What's the new system called?
PlayStation2. Or for short, PS2.

What are the official release dates?
US and Canada: Thursday, October 26, 2000
England and Europe: Friday, November 24, 2000
Australia: Thursday, November 30, 2000
In Japan, the official launch date was Saturday, March 4, 2000.

How much will the system cost?
Sony has announced the official prices for the PS2 for all major territories.

• US and Canada:The PlayStation 2 was officially announced as $299.99, the same price as PlayStation was slated as in fall 1995.
• England: £299 (English pounds)
• France: ƒ2,990 (French francs)
• German: 869 dm (German deutsch marks)
• Australia: $749 (Australian dollars)
• Japan: ¥39,800 (Japanese yen)

Will it be backward compatible with all older PlayStation games?
Yes, the PlayStation 2 will be able to play original PlayStation games. Because the system's I/O (input/output) processor is essentially the core (main processor) of the original PlayStation, the system will use this processor to insure backward compatibility with all existing PlayStation games. Sony will most likely continue to institute the territorial lockout to make sure that only US PlayStation 2s play original US PlayStation games.

Answers to questions as to whether or not the PlayStation 2 will "enhance" original games with effects like a high-resolution mode and texture filtering has been answered. Sony has actually changed its earlier stance, and the game's will indeed be enhanced or altered, depending on the game. Also, depending on the game itself, original PlayStation games may also be slightly altered speed and playability, too.

Will the current PlayStation be able to play new PlayStation 2 games?
Absolutely not. PlayStation 2 games will be written specifically for the PlayStation 2 hardware, and the current PlayStation will not recognize the instructions on a PlayStation 2 game disc.

Will it use existing PlayStation peripherals, like controllers and memory cards?
Yes, for the most part. While the PlayStation 2 will have its own specific controllers, memory cards and peripherals, all original PlayStation memory cards, controllers -- even the PocketStation -- will work on the PlayStation 2. This will insure 100% backward-compatibility.

The three officially announced peripherals are the new PS2 Analog Dual Shock controller (MSRP $34), the 8-MB Memory Card (MSRP $34), and the PS2 Multiap (MSRP $34). Also, North America and Europe also will see a change in the architecture of the PS2, with a big dock in the back of the system that fits a Hard Disc Drive (HDD). SCEA has announced that the HDD will arrive sometime in 2001, and will enable consumers to download games, music, and movies onto their PlayStation2.

Does the North American PS2 differ from the Japanese, and what does it matter?
The North American PS2 was physically altered to enable Sony to plug a Hard Disc Drive (HDD) into the system's rear section. This was done to enable players to eventually buy a separate HDD, for downloading movies, games, music, and other data. The PCMCIA card slot has been removed, and is now part and parcel with the new HDD, which still enables Internet access.

The new system configuration helps Sony get past the nagging DVD copyright problems that has plagued the early version of the Japanese PS2. The New North American version has DVD drivers built into the hardware itself, instead of using the software drivers placed on the Memory Cards themselves. This will hopefully prevent copying from DVD to other media, and solves data corruption problems on the PS2 Memory Cards, too.

Can you play video CDs on your PlayStation 2?
No. You cannot play video CDs on the PlayStation 2. Just music CDs, PlayStation CDs, PlayStation 2 CDs, and DVDs, and video (movie) DVDs. (That's all...)

What's anti-aliasing? Can the PlayStation 2 do anti-aliasing?
Anti-aliasing is a graphics procedure designed to eliminate a stair-stepping effect, known as jaggies, occurring at low resolutions in games on all systems (even Dreamcast and Dolphin). Eliminating the jaggies usually works by blurring pixels at edges of lines to make the difference between two color areas less dramatic.

The PlayStation 2 has several built-in procedures for eliminating aliasing. However, many developers have found that accessing the PS2's primary anti-aliasing procedure slows down the movement and the framerate of the game profoundly, rendering it almost useless, and detracting from the game's level of detail. Several developers have found ways to counter balance aliasing, though not all by technical means. Clever design helps to eliminate aliasing. Choosing lower contrast outlines for characters (i.e. less black on white and the reverse) is one way. Sony has documented several alternative ways for developers to eliminate aliasing for developers, as well. See PS2: Aliased No More, for a full technical explanation.

Why do some games flicker? Can the PlayStation 2 eliminate flickering?
Tied in to aliasing and anti-aliasing is the problem of flickering. In short, early PlayStation 2 games flickered and had no aliasing, and it showed, and it hurt. By bringing games up to a higher resolution 640-480, many developers can eliminate flickering, and also reduce the harsh look of anti-aliased games in one.