In September of that year, in time for the launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (the best-selling game during the 2004 Holiday season), Sony revealed a new, smaller PS2 (see Hardware revisions).
Although external USB 2.0 enclosures are affordable the lack of internal hard disk has implicated a problem for users with perhaps little knowledge of the software required to enable the external disk functionality.
V3 has a substantially different internal structure from the subsequent revisions, featuring several interconnected printed circuit boards.
Although Sony placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first year, all that changed because of the launch of the online-capable Xbox.
One of them includes the old EE and GS chips, and the other contains the newer unified EE+GS chip, otherwise being identical.
V5 introduces minor internal changes and the only difference between V6 (sometimes called V5.1) and V5 is the orientation of the Power/Reset switch board connector, which was reversed to prevent the use of no-solder modchips.
When it was released, the PS2 had many advanced features that were not present in other contemporary video game consoles, including its DVD capabilities and USB and IEEE 1394 expansion ports.
A product named HD Connect can be soldered into the unit giving hard drive support though.
Although Sony placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first year, all that changed because of the launch of the online-capable Xbox.
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For some consumers this is in fact a limitation, especially for the fans of titles such as Final Fantasy XI, which requires the use of this peripheral, and prevents the use of the official PS2 Linux kit.
However the New Slim Silver Models have more issues with playing PlayStation games than the first PS2 revisions.
It also has a different lens and some compatibility issues documented by Sony for earlier PS2 games.
The PS2 launch seemed unimpressive and gaffe-prone, compared to the well-planned launch of the Sega Dreamcast, which was making a genuine attempt to woo developers and which had better launch titles.
This led to further shortages, and the issue was compounded in Britain when a Russian oil tanker became stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking a ship from China carrying PS2s bound for the UK.
When the PlayStation 2 launched in Japan in March 2000, Sony sold 980,000 units over the opening weekend.
