Some 13 years after the first units appeared in Japan and soon the rest of the world, the last production run has been completed. The current batch will be all that is left to retailers in that country, and by extension the world. Of course there will still be a market for those that have not be sold and refurbs, but still, an end of an era. The PS2 was pretty much all I had for awhile until I started getting serious about gaming PCs (granted I had an N64, Dreamcast, SNES, and Genesis in the years before but I didn't game much then) , so it is interesting to see how long it was still going.
Though it hasn't made much news in the last few years, Sony's PlayStation 2 game console has stuck around—despite the fact that we've been hearing about the replacement for its replacement. Today, Sony drove the final nail into the console's coffin. Famitsu reports that Sony has stopped shipping the console in Japan; once the current inventory in the channel is sold out, no new PS2s will be available for purchase. This puts an end to hardware that first launched in March of 2000, has sold over 150 million units, and (according to Sony) can play well over 10,000 games.
New game releases for the console have long since slowed to a trickle (in North America, the PS2 has seen a handful of sports titles in 2011 and 2012, but practically nothing else) but Sony has continued to make and sell new PS2s for use with the console's formidable back catalogue. Sony shipped only two major revisions of the hardware—the original "fat" PS2 sold at the console's launch was replaced by the much smaller slimline model in late 2004—but it continued to make small internal tweaks to reduce the console's weight and cost until 2007, well after the PlayStation 3 had launched. According to Neilson ratings, the PS2 was still the most-played console of 2008, a testament to its strong game library and long-term popularity.
Sony's second console has been around for an extraordinarily long time and spanned a mind-boggling number of gaming epochs. When it was released, the Nintendo 64 was still Nintendo's flagship console (it has since been replaced by the Gamecube, Wii, and Wii U), its primary competition was Sega's Dreamcast, and Microsoft's Xbox didn't even exist. 3D games hadn't yet come to handheld consoles—Nintendo's 8-bit Game Boy Color wouldn't be replaced by the Game Boy Advance until 2001, and the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable were still nearly five years off. Smartphones and tablets as we know them weren't yet a glimmer in anyone's eye. And yet, through all of this technological progression, you could still hop on Amazon and order a new PlayStation 2.
That era is now coming to a close. So long, PlayStation 2, and thanks for all the games about fish.
Good riddance. Might be another indication that the next-generation consoles are actually coming late 2013. By comparision, Playstation 1 production was ceased early 2006 and Playstation 3 was launched late 2006.
That is, since apparently the rumours are that Xbox has a lead and could easily make the holidays markets of 2013.
If those rumours hold any water, it just shows Microsoft hasn't learned a thing from their botched launch of the Xbox 360. How can they possibly make the same mistake twice? Wasn't the epidemic of red rings bad enough?
Over a decade of production is damn fine, but every console has its end. Hopefully, this means more PS2 games will become compatible with Sony's later systems.
They rushed their previous console out to be in the lead, and as a result it had significant software and hardware issues. Everything indicates that Microsoft hasn't been at the design state for very long, due to various job listings earlier last year.
Everything indicates that Microsoft have been working on their next console for *years*, ranging from job listings, leaked information, the long-established existence of devkits, comments from devs and publishers, etc...
That they might beat the PlayStation to the market again doesn't mean that they must be rushing it. The fact that the issues experienced by them after the 360 launch cost them billions of dollars and more than a little good faith ensures that they'll be striving for greater reliability this time around.
Last edited by Mr. Matt; January 2nd, 2013 at 02:39 PM.
It was a good run for the PS2, let's admit it that this console has made a big impact to our gaming lives. This console has provided us very fond-able memories and a lot of game franchises that we see now today.
Oh, definitely. For any hardware to stay on the market for more than half a decade, not to mention an entire decade, is impressive by any standard. Even to this day, there are still a few games being released on the PS2, and that will probably continue for a few years. So long as there's a market for the games, the consoles will be bought and sold. Now it'll just be the second hand market instead.
You got that right on the second hand market. I think the second hand market is still better even if there some classic games that are already available for download.
The best serving of video game culture, since 2001. Whether you're looking for news, reviews, walkthroughs, or the biggest collection of PC gaming files on the planet, Game Front has you covered. We also make no illusions about gaming: it's supposed to be fun. Browse gaming galleries, humor lists, and honest, short-form reporting. Game on!
PS2 production ceases in Japan 
Linear Mode
