Playstation 2 SCPH-70012: The new, more compact PS2 in 2004
Written: Nov 17 '04 (Updated Nov 17 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: -A new, slim design, great controller, most diverse list of games.
Cons: Less powerful than its counterparts.
The Bottom Line: The PS2, or PSTwo in this case, is still the King of the console wars today because of its impressive library of games.
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| pavona21's Full Review: Sony PlayStation 2 Slimline Console |
Intro: PSX is to PSOne as PS2 is to _____?
Directly after the end of the original PSX era, Sony’s began asking the question: What would happen with the original PSX and a Portable CD Player fornicated? After some experimentation and looking at various generations of the two hybrids, the result was unanimous and the PSOne was born. The PSOne was, and is, essentially a smaller version of the original Sony Playstation. It could do everything the PSX could do, only in a much smaller, much “cuter” shell. So, Sony had found a way to spark sales of their nearly obsolete console, regardless of the fact that the competition was much more powerful. Fast forward to 2004. Now, the “Original” PS2 isn’t quite obsolete, but recent sales data has shown that many consumers are trading in their PS2 for Bill Gates’ giant brain child that they call the Xbox. That being said, Sony has recently released the SCPH-70012 series of the PS2, or what Ill be naming the “PSTwo”. In case you’re not smart enough to read between the lines, I call it the PSTwo because it is the same system as the PS2, only in a smaller, and much “cuter” shell. And if you can’t solve the analogy in the intro title now, consider yourself an idiot.
Out of the Box
Aside from the allure of the already mentioned “cute” design of the PSTwo, consumers may also take a liking to it because it is essentially all inclusive. Included neatly and safely packaged in the in the box is the console itself, a Sony Dual Shock II controller, all of the required audio and video cables, and of course, the power source cord and plug, along with the common bits of instructions and generally bad advertising pamphlets that all systems come with. Now you may ask, “What’s the difference between this and the past models of the PS2?” Well, the advantage here is that the PSTwo also includes in a built in Sony network adapter(both dialup and broadband) for all of your Sony Online play needs. Now, this engineering has mystified me since I first looked at the new designed. They clearly redesigned the network adapter as well as the console, because otherwise they wouldn’t be able to get a network adapter that was so damn big, into a console that is so damn small. Bravo Sony, you’ve officially produced the 9th wonder of the modern world, and I applaud you for that. Really.
What does it look like?
Wow, I’m glad I asked that question. Up until I actually saw one for myself, I had heard the design of the PSTwo compared to the size of a hardcover book. Now, I don’t read much(you already knew that though), but I do go to college, and saying that this console is the size of any hardcover book that I have is an atrocity. I can tell you that biology 6th edition is 1400 pages and weighs 8 points, and you could kill Pavlov’s dog just by hitting him with Fundamentals of Psychology 5th edition. The PSTwo, on the other hand, is much smaller. The measuring stick tells me that its basic dimensions are 9 inches wide, 6 inches deep, and a mere 1 inch high. By doing some basic gorilla math, I’ve also decided that the new PSTwo is an astounding 23% as big as the original PS2. Other than the size difference though, most of the other features of the PSTwo look unchanged. It still features two controller ports with memory slots directly on top of each of them. On the flip side, you’ll still see the audio/video and power hookups, but you’ll also see a dialup and broadband slot for online play. One thing you won’t see though is an expansion port, which could potentially cause a problem that I will tackle later. The CD port is also a little different here. Instead of having a sliding CD slot like you’d see in an original PS2 or an Xbox, you have a top loading CD slot much like that of the Gamecube or a standard portable CD player.
Functions: What Can You With Your PSTwo
As it always has been, the main function of the PStwo, is of course to play video games. But, as most of you should already know, the PSTwo can also do a few other things. First off, the PSTwo still runs at 300 Mhz. Basically, what can be implied from this that the PSTwo runs much slower than the Gamecube or the Xbox. In Sony’s defense though, the original PS2 came out about a year before than the Gamecube or the Xbox, and you couldn’t really expect them to completely redesign the CPU when redesigning the base. But the PSTwo can also do many other things. If you like music, the PSTwo can play cds for you as well. Just pop in an audio disc, turn on the console and right in front of your eyes it will magically turn into a CD player. Instead of playing games, the screen will be transformed into a digital cd player with all of the options that you would expected in the year 2000 when the original came out. All you have to do is move your controller around, and you can do things like pick your tracks, stop, play, pause, fast forward, and even set up a play list. But, it doesn’t stop there. Thankfully, the PSTwo can still play DVDs, although it still doesn’t do a very good job of it.
DVD Player: Not Sony Quality
When you hear that a DVD player will be on a Sony based console, you automatically assume that the dvd player will be as quality as other Sony electronics. If this is the case, you’re assuming wrong. First of all, this dvd player doesn't have many options at all. It has no zoom, no on screen menus, and you can only fast-forward it in 2x. It also has no "progressive playback". Not only is the Sony PSTwo not even close to as good of a dvd player as a Sony dvd player would be, its also considerably worse of a dvd player than the Microsoft Xbox is. Overall, I just expected a little bit more from a Sony dvd player. If just want to just experience DVD’s, then this isn't all bad, but if you really want to take advantage of DVD power, I would recommend finding a better player for to watch and enjoy. Basically, don’t sell your DVD player to buy a PSTwo.
What can’t it Do?
