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Find: Games - Movies - Music - Free Stuff! - Electronics - Computers
Last updated: November 5th '00
Q: What is the name of the next Playstation?
A: Playstation 2 (PS2)
Q: What will it cost?
A: $299 USD
Q: Where can I buy one?
A: They are very hard to come by now, so you will need to scour your local Retail outlets. We have no special information on where to get one.
Q: How much will it cost in my country?
A: Please consult your local videogame retailer for that information.
Q: When will it be released?
A: It was released in the United States on OCtober 26th in the US and it will be released November 24th in Europe.
Q: What does it look like?
A: Full view - Flat view - Different views
Q: Can I play my old PSX games on the PS2?
A: Yes.
Q: Can I play Japanese games on my US PS2? Can I play US games on my Japanese PS2?
A: No. You can only play games from the same region as your system.
Q: Can I play burned games? Does it play CD-R?
A: No. You can only play original games.
Q: Will the games load faster and look better?
A: There will be an option to add extra texture mapping to the PSX games so they will look better. But this will not work with all the games... And you will be able to try different speed settings on the player, but again, not all games will work with faster speed than 2x.
Q: Can I use my PSX controllers and memory cards for the PS2?
A: Yes, the PS2 supports all official PSX peripherals.
Q: Can I save psx games on a ps2 card? How about ps2 games on a psx card?
A: You can only save psx games to a psx card, and ps2 games to a ps2 card.
Q: Can it play DVD movies?
A: Yes it can, it can play DVD movies out of the box.
Q: Can it play dual layered DVD's?
A: Yes
Q: Which audio formats will the PS2 support?
A: It supports both Dolby Digital and DTS sound.
Q: What will I get when I buy a PS2?
A: PS2 unit, one Dual Shock 2 controller, A/V cable and a power cord.
Q: I won't get a modem?
A: Nope. But you can use the USB ports to connect a regular USB modem to it.
Q: So will the PS2 be Internet "ready"?
A: Yes. There is also a Type III PCMCIA Card slot, which you can connect several different peripherals to, including cable modems and other high speed "modems".
Q: Tell me more about the internet/network features
A: Sony has huge plans for Internet. Downloading games, movies and other multimedia.
Sony hasn't released any information about online multiplaying.
Here are a few bits of an interview with Sony's Ken Kutaragi
Q: Why hook up PlayStation2 consoles to cable-television networks?
A: Cable-TV networks are very promising because they have the best compatibility with TV sets among broadband systems. They have far bigger capacities than digital subscriber lines or wireless networks. Some 5 million households in Japan already subscribe to cable-TV services. I believe that the Internet will become accessible to 5-10% of the population via cable TV by around 2001.
Q: What do you plan to distribute online?
A: Any content that can be digitized. Game software, to begin with, and then music and movies. Although current electronic-commerce technology allows only electronic orders and purchasing, it is already bringing a great change to the structure of our industry. When the products themselves are digitized and distributed over the Internet, that will revolutionize our way of life. We call this e-distribution.
We have already created a superb content archive for online distribution in cooperation with software developers. E-distribution is no longer a dream. Distributing music over the Internet will become ordinary practice by the end of this year.
To see the full interview click here
Q: How many controller ports does it have?
A: Two. But there is a multitap available. You must have the new multitap2, the old multitap does not work.
Q: What kind of controller comes with the PS2?
A: You'll get a Dual Shock 2 controller. It is like the regular Dual Shock but all buttons except Pause and Start are analog.
Q: What kind of memory card is used with the PS2?
A: You can buy a memory card that holds 8 MB of data and has data transfer rate up to 250 times faster than the current PSX memory card.
In the interests of data security for potential future network applications, the memory card incorporates the authentication and encryption security system, "MagicGate."
Q: What speed is the drive?
A: The CD-ROM is 24X speed and the DVD-ROM is 4X speed.
Q: The specs for the PS2?
A: Check this page
Q: What kind of expansion ports does the PS2 have?
A: 2 USB ports, 1 PCMCIA Type III card slot and one FireWire (aka iLink) port.
Q: USB?
A: Universal Serial Bus, which all new PCs and Macs have. It's used for all kinds of devices, modems, scanners etc.
Just because the PS2 has this port doesn't mean you can plug in all things and get it to work. You will need written drivers for that, and in most cases software.
Q: PCMCIA Type III?
A: The PCMCIA Type III card slot should allow for network cards, hard drives etc.
Q: FireWire?
A: Fire Wire is about the same as USB, but much faster. Allows for fast bandwidth devices like high-speed digital camcorders etc.
Again, just because the PS2 has this port doesn't mean you can plug in all things and get it to work. You will need written drivers for that and in most cases software.
Q: Will the PS2 DVD give the same quality as a stand alone dvd player?
A: Ripped text from a news story:
"At its demonstration Friday, SCE compared the DVD-Video playback function to high-end DVD-Video players from Matsushita, Pioneer and Sony. Ken Kutaragi, president of SCE, said the interlaced scanning reproduction of the DVD-Video feature compared well with the quality of the high-end players.
"Picture quality is better than DVD-Video players in the same price range [as Playstation 2] and in some case competitive with high-end ones, too," said Reiji Asakura, an audio/video critic and vice chairman of the Society of Picture Quality Engineers.
SCE said software processing of DVD-Video is an advantage because upgrades can be done via a software distribution. SCE said it intends to add progressive scan (525p) output capability to Playstation 2's DVD-Video function within half a year. That capability is available now only on top-end DVD-Video players."
There will also be a remote for the DVD available.
DVD-future has an article up where they talk about the PS2 and its DVD.
Q: How many games will be available on the PS2 US release?
A: Sony hasn't announced how many and which games that will be released with the PS2 in the US. Probably 20+
Q: Can the PS2 play audio CDs?
A: Yes
Have more questions?
Mail our Mailbag staff.
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