fter months of hype and anticipation, the Sony PlayStation 2 has finally arrived. And unless you've been living in a cave, you've probably heard how hard it is to find one.
Guaranteed to be the Tickle Me Elmo of this Christmas season, (but more expensive), the PS2 sold out in minutes on its Oct. 26 U.S. debut.
Just before the PS2's release, Sony cut its projected shipment of 1 million units in half. Some called it clever marketing to generate press coverage, but the company said it lacked components. With high current demand and only a few units arriving in stores every week until Christmas, retailers say the holiday's hottest toy will certainly be the hardest to find.
[A quick aside: I was actually unsuccessful in my quest to get a PS2 on launch day. But back home, my dad graciously volunteered to join the thousands of parents across the country who camped out at local Wal-Marts and Best Buys hoping to get one. He succeeded. Thanks, Dad.]
The scene across the country was reminiscent of K-Ville, except people were camping out to buy a $299 video game system. But is it just a video game system?
Sony's first PlayStation, which debuted in 1995, ended up being an enormously successful console, transforming Sony from neophyte to market
So how can they top that?
Enter PlayStation 2, the 128-bit successor to the original console. Reflecting Sony's attempt to streamline home entertainment into one sleek package, this new little black box not only plays the next generation of games, but also older PlayStation games, DVD movies and CDs. Next year, Sony plans to offer broadband service for the unit, enabling users to surf the web and take advantage of gaming and other Internet niceties.
It sounds incredible, but it does it live up to the hype? Well, yes and no.
While the ability to play DVD movies is a plus (considering that most players by themselves cost almost as much as the PS2), the bare bones DVD player on the Sony lacks important features like the ability to display a movie's elapsed time and frame-by-frame forwarding. Picture and audio quality may be great, but the PS2's annoying menu system makes getting around a chore. The system's bulky game controller has to double as its remote, though third-party remotes are available for around $20.
The PlayStation 2's initial batch of 26 games has some exciting titles, but only a handful take advantage of the system's power. Many developers have expressed frustration about how hard the system is to program for, and the launch titles reflect that. The PS2 is young, though, and companies are only beginning to tap into its enormous capabilities.
An examination of several of the launch titles, including the most popular and most hyped, left mixed reactions. While some will blow you away (and several of the best are on the following page), the majority of the new PS2 lineup is barely above average. In fact, some games on Sega's new Dreamcast console look even better.
So if you didn't manage to get a PS2 on launch day, don't worry-it's a huge jump from its predecessor, but it still has a long way to go. Most of Sony's flagship titles, including the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 2 and a new Final Fantasy, won't come out until next year.
With the impending arrival of Nintendo's Gamecube and Microsoft's X-Box systems next year, will Sony have what it takes to stay on top? By the incredible looks of some of its upcoming games, the answer is "most likely."
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