Sony to launch lighter PlayStation 2 in Japan
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 6, 2007 | 3:40 PM ET
CBC News
A new, lighter version of Sony's PlayStation 2 video game console will be on shelves in Japan for the Christmas shopping rush, the company announced Tuesday.
The newest version of the seven-year-old console, also known as the PS2, will be available in the country on Nov. 22 for 16,000 yen, approximately $130, according to a statement on the Sony Computer Entertainment Japan website.
"While inheriting the functions of the current PlayStation 2, the internal design architecture of the new system has been completely overhauled, resulting [in a console] lighter in weight," the website said.
The PS2 is the company's most successful console to date, with 120 million units sold. The latest incarnation, at 720 grams, sheds almost 200 grams, and is about 23 centimetres wide by 3 cm high and 15 cm deep.
Perhaps the biggest change is that the console will have a built-in AC adapter. Other Sony consoles, as well as their competitors, require external adapters.
The new PS2 will also come in three colours — "charcoal black," "ceramic white" and "satin silver" — with matching stands for 1,500 yen, or about $12.
The PlayStation 2 was originally launched in 2000. A slimmer design was released in North America, Europe and Japan in 2004, weighing 900 grams — approximately 45 per cent less than the original — and incorporating an ethernet port.
There was no comment from Sony as to whether the new-model PS2 would be sold in Canada.
A Sony Computer Entertainment Canada spokesperson said there had not been any announcements regarding changes to PlayStation 2 hardware in North America and that the company is unable to comment on changes in other territories.
The company's newest console, the PlayStation 3, launched in November 2006 to compete with leading seventh-generation consoles the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Air Canada confident it can reach deal with pilots
- Travellers flying Air Canada can keep booking their flights as negotiations continue with a new federally appointed mediator to help resolve an ongoing contract dispute between the airline and its pilots. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Four former B.C. attorneys general are joining a coalition of health and justice experts calling for the legalization of marijuana. more »
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- Pop star Whitney Houston's funeral service will be held Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child. more »
- Online surveillance bill targets child porn: Toews
- A bill that would give police and intelligence agencies new powers to access Canadians' electronic communications is needed to protect against child pornography, says Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. more »
Latest Technology & Science News Headlines
- New iPad anticipated in March
- The latest version of Apple's iPad tablet will launch in early March, according to blog and media reports this week. more »
- Higgs boson hunt aided by energy boost
- The world's largest particle accelerator is ramping up its beam energy in hopes that scientists will learn definitively this year whether the last undiscovered particle in the Standard Model of Physics exists. more »
- Nortel hit by suspected Chinese cyberattacks for a decade
- Hackers based in China enjoyed widespread access to Nortel's computer network for nearly a decade, according to a report. more »
- U.S. weighs steep nuclear arms cuts
- The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 per cent in the number of deployed weapons, The Associated Press has learned. more »
Bob McDonald's Blog
Glacier Discovery Walk: Will the visitor centre enhance the view? Feb. 14, 2012 9:22 AM Environment minister Peter Kent has announced the construction of a new Glacier Discovery Walk and visitor centre on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. It raises the issue of how to balance commercial development in our National Parks against the preservation of the last refuges of wilderness.
Quirks & Quarks
- February 11: Inside the Mind of a Neandertal Feb. 10, 2012 4:01 PM Can we get inside the mind of a species that's been dead for 30,000 years? A new book, How to Think Like a Neanderthal, suggests we can. The authors reconstruct a creature like us in many ways, but with important differences.
Latest Features
- Online surveillance critics accused of supporting child porn
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- HMCS Corner Brook collision damage extensive
- Online surveillance bill targets child porn: Toews
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Mooning Queen proves costly for Australian man
- MacKay says submarine fleet has 'spotty' history
- Man kidnapped at Greyhound station escapes captors
- Stanley Cup rioter seen in brick attack on cop
