PS2 Gets Nip-Tuck Treatment

Seems the old lady isn't quite dead yet. The Queen of the gaming world's last generation, the Sony PlayStation 2, has been given a facelift, tummy tuck, and reconstructive surgery in hopes to add a bit more punch to the Japanese gaming company's holiday fight.

Although it hasn't been long since Sony last unveiled a slimmed-down version of a console first released shortly after Y2K, the company seems determined to offer yet another, even slicker edition of the system. The freshly updated PS2 will retail for 16,000 yen, or $140 US, when it hits Japanese retail outlets in about two weeks' time (November 22).

According to Sony fan sites, the new version will not only be lighter, but also available in colors like "Charcoal Black, "Ceramic White," and "Satin Silver." (Source: ps3center.net)

Given the impressive sales of this generation's consoles, the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, and Sony PlayStation 3, some question the point in releasing yet another rendition of a far outdated piece of hardware. After all, Sony's PS2 became arguably out-of-style when the much more powerful Microsoft Xbox originally hit shelves in 2001.

And yet, Microsoft's original console never succeeded in displacing the popularity of the PlayStation 2, and even today the latter maintains an impressive following due to games like the Guitar Hero franchise.

For Sony, the changes make sense. With sales of the PS2 still not depressing enough to discontinue production, the company sees a real benefit in updating the system by making it even slimmer, sexier. "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 that is) lighter in weight," Sony said in a statement. (Source: pcworld.com)

Although a North American release is expected to be announced soon, word has not yet reached the media.

For the record, the PlayStation 2 -- home of Ratchet and Clank and the modern Grand Theft Auto series -- has sold 120 million times, more units than any other home console to date.