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Wednesday, 29 November, 2000, 10:42 GMT
Playstation 2: The best so far?
Friday sees the launch of the Playstation 2 (PS2), with 165,000 consoles on sale in the UK.
When Sony first launched PS2 in Japan it sold 3.5m units in just seven months. And the launch weekend in the US saw 500,000 consoles being sold.
Yet the UK Consumers Association says the console is being sold at an over-inflated price in the UK. In the US the PS2 will cost £199 compared to the UK where it costs £299.
Do you own a PS2? Has it been worth the money and the wait? Is the PS2 a world-beater in console games?
This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.
Jim Button, UK
I don't know what you guys are buying in the UK but here in the USA Madden 2001 is probably the most amazing game I have ever seen. Fifa is also amazing.
Once again, the general public are doing their sheep routine and all falling for PS2 because Sony says it'll change the world and give a new gaming experience. Bad news guys, the gameplay is just the same, it might just look better.
And if it's gameplay you're after, everyone seems to have overlooked the Sega Dreamcast, which real gamers will know has the strongest line up this Christmas, is the same generation as the PS2, is readily available, cheaper, and has internet access out of the box.
I think that the Playstation 2 is awfull and so was the original. Sony don't have a clue how to make a games console. Sega and Nintendo don't even seem to get a mention these days and they are the experts and have been doing it for years. They have their own quality in-house development teams that make some of the best games around.
Considering I grew up with a ZX Spectrum 48K, my PS1 impresses! When Sony get the price right, I may well get a PS2. Until then I'll enjoy the wider range of cheaper PS1 games!
PS2 with DVD, don't forget the SSX issue and no SCART leads. X-Box? NTSC/US? The answer to these problems is simple:
1. Go out
Ian Harvey, UK
What is really interesting is that the ratio of men to women contributing to this discussion is 36 to 1.
The PS2 would be a good buy if you need a DVD player and a games console except for one thing: The DVD section will only work over the RF lead, not SCAR, thus destroying the clarity of the image.
This is probably down to Sony spending so much time defeating the region coding hack on DVDs.
If, like me, you already have a separate DVD player, then the PS2 just becomes a VERY expensive games machine.
Playstation? Give me a game of scrabble around a table any day.
What is Playstation 2?
Having purchased both a NTSC/J and NTSC/UC Playstation2, (Japanese and American), I am impressed with what the Playstation can handle. I own almost 25 games for both models and so far have only had one game give me problems with displaying the graphics. (Anyone from the States, Nascar 2001's graphics are very poor when playing two player or using the rear view mirror setting). As for the rest of the machines including the Dreamcast, I purchased them when they were introduced and now all they do is gather dust. Why bother waiting for the next console whether it be the X-Box or the Cube - I'll be in line for that too.
Matthew Aylen, UK
I have ordered my PS2 and am still waiting for it to arrive. I hope that the wait is worth it and agree that the PS2 is not expensive because when Playstation was first released it cost £300. If you think about it, it is really cheap because this time you get a DVD Player built into the console.
It's games console for goodness sake. Get a life!
Having grown up with the 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit PC and console systems, I am not easily impressed these days. However, on receiving my PS2 last Friday, I can safely say that Sony has developed a killer console. The launch games are no way near pushing the machine limits, the nearest is SSX. I have not seen anything better or playable on ANY system as of YET - I rest my case!
I have just acquired the PS2 and it has been worth the wait.
So far there are only three games worth buying now (Fantavison, Silent Scope & SSX) and two next year (GT3 & Wipeout).
The rest are either new versions of old games that don't do the PS2 justice OR are simply badly designed.
The DVD playback is excellent.
Nick m, England
I'll be honest - I work for Sony...but can I just clarify a piece of misinformation? $299 does not equate to £199. At today's exchange rate the actual price difference is £87.
However, this is the difference when you compare the US RRP with the UK RRP. This isn't a fair comparison because it isn't comparing like with like. The US price excludes tax - so a US consumer will pay more than their RRP, the UK price includes our VAT figure. To make a fair comparison, you should take 17.5% from our RRP - so our price exclusive of tax is £246.67. So the difference in real terms is £33.33.
This isn't ideal - we want it to be as cheap as possible - but this is the lowest price we could achieve. The reason there is this difference is that our units cost more (Pal graphics chip made specifically for our market) and our units cost more to ship from Japan. But like nearly everything else in this country it also costs more than the US because it costs more to do business here - fuel costs are greater, real estate is more expensive, so our
warehousing costs are more etc.
I received my PS2 yesterday but currently have no games for it. This is because I felt there were no stand-out titles, although I will be getting SSX Snowboarding. It has the raw power and all the major software developers behind it but won't really come alive until internet access is available and the 'big' games get released. However, I don't feel that the price is too high. Remember when Playstation was originally released in 1995? It cost £300! Plus, with the PS2 you get a DVD player, internet access, the best graphics around and DTS (digital theatre sound).
Whilst my Flatmate does have a PS2 coming in today I think I am more likely to stick with my PC for gaming. It is more powerful, more flexible, has a better net connection and a wider variety on control interfaces.
Not to mention the simple fact that the games are currently much better.
The Playstation 2 looks set to follow but I like many others seem to have held back because of the base cost and game quality. When Sony lowers the price and the games designers get to grips with the architecture then I for one will be buying a Playstation 2 for many happy hours of gaming.
