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5 interesting facts about Sony's PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2 or PS2 is the successor to Sony's once-nostalgic PlayStation One, which is fondly remembered by many of us.
From the console itself's graphics and aesthetics to the amazing franchises released on the platform, it all makes the PS2 the winner of so many people's books.
However, after the huge success of PS1, the gaming world was, at least getting started, both excited and skeptical about the PS2 release.
Sony knows this is the case and has put a lot of effort into making sure the PS2 is consistent and really surpasses the PS1 in terms of support and gaming experience.
In fact, PlayStation has been so successful that, after its release in 2000, in Japan alone, it has sold more than 1 million units.
Here, we will take a look at 5 interesting facts about PS2!
The last PS2 game was released in 2013
PS2 during its lifetime had 3,874 titles and sold 1.5 billion copies.
The final game created for the PS2 entered the lifecycle of its successor, the PS3.
Fifa 2014 was the last game produced for PS2 in the US on September 24, 2013 but Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 was officially the last game for PS2 to be released later that year.
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was and remains one of the best games that I and so many others have ever played and is also the best selling game for the platform with over 17 million copies sold.
The towers in the boot really have a purpose
Anyone who has ever owned these consoles remembers them for many things but the random white towers that shoot up and down in the loading screen are what came to mind first.
This screen, while appearing completely random, has a secret purpose.
Towers represent saved game data, so the more towers that appear on the screen, the more saved data you have.
Try it, if you still own one, turn it on with the memory card and count how many towers you have then restart the panel with the memory card drawn out, the towers will disappear.
This really doesn't have any well-known purpose other than being a great way to know if the saved data has been detected when troubleshooting the problem.
A man has legally changed his name to PS2
Now I know we all do some crazy things when we find something we deeply love but have you ever thought about changing your name to your favorite technology?
Are not?
In 2002, a British man named Dan Holmes loved his PS2 so much that he legally changed the name to Mr PlayStation 2.
Dan (Mr Playstation) said he would take the game console with him and spent more than £ 7,000 alone on games so who knows how much money he spent now!
Dan even asked the church to marry him and his console.
The PS2 appearance is not the brainchild of Sony!
The actual console itself, with its boxy shape and perpendicular lines on the body, is based on a computer from 1993.
The Atari Falcon Microbox 030/040 was the last computer released by Atari and quickly turned out to be a major failure.
PlayStation - 8 years later - for whatever reason, they decided to love the design and when the two were placed side by side, the similarities were uncanny, from perpendicular lines to small connecting rectangles.
The PS2 allows the customer to place the console led down or upright with the help of a blue triangular stand that the device simply plugs in, which is exactly the same as the Falcon's in just one color.
Sony even mentioned Atari in their patent for the PS2.
PS2 is not only a control panel but also a Linux computer
The PS2 has quirky add-ons throughout its lifecycle, the eye toy is one of them.
This is the first real-world motion-based gaming experience, allowing users to play games without a controller.
The most impressive PS2 is that it has a set of options for converting it into a Linux machine.
This kit costs around $ 200 and includes a Linux distribution on DVD, documentation, Ethernet adapter, USB mouse and keyboard, computer monitor hard drive and cable.
This allows users to develop their own games without expensive developer license from Sony.
Obviously they don't have full access to the developer toolset but for many it gave them the opportunity to develop the game on a large game platform.
Sony kept the product quiet because they didn't want to confuse customers or give the impression that they wanted the PS2 to be used as a computer rather than a console.
So we've got it, as we all know the PS2 is a huge machine, surpassing selling expectations and holding the top spot for the number one game console for a long time.
There are many more astonishing truths, for example, ManHunt 2, a game for this console, was banned in the UK and went bankrupt before being sold elsewhere.
Whatever your opinion, or wherever your gaming association lies, you have to admire the PS2's success and amazing gaming experience, it's truly amazing.
Even if the PS4 is already sitting on the shelf in front of me right now with its superior graphics, great online capabilities and a lot of potential, I still want a PS2 sitting there and a copy of San Andreas already available.
