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Gadgets New PlayStation 2 Hardware to Hit $99
Marcus Yam (Blog) - November 5, 2007 2:21 PM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 57 comment(s) - last by Zoomer.. on Nov 8 at 12:59 PM

Sony PS2 still alive and kicking
Upcoming PS2 to lose the brick and $30

Although Sony dropped PlayStation 2 support from its newest PlayStation 3 hardware revision, the company is far from giving up on the previous-generation system. In fact, Sony engineers apparently have made further improvements to the PS2 hardware, leading to a reduction of costs that will be passed on to the consumer.

UK trade publication MCV reports that the next hardware update to the PS2 will integrate the power supply inside the system. Current PS2 slim consoles achieve their form factor partly due to the use of an external power brick.

The integration of the power supply unit will allow Sony to cut costs and price the PS2 at $99 sometime in the New Year, according to the report. The PS2 slim currently retails for $129.

Sony released its most recent PS2 hardware in July, which reduced the console in weight from the previous version from 900 to 600 grams, and the system’s AC adapter fell from 350 to 250 grams. The upcoming version, however, may see a weight gain due to the addition of more internal hardware.

The move to a $99 price point will further open up the system to the mainstream market. While some analysts say that the PS2 is "on its way out of the industry for good," a report from Nielsen GamePlay Metrics finds that the PS2 is still home to a big share of gamers’ play time.

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Occasional surprise
By Screwballl on 11/5/2007 3:05:55 PM , Rating: 2
Its not too often you see older hardware hold onto the market. The NES pretty much died once the NES was released, the SNES with the N64 and so on... There are always the small groups of die hard fans that always stick with the old systems for whatever reason.
In this case the PS2 still has plenty of life left whereas the original Xbox is pretty much a relic left to modders and die hards. I also see the Wii as a long term system that will hold onto its user base even once the next system is released by the big N.




RE: Occasional surprise
By ajfink on 11/5/2007 3:07:08 PM , Rating: 2
I think it's also important to note the 360 has backward-compatibility for nearly every major Xbox title, with few exceptions.


RE: Occasional surprise
By daftrok on 11/5/2007 3:14:02 PM , Rating: 1
Around 300 Xbox games are backwards compatible, how many games did they make for the Xbox?


RE: Occasional surprise
By retrospooty on 11/5/07, Rating: -1
RE: Occasional surprise
By Bigjee on 11/5/2007 4:19:23 PM , Rating: 1
Caution Dumbass alert!
Whenever someone remotely sides with the PS3 people think he/she is a fanboy. Grow up will you. And yes this is from someone who owns both consoles.


RE: Occasional surprise
By retrospooty on 11/5/2007 5:20:46 PM , Rating: 3
Actually, Daft is a Sony fanboy, not based on this post, based on all of his posts. Sorry, I should have made that clearer.


RE: Occasional surprise
By psychobriggsy on 11/5/2007 5:57:57 PM , Rating: 3
His point was valid in this instance, in rebuttal to the blatantly untrue post he was replying to.

Gotta be fair and consistent y'know. Can't mod someone down for who they are when they do make a valid comment.


RE: Occasional surprise
By Bioniccrackmonk on 11/5/07, Rating: -1
RE: Occasional surprise
By ET on 11/6/2007 3:10:31 AM , Rating: 2
That's only if you have a hard disk in your 360, as I learned too late. Without a hard disk, you're screwed for compatibility.


RE: Occasional surprise
By Bioniccrackmonk on 11/5/2007 4:19:59 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I think it's also important to note the 360 has backward-compatibility for nearly every major Xbox title, with few exceptions.


With this article discussing the new PS2 hardware and the guy you replied to talking about older consoles being phased out with the new ones, why would it be important to note this?

The PS3 has BC as well if you buy the higher cost version, but all the versions at least come with a HDD. The cheapest 360 has BC, but no HDD, so add $100 bucks to that cost eventually if you truly want all the updates to play online as well as any demos and/or trailers you might like.