Richard S, UK
According to a BBC news story, 24/11/00, (and a whole host of other write ups) the Playstation 2 is
by far the most powerful games system available. Can the author, or anyone else, explain on what basis this decision is based? (I am sure there's more to it than polygons per second). The Dreamcast is 128 bit, uses 1Gb discs, has a 16MB main memory, an 8Mb video memory and can handle 30 sounds at once (apparently). Its also half the price and for the spare £150 pounds you could buy a higher quality (dedicated) DVD player. It also has a built in 33Kbps modem, offering the cheapest way to get online. People are sheep though aren't they...
No TT - Andrew is not misinformed. 66 Million polygons per second is nothing compared to what PC's are capable of. The 1970s technology you refer to has long since been overhauled with new hardware standards. ISA in the early 80's, EISA in the early nineties (MCA if IBM had their way), then PCI and now a separate dedicated "BUS" for graphics know as AGP.
I'm afraid "Andrew, United Kingdom" is a bit of a pooper. The PS2 architecture is far more advanced (and way more complicated) than he would have you believe, and once developers learn how to maximise the set-up, PS2 games are going to surprise. Also, the PS2 here in the US offers good DVD playback, equalling mid-priced standalone DVD players.
TT doesn't know what he's talking about, PS2's theoretical maximum is just 18 million polygons and it'll take a lot of work to get half of that. Dreamcast can manage 5 million and PC cards are available today that can draw as many triangles as PS2 but with far better quality.
Rich Greaves, UK
I'm sure that the PS2 will eventually become a good seller but at the moment due the dire games currently on the market I'd wait until next year. However you can never discount the might of Microsoft, the X-box will have far more power and a built in hard drive.
As a happy owner of the original Playstation, I was originally intending to buy a PS2, but having seen a demo of some of the games being developed for Microsoft's X-Box, I'm going to wait for that instead. I understand it is about 3 times more powerful than the PS2, and just know that if I bought a PS2, I'd end up having to buy an X-Box as well when it's released!
I have pre-ordered a PS2 and am eagerly waiting to receive it. I believe it is overpriced however a friend of mine who has it in the States says that its got amazing graphics, its fast and the DVD works perfectly fine if all you want to do is watch the DVD.
Grant Stone, England
Sony have made the same arrogant error with the PS2 that Nintendo made with the N64, in that they've developed an extremely expensive and overly complex console so they can have bragging rights over machine specs. Like the N64, the PS2 will frustrate developers and never reach it's full potential because a simpler and cheaper machine will pull the rug out from under their feet, like Nintendo's GameCube, or dare I say it, Sega's ailing Dreamcast, which has the best line-up this Christmas by far.
I've seen some comments here comparing PC's and the PS2, whilst it is true that the PS2 can't compete with a brand new top spec PC, they're only asking £300 for the console, to buy a PC that could compete would cost about £800 with a top end PC being £2,500. It seems to me that these comparisons are a bit unfair. If I had a spare £300 I'd think about buying one.
Sony has produced a remarkable machine, but the problem lies in the fact that it has tried to be too remarkable.
Overall I'm glad things aren't all peachy at the Sony camp, and hopefully this is the time for Nintendo and Microsoft to work hard on their next generations.
Ed Vista, UK
As a DVD player and high performance games console combined, the PS2 will become a good package. However, it will only realise its full potential when online gaming is possible. Also, the launch games, with the exception of Timesplitter and arguably FantaVision, are largely disappointing in terms of look and playability. Best wait until you can buy it off the shelf - cheaper, and with a selection of better games.
Just who is the PS2 aiming at? It is overpriced for a toy,
its DVD player capabilities are poor, as a next-generation
console it's technology is over complicated to develop for.
Leaving what? Initially, Sony is selling on the strength of PS1.
It will take between 6-12 months for ground-breaking software
to be released...by which time Nintendo will have released Gamecube.
Then it's time for REAL game players to spend their money!
Steve Mac, UK
I was going to buy a PS2 - but decided against it when I heard of the dreadful pre-order scheme. Coupled to the fact that none of the games are very inspiring, the DVD player isn't up to the standard of most budget stand-alone players, and there's a much better alternative around (in the form of Sega's Dreamcast). I think I'll be steering clear until the price drops, or some game worth playing comes out exclusively on the machine.
I have heard that the DVD aspect does not compare with a dedicated DVD. I am sure it will eventually support brilliant games but the word from the wise has got to be wait 6 months and then you will truly know what you are buying....
Mark, Germany (UK citizen)
I am afraid that Andrew is a bit misinformed. The Playstation 2 console uses custom graphics chips and can render around 66 million polygons a second - that's around 20 times what Dreamcast can manage and far in excess of the humble PC which is hindered by the architectural design originated by IBM in the 1970's. A 1GHz processor is not always faster than one with a slower clock speed because it depends on how it's linked and what it's linked to.
This console is pathetic when compared to a modern PC equivalent. They took so long to release the hardware in this country that the PC has gone miles ahead. This console is not worth the plastic it's cased in. Over-priced, no software, no peripherals and a poorly organised launch. Ridiculous!
Andrew Massey, England
I have just about every gadget known to man, but don't have a Playstation of any description. The reason? I simply can't abide those god-forsaken hand controls. Everything is the wrong way round - I want to use a joystick, not wear the skin off my thumbs trying to figure out these things. I want to be able to choose which hand I use rather than having it decided for me. I also don't want to be shafted by someone who expects me to shell out £35+ for each and every game.
24 Nov 00 | Business
Playstation 2 sweeps into Europe
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