Three versions of the Playstation 2 have come and gone. Now for the fourth. Sony Computer Entertaintment have announced that they will be releasing the new version of the Playstation 2 in India and Europe by Diwali. Also, Sony plans to introduce the Playstation network by the end of the year.

Recently Sony laid out it plans to make the PS3 much cheaper with component removals. But today MCV reports that a new Playstation 2 model might hit US by next year for just $99. The new model as reported might sport a more “compact” design and have a “built-in power supply.”

The decision may also come as Sony’s sometime back decided to drop all backwards compatibility from the new 40GB PS3 model. But as usual Sony representatives “refused to comment” over it. But I’m sure they are regretting their decision on dropping PS2 compatibility from the PS3. Now question is would you go for a spanking new PS3 or the 7 year old veteran the PS2. Whats your take on this guys?

The Xbox consoles never received official keyboard and mouse accessories because of Microsofts refusal to intergrate a keyboard into a Xbox controller, despite continued gamer requests.
But Sony used the keyboard, the PS 2 supported USB keyboard and mice, which will also be seen in the new PS 3.

The QWERTY keypad will be its own separate accessory that will attach neatly to the bottom of the Xbox 360 controller. Its currently unknown exactly how the device will latch on and interface with the controller.
The main purpose of the new QWERTY keypad controller is the rumored addition of Windows Live Messenger functionality into the next Xbox 360 Spring Update.

The New PlayStation 3 System Update Improves Backwards Compatibility. PS3 v1.5 allows you to play old games on your new system better than ever.
The most notable change is the improvement in the appearance and display of all PS 1 and PS2 games while being played on the PS3. Prior to this update, previous generation games played on the new console would look worse than when being played on the original platform. The suggested fix to the situation was simply to switch to composite cables and play the old games in their old interlaced formats.