PlayStation 2
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AT MY age there are daily reminders of the ravages of time. Apart from physical frailties and increased grunts, there’s the realisation that the once cutting-edge toys of your youth are positively archaic. And so it is with Sony's PlayStation 2, which this week celebrates its 20th birthday.
My introduction to the PS2 was at a bleary press jolly in Dublin. Having fallen into a job editing the Official Irish PlayStation Magazine (there was a severe scarcity of games hacks at the turn of the century), our small team were enjoying the final gasps of a Celtic Tiger that had made per-capita PlayStation ownership in Ireland the highest of any country outside of Japan.
From lavish junkets to nightly press launches, an entire industry wanted to impress a tech-hungry and full-pocketed Ireland. It could never last. The mythical beast was shown off to the tipsy masses and we were each given a suspiciously weighty box to take home. Its definitely-a-PS2 contents invited howls of delight before the realisation it was merely a fancy press kit dressed up as the console. Damn you.
It wasn't long, though, before the real thing arrived at our office. Having the only one in Ireland afforded us a step up from our usual “celebrity” interviews (think Tyrone Tom off of Big Brother), with PlayStation nuts Ash (they'd appeared on the Gran Turismo soundtrack) dropping by for a play – and even suggesting they take it on tour with them in return for some "where is it now?" updates. Nice try.
Amid some dodgy launch titles – the dainty pyrotechnics of firework puzzler Fantavision hardly showcased what the console could do – were game-changing franchise fare such as SSX Snowboarding, Ridge Racer V and Tekken Tag Tournament. The highlight, though, was the wonderful Timesplitters.
A David Lynchian ad campaign helped drive interest, but it was the fact the PS2 could also play DVDs that really shifted units. Even at a hefty £300, this was one of the cheapest ways to finally ditch the VCR. Shortages ensued and ridiculous sums were exchanged online to nab the must-have present for the 21st century’s first Christmas.
Over its six-year life cycle the PS2 hosted nearly 4,000 titles. Japanese developers ran riot as Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy came into their own while Sony attempted brave new worlds with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. In the West, the console hosted Grand Theft Auto III, Call of Duty and their many sequels.
Such was the local fervour for all things PlayStation, we even got our own GAA game, which, despite being truly dreadful, went on to become the best-selling PS2 game in Ireland – spawning both a sequel and hurling spin-off.
The PS2 went on to become the most successful console in history. 155 million of those plastic monoliths found their way under tellies worldwide – a staggering figure that eclipses even Nintendo’s DS and Game Boy. The only home console within touching distance is Sony’s own PS4, which currently stands at 109 million – but with PS5 around the corner, it looks like the PS2’s place in the history books is secure. Thanks for the memories...
