The End is Nigh for the PS2. Officially Being Discontinued in Japan

wnolan1992

After almost 13 years and over 150 million units sold, which (according to the all knowing and infallible Wikipedia) makes it by a country mile the best selling home console ever, the PS2 is officially being discontinued in Japan.



Alright, so it's not the most earth shattering news you'll hear this year (probably even this week tbh), but I think this great machine deserves acknowledgement as it's production comes to an end.

While the NES, SNES and PS1 all played a part in fostering a love of gaming in me, it was the PS2 that nailed it down as more than a hobby for me. From opening up that yellow box containing the beautiful Slim Console on that Christmas morning more years ago than I care to admit to, until the summer of 2008, it was a main stay of entertainment in our house.

The PS2 will have to go down in history as one of the greatest consoles. Eclipsing all competition, outselling its successor for years after its release (well, that was probably more due to the fact that the PS3 was ridiculously expensive at launch) and with such a massive catalogue of top quality games.




I'm probably being a bit dramatic here given that there's no word on it ceasing production in other markets, but hey, I'll use any opportunity to praise the PS2 and waffle on about how bloody fantastic it was and is.

So what're your best memories of the console? And do you even care that it's being discontinued?

saiint

i dont care
its old and dryed up now :L
great console but their has been newer ones since
so i dont see why anyone would really get upset or be angry about this if their were any people to be?
yes it was a great console but well past its time now, for anyone still playing it id say move on to bigger and better things haha

even though itll be discontinued you'd still be more then likely able to get one and get games for it
sure last week i only sold my one
only thing i will miss about them is how relieable they were

wnolan1992

saiint wrote: »

i dont care
its old and dryed up now :L
great console but their has been newer ones since
so i dont see why anyone would really get upset or be angry about this if their were any people to be?
yes it was a great console but well past its time now, for anyone still playing it id say move on to bigger and better things haha

even though itll be discontinued you'd still be more then likely able to get one and get games for it
sure last week i only sold my one
only thing i will miss about them is how relieable they were

Booo-urns! Get out of here with your "new consoles"! :mad:


:pac:

Nah, I'm not "upset" about it, it's just the whole "end of an era" factor.

Deano7788

saiint wrote: »

i dont care
its old and dryed up now :L
great console but their has been newer ones since
so i dont see why anyone would really get upset or be angry about this if their were any people to be?
yes it was a great console but well past its time now, for anyone still playing it id say move on to bigger and better things haha

even though itll be discontinued you'd still be more then likely able to get one and get games for it
sure last week i only sold my one
only thing i will miss about them is how relieable they were

Bigger, yes; better, hmmm...

I loved the PS2, and still have it. It probably had one of the strongest catalogues of games ever, and certainly the biggest. GTA gained a 3rd dimension, 2 awesome Metal Gear games, the introduction of Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy X and so many others. Good times.

Magill

Many memories ! Great console.

SSSHHWING

This is very sad news...

My best memories of the console involve a multitap and 007 Nightfire. I had bought the Gamecube originally but couldn't sit back and watch my mates playing Battlefront and MGS.

Agricola

Great console. Remember queuing for it in Gamestop in my first year of college living with a friend from home. We caned it from November 2000 to May 2001 - no wonder I dropped out of that course.

Had several of them over the years. Discovered you could easily clean and adjust the lens / laser in them which fixed the notorious disc read fail problem lots of them developed. Repaired a good few of em and made a tidy few quid for a while!

Randall Floyd

Playing GTA 3 at xmas in 2001 on the PS2 was epic.

ScumLord

I didn't even know they where still making it?

corcaigh07

Sony killed the Dreamcast just by merely mentioning the PS2, has to be the greatest console ever released, a fantastic catalogue of games.

Mr.Saturn

ScumLord wrote: »

I didn't even know they where still making it?

And they still will, as it just launched in Brazil in 2009, as well as continued support in other Asian territories such as India and whatnot.

I wouldn't read too much into Sony Japan discontinuing it, as Sony's just bled $6.4 Billion in the last year alone, and are dumping anything that's not doing good business in a fit of costcutting, as evidenced by the fact they've only just stopped product on the Cassette Walkman. Yes, Cassette. In 2012.

