Topic: Sony announces... the PSX!?

[StrikerObi]

Sony showed off a new console. It's a PlayStation 2 with a 120GB Hard Drive, ethernet support, digital video recording (Tivo), TV/Satellite broadcast tuners, Memory Stick, USB 2.0, and DVD Burning functionality. They're calling it... "PSX." GameSpot has pictures here.

It looks really slick. I think it's a horrible design flat to have the controllers plug into the back of the unit. Other than that I think the name choice was absolutly horrid. "PSX" is going to confuse so many people who call the PSone that already. I also think they might be releasing this a little to late in the PS2's life cycle. We'll probalby be seeing new consoles in 2005/6, which doesn't give this thing a lot of shelf life. But damn is it pretty.

[RickPowers]

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/421/421027p1.html

Holy crap.  My level of technolust just blew right through the damned roof.

[SCF]

It looks slick, it has a lot of features BUT how much is this little tin box gonna cost? How about ps2 gamers how will they feel when they see this? And yes i agree this is a little too late in the ps2 life cycle, but sony computer is not the one thats managing its Sony's Home Electronics Division.  

[RickPowers]

I'm betting $999.  It's not for YOU.  It's not for PS2 gamers.  This is aimed at the enthusiast market.  This has nothing to do with the PlayStation 2, other than being another device that can play the same games.  Don't confuse the two.  This is a piece of home electronics, the new hub of the living room.

[PIAC]

yay sony's version of the Q, looks kinda cool, perhaps too cool

[Ian Sane]

"I also think they might be releasing this a little to late in the PS2's life cycle. We'll probalby be seeing new consoles in 2005/6, which doesn't give this thing a lot of shelf life."

Yeah maybe they should wait a little longer so that they can put a PS3 in there instead.  Of course maybe that's the whole idea.  People drop like a grand on this only to have to buy the PS3 version (which will be called the PS1 so as to continue with this "confuse the hell out of everyone" naming scheme) a year later.

The idea of an all-in-one device is not that bad provided that each component can be purchased serperately.  As long as the PS2 is a serperate unit then there's room for the PSX.  This is what Sony has to do with the PS3 if they want it to be a set-top box.  They have to provide a barebones PS3 model designed for the average gamer.

[ThePerm]

SEGA!

[nitsu niflheim]

Quote
Originally posted by: ThePerm
SEGA!

Exactly what I'm thinking.

[jarob]

I am kinda slow today.  What are you talking about? (SEGA!)

[ThePerm]

saturn , neptune(collectors item..apparently they manufactured 60 of them and released them at ultra high prices when they realised they actually had them), jupiter(never released), 32 x, sega cd...it confused the hell out of alot of people and when people bought them they didnt have any money for the next real system....

[nitsu niflheim]

To me it seems kinda like a sign of desperation.  But if Sony is going to release this this year in Japan (?) and next year in other markets it could be seen as a sign that the PS3 is not going to come out in the 2005/2006 range.  Even though the part of Sony that is responsible for the PS2 is not going to be actually responsible for the PSX, it's still Sony.  Besides the name is confusing.  The first PS was codenamed PSX and as StrikerObi mentioned, people still to this day call the system PSX and PSX2.  Sony is trying to hard to make up for the tumble in the stocks they took.

[aoi tsuki]

Color me unimpressed. Design is a little too plain for my tastes, although i do like the PSX logo on the top of the unit. i suppose if i was actually interested in PVR it'd be more appealing techwise. New technology's more interesting than current bundled technology.

The PSX name thing is confusing, but only to the more hardcore gamers. The PSX abbreviation is mostly a web thing; in print and other forms of media it's referred to as "Playstation" or "PS".

This is completely different from Sega's hardware. The Saturn and Sega CD were "legitimate" systems. 32x was Sega of America's ill-conceived attempt at regaining marketshare in the face of the upcoming Playstation. Neptune and Jupiter were never released.

PSX is a digital entertainment hub, and as Rick said, it's aimed at a completely different market than the PS2.  

[nolimit19]

ok a ps2 is still 180 and 120 gb hd cost tons....and a dvd player/burner...i cant see this thing costing less then 300 and it seems like it would have to be 400. i hate the way the consoles are going.  

