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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.
The PlayStation 2 had a difficult start.
There is also now a V14 model (SCPH-75001) which contains an integrated EE and GS (disputed - see talk page) , and different ASICs compared to previous revisions, some chips having a copyright date of 2005 compared to 2000,2001 for earlier models.
One of them includes the old EE and GS chips, and the other contains the newer unified EE+GS chip, otherwise being identical.
During one week in November, sales in the entire country of Britain totalled 6,000 units - compared to 70,000 a few weeks prior.
It was not until late 2001 that the Microsoft Xbox became the second console with (non-standard) USB and DVD support.
Although Sony placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first year, all that changed because of the launch of the online-capable Xbox.
Developers also complained that it was difficult to develop for the system, with little in the way of reference material from Sony for its exotic architecture.
In September 2004 Sony unveiled the third major hardware revision (V12, model number SCPH-70000).
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.