If you hadn't gathered from all the pre-release hype and game releases, the Sony theme is blue. Blue is everywhere. You open the blue box only to find stacked on top the single PS2 controller packed with the unit. It is black and looking exactly like the earlier dual stick analog controller, but it is sheathed in a blue bag. Additionally a power cord and set of RCA connectors are packed in as well, but for some reason neither rates the blue treatment.

As we'll see later on, the controller is subtly different from the familiar PS dual-shock analog controller. The button and dual-stick configuration is the same, but now some of the buttons also have analog action so that in some games, increased pressure on a button will produce added effects in the game (increased acceleration in a racing game, for instance). I, for one, am anxious to see this work, because I am among those dweebs who has been mashing digital buttons for years in the vain hope that it will help me turn faster or jump higher in a game. We shall see if Sony's third party developers make good on this innovation in the games themselves.

What's next? Well, the usual cross-promotion and paperwork garbage, including a come-on to join the Playstation Underground and get a free demo disk of videos, game samples and other goodies that will run on the PS2. This note fills me with a bit of dread. Does this mean the PS2 comes without a demo disk of any kind packed in? Stay tuned for more, video fans.

One piece of errata made it into the box, a multi-lingual notice that there is an error in the setup routines for the Italian language option on the console. And Joe Lieberman will be pleased. Sony covers its ass by including a flier explaining the various ESRB ratings. But the first sign you have bought into something more than just another gaming machine comes with the instruction manual, a multi-lingual affair that is the size of most DVD player or Audio receiver manuals. It has to cover a lot, since the PS2 can be connected to your TV at least four different ways: via your antenna plug, through RCA cables, S-VHS cables, or even (for real high end owners of HDTV-ready sets) component video. Likewise, both the setup routines and DVD operations are vast enough to require considerable explanations for different instances.

But enough of this. Instructions are not meant to be read but to be cursed at when things go awry. Let's crack open this box.