Even though it’s considered one of the best consoles of all time and the first Playstation console I owned. The hype surrounding the console was huge, and it never stopped as it kept delivering hit after hit. It really had everything going for it, the goodwill from the PS1 era, the software support from every third party, exclusive games, a cool looking system and logo. The PS2 seemed to have it all and most important, it had the coolness factor that the competition didn’t have. Even being a huge Nintendo fanboy, I couldn’t resist and got it to be able to experience the Playstation 1 library and of course all of the PS2s.
I always thought the PS1 had many games that grabbed my attention, so with a backwards compatible PS2 that had all the hype going for it, I was very tempted. I guess I talked about it enough that my parents asked me if I wanted it but I said no. The fact that the Gamecube would no longer have DVD playability and the cool Summoner commercials made me decide I did want the console. This was of course in December of its launch. My dad was on a trip and was going to see if could find it through the different cities, but right before he started I decided not to buy it and i can’t remember why which was probably good since my parents would’ve felt bad for not being able to find it. I thought i could survive with only one console, but then it happened, the hype won me over again and when the Gran Turismo bundle was announced I thought I was going to get that, but once again didn’t. But it didn’t take long, when Twisted Metal Black released I finally gave in, cheated on Nintendo and went to the store and got myself a PS2 with that game.
I was amazed by the console, next gen in my hands, and loved the game, at this point I also started buying cheap PSX games I always wanted to play. And there were plenty of PS2 games I also wanted to get. Their 2001 line up is legendary and likely will never be beat, some of my favorite games just that very same year include ICO, GTA3, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill 2. And I’m only mentioning the games I personally loved, I didn’t care much for Metal Gear Solid 2 or Final Fantasy X despite being just as big or bigger than the ones I mentioned so if I don’t mention some big games they’re just not for me but not to discredit them. But it’s not like the hits stopped there, just as many other games came out through out the long lifespan of the PS2, Shadow of the Colossus, Sly Cooper, God of War, Katamari, Rez, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Vice City, Oni. There’s just too many games to mention. The complete support from third parties showed and it never slowed, heck thanks to the Wii it kept getting games for much longer than normal.
Now, there seems to be some retroactive history where people say the Playstation 2 only sold so much because it was a cheap DVD player; This is a complete lie, it was not the cheapest DVD player, there were already plenty of options cheaper than that and it’s documented in ads, not to mention how cheap DVD players became so quick. Now I did use it at first as my DVD player and my first movies I got when I first bought the PS2 were The Matrix and Rush Hour 2, my DVD colleciton grew very quickly after that. So that’s just a lie, the PS2 was the big cultural impact because of its games, the DVD aspect helped it but it didn’t make it because of it. I even bought the PS2 DVD remote which I regretted doing as it felt slow, and it seemed to work better with just the normal controller. Nevertheless I did try to play some PS2 games with it and well it didn’t work very well though it was possible!
When the PStwo slim launched it somehow made the already cool looking original model even cooler, though I always preferred the original version more. But it seemed more and more people would get the Playstation as time passed and more and more games came out. Some of the shovelware might not be for everyone but others loved it. Some PS1 series were not as good on the PS2 but I still enjoyed them like Parappa the Rapper 2, the Tony Hawk series. I also enjyoed some of the niche RPGs The Summoner, .hack. And well it was a great PS1 playing machine for me as well and how I got to experience most of that library. It defined a generation, an era, a type of game, genres. It deserves all the praise it gets.
The Playstation will never be able to beat this era. I didn’t even talk about some stuff like the eyetoy, or even guitar hero becoming a thing, there’s just too much stuff but I wanted to focus more on the console. I also didn’t talk much about the controller but it’s in a way the best version of the Playstation controller experience. Some games just feel right to play on this controller and I still do even if I’m playing on PC. The PS2 is one of the best consoles of all time despite not having the best games, nor the best graphics. It’s the sum of its parts.