RE: Occasional surprise
By cplusplus on 11/5/2007 4:38:30 PM , Rating: 2
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but for the 360 you need the HDD for backwards compatibility, so the cheapest 360 is actually less backwards compatible than the cheapest PS3 (as it still has PS1 BC in it). And, interestingly enough, the most expensive PS3 is still more backwards compatible than the most expensive 360.


RE: Occasional surprise
By MGSsancho on 11/5/2007 6:00:43 PM , Rating: 2
yeah a hdd helps. the cheap PS3 and the new ones don't have the EE (emotion engine. its the ps2 cpu) so to cut cost and save $27 on the EE sony dropped it on PS3s and decided to emulate the EE in software. so not as many PS2 titles work on the PS3 anymore. either way the PS3 doest really upscale the PS2 games so your better off getting a PS2 modding it and store all your legally bought games onto the HDD so you dont have to worry about disc <_<


RE: Occasional surprise
By dwalton on 11/5/2007 6:02:45 PM , Rating: 2
You ignore the fact that a BC 360 will cost you $349.00, which is cheaper than the non BC PS3. Furthermore, unless you buy the 60Gb, which is in limited supply as its EOL, a 80Gb will get you BC through mostly software emulation just like the 360 Pro.

This is all irrelevant anyways as BC on the 360 and BC on the PS3 don't compete in anyway.

If you care about BC on the 360, its not because you want to play your old PS2 games and vice versa.

BC is a minor feature and the number of consumers who will base their buying decision on its inclusion or exclusion is a fraction of the market.


RE: Occasional surprise
By retrospooty on 11/5/2007 3:07:54 PM , Rating: 4
True. This case is helped along by 2 things.

1. The PS/2 was a HUGE success, by far the #1 console of its time (prolly of all time).
2. The PS/3 is a HUGE overpriced nightmare, and is a distant 3rd in a field of 3 main contenders.


RE: Occasional surprise
By Bigjee on 11/5/2007 4:26:00 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
The PS/3 is a HUGE overpriced nightmare, and is a distant 3rd in a field of 3 main contenders.


still think that the PS3 is over priced well I really don't know what isn't then. I know PS3 was slow to add to its games library and i won't blame people who say that it still is anemic however, the PS3 is not over priced(@ $700 it was but at $400 come on!). In the long run with its features and online play it is cheaper than the X360 anyday. I can't stress how cheap it is from X360. The PS3 lacks in the games library area as mentioned b4 and its not the price that keeps people from buying it. Trust me.


RE: Occasional surprise
By BansheeX on 11/5/2007 10:51:38 PM , Rating: 1
$350 + $60 per year netplay vs $399 and free netplay. The 360 will cost more after a single year's ownership and continue to increase. Looks like you got tricked by hidden costs. MS loves you guys who suck with money and fail at math.


RE: Occasional surprise
By anonymo on 11/6/2007 7:45:13 AM , Rating: 3
Yeah not to mention all the games you have to buy for the 360...the price gets astronomical compared to the PS3 which you only have to buy the system then you can play its best game to your heart's content for free! (f@h)


RE: Occasional surprise
By peritusONE on 11/6/2007 9:18:22 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
$350 + $60 per year netplay vs $399 and free netplay. The 360 will cost more after a single year's ownership and continue to increase. Looks like you got tricked by hidden costs. MS loves you guys who suck with money and fail at math.

What's worse, failing at math or common knowledge? 13-month Live subscriptions can easily be had for $40 online, and since you want to specify a $399 price point for the PS3, the 360 premium is $349, not $350. Regardless if you don't want to buy a sub online, it's still $50 MSRP, not $60.

So, when comparing these two models, you're looking at basically the same price. The 360 does include a healthy amount of BC if that matters to you, whereas the PS3 only offers blu-ray playback as a bonus, if that matters to you. The 360 has more and better games at this moment than does the PS3, so the 360 wins IMO. Plus, I'd rather pay for Live than have PSN for free any day of the week as they current stand.

