Sony have announced that they are about to release a hardware revised edition of the PS2 on May 15th. The console will, initially, be available only in Japan for 25,000 Yen and will carry the code SCPH-50000.
Although this may sound like exciting news for most PS2 fans the truth is that the company have only announced secondary changes, that is changes which will in no way affect game quality or play. The main improvements in the new model, according to Sony, will include DVD playback enhancements, finally introducing progressive scan support and a significant reduction in fan noise through new design and improved airflow.
Another new code number, SCPH-10420, will also be introduced, in the form of a new DVD r/c including the much missed, power switch and disk tray control buttons. In order to accomodate the new r/c the PS2 will feature a built-in IR Receiver Unit, instead of requiring an external one to be plugged into a controller port.
DVD video playback capability will also be improved in order to allow support for DVD-R and -RW disks recorded in video mode and DVD-RW disks recorded in VR mode. DVD-RAM playback is excluded.
Welcome as all these changes may be they are hardly significant enough to cause a PS2 owner to reconsider his hardware options.
The only sad note with this hardware revision is the removal of the i.Link, firewire, port. Although the only well-known title to ever utilise this feature was Gran Turismo 3, the original excitement which followed the introduction of the port on PS2's launch has turned to complete indifference at its removal.
This revision really just serves as a reminder that PS3 still has a long way to go, since it is widely expected that further PS2 revisions, perhaps introducing changes to the console's size, may be introduced in the next two years.
