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  • Is This the End of PlayStation 2?
Technology Articles > Entertainment > Gaming Consoles > Is This the End of PlayStation 2?

Today, Sony announced that the company will stop manufacturing PlayStation 2 consoles. After ceasing to sell the consoles in Japan, Sony decided to do away with the PlayStation 2 altogether. This news comes as a bit of a shock, since the PlayStation 2 was Sony’s best-selling console. Sony has sold more than 150 million consoles to date.

On the flip side, Sony is expected to release a new PlayStation console this year. As far as games and controllers go, you’re safe for now if you have PS2 games (or want to buy more), but things are going to change when the PS4 comes to town. Upcoming PlayStation 4 news and rumors listed below.

The Next PlayStation News

It was first rumored that Sony would release the PS4 by December 2012. Obviously, that didn’t happen. There are some very reliable rumors circulating, however. One such rumor has to do with the new console’s graphics and power capabilities. It has been stated that the PS4 will have an AMD x64 CPU; 28nM; Island Graphics; 256 GB of storage; a Blu-ray drive; and 8GB to 16GB of RAM. While these have been the spec rumors circulating for some time, hopefully Sony is working on something a bit more impressive when it comes to chip updates.

Even though the prospect of a new PlayStation is somewhat exciting, Sony has been losing a lot of money lately thanks to its latest PS3 console. The PS2 was the most popular console to date, but now that Sony is doing away with the PS2, it will be interesting to see what the company comes up with. As far as games go, word on the tech street is that Sony wants to do away with second hand games, much in the way that Microsoft has done.

The Future of PS2 and PS4 Games

Right now, Sony continues to manufacture and sell PS2 games. However, signs point to Sony doing away with second hand games in the near future. Seemingly, PS4 games will be linked to Sony Entertainment Network accounts, so it will be impossible to resell PS4 games. As with many other gaming companies, Sony is losing money on the sale of second hand games, so eliminating any resale value makes a good deal of sense from Sony’s standpoint. Whether or not gamers will like this game shift has yet to be seen.

Controllers and Other Details

Sony has made any real announcements regarding the way that PS4 controllers will look and function, but Sony reps have stated that the company is looking for a way to put gameplay back into gamer’s hands. What does this mean? In all likelihood, you may see a tablet-type controller or something that’s more along the lines of what Nintendo has recently cooked up with the Wii U.

Sony is fairly good at sending out releases to the press when new products are introduced, so stay tuned for exclusive details about the upcoming PS4 from Sony. I’m expecting this announcement to arrive sooner rather than later.