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Joystiq

Call it the PStwo: Is Sony planning a slimmed-down PS2?

by Peter Rojas on Sep 3rd 2004 11:30AM

Reader David Anthony writes in with a question:

I'm wondering what the official story is. Gamestop and EB have no PS2s available for purchase and there's even short supply online at GameStop.com. I was told by employees that this was due to the fact a portable version of the PS2 coming (not the PSP) that will be much like the PSone and there will also be a price drop to $99.

It was pretty easy to debunk the part about the PlayStation 2 being in short supply—Amazon, EBGames.com, and other online retailers seem to have plenty of them for sale—but anyone know if there's anything to this rumor that Sony is planning a slimmed-down version of the PS2? We haven't heard anything too specific about this (besides the usual rumblings), but sales are definitely flat, so it wouldn't exactly be shocking to discover they were planning a PStwo to follow in the footsteps of the PSone.

UPDATE: It's for real. Get yr PStwo photos here and PStwo details here.

Reader Comments (20)

Part of that idea makes sense- it's another way for Sony to get some more money out of the same hardware...but why on earth would they do this? something like the PStwo would be in direct competition with their PSP because it's supposedly the same hardware (or at least, comparable) and the point of the PSone was to have it for a car or whatever...the whole reason it would sell is the whole point of the PSP existing. It just doesn't seem all that logical to me.

I don't think that it will be "portable" per se, but more like the PS2 equivalent of the PSOne (which is similar to what Nintendo did to the NES/Famicom and the SNES/SuperFamicom when their newer hardware came out). This wouldn't be in direct competition with the PSP as a slimmed version of the PS2 would still require a power cable, some sort of external monitor, and controllers.

Of course we should only expect seeing such creature after the true PS3 comes out (not the PS2 with a faster DVD drive with media-center capabilities).

Now that the PS2 is down to one chip, the current huge case is overkill. A cheaper, smaller, non-portable PStwo is an obvious move.

The PS2 was dropped to 104.99 (pounds) and the xbox to 99 (pounds)

There's also word that shipments to the retailers are far and few; getting in only 6 pieces in the past month (elecronics boutique). Gamestop is sold out online and at their retail stores.

Pricedrop overseas usually means pricedrops here in the US follow. It also means one more year of life left for the hardware before new hardware is introduced.

I've heard from friends that the PS2 is pretty hard to find here in Philly. A freiend of a friend needed to replace his and went to EB, BestBuy, and a few other spots. EB in particular is out of new and used PS2s, and hasn't gotten in any in about a month.

He eventually bought an XBOX.

If it's not something he did and is related to the DVD drive then he can get it repaired for free from SCEA as there was a class-action lawsuit filed against them (since it was a defect on many PS2s made during the first year or so of production).

Recently in the market for a new Xbox, I found that those too were also in short supply. At an EB, Gamestop, and BestBuy, I was told that both the Xbox and PS2 was in short supply because the companies had not produced any for a few months, thinking their surplus would last and then focusing the money it took to make new machines on PS3 and Xenon. Yet now, Microsoft and Sony are trying to produce as many as they can to keep up.

I think it's bull. But whatever. I did get an Xbox though, had to drive a few miles to the store with it in stock.

It'll happen, just not this year. Expect it in 2006 after the PS3 ships.

I went to gamestop the other day to pick up a PS2, and they told me the lack of systems was due to a manufacturing problem in Japan. They didn't have any ETA on new systems, so who knows.

i was shopping around for one here in KC and a few spots on the web. Hopefully they drop the price..! :)

Hmm... maybe Sony is holding off new shipments till they fix the HD Advance/Internal hard-drive easy game "backup" situation.

My son has been looking for a new PS/2 for several weeks now, and I can confirm that the big box retailers (Walmart, Best Buy, Target) here in Tampa, Florida have been out for weeks now.

I'm a store director for Gamerazy, and what our rep has been telling us for some time is that Sony is re-doing their bundle pack, which used to include a network adapter and Offroad Fury II. The game is outdated, so they are changing it, just like Nintendo just did with the cube. They are also updating the packaging. The system itself is not being changed, according to the rep.

I am an assistant manager at a Chicagoland Game Crazy, and we are very very short handed on PS2s and Xboxes. Our entire district has only a few systems. No straight answer from the reps, but I believe that they are changing packaging and pack-ins for the upcoming holiday season.

just click here and find out http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09/03/news_6106680.html

I recently went shopping for a PS2 and the folks at Gamestop told me they were in short supply because Sony is coming out with a new packaging for it. Thats all. I don't think they'll come out with the PSTwo until the PS3 is released. Though I don't think I'll be getting te PS3, I'm getting the PSTwo for sure.

Just ask the manager at any store when a new shipment is coming in....doesn't happen all the time but if you nicely ask a manager they can tell you when they are coming in. I bought a used one and took it back... the next day and they had 4 new ones...which were all gone the same day. Just find out when a shipment is coming in...thats the best time to buy.

Now its set to coincide with the lauch of the next GTA. I'm wondering if it will be sleek and sexy.

I'm the assistant manager of a Game Crazy store in California. We are getting a few PlayStation 2 consoles in stock every few days. There was a shortage for a while. The PsTwo will be a more compact version of the PlayStation 2 which will be coming out October 26. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was also pushed from October 19 to the 26th to coincide with this release. No pictures of the console have been supplied to us yet.

Well, it's official. The Japanese site has released pictures and specs this very day, and believe me, it sure looks cool! But I am a bit baffled to where the discs go in though... 149 dollars AND euros is the asking price, and is due to hit the US and Europe on the 1st of November, with a Japanese launch on the third.

Pictures can be found here:

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/040921a.html

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Call it the PStwo: Is Sony planning a slimmed-down PS2?

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