Compact $99 PlayStation 2 rumored to land in 2008
By Darren Murph 
posted November 2nd 2007 11:07AM
posted November 2nd 2007 11:07AM
We'll be straight with you: we're far from ready to etch this one in stone, but considering that Sony has already trimmed down the PlayStation 2 (twice), it's not unfathomable to think that an even smaller iteration could be in the pipeline. According to MCV, Sony is aiming to launch a "compact" PS2 in early 2008 for just $99, and while we've no idea how different (or not) it would actually look, it will supposedly feature a "built-in power supply." Of course, representatives for Sony "refused to comment" when questioned, so we hope you're ready for another fascinating round of wait-and-see.[Via Joystiq]
No.
I'm not going to get into the technical aspects of it, but to put it simply, removing the PS1 hardware would break PS2 games.
the emotion engine in the ps3 was custom, thus the cost was higher than the regular emotion engine in the ps2. And with a $99 ps2-mini, i cant say i see the problem of ps3 not doing hardware ps2 emulation.
Why do people look at this as a bad thing.
The ps3 doesnt get magically cheaper to produce, the ps2 have been sold in so huge numbers and technology have progressed to a point that a new rehash to squeeze the last juice out of the system is possible.
Now the ones that are looking for a next gen console doesnt think of the ps2, but those who happend to have little money to spend would prefer to have something cheaper. So what is wrong with Sony to offer both a high end and a low end alternative?
I would buy a $99 ps2, and i barly do gaming.
Well its not a bad thing its just that there isn't really anything wrong with the existing hardware out there, I think a price drop would have been a better idea. But maybe there something about this particular model that makes the $99 easier.
I was already this >< close to buying PS2 but I don't mind waiting a few months if a smaller and a cheaper version comes out.
A new manufacturing process has probably made this version of the PS2 cheaper to produce than the former slim version... so of course Sony is going to start selling this new model, and continue to make money off the worlds best selling console.
This has nothing at all to do with PS3 development. Sony will make the PS3 cheaper as the technology becomes available to do so. They want your money, and the money for Sony comes from selling games (they get licensing fees from every game sold), not consoles themselves. They would give you a console for free if they could -- but they can't afford to, since the PS3 is pretty dang advanced.
Wow, I don't think at all that a slimmerER (intentional spelling error) PS2 will "dilute" sales of the PS3 at all, nor cause Sony to somehow self-destruct in their own supposed chaos. The way I see it is that Sony is trying to clean up the mess they left behind when they arrogantly and abruptly made the PS3 the way it is...and released it too soon. Here is my take on Sony (if anyone would care to read):
1 - Throughout the years, Sony has increasingly tried to market their PlayStation brand as a "COMPUTER" entertainment console. In some respects, a PlayStation (1,2,3) is a computer, but not the type that most consumers are familiar with. Remember Linux for the PS2? And what about the PSX (the other, PRICIER console)??? Now that the PS3 is marketed as a "computer gaming console" that can do EVERYTHING entertainment-wise for you, I think this confuses many consumers (I buy my consoles solely for gaming).
2 - At first Sony's PS3 was to compete directly with the Wii and Xbox 360, but now it seems Sony has realized that the PS3 can't directly compete with the Wii, since the demographics for each respective console is more different than the same (purists vs. casuals...etc etc). Price-wise, the PS3 was initially the most expensive console too, so that might have hurt sales a bit.
3 - Gameplay- and graphics-wise, I believe that the only clear contender the PS3 has is the 360. The Wii has carved out a niche in the industry that--unless Sony makes an EXACT clone of the Wii--Sony will have a hard time converting people in the Wii demographics (with the PS3).
4 - The PS2 is intended to indirectly compete with the Wii, since the PS3 failed miserably at that. There are still many tweens and other folks that have either just hopped onto the console gaming bandwagon, or have never really considered purchasing a PS2 until now; Sony's hoping that with continued price drops and changes to the PS2, this will entice said consumers into purchasing a new PS2 (a cheap, fun system that has a shipload of even CHEAPER games to play). Hence, why...
5 - ...the PS3 lost its backwards compatibility and the PS2 is getting a new look at...*gasp* $100!!! It's almost like Sony's saying: "Since the PS3's sales figures are muuuuuch lower than projected, why don't we pull this thirty-something-odd-dollar technology out of it, drop it's price, and refresh the look of the PS2 at $100! That way people who buy a new PS3 ($400 20GB) and still want to play PS2 games will have to shell out $100 more for a PS2 (if they don't already have one)...which will equate to...500 smackers!!! The price of the old 20GB console! And those who just want to play PS2 games will not have to shell out $500 for a PS3, but buy a PS2 at just $100!!!" In layman terms, Sony will kill two birds with one PS2.
6 - Reason 5 is what Sony is attempting to accomplish to try and clean up (or more like "reduce") the mess they made with the PS3. They will continue to squeeze as much life left as they can out of the PS2 console until more support (and games) are available for the PS3. By the way, Sony is losing like, ZILCH, on making the PS2 smaller than it already is. If anything, this move will only cut the already low costs of making a PS2. The money that they make from the PS2 sales can also be used to research ways to make the PS3 less pricey too.
Sooooooooo...in conclusion, smart move, Sony. Smaaaaaaart move. BTW, I'm keeping my eye out for this "slimmerER" PS2. Also, sorry for the EXTREMELY long post; these are just my opinions, so don't take them as the gospel truth.