Sony Confirms No HDD Support For New PS2

Sony officials have confirmed that the re-designed, slimline PlayStation 2 is not compatible with the PlayStation 2 hard drive. When the re-designed console was unveiled on Tuesday, it was immediately noticeable that it did not include an expansion bay for connecting the drive. This has led to Sony issuing the following statement: "The new PlayStation 2 was designed to be slimmer and more lightweight, and the current manufacturing, as well as capacity and design of the internal Hard Disk Drive would not allow for inclusion in the new hardware model. The design of the new hardware is not a sign of Sony Computer Entertainment's change in philosophy regarding the Hard Disc Drive. The internal Hard Disc Drive will continue to be sold in North America and Sony Computer Entertainment America will offer related services and customer support." "Consumers who want and use the Hard Disk Drive are typically the more 'hard core' gamers, and with more than 27 million PlayStation 2 units already sold in North America, we feel that a majority of those HDD interested consumers already have their PlayStation 2 units. We are also looking into other memory options that would be compatible with the new PlayStation 2." The only three major games that currently use the hard drive are Square Enix's Final Fantasy XI, Sony's SOCOM II and the forthcoming Front Mission Online. Anyone wishing to play these games to their full potential (or, in some cases, at all) will now be forced to use the original PlayStation 2 console. Some commentators have also argued that the recent availability of unofficial third-party hard disc storage devices such as HDDAdvance, which have the ability to back up PlayStation 2 games to hard disc, may have influenced Sony's decision to remove any type of hard disc connectivity, for obvious anti-piracy related reasons.