5 Reasons Why the PS2 is the Last Great Game Console
The Playstation 2 kicked off the new millennium 20 years ago today, October 26th, 2000. Maybe you were one of the lucky few who managed to snag a console on Day One. Maybe you purchased a unit on eBay for an unholy amount of money. Or perhaps you never got one at all. Maybe for you the PS2 is some ancient relic of pre-HD gaming, that console your uncle waxes nostalgic about.
Whatever your experience (or lack thereof) with the Playstation 2, it is one of the most important consoles to grace our blessed world. And, dare I write, no console has managed to top it since.
Here are 5 reasons why the PS2 is the last Great Gaming Console.
Nearly 4,000 games released over its decade-plus lifespan, from every genre imaginable.
What genre do you fancy? Platforming? Sports? RPG? Super niche strategy titles that only five people will buy? The PS2 has ’em all, baby. From the Ratchet and Clank series, to all the football and basketball you could possibly stomach, to Atlus’ massive back catalog of Shin Megami Tensei titles, and that’s just a start. Unless you’re a jaded so-and-so who refuses to play older games, you will never be bored exploring the Playstation 2’s massive back catalog.
PS1 backwards compatibility that also makes the games look slightly better.
Do Playstation 2 games have graphics that are just a little too real for you? Well, dial that pesky reality back a bit and play some extra chunky PS1 games, courtesy of the PS2’s backwards compatibility. With the PS1 library available to play, this mean the PS2 is capable of playing about 7,000 games, give or take a few PS1 titles that just don’t run on the PS2 (looking at you, Destruction Derby). The PS2 also offers options for smoother textures to reduce some of the pixelated noise found in most PS1 games. And if you’re feeling dangerous, you can bump up the speed of PS1 games to ‘Fast.’ Fast speed will reduce load times, but it will also bugger up any voice acting/commentary that the game uses.
No Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Youtube to take away from the games.
DVD-playing capabilities aside, the Playstation 2 was the last Sony console to focus exclusively on games. No streaming apps. No random Sony misfires, like Playstation Home. You plug in a game (or movie) and off you go.
No DLC. No microtransactions. No loot boxes.
When you bought Silent Hill 3 or Madden NFL 2002 or whatever your favorite PS2 game is, you received the full experience the day you purchased the game. No “Origin of the Bloody Bunny Suit” DLC. No purchasing EA money to buy cosmetic crap that only slightly affects your player’s performance. No nickel-and-diming the consumer to line the executives’ pockets. A new PS2 game cost $50 or less, and you could play it without worrying about publishers exploiting you for more money at some later date.
Games were finished or they weren’t.
When a game shipped on a PS2 disc, it was either a complete product, a buggy mess, or somewhere in between. Programmers couldn’t go back and fix any lingering issues. Enormous day-one patches didn’t exist. You bought a game, you put it in your PS2, you played it. End of story.
So what do you think? Why is the PS2 the Last Great Gaming Console, or am I completely off base? What gaming console is your favorite? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