[ruby_onix]

Quote
Originally posted by: aoi tsuki
The PSX name thing PS confusing, but only to the more hardcore gamers. The PSX abbreviation is mostly a web thing; in print and other forms of media it's referred to as "Playstation" or "PS".

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
"Called SuperDisc this proprietary format would also form the basis of Nintendo's own CD-ROM drive - PlayStation was born!"
"At the end of 1992 Sony, Nintendo and Philips signed a deal whereby PlayStation would be able to run SNES CD-ROMs but left Nintendo with the sole rights to all its games. The version of PlayStation being developed at that time never made it into production."
"But, having come so far Sony were not about to abandon the idea completely and the engineers and designers went back to their drawing boards and started again. When the PS-X surfaced in 1993 it took the industry pundits by storm."

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
Yeah maybe they should wait a little longer so that they can put a PS3 in there instead. Of course maybe that's the whole idea. People drop like a grand on this only to have to buy the PS3 version (which will be called the PS1 so as to continue with this "confuse the hell out of everyone" naming scheme) a year later.

Actually, it's probably more likely that they'd call the PS3 version the "PSX2", which would still cause confusion anyways.

And is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the "Playstation Portable" doesn't seem to be listing the ability to play PSX games as one of it's features, despite being disc-based and "slightly more powerful than a PSX"?

Sony's just blatantly milking the name for all it's worth now.

[deminisma]

Am I the only one who thinks this is one cool little machine?

PVR, 120GB HD, PS2 compatibility, Ethernet (hopefully using Apple's Rendezvous) and DVD burning.
If the price tag is only remotely in my region (say $500) i'll definately consider a purchase. Sounds like a winner to me. Where's Nintendo and Panasonic?

[aoi tsuki]

And that bit of hidden info proves what exactly? What i was saying was that the name PSX isn't something the casual gaming audience or print/tv/radio broadcasts generally use. You just proved my point.

Quote
And is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the "Playstation Portable" doesn't seem to be listing the ability to play PSX games as one of it's features, despite being disc-based and "slightly more powerful than a PSX"?

It's not because it doesn't. It plays PSP games.

Quote
Sony's just blatantly milking the name for all it's worth now.

And why not use the Playstation name to promote their line of gaming-related electronics? It's called branding. "Playstation Portable" instantly brings to mind "Playstation". And everyone knows Sony makes the Playstation. Same thing with the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64. [Nintendo] Gamecube should technically be on that list, but it's the first system that's not bound to the Nintendo name. "Gamecube" stands on it's own, despite attempts otherwise.  

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

I don't know if this will be release outside Japan.  It looks like it is aimed at the Japanese market.

A controller port at the back?  A horrible design that is.  And the name "PSX" will sure confuse people.  That was the first thing that popped up in my mind when I read the article.

[ruby_onix]

Quote
Originally posted by: aoi tsuki
And that bit of hidden info proves what exactly? What i was saying was that the name PSX isn't something the casual gaming audience or print/tv/radio broadcasts generally use. You just proved my point.

Okay. I thought you were saying that "PSX" was just something unofficial that people on the internet came up with. But there's a reason we call it that. It's because Sony used to call it that. The PSOne is the PS-X. The sequel to the ill-fated "original PlayStation".

Sony deliberately naming the "PSOne" what they did was an attempt to cloud their own history (probably to try and make it look perfect). Calling this new device the "PSX" is an attempt to bury their history.

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And is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the "Playstation Portable" doesn't seem to be listing the ability to play PSX games as one of it's features, despite being disc-based and "slightly more powerful than a PSX"?

It's not because it doesn't. It plays PSP games.

I thought I heard something earlier about "Now you can play all your favorite 32-bit PlayStation games, on the go!" or something like that in one of the stories. I gathered that the PSP would be PSOne compatible (which would be a mistake, making it way too big, IMO) to combat the backwards compatibility of the GameBoy series, but that it's own proprietary games would be the mini-DVDs, so it could cut loose the bulky PSOne games by the next generation.

Quote

Quote
Sony's just blatantly milking the name for all it's worth now.