Sony finally has the price down to an acceptable level if you can get over the lack of BC (which I'm willing to bet most people will).


RE: Occasional surprise
By BansheeX on 11/6/2007 10:49:25 AM , Rating: 2
I'm dumbfounded by this response. Okay, so you found a deal to make it less in one year. Let's add another year. And another, and another. The point is, that you failed to grasp, is that the 360 costs more long term because it has fees in addition to its base price which don't get thrown around in internet arguments because small amounts over time don't get noticed as much. THAT'S WHY THEY DO IT. THAT'S WHY PEOPLE GET IN TO TROUBLE WITH CREDIT INTEREST. So no, we're still not looking at the same price.

Then you go on to selfishly equate the worth of 360 limited BC with PS3 Blu-ray, which makes no sense at all. If you had any common sense yourself, you would compare Blu-Ray functionality to the HDDVD functionality, which costs $150 more on the 360. And you would also note that the PS3 can still play the entire PS1 library, making it better than the 360's BC anyway.

Lastly, you make the same tired old complaint about the PS3 game library without realizing how similar its actual library is to the 360. But you're only selfishly counting hyped exclusives, right, the minority of games, because since you own a 360, a good non-exclusive on the PS3 doesn't count for it, does it? Same viral garbage, different mouth.


RE: Occasional surprise
By Zoomer on 11/8/2007 12:59:27 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, it's just blu-ray playback. That's like so useless, since you can pick up a standalone for $10 at walmart. Oh wait...

Anyway, I think the games that matter to that particular person matter the most.

I still prefer to game on my PC, it's much less of a hassle and has very flexible input devices.


RE: Occasional surprise
By KernD on 11/6/2007 12:25:12 AM , Rating: 2
PS2 is the best selling console of all time only if you don't account for the relative size of the market. There is probably at least 10 times more people playing video games than there were in the NES days, so, did the PS2 outsell the NES 10 to 1, I don't think so.


RE: Occasional surprise
By Axbattler on 11/5/2007 4:12:04 PM , Rating: 2
In a way, they are competing with themselves.


RE: Occasional surprise
By Combatcolin on 11/5/2007 4:12:58 PM , Rating: 2
The NES was still going a few years after the SNES was released.


Check this .....what do you make of it.
By Bigjee on 11/5/2007 4:35:02 PM , Rating: 2
Come Jan. or Feb,(eventhough holiday season wud be ideal) whenever the PS3 is 65 nm and the PS2 has integrated PS which will reduce the production cost of both consoles, Sony can make a bundle offer where it sells its 40gb PS3 as a bundle with the PS2 at the magic price of $449 (same as 360 elite) so that people can get two consoles for the price of one. (That way they'll be choices for those with BC and with the other $499 80gb bundle which comes with two games) i think these two bundles would really up Sony's sales. What do you guys think?




By joemoedee on 11/5/2007 4:48:47 PM , Rating: 2
I doubt they'll combine the two. Most consumers can't figure out one system, yet alone two. :)

I honestly don't think BC is as huge of a sales incentive as it was previously, so Sony having two consoles on the market at once makes good business sense for them.

Basically, they can use profit from the PS2 sales to supplement the loss on the PS3 sales -- all the while increasing their margins on the PS3 by removing BC from its entry level PS3.

I wouldn't be surprised if this hits shelves in time for Christmas. Last year the PS2 was increasingly difficult to find during the holidays because of its price/value versus the price/value/availability of other consoles.

At $99 it will be a great gift, and it will boost an already still solid sales rate.


RE: Check this .....what do you make of it.
By daftrok on 11/5/2007 4:49:34 PM , Rating: 3
How about NO! How about including BC in the PS3 and selling that for $299 and stop making PS2s so that more people move towards PS3? Next year they will have a much stronger line up so the transition will be easier.


