PlayStation 2 - Ten Years Later

UnbreakableVow

The Beginning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcmtDAVM-3A

Ten Years Later

Now, I don't know if you guys were aware, maybe your internal clocks are not too keen or maybe you just don't want to accept the fact that you may be aging, but this Thursday, March 4, 2010, marks the ten-year anniversary of the PlayStation 2's launch in Japan. It hit America in October of that same year, and the European/Australian regions roughly a month later.

Ten years. Think about that. For some of you, this may be over half your life. I was 13 when the PS2 hit, and remembering how much I was looking forward to it in those days brings an incredible rush of nostalgia. Feeling sufficiently aged? Good! Let's move on to the good stuff then, starting with the ever-reliable Wikipedia excerpt:

The PlayStation 2 (officially abbreviated PS2) is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game consoles. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was released a year later in Japan. Its primary competitors were Sega's Dreamcast, Microsoft's Xbox, and the Nintendo GameCube.

The PS2 is the best-selling console to date, having reached over 140 million units sold as of September 30, 2009. Several new games are scheduled to be released in 2010, thus continuing the sixth generation.

Why Was the PS2 So Awesome?

There are a few reasons why! Let's get the more minor ones out of the way first:

DVD Playback
DVD was still a pretty new thing back when the PS2 hit. For many people (myself included), the PS2 was their first DVD player. Stand-alone players were still relatively expensive at the time for even some of the lower-quality models, so $299 for the hot new gaming system that doubled as a movie player for this great new format was an alluring deal indeed. It also played all your music CD's as well, but this was nothing that the PS1, Saturn and Dreamcast did not accomplish. A neat complimentary feature as a "media machine" though.

Backwards Compatibility
This one is a big sticking point for a lot of people, and it was definitely one for me. All those PS1 games you had accrued in the previous five years? All of them, with the exception of a few no-name games and Tomba, would run perfectly in your PS2. The system even had an option to make the graphics in these games smoother, with varying results (check out Metal Gear Solid and Vagrant Story! They look great with this). No need for an awkward transfer kit or anything like that either, since your ancient 15-block memory cards fit nice and snugly inside the PS2's memory card slot.

Guidance Systems for Long-Range Missiles
If you're Saddam Hussein, anyways. From the Guinness Book of World Records:

In December 2000, it was reported that the FBI and US Customs were investigating the shipment of up to 4,000 PlayStation 2 consoles to Iraq. As they were designated video game systems, rather than hardware, it was rumoured that this allowed Saddam Hussein to avoid UN sanctions prohibiting the sale of computer hardware to Iraq. It was speculated that the consoles could be adapted for use as guidance systems for long-range missiles.

But Mostly, It Was The Games

While the GameCube and Xbox were mighty fine systems in their own right, I don't think too many would argue that for the highest quantity of absolutely outstanding games, you absolutely needed to own a PS2 during the last gen. At least 140 million of you agree. So let's get on with the launch lineup!

Armored Core 2
Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore
Dynasty Warriors 2
ESPN International Track and Field
ESPN X-Games Snowboarding
Eternal Ring
Evergrace
FantaVision
Gungriffon Blaze
Kessen
Madden NFL 2001
Midnight Club
Moto GP
NHL 2001
Orphen
Q-Ball Billiards Master
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Ridge Racer V
Silent Scope
Smuggler's Run
SSX
Street Fighter EX3
Summoner
Swing Away Golf
Tekken Tag Tournament
TimeSplitters
Unreal Tournament
Wild Wild Racing
X-Squad

Now, not exactly the highest-quality list, but compared to most systems launch, this was a generous helping of decent-to-good games (with some poor ones thrown in). The bolded ones all launched to pretty generous reviews, and even apart from those, I know many who swore by FantaVision, and I know we have a few Summoner fans around these parts. While I can't exactly claim any of these as my favorites, I could pick any number of these games and be enthralled by the sights and sounds and the graphical leap it took from the last generation, the last time I can claim that any system had that effect of wonderment on me.

Would You Like a Retrospective?

I leave that to you! Seriously, that may have been a plan of mine when this thread was a glimmer in my eyes, but there are seriously too many high-quality games for me to do something like that for all of them. At last tally I had played over 250 PS2 games, and liked over 100 of them. That's a lot. I've included a list of noteworthy games to help ease you all with this process, in the spoiler. Bolded games are PS2 exclusives. This is a lengthy goddamn list, and even then I'm sure I've forgotten plenty.

Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies
Ace Combat 5: Unsung War
Ace Combat 0: Belkan War
Alien Hominid
Amplitude
Ape Escape 2
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Beyond Good and Evil
Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Bully
Burnout 3: Takedown
Burnout Revenge
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001
Clock Tower 3
Contra: Shattered Soldier
Crazy Taxi
Culdcept
Dark Cloud
Dark Cloud 2
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
Deus Ex: The Conspiracy
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy XII
Freedom Fighters
Frequency
Front Mission 4
Gitaroo-Man
God Hand
God of War
God of War II
The Godfather: The Game
Gran Turismo 3: A-spec
Gran Turismo 4
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grandia II
Growlanser Generations
Guilty Gear X2
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero II
Half-Life
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Hitman: Contracts
Hitman: Blood Money
Hot Shots Golf 3
Hot Shots Golf Fore!
Ico
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Indigo Prophecy
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak II
Jak 3
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
Katamari Damacy
Killer 7
Killzone
Kinetica
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
La Pucelle Tactics
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Mad Maestro!
Madden NFL (series)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
Maximo vs. Army of Zin
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Mega Man X Collection
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
Metal Arms: A Glitch in the System
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Substance
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Subsistence
Metal Slug Anthology
Mister Mosquito
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Odin Sphere
Okami
Onimusha: Warlords
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny
Onimusha 3: Demon Siege
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams
Phantom Brave
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
R-Type Final
Ratchet and Clank
Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Rayman 2: Revolution
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil - Code: Veronica X
Rez
Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
Sega Sports Tennis
Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Shadow of the Colossus
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 3
Sly Cooper and the Theivius Racoonus
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs
SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs
SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs
Soul Calibur II
Soul Calibur III
Space Channel 5: Special Edition
Spider-Man 2
Spy Hunter
SSX
SSX Tricky
SSX 3
Street Fighter Anthology
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
Suikoden III
Suikoden V
Tekken Tag Tournament
Tekken 5
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
TimeSplitters
TimeSplitters 2
TimeSplitters 3 Future Perfect
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tomb Raider: Legend
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Tony Hawk's Underground
Twisted Metal Black
Ultimate Spider-Man
Viewtiful Joe
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
War of the Monsters
The Warriors
Way of the Samurai
We Katamari
Wild Arms 3
Wipeout Fusion
X-Men Legends
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra
Yakuza
Yakuza 2
Zone of the Enders
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

So What Do We Discuss In Here?

This thread is for reflection! When did you first get your PS2? How did you feel when you finally got one? How many good times did it provide you with? Do you also now feel wicked old? Celebrate the life and times of one of the greatest systems ever made, people. It's safe to say that, for the time being, they don't make them like this anymore, so reminisce.

emnmnme

I never bought a PS2 ... still waiting for a decent price drop.

Reznik

I remember seeing preview screens for Tekken Tag Tournament and MGS2 in gaming mags and going "holy shit, it's almost real!".

PS2.

Hahnsoo1

I love my PS2, but I take issue with the Online Gaming thing. Didn't the Dreamcast have online gaming on consoles a year or two before the PS2 did? It had a built-in 56K modem (at least in the American versions).

I got my PS2 on launch quite by accident. I was shopping at Wal-mart when I saw that there was a line back at the layaway section of the store near the restrooms. Turns out it was people waiting for the PS2 launch. I stood 10th in line starting at 10 PM (took a bathroom break before getting in line) and didn't get my console until 5AM. By the time they sold the consoles, there were hundreds of people in line stretching around the store. They only had 25 consoles, and I got one of them. I played Tekken Tag and Madden all morning and into the afternoon. *grin*

UnbreakableVow

Hahnsoo1 wrote: »

I love my PS2, but I take issue with the Online Gaming thing. Didn't the Dreamcast have online gaming on consoles a year or two before the PS2 did? It had a built-in 56K modem (at least in the American versions).

Shit, you're right. I'll remove it.

