PlayStation 2 Expansion Bay

The PlayStation 2 Expansion Bay is a 3.5" drive bay introduced with the model 30000 and 50000 PlayStation 2 (replacing the PCMCIA slot used in the models 10000, 15000, and 18000, and no longer present as of the model 70000) designed for the network adaptor and internal hard disk drive (HDD). These peripherals enhance the capabilities of the PS2 to allow online play and other features that were shown at 2001.

Contents

Network Adaptor

The Network Adaptor was released on July 19, 2001 in Japan (together with the hard disk drive), in August 2002 in North America and in June 2003 in Europe. Two models were available - one with a dial-up modem and an Ethernet jack for broadband Internet connection (sold in North America), and one with only an Ethernet interface (sold in Europe and other regions). A start-up disc ("Network Access Disc") is included with the Network Adaptor and installs a file on the memory card for connection settings which are accessible by all but one Network Adaptor compatible game. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was released in November 2001 and supported the Network Adaptor hardware, but not the software as it was not finalized until much later.

The Network Adaptor also provides a Parallel ATA interface and a Molex disk drive power connector to allow installation of a 3.5" IDE hard disk drive in the expansion bay.

The slim-line range of the PS2 has an Ethernet jack built-in, but no hard disk drive interface.

Hard disk drive

The PlayStation 2 Hard Disk Drive (PS2 HDD) was released on July 19, 2001 in Japan (together with the Network Adaptor) and on March 23, 2004 in North America. It requires the Network Adaptor to connect to the PlayStation 2 and to receive power. The HDD has a 40 GB capacity that can be used by games to reduce load time by putting data on the hard drive temporarily, or back up memory card data. Due to MagicGate copyright protection, programs that are bootable directly from the HDD (e.g. PlayStation Broadband Navigator, PlayOnline Viewer, Pop'n Music Puzzle-dama Online) are keyed to the system when that system installs them. The HDD can be transferred to another PlayStation 2 system and files on the HDD can be accessed, but those specific programs cannot be booted without being reinstalled. Contrary to popular belief, a complete reformat of the HDD is not necessary upon transfer of the HDD between consoles, or else it would not be useful to have the HDD be preformatted and have preinstalled software, as is the case with the North American HDD unit. An HDD Utility Disc is included to allow maintenance of the HDD and in North America, Final Fantasy XI is also included. Currently, there are 29 North American games that support the HDD.

Unofficial software called HD Loader and the newer HD Advance allow users to copy entire games to the HDD and run them without the discs. These pieces of software also allows using some standard HDDs (typically used by a computer) in the PS2, however they will not be seen in the browser, or work with games using the HDD. While some argue that this improves performance and protects the potentially fragile discs, especially from young children, others claim that this only encourages piracy as rented games can be copied and kept forever (see rental piracy).

As of December 2004, it is widely believed that Sony is no longer interested in supporting the hard drive. The new slimline model of PlayStation 2, introduced in November 2004, is not capable of using the hard drive and while Sony has stated they are investigating alternatives, it is thought that none will be forthcoming due to the relatively late date in the product's lifecycle. The absence of support for the HDD in the slimline PS2 also means that Final Fantasy XI can only be played on older PlayStation 2s. Sony's public response at the time of the introduction of the slimline PS2 (in mid-2004) was that "the more hardcore [HDD-interested] gamers...already have their PlayStation 2 units," according to a company statement.

North American releases with HDD support

Japanese releases with HDD support

Linux kit

The Linux Kit for PlayStation 2 was released in 2002 and included the PlayStation 2 Linux software, keyboard, mouse, VGA adapter (which requires an RGB monitor with sync-on-green), Network Adaptor (Ethernet only) and a 40 GB hard disk drive. It allows the PlayStation 2 to be used as a personal computer.

External links