PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sony's second video game console, after the PlayStation. Its development was announced in April 1999, and it was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000. The U.S. version was released on October 26, 2000. Following a slow first year due to a lack of units built and ready, the PlayStation 2 has grown to become a popular gaming console, with over 90 million units sold.

Hardware revisions

The PlayStation 2 has undergone many revisions, some only of internal construction and others with substantial external changes. These are colloquially known amongst PlayStation 2 hardware hackers as V0, V1, V2, etc., up to V12 (as of November 25, 2004).

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V0 was a Japanese model and was never sold in Europe or the US. These included a PCMCIA slot instead of the Expansion Bay (DEV9) port of newer models. V0 did not have a built-in DVD player and instead relied on an encrypted player that was copied to a memory card from an included CD-ROM (normally, the PS2 will only execute encrypted software from its memory card, but see PS2 Independence Exploit). V3 has a substantially different internal structure from the subsequent revisions, featuring several interconnected printed circuit boards. As of V4 everything was unified into one board, except the power supply. V5 introduces minor internal changes and the only difference between V6 (sometimes called V5.1) and V5 is the orientation of the Power/Reset switch board connector, which was reversed to prevent the use of no-solder modchips. V7 and V8 are also similar, and V9 (model number SCPH-50000/SCPH-50001) added the Infrared port for the optional DVD Remote Control, removed the widely unused FireWire port, added the capability to read DVD-RW discs, and a quieter fan. V10 and V11 have minor changes.

Related Topics:
PS2 Independence Exploit - Printed circuit board - Modchips - Infrared - Remote Control - FireWire

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In September 2004 Sony unveiled the third major hardware revision (V12, model number SCPH-70000). Available in November 2004, it is smaller and thinner than the old version and includes a built-in Ethernet port. In some markets it also integrates a modem. Due to its thinner profile, it does not contain the 3.5" expansion bay, and therefore does not support the internal hard disk drive. This poses a problem for games such as Final Fantasy XI, which requires the use of this peripheral, and prevents the use of the official PS2 Linux kit, although a workaround may be possible. It is widely believed that Sony has abandoned support for the hard drive. There are also some disputes on the numbering for this PS2 version, since there are actually two sub-versions of the SCPH-70000. One of them includes the old EE and GS chips, and the other contains the newer unified EE+GS chip, otherwise being identical. Since the V12 version had already been established for this model, there were some disputes regarding these sub-versions. Two propositions were to name the old model (EE and GS, separate chips) V11.5 and the newer model V12, and to name the old model V12 and the newer model V13. Currently, most people just use V12 for both models, or V12 for the old model and V13 for the newer one.

Related Topics:
Ethernet - Modem - Expansion bay - Internal hard disk drive - Final Fantasy XI - PS2 Linux

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The new V12 model was first released in black. A silver edition is available in the United Kingdom exclusively. It is unknown whether or not this will follow the color schemes of the older model.

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Sony has also made a PVR/DVD burning consumer device that plays PlayStation 2 games called the PSX. The device was poorly received, with some major features absent from the first revisions of the hardware, and has thus far experienced very poor sales in Japan, in spite of major price drops http://www.gamesindustry.biz/news.php?aid=4280. The machine's future continues to be uncertain, with North American and European launches considered to be distant if at all.

Related Topics:
PVR - PSX

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