“New console offers processing power and cool graphics, but will
it replace your PC?”
“The power behind the PlayStation 2 is the Emotion Engine, its
300-MHz processor, developed by Sony and Toshiba. This chip handles
twice as many floating-point operations per second as a 733-MHz
Intel Pentium III, which translates to very good graphics, say
analysts at MicroDesign Resources. Sony also includes a
high-powered graphics synthesizer chip with 4MB of video memory and
32MB of high-speed Rambus memory.”
“Externally, Playstation 2 has two controller ports, two memory
slots, two Universal Serial Bus ports, Sony’s high-speed i.link
port, a Type III PC Card slot, an AV multicable output, and an
optical digital output. Sony hasn’t mentioned a built-in modem; the
system will likely support an external modem.”
“But dominating the game console market may be just the
beginning of Sony’s ambitious plan. Last September, Sony
executives said the PlayStation 2 would become a ‘platform for
Internet-based electronic distribution of digital content in
2001.’ They also noted that one day you’ll be able to download
content to a Sony hard drive connected to a PlayStation 2 via a
network adapter expansion module.”