Sony PlayStation 2
Gaming | February 17th, 2008
With dimensions of 1.1 inches tall by 23 inches wide by 6 inches deep, the revamped PlayStation 2 is downright tiny. In fact, it’s less than a quarter of the size of the original console. Sure, Sony cheated by off-loading some of the system’s bulk to an external power transformer (a laptop-style power-brick AC adapter), but the superslim miniconsole still represents an impressive feat of miniaturization. Another design compromise: the new PS2 is a top-loader. The disc bay pops open like a Discman, and you snap the disc onto a spindle. (Like the old PS2, the new one can be set up horizontally or vertically, though the latter configuration needs a special stand.) It looks a bit cheesy and requires extra headroom, but the spring-loaded disc door won’t fail as easily as the motorized tray found in your DVD player.
Backward compatibility with the original PlayStation games is a big reason for Sony users to stick with the PS2. The PS2 uses the original PlayStation?s CPU as its I/O processor. We played about a half-dozen PlayStation games on the PS2, and all played and looked pretty much the same as they did on our original PlayStation, though several seemed to be a bit more responsive on the PS2. The PlayStation 2 can use older PlayStation memory cards, but they work only with older PlayStation games. New cards are available that work with the PS2’s new memory format. The dual-shock controller also serves to control DVD playback–the drive in the PS2 handles standard DVD movies as well as games. Sony has built a lot of functionality into the PS2.
Connection to your television can be done by either composite, S-Video, or component video cabling. Video output and analog audio outputs are integrated into one bundle via an A/V Multi-Out. On tap for both video gaming and DVD playback is an optical digital output that can pass Dolby Digital and DTS bit-streams from corresponding discs. Included with the PS2 is a set of composite video/analog audio cables. But if you have the ability to take advantage of S-Video or component video connections, do it! The extra amount of detail afforded by the latter connections is worth every penny that the cables will cost you.