RE: Check this .....what do you make of it.
By Bigjee on 11/5/2007 5:21:28 PM , Rating: 2
So you want to add BC hardware AND drop the price by a further 100 bucks? This is a PS3 we're talking about just in case you forgot; one which started out as a 700 dollar console. I think the price of the 40gb is one of the few things that Sony has gotten right.

quote:
How about including BC in the PS3 and selling that for $299 and stop making PS2s so that more people move towards PS3?


At the $299 price point you're comparing the PS3 to a 360 arcade with 256mb storage mem. and a Wii.Are you serious?
Also by discontinuing the PS2 abruptly Sony is gonna hurt its sales. There's no way it should stop making PS2's anytime soon.


RE: Check this .....what do you make of it.
By daftrok on 11/5/2007 9:36:45 PM , Rating: 1
Dude think about it. First they get rid of this 20 GB, 60GB, 80GB nonsense. Then you have the 40GB in all its 135W glory. You add BC to it and later on Dualshock 3 (with a 10ft+ USB cord instead of 5 ft USB cord the SIXAXIS has). People that have SIXAXIS can trade in for Dualshock 3 for 5-10 bucks. Then let the consumer choose between composite/s-video/component/HDMI cable for their PS3 (they choose once they can't have them all). Lets say this takes full effect by February. Keep selling it for $399. Then in March they silently put 65nm Cell and 65nm RSX and not tell a soul. Then in April or May do the awesome and stop making PS2s COMPLETELY and then bring the price down to $299.

At the $299 price point you're comparing the PS3 to a 360 arcade with 256mb storage mem.

EXACTLY. The competition will be like WTF?! The 360 is the expensive one? The Wii is 50 bucks away from a PS3?! It will be chaos. Games will start coming in. Developers will be more willing to make games. The Wii will go down to $199 and the 360 will go for $199,$299,$399.

And the consumers will have orgasms...and it will be sweet.


By RubberJohnny on 11/6/2007 12:29:49 AM , Rating: 2
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"...its your mother, you're late for school, wake up and get your hand off it"


Sub-$100?
By ajfink on 11/5/2007 3:06:15 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, I might pick one up for that price.




RE: Sub-$100?
By Mitch101 on 11/5/2007 3:16:35 PM , Rating: 3
I might just add one to the car. Looks like it might fit in the glove box now.


RE: Sub-$100?
By ElFenix on 11/5/2007 3:39:48 PM , Rating: 2
me too


RE: Sub-$100?
By psychobriggsy on 11/5/2007 6:08:59 PM , Rating: 2
Cheap thing to replace my 1st generation PS2 which is a bit loud and has a slow DVD drive... and is about as portable as a breezeblock.


Wow...
By Egglick on 11/5/2007 3:39:31 PM , Rating: 2
Was the PS2 really still going for over $100?? I understand there are alot of games, but the thing is a few months shy of 8 years old.




RE: Wow...
By peritusONE on 11/6/2007 8:56:37 AM , Rating: 2
It was released in late October of 2000. That makes it a shy over 7 years old.


RE: Wow...
By Egglick on 11/8/2007 5:12:20 AM , Rating: 2
The PS2 was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000. It will be 8 year old hardware in just shy of 4 months, and it's just now hitting $100.

This is hardware which wasn't even cutting edge at the time of release.


Answer to BC in PS3
By totallycool on 11/5/2007 3:10:49 PM , Rating: 2
So heres the answer to the missing BC in PS3. 99$ now thats cheap.




RE: Answer to BC in PS3
By killerroach on 11/5/2007 3:21:34 PM , Rating: 2
Not only cheap, but tiny... that's one way of blunting the argument of "I don't have enough space in my entertainment center for two consoles."

Too bad it's not exactly easy to stack them so that the PS2 would be easily usable, unless you set down the PS3 and then propped up the PS2 vertically between the PS3 and the wall of your entertainment center. This is where a slot-load drive might have really come in handy.