And why not use the Playstation name to promote their line of gaming-related electronics? It's called branding. "Playstation Portable" instantly brings to mind "Playstation". And everyone knows Sony makes the Playstation. Same thing with the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64. [Nintendo] Gamecube should technically be on that list, but it's the first system that's not bound to the Nintendo name. "Gamecube" stands on it's own, despite attempts otherwise.

If Nintendo had called the GameBoy in Japan the "Handheld Famicom", there would have been certain expectations about it. If Nintendo had started making "Famicom Board Games", people could (and probably did) accuse them of "selling out". It's just Sony's turn right now.

I'd have no problem at all with Nintendo Board Games. Or "Sony Portables". I'm just waiting for the PlayStation Underoos.

[boggy b]

While I personally wont buy it, I dont see how this is SONY milking the liscence. They saw an opening (I call it the 'coffee table' market), took the initiative and made something that not only fits in the slot, but fills up every other slot with it. They aren't going to sell huge numbers of these and I'm pretty sure they have no intention too either. It's a PS2 and all that Jazz in a sexy sleek case.

[oohhboy]

It looks non-discript to me. Maybe it's the monitor, maybe it's me, but it just doesn't jump out at all. Maybe it wa designed to blend in with the rest of enterainment system or some thing. No style at all.

[Termin8Anakin]

I agree with nolimit. I really, really hate the direction that Sony and M$ are forcing the game industry to go.
What are they gonna make developers do? Make games using the TV tuner? Give hackers the "great" opportunity to burn their games just to sell the console?

ARRRGH!
The console LOOKS good, but the features are unnecessary. The whole PROCESS of remaking a console is unnecessary. If you want to remake something, at least have it realted to games. The GBA SP was the most significant remake ever so far, since it introduced a light in the console, which ISN'T backlit!
What has the TV tuner got to do with games? The DVD playback??? The DVD BURNER??

WHY??
WHy is this happening at ALL?
ARRRRGH!

[RickPowers]

Ok, let's get something straight, because the GROUSING in here is driving me crazy.

Sony isn't forcing the "market" to go in any direction (by market, I assume you mean videogame market), and they aren't doing anything to "consoles".

They took the hardware that powers the PS2 and made a multi-purpose device for it, one that happens to play games too.  This isn't even a device being made by SCE ... it's a SONY product.  If this doesn't appeal to you, if you don't like it ... guess what?  YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO!  This wasn't made for YOU.

As for the controller ports being in the back, that's actually smart design.  How?  Didn't you notice that you can stand the machine on it's back-end?  You can wall mount this unit, perfect for people with flat-panel televisions (again, this wasn't made for YOU), and the cords will hang down the wall appropriately.

[pingsmoth]

An ounce of prevention...

Here's how I see it, and consequently, how I think Sony is playing this whole deal.  First, you have to dig back to the roots of the Xbox, which lie in WebTV.  Some of the execs at Microsoft didn't want a gaming machine as much as they wanted a game-enabled WebTV.  They wanted to make a super-duper WebTV which could record shows like Tivo, play games like the PlayStation, and surf the internet like...well...like WebTV.  Eventually that idea fell by the wayside, probably due to the final cost of the machine being too far out of reach and too much R&D time to develop the thing.  Remember, Microsoft uses a lot standard PC hardware in the Xbox, not custom stuff like Nintendo and Sony.

So what does this have to do with Sony and the PSX?  Sony knows that the next Xbox will have the aforementioned Tivo-like features.  Sony is also not ready to announce anything in the way of a new console other than they are working on it and it will use lots and lots of processors to do various jobs and will be a thousand times more powerful than the PS2.  But if they announce this system, it will take a lot of steam away from Microsoft when they announce specs for the Xbox 2.  It will come with these features like recording TV and possibly disc burning, but Sony will already have that machine, so why care?  It's sort of like their announcement of the PSP, except this time they actually have something more than a sheet of paper with some proposed specs on it.

[TOY]

Rick has a good point, what people dont seem to realize is, the PSX is an audio video component that plays games, not the other way around. And as for the controller ports, I have my PS2 on top of my tv, so I wrap my controller extension cables around the back of my system so they dont hang in front of the tv screen.



TOY

[nolimit19]

not even made by sce? wow that changes a lot.