I tend to forget about the Dreamcast

UnbreakableVow

Hahnsoo1 wrote: »

I got my PS2 on launch quite by accident. I was shopping at Wal-mart when I saw that there was a line back at the layaway section of the store near the restrooms. Turns out it was people waiting for the PS2 launch. I stood 10th in line starting at 10 PM (took a bathroom break before getting in line) and didn't get my console until 5AM. By the time they sold the consoles, there were hundreds of people in line stretching around the store. They only had 25 consoles, and I got one of them. I played Tekken Tag and Madden all morning and into the afternoon. *grin*

Lucky bastard

I was 14 when the PS2 hit in America, and therefore didn't have a job yet. I didn't get one at launch, sadly. My cousin had a PS2 from launch and when the GT3 bundle came out, he got me the PS2 with any game I wanted under an agreement that I never get another present from him for life. I agreed.

Still a really smart move.

deadonthestreet

I didn't get a PS2 until very near this gen's launch. It is a pretty great system, but it had the worst controller of the generation (well, maybe the Duke was worse). The library is truly fantastic, maybe the second best ever behind the SNES. It was the first of the generation to really start to show its age though.

Bartholamue

I got a PS2 in 2004 primarily for Gradius V, but soon got wind of more games, like the Ratchet & Clank series.

Spoit

Something something 10 year lifecycle :P

OK, more substantially, even though I got a PS2 a couple years in, I never actually played anything other than square enix games on it until the next generation. Heck, I didn't even play any of the MGS games until a couple months before 4 came out, and those were on my PS3...

emnmnme

Didn't a Japanese gamer commit suicide out of despair because he couldn't get his hands on a system at launch or that an urban myth?

VALVEjunkie

oh man

I was... six? yea thats right six

my uncle got one

he brought it over to my grandmas house so I could see it and I remember just freaking out
sadly I didn't actually get one till about 2004 but when I did

oh boy

actually this thread reminded me I still need to finish SoTC

Radikal_Dreamer

I think I got mine in June or so of the year after launch, so it's been 9 years for me. I think I was about 15 years old then. Still a long time. The only game I got with my PS2 was Dark Cloud. I liked the game and played the hell out of it for a little while, even though I never completed it. I bought it for the eventual Final Fantasy, but I remember one of the first things to absolutely amaze me was when my friend showed me the trailer, and then the demo for Metal Gear Solid 2. I was in absolute awe of that thing.

Impersonator

I need to buy a PS2 Slim so I can use it to read CDs/DVDs and play some games I guess.

Huntera

What a coincidence, this past couple days I replayed Ratchet and Clank, Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal and Size Matters (It's a PsP game, but it's part of the series!)

And I have 3 of these consoles, not because they broke, but because I had to for Up Your Arsenal LAN parties!




Edit: You forgot Ratchet and Clank: Deadlocked in your list of games.

UnbreakableVow

I was lucky enough to only have one PS2 break, and by that time the slims were out

Adus

My original is still here and working, though I didn't put much stress on it once I got a decent computer. Everquest pretty much took me out of console gaming for a while. However I'd play GTA3 during downtime on raids, and FFX held me over when I had to take my computer to the shop one week. I'm pretty sure it's ready to die and I just haven't pushed it over the edge since I haven't played anything on it for a while. It locked up on me a few times while playing KH2 which was the last thing I played on it in any serious manner.

DisruptorX2

First two games I got were Summoner and Timesplitters. Both were fucking awesome. Many late nights dungeon crawling in the former, and TS multiplayer with bots was fun as hell. Plus it had a map editor! Another game that was amazing then, but forgotten now was Twisted Metal Black. Great multiplayer, great single player. Anyone remember that game? Then MGS 2 came out and it was like, holy shit! Graphics will never be better this. And holy shit, this protagonist is fucking retarded.

Radikal_Dreamer

My original PS2 is still kicking, and I put that thing through a helluva lot of gaming. Then again my PS1 is still kicking, too. At least it was right before MGS4 came out and I finally did a full playthrough of MGS1 on the exact same system I started on ~10 years prior to that.

Henroid

VALVEjunkie wrote: »

oh man

I was... six? yea thats right six

my uncle got one

he brought it over to my grandmas house so I could see it and I remember just freaking out
sadly I didn't actually get one till about 2004 but when I did

oh boy

actually this thread reminded me I still need to finish SoTC

Fuckin' eh, we've got some whipper-snappers on this forum.

