Smaller $99 PS2 coming in ‘08?
Posted By LordAb 
What we heard: It’s been three years nearly to the day since Sony released the slimline PlayStation 2 in November 2004. Sony trimmed away 75 percent of the original’s mass with the new model, while increasing functionality after several internal hardware revisions. After a year and a half on the market, Sony shaved $20 off the redesigned hardware in April 2006, dropping the price of the PS2 from $149 to its current retail price of $129.
Now, UK industry news site MCV is reporting that Sony plans to cut the size and price of the PS2 once again, and will release a “compact” $99 model next year in North America. Reportedly the most significant alteration to Sony’s legacy hardware is that the power supply will be moved inside the console, reducing manufacturing and shipping costs. MCV did not source its information, though it presumably was not on official word from Sony, as a spokesperson “refused to comment” on the details.
Despite the shady credibility of MCV’s report, at the very least, a price drop seems to be in the cards for Sony’s second-gen console. The console, which just recently celebrated its seven-year, 120 million unit milestone, may finally be showing signs of its age, as Sony recently reported unit sales down 310,000 year-over-year during its second fiscal quarter. However, at 3.28 million units, the PS2 still easily outsold Sony’s other offerings during the three-month period, with the PlayStation 3 shifting 1.31 million units and the PlayStation Portable selling 2.58 million.
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