Well, the answer to this question is basically infinite, being as though it can’t walk, run, cook, clean, talk, and the list goes on. In terms of things that the original PS2 could do though, the new PSTwo is limited by the fact that it has no expansion bay, as I stated previously. What does this mean? You won’t be able to install an expanded hard drive into the PSTwo, meaning that you won’t be able to play Final Fantasy XI on it. So, what I’m saying is that if you feel a divine need to purchase one of the most expensive games ever and then pay 12 dollars and some change a month to play it, stay away from the PSTwo, buy a PS2. Aside from that though, the PSTwo can do anything that its older counterpart can.
Controller: The same great controller as always
The Sony “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” way of making controllers has extended once again, now also including its new console design. The PS1 controller was already very well liked, so they didn’t change it much for the PS2. People like the Dual Shock II, so they didn’t change it at all for the PSTwo. For those of you that don‘t know much about the PS2 controller though, I‘ll give a quick rundown. There are four action buttons on the face of the controller: X, circle, triangle, and square. You have your R1 and R2 buttons, and your L1 and L2 buttons, which are located on the top of the controller. And you have your D pad. If you don't like using the regular "action" buttons or the D pad, you also have two analog sticks. The one on the left side is used for movement controls, and the one on the right side is used for action controls. As for rumble, this controller really shakes the house. The rumble pack is again built in, and won't cost you any additional cash. Finally, the Dual Shock II is pressure sensitive, as are all of the current generation controllers, making gameplay feel even more real than it used to. Overall, this controller is thought by many, including myself, to be as good as any on the market.
Peripherals: You better have money
As with any other video game console producer, Sony hardly makes any profit on its consoles, even at this stage in its life cycle. Where does all the money come from? Well, the two biggest sources of income for Sony are games produced for the system and first party peripherals. Peripherals have always been a bit of a mystery to me, because they seem so overpriced. An 8 mega byte memory card, for example, has long cost $30. It just doesn’t make sense when you can buy an 40GB hard drive, or 5000 times the memory for just twice as much as this memory card costs. Aside from that, Sony also sells first party controllers at about $30, first party DVD remotes at about $20, and also things like console stands, multitaps, and other miscellaneous hoopla for various prices. Of course, 3rd party peripherals are also available at cheaper prices, but in almost all cases, I recommend sticking with the first party merchandise.
How does it compare to its counterparts?
Problem here for Sony is that it loses to both of its counterparts in almost all technological and “power” categories. The Xbox is clearly the most powerful system, in terms of speed, graphics, audio, and overall capability. The Xbox is actually roughly twice as powerful as the PSTwo. Next in line is the Gamecube, not quite as powerful as the Xbox, but still considerably more powerful than the Pstwo. Almost all of these things are due to the fact that the original Playstation 2 was released a year before its current competitors, and we all know how fast technology improves these days. Sony has fortunately now taken the cake with best console design with their slimmer, cuter Pstwo though. Finally, as for cost, the Pstwo and Xbox both sell for $150 retail, while the Gamecube is still the most economical at $100.
What kind of games can you play on your PStwo?
The library of games available is the one place where Sony has been, and still is, the unanimous leader. First off, lets talk about backwards compatibility. Sony’s PSTwo is the only non portable console today that can play games from a popular console of the past. The fact that this machine can play any game from the PS1 era adds thousands of available games to its library. That aside, Sony also boasts impressive contracts with various third parties that make for great PS2 exclusives and early releases. The prime example of this is in the GTA series, where GTA3, Vice City, and now San Andreas have all sold millions upon millions of copies for the PS2. Of course, the Xbox is now also getting the GTA games, but they’re coming out considerably later in the green boxes than they are for the PS2. Most of Squares games, too, seem to favor the 2. The Final Fantasy series, with the exception of the individual games that have came out on the Gamecube, has been nearly exclusive to the PS2 console. The only place that you’ll ever be able to find the popular Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI is on Sony’s rectangle. The same thing can be said about other Square-Enix RPGs like Kingdom Hearts as well.
On top of all of those big name games, Sony is also a great place to play pretty much any other genre of games that you could think of. If you like sports games, you can find any and all of the EA Sports, Sega Sports, and even 989 sports games that are released annually. Also, the PS2 is the place to play the Gran Turismo series, with GT3 being a Sony exclusive and GT4 also looking like it’ll lean towards the deuce as well. The PS2 also has an answer for adventure RPGs, like the acclaimed Zelda series, in the budding Dark Cloud series. You can also only find games like Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter on the PS2. What I’m essentially alluding to here is that the PS2 still the largest and most diverse gaming library of any system on the market today. If you’re playing for RPGs, Sports games, or just to have a great diverse library, the PS2 is definitely the system for you. While, if you’re looking for great online titles and Halo, side with the xbox. And finally, if you want to play Zelda, Mario, and Metroid games, side with the Cube.
Overall
When push comes to shove, you just can’t go wrong with the Playstation 2, especially with its more compact, new design. If you’re looking to buy a system, and you like the PS2, I’m really going to recommend that you go ahead and buy this new model. You’ll save a little bit of money with the included network adapter, and you’ll get a much cooler design that the chicks dig. On the other hand, if you already have the BigS2, I don’t necessarily recommend you trading it up for the SmallS2, being as though they do the same thing. Finally, as for the Playstation 2 as a whole, what it lacks in power it makes up for in games. Although the Xbox is slowly creeping up, the PS2 is still the king of the console wars, and I don’t think that will change any time soon.
Thanks for reading,
-Pav
Recommended:
Yes
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pavona21
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Member: Eric Pavona
Location: Scenic Michigan
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