The Second Child of Sony, and Easily The Most Popular Game Console On The Planet. What Makes This System So Gosh-Darn Great?!
The PlayStation 2 was Sony’s second attempt at a gaming console, a clear successor to the PlayStation. The PlayStation 2 improved upon where the original PlayStation had lacked, and literally changed the way most people see gaming.
The Greatest Console of All Time?
There really is no question – the PS2 is the most popular gaming system of all time. Over one hundred and fifteen million consoles have been shipped out as of December 2006, and everybody who is anybody has one. One of the main selling points when it came out was it’s stunning backwards compatibility – it will literally play any PlayStation game you want it to, along with DVDs and music CDs. It was viewed as the all-in-one entertainment console.
Two Versions, Same Thing?
The original PS2 released was what is now referred to by many as the ‘big’ PlayStation 2. It as thick, fairly heavy, and you could load a disk like you would load a CD in your computer. It came in black, which became classic Sony when the PS3 was released in only black (The first PlayStation was a grey color, and the smaller version of it was a white), and for four years it was the only PS2 available.
In September of 2004, just in time for the launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the smaller, sleeker PlayStation 2 was released. Sony stopped making the bigger PS2 shortly before, but they greatly underestimated the demand, and major shortages were seen in the UK, Japan, and the US.
The Slim PS2 is available in silver and black, and has a much different look to it. It can sit both horizontal and vertical, much like the new PS3, and loads from the top instead. The disk loading system is much safer, and more efficient then what was featured on the first version.
Overall, the Slim PS2 is more efficient, attractive, and overall a better buy – if you can even find a larger PS2 now, which would be a hard thing to do.
But It’s Not Just The Console That’s Great…
PlayStation 2 has seem some of the best, highest selling games of any console on the market, which is the reason that the PS2 is so much more popular then any other sixth generation system.
Some of the amazing games are titles like Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry 1, 2, and 3, six Tony Hawk games, God of War I and II, Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and so many more.
At the end of 2006, 8,571 titles had been released worldwide on the PS2, and roughly 1.205 billion units had been shipped, which is a lot of gaming.
How To Handle…
The controller design is the same basic design that was used for the PlayStation, and is literally synonymous with gaming. It has a D pad, an X, triangle, circle and square for action buttons, four shoulder buttons, and two analog sticks.
This design is a running theme for all PlayStation’s, and is even used in the newest edition to the Sony console family, the PlayStation 3.
However, you can buy many different types of controllers, some official and some not.
Nerf even got in on the action, and made a wireless controller that, except for the buttons and analog sticks, was entirely made out of the Nerf material. At the official price of $29.99, you can squeeze, twist, and bash the controller any way you’d like. It’s especially great for those gamers who have trouble losing, or for those Madden fans that just can’t help it, and spike the controller after winning in overtime.
PS2 Will Love You Long Time
If you just can’t get enough money together to buy one of the newest seventh-generation consoles, you just can’t go wrong buying a PS2.
They’re attractive, practically everyone has one, and there are tons of amazing games out for it. Just go into your local game store if you don’t believe me – you can get great used games for less then twenty dollars, most of the time, and the brand-new-just-out games are only $49.99, which is ten dollars cheaper then the PS3’s new games.
Overall, if you don’t have one, you don’t know what you’re missing out on – and if you have one, you probably love it to bits.
