The craze for owning a video game console is on the rise. Even the HDTVs today are making provisions for adding a gaming console to the TV, having judged the pulse of the present generation. With everyone joining in the hype, can Sony be far behind? With the release of Playstation2 and Playstation3, Sony has jumped into the bandwagon of producing quality gaming consoles. But as is usual when there are a number of gaming consoles to choose from, everyone is busy comparing the performance of PS2 and PS3. But only time will tell which one will come out on top.

The PS2

Sony produced the sixth generation video game console and named it PS2. It has overtaken all the gaming consoles in sales. It also sports a huge library of games. Ps2 is backward compatible and so it can play all the games you could play on the previous versions. It also has the capability to play both CDs and DVDs. Being upgraded to play DVDs is one of the main factors in the increasing sales. If you want to go online, then you have to purchase a Network adapter for online multiplayer support. Most of the games developed for online PS2 support broadband internet access. The PS2 also has the capability to run Linux.

The PS3

The PS3 is larger than all the competitive products in the market. You have to go in for a HDMI cable to play Blu-ray movies in 1080p definition. You also have the option of buying optical digital audio cable to get the full effects of 7.1 channel audio. It is extremely easy to get started on the PS3. Barring some games, the PS3 is backward compatible with all the games which can be played on the previous versions. The best part of PS3 is that it can play Blu-ray movies with the same efficiency as stand-alone Blu-ray players. The remote is optional and does not come with the original package.

Advantages of PS2

* Select and Start buttons

* Dual analog sticks to define the range of motion

* 12 analog buttons

* Mode button with digital, analog and steering modes

* Dual Shock II-compatible feedback

* Trigger firing buttons

* Macro button for better programmability

* 8-way precision directional pad

* Comfortable manufactured angles and curves

Advantages of PS3

* Better processing capacity

* Extensible over the Internet

* Wireless networking allows web browsing and file sharing

* Providing a Blu-ray player

* Can play all titles of previous gaming consoles from Sony

* 4 USB 2 ports

* Bluetooth 2.0 support

* Memory Stick, SD and CompactFlash slots

* 60 GB hard disk

PS2 vs. PS3

There were a lot of things going in favor of PS2 during its launch. It was introduced at a time when no other competitive products were in view. In fact, the main reason for the high sales figures of PS2 was not its games but the provision of a DVD player which was comparatively much cheaper than the stand alone DVD players. As a direct result of this provision, the hardware costs went down. The manufacturers were forced to cut down the prices.

But when Sony announced the PS3, the same factors were not in favor of it. This time around Sony has competition from Nintendo and Microsoft. There has also been a high rise in the cost of PS3 which does not augur well for its sales. The Blu-ray feature has been beaten to the market with the introduction of HD-DVD, which offers better picture quality. You also have to invest a lot more on additional hardware when you purchase the PS3. This adds to the already huge cost. And lastly, PS3 does not include any particular new feature to talk about. Whereas, the PS3 was a significantly better product than its predecessors.

So the PS3 seems to be losing out on the PS2. It is time Sony took notice and tried to make amends. Otherwise the PS2 will remain in the driver`s seat at least for the time being.