
So, do you still want an Xbox? The only real difference between the machines will be improved graphics on the side of the Xbox. Graphics are important, but the PlayStation 2 is perfectly capable of satisfying the needs of gamers for a good few years. The potential of what the console could achieve is massive. If you look at the incredible advances in game standards during the seven year reign of the PlayStation, what its offspring is capable of is frightening.
There are many gamers that queue up to knock the PlayStation 2. It hasn’t delivered on all its promises and has let itself down aesthetically, both in console design and graphical output. It is also notoriously difficult to programme for, a reason many give for its lack killer app graphics.
As the months pass, developers will become more accomplished when programming the console. A new development kit is planned by Sony, and it is hoped it will enable development teams to side-step some of the issues they face at present.
The SCPH-30000 will be released in Japan on April 18th, and is scheduled for a global roll-out this year.
Called SCPH-30000, the new version of Sony’s flagship games hardware will attempt to stamp out any reason to buy an Xbox, and will address the PlayStation 2’s major issues, namely connectivity and storage.
Sony has included an all-new broadband network interface that will enable the console’s Ethernet adapter to run at 100Mbps. Although Sony has no agreement with a broadband-enabling company in the largely narrowband land of Japan, it is expected that a deal will be announced soon.
You may be aware of the deal Microsoft signed with telecom company NNT to provide the Xbox with dedicated broadband support. Sony will not want Microsoft’s message of “Broadband gaming starts with us” to become too deeply ingrained.
The new console will also have a built in hard drive, enabling players to store up to 40Gb. Sony has not yet finalised the exact capacity of its new hard drive, but 40Gb is widely expected.
“We have monitored the demand for online gaming and high capacity data storage closely,” said a SCE spokesman. “We now feel the time is right to announce our intentions for the future, a major part of which is online, high bandwidth gameplay with means of storing a sizeable amount of data. We believe that the new SCPH-30000 model will make the PlayStation 2 the only console a games player will need.”
So, do you still want an Xbox? The only real difference between the machines will be improved graphics on the side of the Xbox. Graphics are important, but the PlayStation 2 is perfectly capable of satisfying the needs of gamers for a good few years. The potential of what the console could achieve is massive. If you look at the incredible advances in game standards during the seven year reign of the PlayStation, what its offspring is capable of is frightening.
There are many gamers that queue up to knock the PlayStation 2. It hasn’t delivered on all its promises and has let itself down aesthetically, both in console design and graphical output. It is also notoriously difficult to programme for, a reason many give for its lack killer app graphics.
As the months pass, developers will become more accomplished when programming the console. A new development kit is planned by Sony, and it is hoped it will enable development teams to side-step some of the issues they face at present.
The SCPH-30000 will be released in Japan on April 18th, and is scheduled for a global roll-out this year.
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SCEE
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