Linking to Anandtech
By SunAngel on 11/5/2007 3:34:51 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Why is it I can go from Anandtech to DailyTech, but can't find a link on DailyTech that will get me over to Anandtech?


That's a good question.

Beats me. Anyone else know why?




RE: Linking to Anandtech
By ElFenix on 11/5/2007 3:42:52 PM , Rating: 2
dailytech sells news to anandtech, rather than anandtech having it's own news section. dailytech is a separate company so that anandtech doesn't get in trouble when dailytech leaks NDA covered material.


By T4RTER S4UCE on 11/5/2007 6:05:37 PM , Rating: 2
Last week I was at a Wal-Mart about to finally get an HDTV. but when I was there I took a look at the GH3 demo and noticed - none other than this very model I was a little confused and didn't know what to think so I didn't make a big deal about it.

And as a note: it is much smaller than the picture makes it look, it was about the size of my hand.




Meh!
By MFK on 11/6/2007 12:55:40 AM , Rating: 2
Never been a console gamer my whole life.
Been true to the PC so far, but at a price of $99 and with that library of games, who cannot help but pick one up?

I know I'm getting one soon.

Any ideas on the first game that I should buy?
Smackdown was a great party favourite of mine, MGS1 or Need for Speed Hot Pursuit II (its PS2 version was head and shoulders above all of the other 'inferior' ports)???




Neato
By Polynikes on 11/6/2007 1:03:46 PM , Rating: 2
Seeing as how the PS3 no longer has decent backwards compatibility, perhaps I'll get one of these. My 1st gen PS2 is big and lacks the extra features the newer gen models have.




What Sony Should do...
By afkrotch on 11/6/2007 1:14:21 PM , Rating: 2
Add in a 7" lcd, throw in a battery pack, make the controller wireless, and have a headphone jack. Then charge $300 for it. That or have an accessories pack that does exactly what I mentioned.




PS2 -vs- PS3 -vs- 360
By RjBass on 11/5/07, Rating: -1
RE: PS2 -vs- PS3 -vs- 360
By joemoedee on 11/5/2007 4:51:52 PM , Rating: 3
In an article that has nothing to do with the "console war", comments about competing consoles. Fanboyism at its finest!

BTW... If you're keeping score, the X360 or the PS3 or even the Wii will have a long, long road to go before it's the "Winner" versus the PS2.


RE: PS2 -vs- PS3 -vs- 360
By RjBass on 11/5/2007 11:02:26 PM , Rating: 1
Actually I wrote that in a reply to some of the many other comments comparing the different systems.

It's not fanboyism as I don't own a console system nor will I ever. I just look at the numbers. While the PS3 has sold millions of units in it's nearly 8 year span. Not one single console system has done what the 360 did with the sale of one game....Halo 3.

The PS2, PS3, and Wii are all fantastic machines in their own right. And while many console systems have been popular over the years from the original Ataris to the NES, to the Sega etc... I can't think of a single one that has done what Microsoft has done with the 360 and Halo 3.

I don't know to much about console systems having not owned one since the original PS1, but just sitting back and looking upon it all, in my humble opinion the 360 is the clear victor.

And while it is true that this topic does not deal with the continuing console battle for supremacy, again my original comment was more directed at the others above who brought up the console war in their post.


RE: PS2 -vs- PS3 -vs- 360
By RjBass on 11/5/2007 11:03:40 PM , Rating: 1
errr sorry, in the 2nd paragraph I meant to say the PS2 in it's nearly 8 year span.


RE: PS2 -vs- PS3 -vs- 360
By inperfectdarkness on 11/6/2007 4:14:10 PM , Rating: 2
the NES with super mario bros was far, far superior to the 360 & halo 3.

you have to remember, the market was D.E.A.D. nintendo's NES/famicom sold insane amounts of units simply based on the available market; and the fact that it had a solid 9 year run. (wario's woods & zoda's revenge were circa 1994).

super mario world was a killer app for the snes, but sonic was relatively competitive. but mario 64 stood shoulder's above the rest. that's primarily why the n64 did so much better than the ps1 for the first year.


