PS2 Turns 9 Today

[zemmix]

9 Years ago I was sitting in the basement at Activision Q&A opening the boxes of the shiny new PS2 Test units and then testing a craptastic game called Orphen.

[The 1 2 P]

During the heyday of the PS2 I was actually enjoying all the wonderous joys of the (then) newly found online gaming sensation known as XBL on my Xbox. Althought the PS2 had quite a few games I was interested in, I never once felt like I was missing out on anything I couldn't live without.

Flashforward to about two years ago and I finally picked up a PS2 slim at Target. This meant that I also got to finally play my PS2 game collection I've been amassing over the past five years. It's a nice system and the redesign is much better than the launch model. It definitely deserves a place in history with how many units it has sold and how long it's been around.

[Spartacus]

I bought a PS2 because the wife and I enjoyed watching movies at home and it was an inexpensive DVD player that also played games on the side. We had played Nintendo with the kids but were never really gamers ourselves. The "kids" were in high school and their thoughts were on boyfriends/girlfriends and college choices. So there wasn't much buzz in the house about a new game system. It came with Gran Turismo 3 that we tried and everybody thought it looked very good, but nobody liked playing.
Eventually, when there wasn't a movie worth renting at Blockbuster, I stopped in at an EB to check out some games for it. Looked at the prices on the PS2 games and thought no way I'm spending that kind of coin. Then I noticed a bunch of old PS1 games priced for a couple of bucks. Not knowing much about games, I just tried picking some with cover art that didn't scream "for kids". I tried a few and enjoying playing them. That's when I began noticing that cheap PS1 games were sold practically everywhere. I could find them at game stores, Blockbuster, 7-11's, flea markets, pawn shops, gas stations, dollar stores stores - you name it! Heck, I wouldn't have been surprised to see a rack of PS1 games for sale in the men’s room of the titty bar - right between the condom and french tickler machines!
I had no idea at the time, but I'm now closing in on 1,500 PlayStation 1 games. And as those PS2 games started to drop under $5, I began picking up those as well. 1069 to be exact. I ended up with a Japanese PS2, a PAL PS2, some fatty's and some slims. I picked up a variety of PS1 models, including a developer debug unit and a chipped model. God only knows how many hours were on some of those old things and yet I never once experienced one that didn't play properly. I would occasionally have to adjust and swab the laser on the fatty's to get them to play CD's, but that was about it.
The PlayStation has one Helluva library, that's all I've got to say. They ain't always the prettiest, when compared to games on the Cube or Xbox, but it's got more than its fair share of exclusives. And I know for a fact that if it weren’t for the PS2, I wouldn’t be playing games today. Happy Birthday!

[swlovinist]

The PS2 was my first new system that I bought on launch date. Like some others, I was fairly disappointed with early titles, only to really appreciate the system when it refused to die and had droved of niche unique games coming out on the system. I traded in my original for a slim model and still own and play that system today with ZERO problems. I have about 120 titles, mostly ones that I would play or collect that are some of the better titles. My most favorite title for the system early on was Red Faction. As time went on, I really went after the budget titles(Sega Genesis Collection, Samurai Showdown Anthology, God Hand, etc. The system has such a diverse library, I am glad to see is supported for so long and with some great titles. To me, the PS2 is everything done right with a console, and one that Sony should remember when supporting future consoles.

[thedeityofhardcore]

Unfortunately the day is most likely soon that the PlayStation 2 will cease manufacturing. I am using my fatty I got for 20 bucks at a thrift store 4 years ago right now. Pretty good price at the time. Laser lense just needed a good swab.

The Fact the PS3 no longer has BC is a sign the PS2 will live forever or until The PSPGO apathy and PS3 Ultimately bankrupt them.

[thedeityofhardcore]

Wasn't a big PS1 fan and don't own a PS3, but I have to give credit to the PS2 for being the only system of the last generation worth buying.

And before anyone jumps on me for ripping the Xbox and Gamecube, the simple fact was that the exclusive titles for the PS2 were far better than both of the other two's exclusives. So, so many good games were available on the PS2.

Given the sales numbers and sheer number of great games, the PS2 has to be one of the greatest systems of all time, right up there with the NES, SNES, and Atari VCS.

Ninja Gaiden would like to have a word with you.

[vivaeljason]

Ninja Gaiden would like to have a word with you.

...I didn't mean that EVERY exclusive title for the PS2 was better than EVERY exclusive for the Xbox. I'm a huge fan of a bunch of exclusive Xbox games (Knights of the Old Republic, Halo, Halo 2, Ninja Gaiden, etc.) but I feel like in general the PS2 exclusives were superior.

[RPG_Fanatic]

The PS2 was my first new system that I bought on launch date.

I wanted one on launch day but they were so hard to find. I didn't get one until December.

[gepeto]

The thing I remember was the constant gaffleing the retailers were trying to do. Force you to buy a ps2 3 games and a controller. 500 plus dollars. Unwilling to sell you a system and a game. That was the height of the retailers wickedness. They was all in on it together.

[josekortez]

I probably own more games for the Japanese and U.S. PS2s than I do for any other system. I wasn't a fan at first, but I am now.

[Mr. Gimmick]

wow, hard to believe its been 9 years already. Damn I feel old haha, seems like yesterday when I got mine at launch. Ps2 is one of the few systems that I own that I play constantly (tho I mostly play original ps1 disks on it :P)

[WanganRunner]

Yeah, PS2 will continue on a lot longer then PS1 did because PS3 doesn't have backwards compatability.

The Famicom soldiered on until like 2002-2003 in Japan in "AV Famicom" form. That was like twenty years. Who knows how long we'll see PS2's being sold for. It may eventually be like $40-50.

Definitely the best Sony hardware to date.

[Ye0ldmario]

i still use mine for playing ps1 games and ps2 games (slim). it's also a DVD player which is a plus. Plays my burned movies just fine.

[duffmanth]

Man I can remember getting my first PS2 in January/2001 when they were still hard to find. I walked into my local Walmart and there was one lone PS2 in the display case, and I plunked down $520 CDN. after taxes! The piece of shit only lasted me just under 3 months before it starting fucking up on me, but luckily the one they replaced it with I still own and play to this day.

As far as I'm concerned it's the greatest console ever released, as its game library is unmatched. Anyone looking for a cheap and fun system to get into now would be much better off getting a PS2 than a Wii. Long live the PS2!