I forget when about we got our PS2. It certainly wasn't at the end or middle of that console gen's reign, that's for sure. So we had plenty of time to experience things. One of the first games we got was Rune: Viking Warlord. This was the game that taught me there were actually two game formats happening on the PS2 - an actual PS2 format disc, and DVD (which took over later). I kinda had a fit about it because Rune didn't look too hot compared to other games coming out.

If I had to comment on the success of the console, aside from the selection of games it had, it combined technologies that weren't new. It was just fucking convenient to have. If I remember right it landed at about the time DVD was started to become a household thing and helped there.

I refused to buy a PS3 unless I could find one with the PS2 backward compatibility in it, since I never owned a PS2 of my own (it was my brother's). And I found one, and it lo it was good.

-Loki-

I would so hook my PS2 back up if

1. It didn't look like complete crap on my HDTV. And I don't want to buy a CRT TV to hide in a corner for it.

and

2. I could find a wireless controller for it somewhere.

I'd love to go and sit through SotC. I'd hook it up just for that if I could find a solution to at least the wireless controller thing.

Godfather

Arguably one of my favorite ps2 games was SSX3.


The ps2 version. The xbox and cube cuts can choke on a dick.

UnbreakableVow

-Loki- wrote: »

I would so hook my PS2 back up if

1. It didn't look like complete crap on my HDTV. And I don't want to buy a CRT TV to hide in a corner for it.

Sadly, this is where I'm at right now

The aforementioned game of my choice that I got with my console was...Kessen (ugh)

This is when I first found out that I'm not a fan of strategy games

UnbreakableVow

Godfather wrote: »

Arguably one of my favorite ps2 games was SSX3.


The ps2 version. The xbox and cube cuts can choke on a dick.

What was wrong with it? Same problem as Hot Pursuit 2 where the graphics are too smooth and thus kill the sensation of speed?

-Loki-

UnbreakableVow wrote: »

-Loki- wrote: »

I would so hook my PS2 back up if

1. It didn't look like complete crap on my HDTV. And I don't want to buy a CRT TV to hide in a corner for it.

Sadly, this is where I'm at right now

The aforementioned game of my choice that I got with my console was...Kessen (ugh)

This is when I first found out that I'm not a fan of strategy games

Well, for me, that's more of an excuse after not having, or being able to find, a wireless PS2 controller. If I manage to find one, I can sit through blurred visuals. I don't like getting a kitchen chair out so I can sit near the TV because the lounge is too far away.

Satanic Jesus

I got a slim over a year ago. I went on a bit of a game shopping spree for it, picking up any game I liked the look of, like FFX, FF12 and Dragon Quest Journey of the Cursed King. I also went on a game shopping spree, and managed to find a used copy of SMT Lucifer's Call (Nocturne) and new copies of Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 (they seem to be hard to find in shops and at the time I didn't have a handy way of buying stuff off the internet.)

deadonthestreet

-Loki- wrote: »

UnbreakableVow wrote: »

-Loki- wrote: »

I would so hook my PS2 back up if

1. It didn't look like complete crap on my HDTV. And I don't want to buy a CRT TV to hide in a corner for it.

Sadly, this is where I'm at right now

The aforementioned game of my choice that I got with my console was...Kessen (ugh)

This is when I first found out that I'm not a fan of strategy games

Well, for me, that's more of an excuse after not having, or being able to find, a wireless PS2 controller. If I manage to find one, I can sit through blurred visuals. I don't like getting a kitchen chair out so I can sit near the TV because the lounge is too far away.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-PlayStation-2-Cordless-Action-Controller/dp/B0001VNNE8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1267409225&sr=8-5

undeinPirat

ps2 is the one console i would bring on a deserted island because of its huge library

emnmnme

Radikal_Dreamer wrote: »

My original PS2 is still kicking, and I put that thing through a helluva lot of gaming. Then again my PS1 is still kicking, too. At least it was right before MGS4 came out and I finally did a full playthrough of MGS1 on the exact same system I started on ~10 years prior to that.

:shock:

So you're saying a disc-based system has lasted more than ten years without needing repairs or lens realignments .... what black magic is this? Are you a warlock?

I had a CD player last seven years before it started skipping. I think that's my record.

