Sony PlayStation 2/PSTwo

Console Information

The PlayStation 2 was in development for some time before it was revealed to the public in April 1999 (see an original idea for the console here). A lot of hype developed around the machine leading up to its September 1999 release in Japan.

This powerful console can handle millions of polygons per second, making graphics more life-like. Added to this is the "Emotion Engine" that can simulate weather, worlds, human behaviour and emotions, so that games will react to players' actions in a more realistic way.

The console can play two media formats: CDs and DVDs. PS2 games are stored on DVDs which can hold 3.2 gigabytes or 6.4 gigabytes if dual layered. This means games can be much larger than ever before. You can also play DVD movies (a remote control can be bought separately but is not required), music CDs and the PS2 is backwards compatible with original PlayStation games. The PS1 games will sometimes even show some improvements in graphics and loading times.

Original PlayStation accessories can also be used with the PS2 unless the game requires a special PS2 accessory. And with the USB ports, you can add other items like digital cameras, hard drives, voice recognition systems, the Internet and more.

Sony PlayStation 2 Technical Specifications

• CPU: 128 Bit "Emotion Engine" running at 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"
• "Graphics Synthesizer" Clock Frequency: 150MHz
• "Graphics Synthesizer" DRAM Bus bandwidth: 48 GB Per Second
• "Graphics Synthesizer" DRAM Bus width: 2560 bits
• "Graphics Synthesizer" Pixel Configuration: RGB:Alpha:Z Buffer (24:8:32)
• "Graphics Synthesizer" 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
• I/O Processor Clock Frequency: 33.8 MHz or 37.5 MHz (selectable)
• I/O Processor Sub Bus: 32 Bit
• I/O Processor Interface Types: IEEE1394, Universal Serial Bus (USB)
• I/O Processor Communication: via PC-Card PCMCIA
• Disc Media: DVD-ROM (CD-ROM compatible)