Playstation 2

- Manufacturer: Sony Computer Entertainment

Designer: Teiyu Goto
- Generation: 6th
- Bits: 128
- Year Released: March 2000 (Japan), Oct 2000 (North America)
- Units sold: 140 million (Oct. 1, 2009 estimate)
- Media: DVD and CD
- Summary: The Playstation 2 is one of the most respected consoles in recent years. Thanks to its expanse of games across many genres, it has become one of the most versatile consoles of all time. Largely an upgrade to its predecessor, the Playstation, the PS2 offered upgraded technology, better ability to run games, dvd player abilities, and improved controllers and memory cards. The PS2 is the second installation in the Playstation Series, capable of playing both Playstation and Playstation 2 games discs, memory cards, and controllers. As of Sept. 2009, the PS2 is the best selling video game console (non counting home computers) of all time. As of 2010, games are still set to be released for the PS2.

The original PS2 design, c. 2000 A.D. (above).

History

The PS2 was announced in 1999 and released in the U.S. a year and half later. Many of the advertisements had caused fans of the PS and onlookers to take notice. This lead to overhype of the capabilities of the console and some disappointment within the first year's somewhat glitchy release. Within the first 48 hours, the Playstation 2 reportedly sold almost 1 million systems in Japan. Initially, the first few months saw virtually no availability of the console, due to its popularity and tendency to sell out fast. One of the biggest draws to the title was that the hardware could play nearly all of the original Playstation games and render them in slightly better quality. However within a few years the quality of the systems stabled out and many more consoles were sold. Over 2,000 games were released on the system and its 10 year rich history continues as more games are still set to be released for the system. As of March 2010, the system has not yet been discontinued.

Hardware

294MHz 64 bit "Emotion Engine" processor Graphics Synthesizer (below).

299MHz on newer models

32MB Rambus DRAM

147MHz Graphic Synthesizer

DVD-ROM drive

Dimensions: 11.8 x 7.2 x 3.0 inches

Weight: 5.3 pounds

I/O: Dual Shock 2 Controllers (2), Magic Gate Memory Cards (2), FireWire, USB 1.1 (2), analog modem (U.S. only), Ethernet, Optical Audio out, AV out (component/composite/S-Video), PCMCIA slot (later replaced with DEV9)

[Listed compilation of hardware specs from 1Up]

External Hardware

Original Dual Shock 2 controllers:

(Now with added vibration function!)

Controller features: Two Dual Shock joysticks, a settings button, a start button, a Left 1 and Left 2 button, a Right 1 and Right 2 button, a 4 button directional pad and

the Playstation controller style buttons- [Triangle], [Square], [X], and [Circle].

The PS2 has relatively external little hardware, other then optional accessories.

Some optional accessories include:

DDR dance pads, headset, microphone, ethernet, mouse, keyboard, several guitar controllers, fishing rod controllers, and light gun controllers. Other special controllers include:

Notable Qualities

- Has over 2,000 games available for play, one of the largest game libraries of games made for this specific console.
  - The PS2 was backwards compatible, able to play any of the 3,000 or so Playstation games that exist.
    - Totaling over 5,000 games playable on the PS2, with more still set to be released.
- Was physically capable of standing upright, which made up for its rather "large" size at the time.
- Customer support is still available for the PS2.
- Could only sustain 2 player mode, there were no additional controller slots for 4 players, when 4 player-support was the norm.
- Though the first few months after the PS2's release had glitchy hardware, most of the glitches have been worked out and consoles released after the first year of production are still running today.
- New, larger memory cards for PS2 games (opposed the the smaller PS memory cards, although the system could use both).

the Resident Evil 4 chainsaw controller (left) and the Onimusha 3 katana controller (right).

Playstation 2 official Sony Magic Gate 8MB Memory Cards (above).

Notable Titles

- Grand Theft Auto III: the first 3d GTA in the series.
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the best selling game on the console.
- Socom U.S. Navy Seals: Shooter with some online playability, greatly helped to sell broadband adapters for the PS2.
- Guitar Hero II
- Jak 3
- Okami
- Silent Hill 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
- Katamari Series including: Katamari Damacy and We <3 Katamari.
- Final Fantasy(s) VIII through XII
- ICO
- Gran Turismo 4
- Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
- God of War
- Burnout 3: Takedown
- God of War II
- Devil May Cry
- Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
- Dark Cloud Chronicle / Dark Cloud 2: Some sequels are better then the original, even if they are undersold.
- Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II: A game series so popular among fans, it makes them think that every other game is filled with nobodies.
- And by all means at least one hundred more.

References

- 1UP.com's PS2: 5 years later: An excellent article detailing the history, success, and expectations for the PS2, within the 5 years following the PS2's release. Includes a look back at one some people at the top of the gaming industry expected of the machine and grand hits and misses on the console.
- Wikipedia's wondrous archival compile-ment of shizz: A not altogether terrible wikipedia page with many pictures and a lot of information and links, though none of which is guaranteed by any warranty to be correct, or in proper working order.
- IGN's Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time: A list of IGN's 25 most favorite games of all time on the PS2.
- GamePro's 36 Best PS2 Games: Another list of some of the best games on the PS2, this time by GamePro.

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