-Loki-

deadonthestreet wrote: »

-Loki- wrote: »

UnbreakableVow wrote: »

-Loki- wrote: »

I would so hook my PS2 back up if

1. It didn't look like complete crap on my HDTV. And I don't want to buy a CRT TV to hide in a corner for it.

Sadly, this is where I'm at right now

The aforementioned game of my choice that I got with my console was...Kessen (ugh)

This is when I first found out that I'm not a fan of strategy games

Well, for me, that's more of an excuse after not having, or being able to find, a wireless PS2 controller. If I manage to find one, I can sit through blurred visuals. I don't like getting a kitchen chair out so I can sit near the TV because the lounge is too far away.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-PlayStation-2-Cordless-Action-Controller/dp/B0001VNNE8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1267409225&sr=8-5

Ugh. That looked really good until I saw the dpad. I might see if I can grab one though.

emnmnme wrote: »

Radikal_Dreamer wrote: »

My original PS2 is still kicking, and I put that thing through a helluva lot of gaming. Then again my PS1 is still kicking, too. At least it was right before MGS4 came out and I finally did a full playthrough of MGS1 on the exact same system I started on ~10 years prior to that.

:shock:

So you're saying a disc-based system has lasted more than ten years without needing repairs or lens realignments .... what black magic is this? Are you a warlock?

I had a CD player last seven years before it started skipping. I think that's my record.

I think I got my PS2 in 2000 (2001 at the very latest), and it's still chugging away.

Hahnsoo1

My launch PS2 still works, too, although you have to orient it in a vertical position rather than a horizontal position to work. I just played Drakengard on it. Man, what a terrible game in every aspect except for the actual dragonflying.

Henroid

Heeeeeeeeey, the PS2 didn't even launch in NA 'til October. This thread is a little early!

... Well okay, March 4th or whatever was it's Japan birthday.

UnbreakableVow

Henroid wrote: »

Heeeeeeeeey, the PS2 didn't even launch in NA 'til October. This thread is a little early!

... Well okay, March 4th or whatever was it's Japan birthday.

I pointed that out!

But I figure, you know, there are people here that do imports and stuff

AaronKI

emnmnme wrote: »

Radikal_Dreamer wrote: »

My original PS2 is still kicking, and I put that thing through a helluva lot of gaming. Then again my PS1 is still kicking, too. At least it was right before MGS4 came out and I finally did a full playthrough of MGS1 on the exact same system I started on ~10 years prior to that.

:shock:

So you're saying a disc-based system has lasted more than ten years without needing repairs or lens realignments .... what black magic is this? Are you a warlock?

I had a CD player last seven years before it started skipping. I think that's my record.

My launch PS2 works too. I'm amazed that it hasn't imploded yet.

SSX was one of the first games I got for it. Good times. (Along with Ridge Racer. Meh.)

UnbreakableVow

I loved Ridge Racer V so much

I don't know what it was about that game

It's still the only one in the series I've played

Yellow Ranger

SSX was the launch title to get. We played it nonstop.

The graphics were from some amazing future system.

DisruptorX2

Both of my two big ps2's died, technically, the ps2 is a piece of shit.

Publius Aelius Hadrianus

Thanks for making me feel old, jerk. I was 12 when it launched although I didn't get mine until 2003. This system has many many awesome and unique games.

Henroid

UnbreakableVow wrote: »

Henroid wrote: »

Heeeeeeeeey, the PS2 didn't even launch in NA 'til October. This thread is a little early!

... Well okay, March 4th or whatever was it's Japan birthday.

I pointed that out!

But I figure, you know, there are people here that do imports and stuff

So you did! We also had pretty wide-spread available internets so I'm sure there were videos floating around of game footage and such from Japan or those importing.

Also, hey, my forum birthday is the same as Japanese PS2 birthday.

DisruptorX2 wrote: »

Both of my two big ps2's died, technically, the ps2 is a piece of shit.

I bet you're just negligent and abusive!

AaronKI

I think my lukewarm reaction to Ridge Racer V was probably because it wasn't Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit.

UncleSporky

Should I buy a Slim?

My current PS2 is starting to not play things, I opened it up and adjusted the laser but some games/DVDs just plain don't work anymore. Plus it's my only TV-hook-uppable DVD player.

UnbreakableVow

Hell yeah you should

$100 new, it's hard to beat that