FAQ - Guide for System Info

When is the PS2 coming out in the United States?
The official North American and European release date for the PS2 is October 26, 
2000. Australian and South American release dates were not specified at Sony's E3 
conference, and have yet to be disclosed. In Japan, the official launch date was 
Saturday, March 4, 2000. 

What is the price for the PS2?
In Europe, the price will be converted into the equivalent of $299. The price for 
the PS2 in Japan is 39,800 yen (about $360 - $370 U.S. dollars). The US price point 
has been seen to go as high as $400 in mainstream retailers due to manufacturing and 
distribution limitations.

What comes in the box with the PlayStation2?
-The New PlayStation Dual Shock Controller 
-One Dual Shock Controller 
-A/V Adapter 
-Power Cord 
-Utility / Demo Disc (Still a possibility) 
-Instruction Booklet / Promotional Material 

Will PS2 games run on the first generation Playstation?
No, The original Playstation will not be able to play any PlayStation2 games. These 
games are being designed to run on PlayStation2 , and as powerful as the original 
Playstation is, it won't be able to handle the new games. PlayStation2 games will be 
written specifically for the PlayStation2 hardware, and the current PlayStation will 
not recognize the instructions on a PlayStation2 game disc. 

Will it use existing PlayStation peripherals, like controllers and memory cards?
Yes. While the PlayStation2 will have its own specific controllers, memory cards and 
peripherals, all original PlayStation memory cards, controllers -- even the 
PocketStation -- will work on the PlayStation2. This will insure 100% backward-
compatibility. The three officially announced peripherals are the new PS2 Analog 
Dual Shock controller (MSRP $34), the 8-MB Memory Card (MSRP $34), and the PS2 
Multiap (MSRP $34). Also, North America and Europe also will see a change in the 
architecture of the PS2, with a big dock in the back of the system that fits a Hard 
Disc Drive (HDD). SCEA has announced that the HDD will arrive sometime in 2001, and 
will enable consumers to download games, music, and movies onto their PlayStation2. 
Fair warning on the "100% backwards compatibility" for peripherals has a catch. The 
catch is that peripherals, primarily the Dual Shock, will only work with those PS2 
games that do not require that the original digital buttons (X,O, Square, Triangle, 
the d-pad) be analog, or pressure sensitive. For example, a PS2 game that will be 
DS2-required will be Gran Turismo 2000. 

Can you play video CDs (VCDs) on your PlayStation2?
No. You cannot play video CDs (VCDs) on the PlayStation2. The PlayStation2 only 
supports the following formats: music CDs, PlayStation CDs, PlayStation2 CDs/DVDs, 
and video (movie) DVDs. 

What hardware is available for the PS2?
These are the four officially announced SCEA peripherals. There are several 
companies, such as Mad Catz, Interact, Nyko, Nuby, and others that are developing 
everything from remote controllers, steering wheels, and Memory Cards for the PS2.

-PS2 Analog controller (DUAL SHOCK 2) [SCPH-10010] - (US MSRP $34) 
-PS2 Memory Card (8MB) [SCPH-11020] - (US MSRP $34) 
-PS2 Mutitap (four slots for both controllers and memory cards) (US MSRP $34) 
-PS Hard Drive (HDD) (No official US price yet)

Is there a difference between using a PlayStation2 and PlayStation2 RFU adapter on 
the PlayStation2?
No, in staying with the "100% Backwards Compatible" claim by Sony, there is no 
difference between the two plugs. In fact, you can use the Playstation RFU Adapter 
that you are using for your PSX on you PS2 and save yourself $20. 

What games have been confirmed for the US Launch on October 26th?
The following list of 25 games have been officially confirmed by Sony and/or the 
developing company. The list is accurate as of August 8th, 2000.

-FantaVision (SCEI, Puzzle) 
-Dynasty Warriors 2 (Koei, Action) 
-ESPN X-Games Snowboarding (Konami, Sports) 
-Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (Midway, Action) 
-Silent Scope (Konami, Shooter) 
-Madden NFL 2001 (EA, Sports) 
-SSX (EA, Sports) 
-FIFA 2001 MLS (EA, Sports) 
-Kessen (EA, Adventure) 
-X Squad (EA, Action) 
-Swing Away (Paradise Golf in Japan) (EA, Sports) 
-Theme Park World (EA, sim) 
-Street Fighter EX3 (Capcom, Fighting) 
-Tekken Tag Tournament (Namco, fighting) 
-Ridge Racer V (Namco, Racing) 
-Summoner (THQ, RPG) 
-Star Wars: Starfighter (LucasArts, Action-Shooter) 
-Unreal Tournament (Infogrames, First-Person Shooter) 
-Evergrace (Agetec, RPG) 
-Armored Core 2 (Agetec, Action) 
-Eternal Ring (Agetec, RPG) 
-TimeSplitters (Eidos, First-Person Shooter) 
-Fusion GT (Hresvelgr in Japan) (Crave, Racing) 
-Smuggler's Run (Rockstar, Racing-Adventure) 
-Midnight Club (Rockstar, Racing) 

Will it have a modem? 
Sony has officially stated it will not ship the machine with a modem. However, the 
system will use a modem for several purposes. Sony will enable gamers to choose from 
USB, IEEE 1394 (identified as "i-Link" by Sony) and PCMCIA PC card interfaces, with 
a modem slot. Note that the Sony "modem" will be broadband, either a DSL set-up or 
cable. A few third-party companies have rumored development of a USB-based 56Kbps 
narrowband modem for simple internet connection. 

How many controller ports does the system have?
Surprisingly, there are two controller ports on the system. That's right, just two. 
Again, Sony announced a multitap for PS2, which will enable four players to join in 
on one game. Also, expect online options to play a big part of Sony's future. Note 
that the reason for Sony to only have 2 controller ports is that 90% of games are 2 
players or fewer, and the addition of 2 additional memory card ports and 2 
additional controller ports would have been very costly, with the cost moving to the 
comsumer. That means you would have paid a lot more to be able to play 10% more 
games.

System Specs?

-CPU: 128 Bit "Emotion Engine" 
-System Clock: 300 MHz 
-System Memory: 32 MB Direct Rambus 
-Memory Bus Bandwidth: 3.2 GB per second 
-Co-Processor: FPU (Floating Point Multiply Accumulator x 1, Floating Point Divider 
x 1) 
-Vector Units: VU0 and VU1 (Floating Point Multiply Accumulator x 9, Floating Point 
Divider x 1) 
-Floating Point Performance: 6.2 GFLOPS 
-3D CG Geometric Transformation: 66 million Polygons Per Second 
-Compressed Image Decoder: MPEG2 
-Graphics: "Graphics Synthesizer" 
-Clock Frequency: 150MHz 
-DRAM Bus bandwidth: 48 GB Per Second 
-DRAM Bus width: 2560 bits 
-Pixel Configuration: RGB:Alpha:Z Buffer (24:8:32) 
-Maximum Polygon Rate: 75 Million Polygons Per Second 
-Sound: "SPU2+CPU" 
-Number of voices: ADPCM: 48 channel on SPU2 plus definable by software 
-Sampling Frequency: 44.1 KHz or 48 KHz (selectable) 
I/O Processor 
-CPU Core: Current PlayStation CPU 
-Clock Frequency: 33.8 MHz or 37.5 MHz (selectable) 
-Sub Bus: 32 Bit 
-Interface Types: IEEE1394, Universal Serial Bus (USB) 
Communication via PC-Card PCMCIA 
-Disc Media: DVD-ROM (CD-ROM compatible)