Basically, my point, however badly made, is that the PS2 will probably live, and be produced, for quite a while longer anywhere it's drawing a decent, consistent profit.

deathrider

saiint wrote: »

i dont care
its old and dryed up now :L
great console but their has been newer ones since
so i dont see why anyone would really get upset or be angry about this if their were any people to be?
yes it was a great console but well past its time now, for anyone still playing it id say move on to bigger and better things haha

even though itll be discontinued you'd still be more then likely able to get one and get games for it
sure last week i only sold my one
only thing i will miss about them is how relieable they were

I don't get the whole move on and leave it behind idea. I still play the balls off mine just as much as I do much current gen console. probably more do, actually, considering the huge backlog of phenomenal games the PS2 has.

Napper Hawkins

Goodnight, sweet prince..

Duggy747

Timesplitters series!

I still play PS2 games and they're still a shedload of craic.

kilograms

GTA 3 and Medal of Honor Frontline

wnolan1992

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

And they still will, as it just launched in Brazil in 2009, as well as continued support in other Asian territories such as India and whatnot.

I wouldn't read too much into Sony Japan discontinuing it, as Sony's just bled $6.4 Billion in the last year alone, and are dumping anything that's not doing good business in a fit of costcutting, as evidenced by the fact they've only just stopped product on the Cassette Walkman. Yes, Cassette. In 2012.

Basically, my point, however badly made, is that the PS2 will probably live, and be produced, for quite a while longer anywhere it's drawing a decent, consistent profit.

Looks like you and I were both wrong.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/04/playstation-2-manufacture-ends-years

Retr0gamer

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Looks like you and I were both wrong.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/04/playstation-2-manufacture-ends-years

You both were right actually. That's just terrible reporting. I'd say whoever wrote it never asked if it was just being stopped in Japan, the lack of any comments by anyone from Sony is telling. Also calling the Gamecube an 'underpowered' rival is also an indication of poor reporting because from a technical stand point the Gamecube trounced the PS2.

McLoughlin

It was the DVD function that helped it in the beginning aswell.

Retr0gamer

It was far and away the worst DVD player out there since it only supported composite for DVD. Not sure it was a big deal in the West but it was a huge thing in Japan. DVD never took off in Japan until the PS2 was released.

I think the playstation name was what sold it more so than DVD. The Playstation name was ubiquitous with gaming like Atari and Nintendo were before it and no other competitor really stood a chance. Even with such god awful games being released on the machine in the first few months people were still going crazy for it.

Mr.Saturn

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Looks like you and I were both wrong.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/04/playstation-2-manufacture-ends-years

Eh, even the quickest of Google across Sony's international sites will reveal that the PS2 is still produced and supported in the likes of India and Thailand.

Oh, and change your sig.

wnolan1992

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Eh, even the quickest of Google across Sony's international sites will reveal that the PS2 is still produced and supported in the likes of India and Thailand.

Oh, and change your sig.

Stupid guardian. :P

Surprised that the site I originally got that from fell for it though. Live and learn I guess.

TheDoc

A good console with a great catalogue. I went to it from the Playstation 1 like most, but I don't think I'm going to get to nostalgiac about it.

I'm not one of those people that harbers back for the good old days. When I like back on and play my N64, my Ps2, snes and all that stuff, I cringe at it and turn it off pretty quickly.

For me the PS2 legacy will be how Sony should have wrapped up the console market into their pocket, but instead dropped the ball with the PS3, which is a major dissapointment and still is for me.

Retr0gamer

sugarman wrote: »

The dreamcast killed itself having no copyright at all on the discs! It was a far superior console to the PS2, was wayy ahead of its time.

I'm not sure who started peddling this around either but DC piracy never became a problem long before the DC died. Sega said themselves the reason the DC died was after the PS2 was launched sales totally dried up and they were planning on discontinuing since X-Mas 2000.

Varik

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/sony-ceo-kaz-hirai-ces-2013-interview-4k/

Kaz talking about some stuff including the PlayStation at CES. Skip to the 5:28 if you don't care about the rest and only want gaming and 7:00 for the PS2 ending.