Well, aside from it looking suspiciously like the monolith in Kubrick and Clarke's 2001, the main PS2 unit is narrow (about 7 inches deep), but quite long (a foot), and low-slung (about 3 inches high). While we were hoping to maintain the blue theme, our unit was pitch black, but embossed with the now familiar blue PS2 logo as well as the logos of the six media formats it will play: compact disks, Dolby digital sound, DVD-Video, and DVD-Rom. I was struck by one insignia, however, the DTS logo, which is an advanced 5.1 surround sound motif that recreates a movie theater experience on the few DVDs that are starting to support it. Only the most recent home theater receivers decode this format, but in my experience, DTS provides even greater fidelity, sound separation and clarity than most Dolby Digital recording.

The rest of the unit is a sleek collection of inputs and outputs, all testifying to Sony's larger ambition of making the PS2 the centerpiece of its plans to converge web content, console gaming, home theater, and a host of Web devices and players. Two USB ports are up front, next to the iLink, which is an IEEE 1394 port that can network with other PS2s at up to 400MB per second. The USB ports will accommodate keyboards, mice and direct connections to digital cameras, MP3 players and other gadgets that will make the PS2 seem more like a Web appliance…sometime…somewhere…hopefully in our lifetimes. In the back of the unit, you find the A/V out port for linking to the TV as well as the power cord and an optical audio connector. This plug is the simplest way to send 5.1 surround sound signals to a home theatre set up. It carries the signals for the front two speakers, center speaker, sub-woofer and rear surround speakers. This surround sound capability could well be one of the PS2's killer features. I have already heard at least one digital surround game in beta, and it seems to me the potential is tremendous if designers exploit this feature. The immersiveness it can achieve is astounding.

There are a few questionable design decisions on the PS2 box that are immediately apparent. Sony has the console's Reset switch in front, just beside the disk bay and above the CD Eject button. Two switches control the power on a PS2, a Main Power toggle in the back of the unit, and a Reset button in the top right corner in front. For those of us who don't believe in no steenkin' manuals, it may take a while to understand the arrangement here. The Main Power switch can be left on. The Reset switch has dual functions. A quick touch will reset the machine, while a longer press will power it down. Unfortunately, this switch responds to a very light touch and is not recessed in the least. On the front of the unit as well, you will find the two memory card slots planted above the two game controller outlets.

Some gamers have already complained that Sony's two controller ports are stingy considering the Nintendo came multiplayer ready with four front-mounted ports on the N64. We agree. Multiplay has become even more standard among console players than the PC crowd, so making consumers shell out more money for the PS2 “Multi-tap” is in my mind just plain cheap on Sony's part.