Playstation 2
Newbie Review by Philip P Daniel
Sony, a name that until a few years ago had been only synonymous with general
electronics, released the Playstation in the late 1990's and since that point
has single-handedly stolen the video game market from a force that many people
thought could not be stopped. Nintendo had held the market in check since
the release of the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and kept its stranglehold
with the Super Nintendo. It is after that point that things went sour for
Nintendo, and sweet for Sony. Originally developed as a CD peripheral for
the Super Nintendo, the Playstation took a large part of the market due to
the fact that their games were sold on CDs instead of cartridges, making it
easier to produce large games. Nintendo stuck with the cartridge for their
Nintendo 64, failing to realize the overwhelming positives of the CD medium.
The Playstation 2 is the successor to the original Playstation, inheriting
many of it's brothers positives and negatives. For one the Playstation has
once again been eclipsed in the power department by both Nintendo and recent
entry Microsoft, both of who's systems debuted significantly after the release
of the Playstation 2. Also like it's little brother, the Playstation has many
original titles to keep it's line-up the largest of the bunch. There are so
many titles that are to be found for the Playstation that anyone new to the
world of video games could spend years entertained by their back catalog alone.
The Playstation 2 is also home to many fan favorite games including the Final
Fantasy series and recent behemoth, Grand Theft Auto. Although games in these
series may be ported over to the other systems, they originate on the Playstation
months before. It is titles like this that keep people so attracted and attached
to the Playstation, whatever iteration it is.
Although many people believe that the new Playstation will be released in
the next year, there has been no concrete evidence to suggest that this is
fact. Judging by the system life cycle, it is true that the Playstation is
in the twilight of its illustrious career, but there is no guarantee that
the new baby will be born anytime soon. The only thing that this means for
sure is that the price has come down significantly, making this an opportune
time to jump on the bandwagon. There are also many new games that are scheduled
to be released before the switch over, such as Final Fantasy XII and Metal
Gear Solid 3. This coupled with the fact that many great games are already
available, most for very low prices, makes the Playstation 2 a great buy for
any occasion including birthdays, Christmas and Kwanza.
