What's the name of the system called?
SCEI President Ken Kutaragi said that the name will include PlayStation, adding "it will be something like PlayStation_____." Currently, Sony is calling it "The next PlayStation," as an interim name. We've seen marketing material the day it was announced, and it looks like Sony will be keeping the PlayStation brand for the next system. In the meantime, the press will unofficially call the system PlayStation 2, or PS2 for short. It's just easier that way.
When is it coming out?
The official announcement from Sony stated that the company will release the device "within the fiscal year ending March 2000" in Japan, and "Fall 2000" in the United States. The Japan date is misleading - it doesn't mean that the system will be released in March 2000 in Japan, but instead means that it will be released before that date.
Sources have indicated that Sony wants to release the next PlayStation five years, day and date, after the release of the original PlayStation. That would set the Japanese release at December 3, 1999 and September 9, 2000 in the US. Sony has said the official unveiling of PlayStation 2 is at the Fall Tokyo Game Show on September 17, 1999.
When was this official announcement?
Sony Computer Entertainment publicly unveiled the technology on March 2, 1999 at the PlayStation Meeting '99 in Tokyo, Japan. It was unveiled to developers and press from all around the world.
When will the system be officially unveiled for the first time?
Ken Kutaragi, the President of Sony Computer Entertainment Interactive (SCEI, the Japanese branch) has stated that the console system will be unveiled, in prototype casing, on September 17, 1999 at the Tokyo Game Show in Japan.
How much will the system cost?
Cost is a huge issue, and Sony has officially announced that it wants to keep the system under $400. Because the system is entirely proprietary (meaning every chipset in the system was made specifically for the unit), and because the system has yet to enter mass production, it's hard to make a guess on what the initial price tag will be when it becomes available.
Will it be backward compatible with all older PlayStation games?
Yes, the PlayStation 2 will be able to play original PlayStation games. Because the system's I/O (input/output) processor is essentially the core (main processor) of the original PlayStation, the system will use this processor to insure backward compatibility with all existing PlayStation games. Sony will most likely continue to institute the territorial lockout to make sure that only US PlayStation 2s play original US PlayStation games.
The subject of whether or not the PlayStation 2 will "enhance" original games with effects like a high-resolution mode and texture filtering is still up in the air. Sony has said that the system will not enhance PlayStation games -- but because PC emulators enable this feature with 3D cards, it's certainly a possibility in the PlayStation 2.
Will the current PlayStation system be able to play new PlayStation 2 games?
Absolutely not. PlayStation 2 games will be written specifically for the PlayStation 2 hardware, and the current PlayStation will not recognize the instructions on a PlayStation 2 game disc.
Will it use existing PlayStation peripherals, like controllers and memory cards?
Yes. While the PlayStation 2 will have its own specific controllers, memory cards and peripherals, all original PlayStation memory cards, controllers -- even the PocketStation -- will work on the PlayStation 2. This will insure 100% backward-compatibility.
In fact, at the conference on March 2, 1999 in Japan, the PlayStation 2 demonstrations were being controlled by a standard Dual Shock controller.
What does the system look like?
How many controller ports will the system have?
Sony did not officially announce this. But because the N64 and Dreamcast have the ability to connect four controllers right out of the box, expect the same functionality with the PlayStation 2. At the San Mateo PS2 Developers Conference in June 1999, more than one developer confirmed that there will be four controller ports based on the hardware they saw.
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16-09-1999
