PS2 is really a computer!! :)

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » 2003-10-01 06:02pm

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2003-10-01 06:17pm

Not till I get Windows running on it...

Ah fuck it, it's been done with Linux!

C:\> cd c:\BILL_GATES\

C:\BILL_GATES\> SUQMYTUX /y

C:\BILL_GATES\> Uninstall Successful!

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-01 06:31pm

That court is filled with morons. Has the X-Box been also sold in that country? Cause the X-Box has more computer components than a PS2 does.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-01 06:31pm

Just say no to inane spam.

Anyways, the PS2 does have the Linux kit which allows it to be used as a general-purpose computer.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-10-01 07:33pm

Meh, so was the Atari 2600... Any game console is a computer when it comes down to it.

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2003-10-02 01:06am

Cause the X-Box has more computer components than a PS2 does.

Lessee... central processor, check... video chip, check... media reader, check... data storage, check.... interface accessories, check...

By my count, the PS2 has the same number of computer components than the Xbox does... just because the latter has better components is no reason to quibble...

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-02 01:17am

SPOOFE wrote:
Cause the X-Box has more computer components than a PS2 does.
Lessee... central processor, check... video chip, check... media reader, check... data storage, check.... interface accessories, check...

By my count, the PS2 has the same number of computer components than the Xbox does... just because the latter has better components is no reason to quibble...

Well I was thinking of PS2's lack of a hard drive when I made that post.

I must be losing my hindsight recently.

Embracer Of Darkness · Post by **Embracer Of Darkness** » 2003-10-02 12:33pm

Sony argued it should be a computer -- and thus eligible for a lower duty -- because of the processors inside...

...potentially winning the manufacturer -- but not consumers -- millions of dollars in customs refunds.

Money grabbing bastards.

I hate corporations.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-02 05:08pm

Price is generally set by supply/demand, you should know that. Sony is hardly a monopoly in the console market.

Besides, how much money per unit could Sony possibly save? A few euros apiece?

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » 2003-10-02 09:29pm

phongn wrote:Price is generally set by supply/demand, you should know that. Sony is hardly a monopoly in the console market.

Besides, how much money per unit could Sony possibly save? A few euros apiece?

Isn't Sony losing money on it's consoles but making up in games?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-02 09:39pm

I'm not sure. Sony has been making modifications to the PS2 continually, probably to drop down manufacturing costs, so they might well make some money off each PS2 by now.

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » 2003-10-02 10:35pm

phongn wrote:I'm not sure. Sony has been making modifications to the PS2 continually, probably to drop down manufacturing costs, so they might well make some money off each PS2 by now.

I read an article from avault.com that Sony was cutting their prices so more people can buy PS2s. In other words Sony was selling the PS2s at a loss. That and they are making more money on their games.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-02 10:54pm

No, they might be eating into profits rather than selling at below costs. Read carefully.

That said, they have reduced prices to $179.99 USD, though Nintendo dropped GC prices to $99.99 USD.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-10-03 05:51am

phongn wrote: That said, they have reduced prices to $179.99 USD, though Nintendo dropped GC prices to $99.99 USD.

The PS2 might end up being a valuable lesson to Sony, even though they
won the marketing war, they nearly ended up losing the gaming war, due
to the overly insane complexity of the PS2's hardware. Seeing as how
Sega followed up the Saturn, which was almost as hard to program for as
the PS2, with the incredibly easy to program for Dreamcast, I expect the
PS3 to be much much easier to program for....

Now if they would only get a fucking handle on their fucking quality control...

Disc Read Errors my fuckin ass....I haven't abused my PS2 and it's been kept
in a clean location all it's life, and it says it can't read the discs

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-10-03 01:36pm

This is very simple actually:

1) What is the definition of console according to that tax law
2) Why are consoles taxed more heavily than computers

These tell us what is the spirit of that law. If the tax is higher because the console components are ultra-sensitive or can provoke the next world war or something, then it makes sense to rename a console to a computer (it's just a dumbed down version of a comp, with components you can buy in any comp store but they're fully standarized for that specificic console).

If the tax is higher because people who buy consoles are just trendy kids who want toys, and people who buy computers might actually *gasp* need them for work, then it doesn't make sense to treat the console as a computer (damn console could be made of plastic with rubber bands and it's still just a toy, likewise the other way around).

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-03 01:37pm

MKSheppard wrote:The PS2 might end up being a valuable lesson to Sony, even though they
won the marketing war, they nearly ended up losing the gaming war, due
to the overly insane complexity of the PS2's hardware. Seeing as how
Sega followed up the Saturn, which was almost as hard to program for as
the PS2, with the incredibly easy to program for Dreamcast, I expect the
PS3 to be much much easier to program for....

OTOH, the massive marketting machine that is Sony was able to overcome that. Sure, its hard to program for but you can make a good amount of money on a came.

Now if they would only get a fucking handle on their fucking quality control...

Sony and Quality Control do not match. Their consumer stuff breaks all the time (even high-end consumer stuff) and their professional stuff isn't always much better.

For example, my high school used the DSR-PD150 video camera. Excellent piece of work, but if you tried going to manual gain for the audio inputs you'd get enormous amounts of noise. Sony refused to admit fault and charged customers several hundred dollars for the fix. This on a $3000 camera!

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2003-10-03 01:38pm

MKSheppard wrote:
The PS2 might end up being a valuable lesson to Sony,

Yes... The lesson's how to fuck everyone in the ass hard...

The Playstation 2 has shifted more units in Europe alone than the Gamecube or X Box have worldwide.

The complexity of the platform means that developers who want to go crossplatform are locked into spending more time and effort on the PS2 version, meaning they have to market it harde to recoup costs, and increasing it's chances of selling more copies than the other consoles' versions.

Shinova wrote: That court is filled with morons. Has the X-Box been also sold in that country? Cause the X-Box has more computer components than a PS2 does.

Actually, the PS2 is also largely made up of off-the-shelf parts. The only major component made in-house was the Graphics Synthesiser. The CPU's just a MIPS 3, and any program written for MIPS Linux will compile on a PS2 distro with little to no alteration. The memory's just bog-standard RAMBUS, the DVD drive's off the shelf...