RE: PS2 -vs- PS3 -vs- 360
By BansheeX on 11/5/2007 11:24:57 PM , Rating: 2
Indeed. The continued success of the PS2 is delaying any kind of accurate forecast for the next-gen "sales" winner. When you've got a console that has sold 120 million and still going, forecasting a next-gen sales winner based on current sales figures seems absolutely silly right now. It is continuing to sell as well as any of the new consoles, snuffed the gamecube and xbox1 out of existence, and simply has no competition at its price point.


Addition to more internal hardware?
By daftrok on 11/5/07, Rating: -1
RE: Addition to more internal hardware?
By pattycake0147 on 11/5/2007 3:31:51 PM , Rating: 2
It would add more internal hardware because the power supply in included inside the box rather than outside in the form of a power brick. Also, I haven't seen any of the 20GB models for a long time and very few 60GB models so I don't think there is going to be a price adjustment anytime soon.


RE: Addition to more internal hardware?
By daftrok on 11/5/2007 4:39:03 PM , Rating: 2
Thats quite an engineering feat fitting a power supply in such a small package. And there are retailers (Amazon, Wal mart, Best Buy, etc.) that are continuing to sell 60GB models and 20 GB models are mostly seen online. I just find it ridiculous that a 60GB model costs just as much as an 80GB model in some retailers. Granted the 60GB model has full BC but it is more or less complete in the 80GB models (last time I checked it was roughly 70-80% games BC)


RE: Addition to more internal hardware?
By mcturkey on 11/5/2007 6:39:38 PM , Rating: 2
Please understand, retailers do not set console prices. The manufacturer does. The margin on consoles is typically only enough to cover the cost of distribution to stores and maybe $5-10 more, depending on the system.

The overwhelming majority of retailers are sold out of 60GB systems, which is what Sony was waiting for prior to chopping the price on the 80GB (or at least, that is the prevailing belief). As for new 20GB systems, I'm shocked that anybody has them in stock at all.

As for the PS2, I can't help but wonder if Sony is really thinking about the long term here. Yes, they will keep making money on the PS2, but if games keep coming out for the system, fewer people are likely to upgrade. Now obviously most folks who upgrade (whether to 360 or PS3) are doing so for the improved graphics and features of the new games, but there are still many who aren't going to consider that a reason to upgrade when they still have new games to play for PS2.


RE: Addition to more internal hardware?
By daftrok on 11/5/2007 7:32:32 PM , Rating: 2
Well in that case, Sony should set this price point. And Amazon isn't forced to set the price to anything, I just wanna get a 20GB PS3 for $299. I don't need wireless because my router is set by the television anyways. As soon as the outcry reaches to a critical point for BC and Sony includes it in their 40GB PS3, the sales will start to churn a little faster and maybe Amazon or ebay will cut down the price of a 20 GB PS3. Currently its at around $380. Its so close I can taste it....


By Brockway on 11/6/2007 3:36:16 AM , Rating: 2
The 40gb ps3 has a completely different motherboard than the other sku's. No ps2 Emotion Engine, no ps2 Graphic Synthesizer. PS2 b/c will never happen on that model! Its even manufactured by a completely different company, Foxcon. You're gonna have to wait until Sony drops the 80's price for those rare 20's to start droppin' too.


By RubberJohnny on 11/6/2007 12:46:14 AM , Rating: 2
I have some serious question marks over you...are you taking the piss or what?
quote:
I just find it ridiculous that a 60GB model costs just as much as an 80GB model in some retailers. Granted the 60GB model has full BC...

Well you just answered your own question didn't you? Why do you find it so hard to believe it costs money to make the PS3 BC? why don't you understand the difference in manufacturing costs between a 60gb and 80gb HD are virtually nothing !?!?


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