Compact $99 PlayStation 2 rumored to land in 2008

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]

[brad @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:14AM]

ps2 = wife with a job = making money
ps3 = girlfriend without a job = draining your wallet

[kevjohn @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:25PM]

psp = 3rd cousin you met at family reunion = no clue what this equals, but damn she's cute

[charles @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:15AM]

so I'm assuming that this will include a smaller, even more economical version of the Emotion Engine that is estimated to currently cost Sony $27 each. Can they afford to include it in the PS3 again now?

[Isindil @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:17AM]

I kind of... want one. Considering I've never had a PS2, and the price of more or less everything related to it is very low now that we're already quite far into the "next gen", I might just buy one.

[Jeff @ Nov 4th 2007 10:09AM]

I feel the same...i went from PS One to the XBoX, probably only play god of war though

[Nate @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:18AM]

I wonder if they cut out the ability to play PS1 games in order to save on "cost".

[Kurian @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:18AM]

DIE! Seriously. Anyone who wants one already has one.

[Travis Brown @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:11AM]

Obviously not if they are still selling quite well...

[Justin @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:38AM]

That's not entirely true. I'd consider it. Maybe not for long, but I would.

[kevjohn @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:11PM]

That's certainly not true. I had one, years ago. And now after years of being underwhelmed by 'next gen' game offerings I'd like to go back to the simple, solid fun of PS2 gaming. Being able to do so for only $99 is gravy.

[kwiksotik @ Nov 6th 2007 11:41AM]

I just bought a PS2 last week, and I ALMOST held out for this one.

[Fatima @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:22AM]

Perhaps they should work on PS3..not PS2?

[kingofwale @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:23AM]

why not working on both? Can you blame Sony for trying to sell something that is profitable?

[Mak @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:10PM]

They are smart.

Kill the Wii at the low end
Kill the 360 at the high end.

At the minute they are suceeding in both.

[Chris @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:30PM]

@ mak

I reeeeeeeally hope that was sarcasm...

[Gamer11178 @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:22AM]

I think it is a stupid move. They need to get the PS3 off and running in a positive direction. If they actually have the money to make the ps2 smaller and cheaper they should use all that resource to make the PS3 CHEAPER!!! They cannot wait 3-5 years for the PS3 to be in the Sub $300 category. By that time XBox will come out with another version and the Wii as well.. Then what Sony is late a year to bring out the PS4 which will be WAY too expensive for the casual gamer? They need to start pushing and selling the PS3 now and not trying to promote the PS2..

[Paul @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:41AM]

agreed. terrible move on sony's part. they need to work on the system that is losing them so much moeny and make it better. surely if the ps2 turned out this well then why not do the same with ps3. i don't why in 2007 anyone would want a ps2 other than having no money. come on people i'm a broke college student and i own an hdtv and an xbox 360 elite......

[Tony @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:10PM]

The PS2 and PS3 are two seperate consoles. The PS2 is the worlds number one gaming console. Why should they stop while it's still selling well?

@Paul

If you are a broke college student, and have the Xbox 360 Elite and HDTV..

..Well, I think you know why you're a broke college student.

[kevinm @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:42PM]

The thing is that the PS2 slim (the current model) is already damn small. I haven't held the new one with lighter components but come on, it's pretty tiny and light if you've seen one. This research and design money should go towards the improvements of the PS3 and even use it to lower the price tag of the PS3. It would be easier just to lower the price to $99 without redesigning an already compact case.

[Brad @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:45PM]

What this does is dilute the PS3 brand. It says to developers - and consumers - that the company is not completely behind the new console. It says to consumers "There's no rush to go out and buy a PS3. You've got years left on your PS2 (those that own one). There'll be plenty of new games, and lots of fun still to be had."

This is a bad message to send to people. Imagine if Apple came out with a new iPod every 18 months and didn't talk about all the ways it was better than the previous generation, and then sold, and continued to develop, the previous generation at $100. How many new iPods you think they would sell?

Get your new 6g iPod - for $299 at 80GB. Or get the 5.5g iPod for $100 at 80gb, now with brighter screen and 20% lighter!

Who's going to buy the new one? People for whom money is no object.

[Frankenstein Black @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:46PM]

HEY SONY, its time to cut the PS2 umbilical cord so that Devs can shift full FOCUS to the PS3! Learn a trick or two from the MS. But you wont will you? No you will continue to be like the Monkey with his fist in a gourd greedily grasping at old fruit while a Lion chews on its BACK! The moral of the story need not be spelled out here...

[Yoshi Likes Boys @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:35AM]

This is not stupid at all. The PS2 is still an awesome system, whose biggest drawback is the lack of bells and whistles compared to the PS3. I have a 60GB EE PS3 and mostly use it for PS2 games, with the exception of some of the exceptional DLC games. If they release a cheap compact PS2 with a new look and Sony-brand wireless controllers I will be all over that the SECOND it comes out.

[michas_pi @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:42AM]

If only the "EE" stood for "energy efficient"...

[iRobot @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:40AM]

Or they can leave the PS2 as is, and simple charge $99.

[Heffer @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:49PM]

@Mak The difference is that the competition adapted and is doing something different--even if SONY is using the same strategy.

Xbox 360 came out a full year before the PS3 rather than come a full year after.

Wii brought in a whole new novelty to gaming at an relatively lower price point.

Just like in any competition you have to think 2 or 3 steps ahead.

[Zeus the God @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:54PM]

Sorry, fanboy Mak. The PS2 may have had some troubles at the beginning, but they were not nearly as bad as what the PS3 is going through right now.

The PS2 should not even be a focus with Sony right now, other than maybe just making it cheaper to try and counter act the so-far failure of theirs, the PS3.

