Reasoning that if you can't beat 'em you should join 'em,
Sony has decided to attack Connectix on their own turf:
the PlayStation emulator market.
As you may know, Sony tried to block Connectix's Virtual Game
Station, a software PlayStation emulator, in court. Sony
lost.
Before anyone gets the chance to create PlayStation2 emulators,
Sony will unveil something even better: a PlayStation2 card
for Macs and PCs. This stunning product puts almost an entire
PlayStation2 on a single card, which supports both PCI and AGP.
The only thing the user needs is a DVD drive; Sony takes care of
the rest. In fact, Sony engineers have included an Ultra/66
controller on the card, making it easy for owners of older PCI
Power Macs to add a DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM drive to their
systems. For that matter, Sony is expected to offer bundle
deals containing the PS2 card and either a DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM
drive. (For Mac owners dependent on software DVD players, there's
an extra bonus - the PS2 card does all the DVD decoding in
hardware for top quality full speed output.)
No FireWire or USB in your computer? Sony's got
you covered.
No extra slots? Sony may even help there, since the card can
also replace any existing PCI or AGP video card, or any third-party
USB or FireWire card you may have added to your system.
No memory card slot? Not necessary; you can save your games to
the computer's hard drive.
Unlike software emulators, the PlayStation2 card doesn't
take a toll on your CPU. Except for a driver that lets you run
PlayStation games either in a window or full-screen, your computer
mostly sits by while the PS2 card does its thing.
That's right: You get the full Emotion Engine inside your
computer!
Best of all, the 3D video performance is absolutely
stunning. Sony has had a crack team optimizing Mac, Windows,
and Linux drivers for almost a year now - this ain't no beta
software!
Because this is a genuine Sony product, there's no need to worry
about software updates or game incompatibilities. Sony has
been working with all major DVD makers to assure that the card
works with any DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM drive built in the past two
years.
For serious gamers, this card is a case of having their cake and
eating it, too, although you'll have to wait until April 1, 2001.
After all, Sony doesn't want to steal sales from the initial U.S.
PlayStation2 rollout.
Drawbacks? Well, it looks like the card may end up costing
more than the PlayStation2 console itself, probably somewhere
around US$400 for the card - and more if you want the DVD-ROM or
DVD-RAM bundle. This is so Sony can recoup its investment in
designing the system and assuring compatibility. Besides, it's a
great opportunity for Sony to make up for the fact that most game
consoles are sold below cost just to create a market for the
games.
On the other hand, what serious gamer wouldn't rather have
everything inside the computer instead of adding yet another
console to their collection?
- Anne Onymus
