Sony soups up PlayStation2
Published: 28 May 2003 14:47 BST
Sony on Wednesday unveiled a souped-up PlayStation2 that is its answer to the home "digital appliance", adding DVD-recording, hard-drive, digital television and other features to the device.
The PSX is designed to be an interim successor to the PlayStation2 before the arrival of the PS3. Although the PSX shares a number of components with the PlayStation2, including the custom-designed graphics chip known as the Emotion Engine and the operating system, Sony said it is intended to create a new category of devices.
"We intended to design it as a Digital appliance of the next generation, a device encompassing much more than just a game console, by infusing elements of the PC, audio-visual appliance and game machine," said Ken Kutaragi, vice president of Sony and chief executive of gaming subsidiary Sony Computer Entertainment. "By utilising the elements at hand, we tried to see to what extent we could approach the realisation of the digital appliance."
Though Sony mentioned nothing about the much-rumoured PlayStation3, which currently is expected to debut in 2005, representatives indicated they plan to build a home server incorporating the "Cell" chip, which is destined for the PS3.
In addition to gaming features, the PSX incorporates features usually associated with a PC or digital video recorder (DVR), such as a DVD+RW/-RW/-R drive, 120GB hard disk drive, TV tuner, Ethernet port, USB 2.0 port and Memory Stick slot.
It has a sleek, minimalist design reminiscent of high-end stereo equipment, and uses a slot-loading disc drive instead of the conventional tray built into the PS2.
The console is to be available in the Japanese market at the end of this year and then in the US and Europe in early 2004, Sony said, but pricing was not disclosed.
Sony recently unveiled its planned portable gaming device, the PSP. The company is under pressure to come up with positive news and introduce new products following dismal earnings a month ago, when it posted its biggest quarterly loss in eight years and issued a profit warning for the next year.
ZDNet UK's Matthew Broersma contributed to this report.
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