Despite being 20 years old, the PlayStation 2 is still the best and best-selling gaming console in history with unforgettable memories.
In March 2000, Sony launched PlayStation 2 in Japan. Perhaps they did not expect that it was the most successful Sony system in particular and the gaming industry’s history in general. Even the PlayStation 4, at present, a system that demonstrates Sony’s unique position in the console market, could not approach the sales of PS2. Even at the time of launching this system, Sony has to compete with too many strong competitors.
So it’s been 20 years since PS2 launched. This is still a system that left the most impressive and memorable in the hearts of gamers. The PlayStation 4 or even the upcoming PlayStation 5 may be great, there may be many improvements or leaps in technology, but the legend of PlayStation 2 will never end.
Do you remember anything about the best gaming console of all time? Let me review some exciting things about the PlayStation 2.
The PS2 is the best selling gaming console of all time.
This is something the whole game industry can never forget. By the end of 2019, PlayStation 4 has surpassed the first generation of PlayStation and reached 102 million units sold. However, that result is still much inferior to more than 155 million units sold on my PS2. If you want to see a console that breaks the PlayStation 2 record, I think we’ll have to wait a long time. I hope the upcoming PS5 generation will do this.
However, it must be said that the record that PS2 created at the time was awe-inspiring. At present, companies can easily promote their products through many media, But in 2002, everything from advertising to the range of customers that Sony is targeting is very limit. The success of PlayStation 2 is deserved, causing other manufacturers to respect and take that as a goal towards their devices.
PlayStation 2 can be converted into a personal computer.
With PS2, Sony supported and released the Linux operating system, allowing users to turn the console into a personal computer. The company sells a support package that includes an Ethernet adapter, keyboard, mouse, VGA adapter, and a 40GB hard drive. The unique thing is that this device also allows players to create their games through open-source, not unlike a regular PC.
Although 8MB is tiny, this memory card can hold all the files and save our game back then. And it is also evidence of how far the game industry had come, having overgrown in just 20 years when storage capacity was now in Terabytes.
8MB memory card – evidence that the game industry is booming
Do you remember the 8MB memory card we used to save games on PS2? It’s funny to look at the current machines with 500GB storage and still get gamers calling the sky so little. For the current generation of gamers, Megabytes’ capacity has been a thing of the past for a long time.
Although 8MB is tiny, this memory card can hold all the files and save our game back then. And it is also evidence of how far the game industry had come, having overgrown in just 20 years when storage capacity was now in Terabytes.
Netflix was on PlayStation 2
This is noticeable. Netflix, one of the world’s most famous movie services, has been supported on the PlayStation 2 through the installation disc. However, this service was exclusively available in the Brazil region in 2009. By 2012, Netflix on PS2 stopped supporting and encountered a backlash from users. But on the forums, some people shared that they could still watch the movie when the support announcement was given.
PlayStation 2 was once tied to terrorism.
By the late 2000s, it was widely believed that Saddam Hussein had stored up to 4,000 PlayStation 2s to use the CPU as remote control hardware. As this information spread widely, many countries became fearful and banned the import of Sony home console models. However, this information was soon dismissed and deemed baseless rumors; PlayStation 2 regained its performance and sold like hotcakes.
A source even said, “Just combining 12 to 15 PlayStation 2 is enough to create an Irag or UAV drone computer,” or “a PlayStation can be.” assist in calculating ballistic data for long-range missiles ”, etc. These rumors have become so ridiculous that it is believed to be Sony’s marketing tactic.
This incident also shows Sony’s ability to handle unfounded rumors about the PlayStation 2 very well. They didn’t even need Saddam Hussein to deny it. But the funny part is that the next generation of PlayStation 3 was also rumored to provide hardware for terrorists, like the PS2 elder.
The meaning of the white tower
The most classic image of PlayStation 2 is probably when starting to boot. Players will see on the screen are the white towers. As a child, I thought of it as images of skyscrapers in a city looking down from above. At first, everyone thought it was simply a way to start the device in Sony’s style only.
PlayStation 5 and Sony’s “real estate” strategy Sony shows itself to be extremely cautious with the PlayStation 5 console generation. The great success of the PS4 has put great pressure on the company to make careful calculations.
It took a long time for us to know that each tower represents a game file that users have stored on memory cards. And when you remove the memory card, the boot screen will not have any buildings at all. This is an excellent and sophisticated opening for Sony. Unfortunately, the boot screen of the PS3 and the PS4 have been changed to a more minimalist style by Sony.