PS2 hard drive? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Miskulin]

Is there a hard drive coming out any time soon for the PS2? I'd love to get one of those...

mike.

 

[BrianB]

Yes. Sometime next year in the West. It's already available in Japan.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Rumor has it being priced around $100. I'm not sure, but I don't think Sony's made any official announcements other than it will be available next year. Final Fantasy XI and EverQuest for PS2 will need it, and both of those games are coming out some time next spring, so Sony needs to get it out soon.

 

[GeoffL]

$100?!!
*YIKES*
That's half an xbox!!!

whirley

 

[Dave F]

I can't imagine that it will be $100. Hard drives just keep getting cheaper, and $100 is currently the upper price for a 7200rpm ultra ata100 40GB drive. I would imagine that the PS2 drive would be slower and cheaper. Even if its the same speed, I bet that the price would be lower.

-Dave

 

[Nathan A]

from the prices in stores near me, 40GB 7200rpm drives can be had for only $80 and less, and you can get 60-80GB for $100 (and these aren't generic...WD, seagate, IBM etc).

at $100 i won't buy sony's. by the time it's out i figure it'll only be worth $50 to me.

 

[Mike Miskulin]

If one is available in Japan now, will it work in a US system? I wouldn't think there'd be compatability/region issues with a hard drive.

mike.

 

[Mike Miskulin]

BTW, I think the drive will have to be no more than $50 when it hits the states. I don't think higher priced units will sell.

(PS2 $200 + $40 broadband adapter + $100 40gb hard drive = $340! XBOX with broadband and hard drive = $200. hmm....)

mike.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

(PS2 $200 + $40 broadband adapter + $100 40gb hard drive = $340! XBOX with broadband and hard drive = $200. hmm....)

Then again, the PS2 also plays PSX games and DVDs out of the box. The PS2 HDD is also 40 GB whereas the X-Box's is only 8. Plus, Final Fantasy XI and (I think) EverQuest for PS2 will be loaded onto the HDD completely, so they can be played without the disc.

I think that $100 for a 40 GB HDD for PS2 (which isn't the final price) is a little less crazy than $100 for a special controller that only works with one game + $50 for that game (Steel Battallion).

 

[Brad Grenz]

It's silly to specualte. I'd agree that $100 is really high. I doubt the official PS2 will be 7200 RPM either, they run to hot and the expansion bay doesn't have a whole lot of ventilation. According to PSM the network adapter is built to interface with, basically, a standard IDE PC hard drive. Who knows how this will shake out. If a Sony branded HDD does hit in the US I'm thinking the price will probably be in the $75 range at most. But Sony could sell them at a loss. Or they could just let people buy their own hard drives and have games that support it all come with the required formating software/firmware update. But there's no solid details so it's a little early to get pissy about price.

 

[Sean Eldridge]

$100 for a special controller that only works with one game

To be totally fair, there is no saying that the controller won't work with other games in the future. However unlikely that may be.

 

[Travis Kolesar]

There was an article on the PS2 hard drive on IGN today.
Link Removed

 

[Ryan Peter]

I own a PS2 and with a HDD this late in the game I totally expect it to flop. Even at $50. Unless they make a killer app that needs it to run (and I'm not talking about Final Fantasy online), then maybe they can salvage it.

 

[Dave F]

$100 for a special controller that only works with one game

Apples and oranges. The controller is an extravagance targeted to cater to the needs of a small niche market. The hard drive is expected to be more of a mass market item (if it comes out).

-Dave

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I think that $100 for a 40 GB HDD for PS2 (which isn't the final price) is a little less crazy than $100 for a special controller that only works with one game + $50 for that game (Steel Battallion).

The game comes with the controller, and Capcom has created a set of generic drivers so that anyone can make games to use it

 

[Calvin Watts III]

All I say is,name one add-on item for a system that has worked.
I don't think the PS2 HD is gonna sell in big numbers.
Not even for FFXI.

 

[BrianB]

The game comes with the controller, and Capcom has created a set of generic drivers so that anyone can make games to use it

And there's already a sequel announced for next year with XBox Live support.

I paid a total of around $170 for controllers that "only" two games support properly. And that was a damn good buy.

 

[Romier S]

There is one very simple deciding factor for me as to whether I will purchase a PS2 hard drive (if it ever comes out). That factor is whether or not you can save your games/progress onto the hard drive. If Sony will not allow gamers to save games/progress onto the hard drive (as was previously reported) then I don't see any reason whatsoever to spend the money on the add-on.

Heres a question though..If the Hard Drive is not released in the good old US of A, how exactly are PS2 owners going to play FFXI which requires the hard drive for patching? I dont see how Sony could not release the hard drive. If they don't thats going to create a major problem for Squaresoft.

Furthermore, upon reading reports that the new Everquest game for the PS2 will not require a hard drive I am curious as to how they will update the game? MMORPG's are extremely complex and require months of character class balancing, bug fixes, stability and network updates. I honestly dont see how they are going to make this work, beyong having the updates save to a memory card (*scary*).

I guess we once again play the waiting game....

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Furthermore, upon reading reports that the new Everquest game for the PS2 will not require a hard drive I am curious as to how they will update the game?

First of all, the idea of EQ being on PS2 is that it's a different game from the PC version and they're trying to make it as complete as possible by the time it ships so they don't need to make patches that often. Second, it does require the HDD, last I heard.

 

[Romier S]

First of all, the idea of EQ being on PS2 is that it's a different game from the PC version and they're trying to make it as complete as possible by the time it ships so they don't need to make patches that often

That is a fantasy (quite possibly the Final Fantasty). Unless they are making an extremely basic little game out of EQOA which features a horribly simplified version of the PC game, this will be near impossible IMHO. This type of game by its nature necessitates patches. Class balance alone is *THE* biggest issue with MMORPG's and why they need constant updates.(Also Morgan the latest reports coming out of the Sony camp is that EQ will not need the HD)
Its going to be intereting to say the least waiting for Sony to come clean on the Hard Drive and seeing how develpers of these persisten online worlds work around the problem if it is not released.