Seriously, though- just shut up. You're just a dumb fanboy. The PS3 is a good console, Sony just failed, and their priorities are making it worse.

[Jotenks @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:05PM]

Fanboy Mak, the difference with the PS2 launch was that they had production problems and a shortage of systems accounting for the slow sales. The PS2 was impossible to find and that was why it wasn't selling.

There have been PS3's available in plentiful supplies since launch....It's just no one wants one so far.

[Mak @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:29PM]

People like yourself have VERY short memories. Did you think the PS2 did not get off to a slow start, with people criticising the price, and developers complaining about it's complexities of coding for it?

Perhaps this link might be the wakeup call, that the PS3 is doing nothing different in it's early years, than the competition decimating PS2..

http://www.forbes.com/2001/01/25/0125disaster.html

[nathan.wong @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:43AM]

We're still using the same "giant" PS2 that we purchased the year it was introduced. That thing has been almost everywhere with us and thus is pretty robust. In fact, we just found out the original controller just broke after years of hard use. I think it's safe to say we got our money's worth.

I just may buy this new version just for fun.

[apeguero @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:44AM]

Here's a stupid idea Sony, why not just come out with a USB addon device to the PS3 that reads and plays PS2 games? This way we can keep everything central to the PS3 instead of having another console.

[paragraph @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:53AM]

Well, they did it with the playstation (PSone), so why not do it with the PS2 (PStwo?) i remember grabbing up a PSone, with LCD, two controllers, and a game or so at a flea market for $150 when the PS2 had baically saturated the market, and the same should happen for the PS2.

Really, the console is still good, FFS some of the best games for the PS3 are PS2 games ;).

But really, this is a good move, budget-tech is a niche market, one that has few name brand products. The PS2 is still a good system, thats why i still have mine plugged into my TV (along with my N64, for when i get nostalgic and want to play goldeneye or mario).

Add to all of that the fact that there are still games bieng made for the PS2 (Guitar Hero III) and you've got the workings of something that will probably turn more of a profit than the PS3 by Q1 2008. Speaking of the holiday season, if this drops before the end of the month, it's going to be a very sony X-mas season for the little boys and girls not yet rockin' a PS2.

[Josh Owings @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:03PM]

This would be great. I have been waiting for the price to drop to get one for my other room. The wife tends to hog the television watching Ugly Betty, and the like, on the big living room television and its a real pain moving the console back and forth.

[runner7775 @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:09PM]

i agree that its a good idea, sony is still selling a lot of ps2s and i have no plans to upgrade(im more of a pc gamer). Developers are still coming out with ps2 sports and other games so i see no reason not to continue selling them.

[rodsky @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:15PM]

they are gonna sell more of these than ps3s this holiday season

[rockrigo @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:18PM]

ok bad joke

[John @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:24PM]

It sounds like a true statement to me if they come out before xmas.
Is it also they are still shipping them because they pulled the PS2 compatable engine out of the new PS3? This would keep the PS2 library active since new PS3 cant play them anymore?

[SergeantSalad @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:34PM]

I'd buy one.
I've still never owned a PS2.

[Maestro @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:37PM]

I can't remember back but when the PS2 was released, was Sony still pushing the PS1 really hard?

[Jon Acheson @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:12PM]

Yes. The transition period between the two lasted for about two years. And they only stopped making the PS1 last year.

[Galley @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:43PM]

It's a shame Sony never introduced an 8" widescreen add-on monitor for the slim PS2. The 3rd-party ones were crap.

[Rob @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:43PM]

Very nice. I already have the PS3. But, wouldn't mind having this in another room. $99 is a great deal. I have a question... why did MS, and game developers, abandon the Xbox and jump to the 360 in such a rush. It's a question, not a bashing competition.

[Jon Acheson @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:15PM]

Because they were losing money on the original X-Box, with no hope of ever making a profit. Whereas in theory, the 360 will be profitable over the long term.

[John @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:49PM]

The reason was Microsoft was still loosing money on each XBOX even after XBOX360 was released. Te hard drives cost and weight was the issue they could not get down. So they decided to pull it and only have one console loosing money instead of two.

[Todd @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:07PM]

Personally, I love my Dreamcast.

[Alex @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:25PM]

Has anyone tried to make PStwo into a HTPC of some sort? Can it run linux? A $99 linux HTPC isn't bad at all

[Magallanes @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:52PM]

Currently it's the best deal for all currently console in the market.

Even if only the 0.5% of ps2 games was worthy, then we are mentioning from 20 to 45 games, fairly better that wii, xbox360 and ps3 together where the number of good games are still dim.

Also just day ago was launched PES2007.

In my case i bought one last month because was more cheap to buy a ps2 rather to upgrade my graphics card.

[paul.davis @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:29PM]

Shrink it down to fit in your pocket!!!!!

But there are TONS of people still using a PS2.. They should just keep there black and white one and focus somewhere else.. OH... how about upping their crappy game selection on the PS3? OR.. how about making ALL PS3's backwards compatibile?

PLEASE..somebody buy out the rights to XBOX, PS3, Wii and make one fracking console!!

[Shibathedog @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:38PM]

How could they make it even smaller? I guess if they trimmed that one section off and made it just the size of the disc drive, making it into a thin CD player sized thing.

I dunno though, I still like my fatass PS2, The smaller one I worry about falling off the shelf. Shelf components should always be at least a certain size I think.

[Mii @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:54PM]

If they make it into something reminiscent of a Sony Discman, I might buy one just for the novelty of it. Add a flip up 4.3" LCD and a bottom-mount battery pack, and you'd be competing with the portable DVD market... and it plays decent games, unlike those crappy ones they sell at Target!

[Jerry @ Nov 2nd 2007 4:31PM]

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.