the industry regarding the most important aspects of their new Next Generation games console.

Firstly was the name of the new system. Many had speculated that is could be called PSX2, PS2K,

PlayStation Millennium or just plain old PlayStation 2. Common sense has prevailed and the console will in

fact be called "PlayStation2" (a one word, without a space). Just to keep the style gurus happy though, they

have abbreviated the name on the top of the machine to "PS2".

Another huge lie that has circulated around many sites on the Internet was the old "we have the latest

screenshots of the console leaked from Sony". Jeez, we must have seen tens of different pictures, none of

which look anything like the now official pictures. If anything the machine looks very close to one of Sonys

standard DVD players.

The biggest surprise for everyone in the revised specifications are that PS2 will play DVD movies. Goodness

knows what this will do to the current cost of DVD players as the cost of the machine is likely to be very close

to that of current units - only with a PlayStation and PlayStation2 inside as well.

More great news is that the new console will basically include a chip that allows you to play your old

PlayStation games on it. There is talk that even the old peripherals will work on the new machine. The 24

speed CD-ROM drive will make sure that loading time for these old games rival those of CART machines like

the N64.

Sadly for many there will be no internal modem in the new console. Sony have promised that a slot-in

modem will appear in 2001 and seem to be waiting for the new super-fast 'broadband' Internet to become

available as its 2MB per second download speeds will revolutionize multi-player gaming for ever. The new

modem will use the PCMCIA slot in the unit (this means that the modem will be one of those 'credit-card'

sized units which are relatively in-expensive to manufacture. I guess we should all respect the fact that if only

a few percent of console owners will actively use the modem, then its better to offer it as an add-on until the

cost of manufacturing the consoles begins to fall. Hopefully by the time PS2 launches in the USA and

EUROPE the modem will have become an integral component

The new console will come bundled with an 8MB memory card (that operates over 250 times faster than the

current cards) and one of the Dual Shock 2 control pads. A demo disk will be included that showcases some

of the major new games on the way.

Sonys president has just commented..."PlayStation2 is charting a path toward the future of networked digital

entertainment. Just as the PlayStation brought interactive gaming to an unprecedented mass market,

PlayStation2's combination of breathtaking digital graphics, superb sound and DVD video will open the doors

to a new computer entertainment experience in the home."