By Dreamchild Obari
The PS2 is a landmark console, and we believe that with its legacy, games, and ahead-of-their-time features, it's the best console of all time.
2020 spelled a new decade, and it’s long since due to review which console is what we will consider the best of all time. And while preference and category matter, it’s highly unlikely that any gamer worth their salt doesn’t have a PlayStation 2 experience.
Sony released the PS2 in the first quarter of the year 2000; it was the console that pretty much started off gaming in the 21st century. A lot has changed since then, but the PS2 may just very well be the best of all time. And here are the reasons why we think so.
1. The PS2 Was Affordable and Accessible
The PS2 wasn’t what you would describe as “cheap,” but it was affordable. Sony launched the PS2 at $299, which is around $500 when you adjust it for inflation today.
That’s cheaper than the PS3’s launch price of $700 (adjusted for inflation using the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator) and about the same value as a PS4. Even though the PS2 packed more features than the PS1, it still launched at the same price, incentivizing many customers to get it at what many would have considered a “steal.”
The chart indicates that the PS2 is one of the most affordable PlayStations ever released.
And in May 2002, Sony dropped the price of the PS2 from $299 to $199, making it $100 cheaper than the Xbox and the same price as the GameCube.
Also, Sony marketed its PS2 well in the global market. While its major competitor, Microsoft, focused on the North American, Western European, and Japanese markets, Sony took advantage of the electronics grip it had globally and sold in as many markets as possible. This made PlayStation consoles far easier to get than Xbox consoles if you lived outside Microsoft’s Western-focused SOI.
2. The PS2 Holds the Highest Sale Record of All Time
For over two decades, the PS2 has remained the best-selling console ever. Sony has sold 159 million units of the PS2, leaving a whopping 5-million-unit gap from its runner-up, the Nintendo DS (154.02 million units sold).
Nintendo and Sony dominate the top five list of video game console sales. Nintendo has occupied three out of the five top spots because of its handheld console sales, which, thanks to Switch sales, are over 500 million.
However, there is no sign that anything will overtake the PS2 anytime soon.
3. The PS2 Had Better DVD Support Than Xbox
One of the biggest contributing factors to the PS2’s success was how it was an entertainment system for the whole family. It was the only console at the time to completely support DVDs when DVD players were still expensive and important pieces of technology. The PS2 justified itself as a smart way to save money on a dedicated DVD player while simultaneously getting the latest gaming technology.
Even though Xbox came into the race about a year later with DVD support, it was a limited type of DVD support that needed a “DVD Movie Playback Kit” to work. Meaning that you had to spend extra money getting a remote and a receiver just to enjoy DVDs on an Xbox.
4. Sony Gave Us Some Memorable Titles and Series
Frankly, the PS2 didn’t have the best hardware of its time. The original Xbox and Nintendo GameCube both had better specs on paper. But what the PS2 lacked in hardware, it made up for in its selection of games.
The PS2’s library boasted almost 4,000 games—mostly from mid-tier publishers (publishers in between indie and triple-A). These mid-tier publishers were far more experimental with what kind of games they created since game development was cheaper than it is now. So besides major classics like Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4, and GTA III, the PS2 had many hits like The Simpsons: Hit & Run and the cult classic BloodRayne by Terminal Reality.
Essentially, the PS2 heralded an era of experimentation that is hard to achieve in today’s mainstream gaming. And you can easily relive some of these experiences by playing your favorite PS2 games on your PC or Mac with an emulator.
5. The PS2 Could Run PS1 Games
Backward compatibility is generally a risky move from a business perspective. It may reduce sales of a new console and discourage game developers from creating games for the somewhat uncharted waters of a new platform.
However, Sony made the PS2 backward compatible, and most PS1 games run on a PS2 just fine. While the PS2 was definitely not the first backward-compatible console, it set the tone for backward compatibility in the modern gaming era, making it something of a pleasant bonus console manufacturers now try to add when they release a console. The PS1 was successful by itself, ranking 6th in the highest console sales ever. Giving PS2 users the option to play PS1 games on a newer console was a good move on Sony’s part.
Since the PS2, the PS5 is the only PlayStation to have offered such comprehensive backward compatibility by supporting PS4 games.
6. Online Gaming and Local Co-Op
The multiplayer experience on the PS2 was among the things that will place it as the best console of all time. There’s something about the couch co-op that modern gaming consoles cannot replicate. While it was fun to have some PvP in games like Mortal Kombat, some games like Ben 10: Alien Force were just you and your friends beating up enemies on the same screen. This made the PS2 a good party console when you had friends over.
The PS2 also had games with online and LAN functionality, and it set the stage for Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) and Microsoft’s Xbox Live (now Xbox network). However, on the non-slim version of the PS2, players had to buy a separate network adapter. The PS2 Slim came with an Ethernet port and no longer needed an adapter to connect to the internet.
7. The PS2 Had Excellent UI and Nostalgia
There was a time most gamers would look back at Atari and Sega in nostalgia, but now it’s too far back for most gamers to relate. It’s now time to look back in nostalgia at the PS2. A simpler time, represented by a simpler but elegant UI. A time when all you had to do was buy a game disc, insert it, and play—no extra downloadable content, no update patches, just plug and play.
Nothing captures that feeling for most modern gamers better than a PS2. Watching the blocks zoom in as you wait anxiously to see if the PS2 would load a game or go into the infamous red screen of death. And once you hear the ambient whooshing sound, you will be catapulted decades into the past, into a younger you, much more excited to try a game from the local GameStop.
8. The PS2 Boasted Memory Cards
The memory card is probably one of the underrated parts of the PS2. It allowed users to save their games on it and play where they stopped on another PS2 seamlessly. Not only did this make it easier to transport saves, but it also lets users share their progress with other players or even get them to progress the game for them.
Small but thoughtful UI effects were attributed to the memory card, such as the boxes in the beginning loading screen representing how many saved files you had on your memory card and little animated icons representing what was saved on your memory card when you tried to manage your saves.
The PS2 Paved the Way
Whatever way you look at it, the PS2 was a defining part of what we now consider video game consoles. Every modern game, in some way, pays homage to it. Not only did the PS2 pave the way, but it was also an iconic console and entertainment system in its own right.
In fact, we daresay, it’s the most iconic console of all time right now, and it will hold the crown for at least a few more generations.
