The PS2 is 24 years old. Do you already know these facts? (Image: Adobe Stock – Barry | Flaticon)
GTA: San Andreas, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Ratchet & Clank and so many more. Exactly 24 years ago, on March 4, 2000, the PlayStation 2 was released in Japan, infecting millions of people with gaming fever – or making it “worse.”
To celebrate the day, we have one or two facts about the PS2 ready for you that you hopefully don’t know yet. Let’s go:
1. Linux on the PS2
Who needs Windows anyway? Back then you could actually install a special Linux partition on the PS2. This feature was achieved through the release of a special Linux kit version called Linux for PlayStation 2
enabled.
Included were:
- Linux operating system
- USB mouse and keyboard
- Ein VGA-Adapter
- PS2 network adapter
- 40-Gigabyte-HDD
The Linux kit for the PS2. (Image: Wikipedia)
The Linux kit was primarily intended for developers, but hobbyists could also use Linux on the PS2.
2. The best-selling console in the world to date
You might think that gaming is a much bigger pop culture phenomenon today than it was around 20 years ago. After all, today there are a countless number of YouTube channels, Twitch channels and so much more that are dedicated to gaming.
But gaming was also very popular in the early 2000s. This is shown by the sales figures for the PS2, which to date best-selling console of all time is.
With 158.7 million units, it is still in first place after 24 years. With only around 4 million fewer units sold, the Nintendo DS is in second place, followed by the Nintendo Switch with 137.72 million units sold.
3. First console with DVD player
Part of the PS2’s great success was its ability to play DVDs. Sony was ahead here and was the first to bring a console onto the market that had this feature.
What would later become standard and continued with Blu-ray discs started with the PS2 (via pcworld.com).
In fact, this feature was so popular that some users mainly used the console to watch DVDs without playing – even if it meant they were missing out on something.
PS2 logo. (Image: Sony)
4. Longest home console support
The PS2 was released in 2000, but the last device only rolled off the production line in 2013. The second PlayStation therefore had a lifespan of almost 13 years.
The end of the online services came again a year later, on May 31, 2014. So the PS2 has only been over for almost 10 years, even though it is already 24 years old. No console has ever achieved this.
Fun-Fact: The PS4, the next generation of the PlayStation, was released in November 2013. So the PS2 “survived” for an entire generation.
5. PS2 with voice recognition
When was the last time you controlled a game using voice recognition? That was probably a while ago. To this day, this is not common in games. But there were experiments with the technology early on.
This always required an additional piece of hardware, but that didn’t affect Singstar’s popularity.
In addition to Singstar, there were also games like SOCOM: US Navy Seals or Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2.
When people think of voice control, they probably don’t think of Singstar, but the music game was a pioneer of this technology – even if the microphone recognized sounds rather than words. (Image: Amazon)
6. Still popular today
The PS2 is no longer manufactured or officially supported, but that’s exactly the crux of the matter: not “official.”
Today there is still an active homebrew scene developing new games, patches and applications for the PS2. If you are interested in the topic, it’s best to look at sites like PSX-Place, Reddit or GitHubover.
Now it’s your turn: What was your favorite game on the PS2? Would you like to take out the gold piece every now and then? Do you know any other facts that we haven’t listed here? What has been your favorite console so far and which one have you spent the most time on? Write us your opinion and of course your experiences with the PS2 in the comments below!
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