Sony Japan announces silver slimline PS2

Ever since Nintendo started releasing its Game Boys in every color known to Crayola, visual options have been a near-standard with game hardware. Ordinarily it's not that big of a deal to throw a new coat of paint on the exterior and throw it onto shelves. However, Sony's latest palette-swapped PlayStation 2 includes some changes to the hardware with undesirable side effects.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan today announced that a limited edition Satin Silver version of its slimline PS2 would go on sale in Japan on November 23 but that it would have compatibility issues with some existing games. The announced list of games incompatible with the silver slimline system (model SCPH-75000) is fairly short, but it includes one surprisingly high-profile (and recent) game:

Tekken 5 (SLPS-25510)
Ai Yori Aoshi (SLPS-25224 and SLPS-25225)
F1 2001 (SLPS-20120)
F1 2002 (SLPS-20199)
Gauntlet Dark Legacy (SLPM-62125)
Hitman: Contracts (SLPS-25406)
Racing Battle C-1 Grand Prix (SLPM-65897)
Stylish Mahjong Usagi Double Pack (SLPM-62571)
Usagi: Yasei no Topai (SLPS-20207)

To play these games, users will need to have a SCPH-70000 (or earlier) model of the hardware. A list of PSOne games with problems on the SCPH-75000 is available at Sony's official site.

The system will come packed with a silver analog controller and a vertical stand. Additional silver controllers and memory cards will be available for 2,800 yen ($24). Like the standard PS2, the Satin Silver edition does not carry a suggested retail price from Sony. This will be the third color model for the slimline PS2 in Japan, following the standard Charcoal Black model and the Ceramic White model that was released in May.