The PlayStation 2 is officially finished

Production has stopped worldwide.

Well that thing had an amazing run, no doubt about it. I should be surprised that it lasted this long, but I'm not.

...

Just reading that sentence was like a stab to the gut. I still have a PS 2, and I love it to pieces. Now I won't be able to replace it easily when it finally shits itself ;_;

Just look in a pawnshop; they're almost literally everywhere.

There's also the chance of a techie living nearby your area who specializes in customizing, modding, and fixing game systems. I know of one guy who does it for under $75 on Guam (even less if you're on good terms with him), and he's got quite a few spare systems and parts to salvage. Same goes for online, but it's a bit trickier since you'll have to trust the person you're sending your system to be an honest businessman and not screw you over in the long run by fixing the current issue but sabotaging you to suffer another one shortly afterwards.

edited 7th Jan '13 12:20:43 AM by SgtRicko

Perhaps I should get to buying a working one now. I can get one for 50 bucks from Gamestop delivery, and I really wnat to because otherwise the money I spent on FFXII when I got a different PS 2 (which can't run anything) will be a total waste.

I believe emulation is an entirely legal process.

Not really, no. See: MAME.

Edit: Well, some countries have really loose copyright laws. (Or none *coughChinacough*)

edited 7th Jan '13 12:41:18 AM by JAF1970

It's legal to obtain a dump file for personal use, and it's legal to use an emulator as long as you've bought a copy of the machine. Shockness!

It's completely legal as long as you obtain you own a copy of the machine and the disk.

edited 7th Jan '13 1:39:00 AM by Nicknacks

Goodnight, sweet prince.

I still have my NTSC U/C and PAL I slimlines, but this is a sad day.

Requiscat in pace, old friend.

That article bugged me. Not because it announced the end of the PS 2 (which has been a few years coming, I'd say), but rather that when it talked about the generations after it, it treated the Wii (and Wii U) as if it didn't exist. It also ignored the XBox when talking about its competitors of its own generation.

That's a bit sad. Ho well, the PS 2 had a spectacular run, while it lasted.

It's probably because Microsoft themselves didn't give two shits about ending the original X Box's run as soon as the new 360 came out. Hell not even the online servers for their multiplayer games lasted very long afterwards!

And also because the PS 2 absolutely killed the Xbox. That console reached the end of its lifespan YEARS ahead of when Microsoft had planned it to finish.

What bugs me about that article is the fact it mentioned GTA Vice City and ignored San Andreas, which was a far superior game.

edited 7th Jan '13 10:28:43 AM by TamH70

No.

Microsoft had to stop production of the original Xbox due to an expired license contract for the motherboard and graphic card with Nvidia. That's why the Xbox 360 was rushed - they had no choice.

edited 7th Jan '13 10:28:09 AM by JAF1970

Oh, I wasn't aware of that. Thanks Jonah.

—salutes—

Many happy hours were whiled away on that system. So many absolute gems were released for it.

...This makes me want to play my old games now more than ever.

Frankly, the PS 2 sucked, big time. The PS One was a far better console and since the 1, the 2 and the 3 have been steps backward consecutively.

WOAH. Back up.

How was it a step back from the PS 1? I'm having trouble comprehending that: it managed to build upon everything the PS 1 established and became one of the best-selling consoles ever. To me at least, it seems like a pretty good evolution.

I agree that the PS 3 was a step back, though.

Compared to what? The Game Cube with its seven games, or the X Box with its ability to crush a man's skull if dropped from a sufficient height?

("Sufficient height" here being 1 cm)

Although I curious too, what was wrong with the PS 2?

Certainly the greatest console of all time has finally gone out. And with it the Sixth Generation is formally over.

This is sad news indeed. I still own the little book that came with the PS 2 (I don't know if anyone outside of the UK got it) and it gave me tingles when I read it just after buying my PS 2. It was filled with promise. Seeing such incredible graphics after the PS 1 filled the 12-year-old me's heart with excitement. Looking at it now, it still makes me incredibly nostalgic. There's this feature in the book that chronicles one PS 2 as it travels from a factory in Japan to a gamer in the UK. It sounds incredibly arsey when I write it like that but seriously, they made it seem ... magical.

Oh, and the PS 2 had some of the finest games of all time on it, of course.

Lol, no. All the current-gen consoles are steps backward but there wasn't a console finer than the PS 2.

Anyone else find it amusing how the PS 2 is ending the same year the PS 4 is expected to be announced and/or released?