PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2; Romaji: Pureisuteshon) is Sony's second video game console, after the PlayStation. Its development was announced in April 1999, and it was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000. It was released in the United States on 26 October 2000.

The PS2 can read and play both compact discs and DVDs, making it backwards compatible with older PS1 games and allowing for playback of DVD Video and the more technically advanced PS2 games. The ability to play DVD movies allowed consumers to more easily justify the PS2's relatively high price tag (as of October 2000, the MSRP was $300) as it removed the necessity of purchasing an external DVD player.

When it was released, the PS2 had many advanced features that were not present in other contemporary video game consoles, including its DVD capabilities and USB and IEEE 1394 expansion ports. It was not until late 2001 that the Microsoft Xbox became the second console with DVD support (this is assuming the Nuon is not considered a console), although playing DVD-Video titles on Xbox requires the purchase of an additional module (containing decoder software and a remote control). The Xbox was also released with USB support, however its proprietary connectors required hardware hacking to allow standard consumer devices to connect to it.

Support for original PlayStation games was also an important selling point for the PS2, letting owners of an older system upgrade to the PlayStation 2 and keep their old software, and giving new users access to older games until software was developed for the new system. As an added bonus, the PS2 had the ability to enhance PlayStation games by speeding up disc read time and/or adding texture smoothing to improve graphics. Unfortunately, these enhancements were either ignored by most games, or introduced compatiblity problems.

Software for all PlayStation consoles contains one of three region codes, for Japan, the Americas, or Europe. Discs also deviate slightly from the CD-ROM and DVD-ROM standards in ways that make it difficult for consumers to duplicate discs or create his or her own software for the system. However, Sony released a version of the Linux operating system for the PS2 in a package that also includes a keyboard, mouse, ethernet adapter and hard disk drive. Currently, Sony's online store states that the Linux kit is no longer for sale in North America. However as of November 2004, the European version was still available. (The kit boots by installing a proprietary interface, the RTE (run time environment) which is on a region-coded DVD - so the European and USA kits are not compatible)

In Europe and Australasia, the PlayStation 2 also comes with a free Yabasic interpreter. This allows simple programs to be created for the PlayStation 2 by the end-user. This was done to circumvent a tax by defining the console as a "computer" if it contained certain software.

The PlayStation 2 has undergone many revisions, some only of internal construction and others with substantial external changes. These are coloquially known amongst PlayStation 2 hardware hackers as V0,V1,V2, etc up to V12 (as of 11/25/2004). V0-V2 are Japanese models and were never sold in Europe. These included a PCMCIA slot instead of the Expansion Bay (DEV9) port of newer models. V3 has a substantially different internal structure from the subsequent revisions, featuring several interconnected Printed circuit boards. Beginning with V4 everything was unified into one board, except the power supply. V5 introduces minor internal changes and the only difference between V6 (sometimes called V5.1) and V5 is the orientation of the Power/Reset switch board connector, which was reversed to prevent the use of no-solder modchips. V7 and V8 are also similar, and V9 (model number SCPH-50000/SCPH-50001) added the Infrared port for the optional DVD Remote Control, removed the widely unused IEEE 1394 port, added DVD-RW capability, and a quieter fan. V10 and V11 have minor changes.

In September 2004 Sony unveiled the third major hardware revision (V12, model number SCPH-70000). Available in November 2004, it is smaller and thinner than the old version and includes a built-in ethernet port. In some markets it also integrates a modem. Due to its thinner profile, it unfortunately does not support the internal HDD. This poses a problem for games such as Final Fantasy XI, which requires the use of this peripheral. Sony's plans regarding the internal HDD are now debateable, considering how they have now prevented new consoles from supporting this. The redesigned system's release is timed to coincide with the much anticipated Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and to bring Sony out of its current PS2 sales slump.

Specifications

• CPU: 128 bit "Emotion Engine" clocked at 294 MHz (later versions 299 MHz)
  • System Memory: 32 MB Direct Rambus or RDRAM
  • Memory Bus Bandwidth: 3.2GB per second
  • Main processor: MIPS R5900 CPU core, 64 bit
  • Co-Processor: FPU (Floating Point Multiply Accumulator x 1, Floating Point Divider x 1)
  • Vector Units: VU0 and VU1 (Floating Point Multiply Accumulator x 9, Floating Point Divider x 1), 128 bit
  • Floating Point Performance: 6.2 GFLOPS
  • 3D CG Geometric Transformation: 66 million polygons per second*
  • Compressed Image Decoder: MPEG2
• Graphics: "Graphics Synthesizer" clocked at 150 MHz
  • DRAM Bus bandwidth: 48.0GB Per Second
  • DRAM Bus width: 2560 bits
  • Pixel Configuration: RGB:Alpha:Z Buffer (24:8:32)
  • Maximum Polygon Rate: 75 million plygons per second*
• Sound: "SPU2+CPU"
  • Number of voices: 48 hardware channels of ADPCM on SPU2 plus software-mixed channels
  • Sampling Frequency: 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz (selectable)
• I/O Processor
  • CPU Core: Original PlayStation CPU (MIPS R3000A clocked at 33.8 MHz or 37.5 MHz)
  • Sub Bus: 32 Bit
  • Interface Types: 2 Proprietary PlayStation controller ports, 2 proprietary Memory Card slots using MagicGate encryption, Expansion Bay for Network Adaptor, Modem and Hard Disk Drive, IEEE 1394**, Infrared remote control port**, and 2 USB 1.1 ports.
• Disc Media: DVD-ROM (CD-ROM compatible) with copy protection. 4.7GB capacity, few are DVD-9 (8.5 GB)
• Physical Dimensions: approximately 12"(L) x 7"(W) x 4"(H) in horizontal configuration.

• Polygons per second under ideal circumstances (e.g., no texturing, lighting, or vertex colors applied). Some criticize these figures for being unrealistic, and not indicative of real-world performance, especially when compared to those released for the Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube.The true polygons per second figure with full textures, effects etc. is around 13 million.

• • IEEE 1394 removed in SCPH-50000 and later hardware versions, and Infrared remote port added.