Games The Defined The PS2 - Add Your Contribution!

[racketboy]

Ok, so I'm going to post this Google Sheet here as a tally and my general rank.
You can see we're at 20 already and you can see which ones might not make the cut if we add more
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Adding a screenshot of current status as well

I put Madden down below since it's so multiplatform and everlasting

Let me know if you think we should change any ranking

[BogusMeatFactory]

I am of the firm belief that a multiplatform game should not be considered, HD upgrades for modern systems excluded so games like kingdom hearts should be considered.

[isiolia]

I put Madden down below since it's so multiplatform and everlasting

A different angle on that is that Sony had EA Sports support in general, which was an important thing when it came to competing with the Dreamcast. Not that Sega's sports offerings were bad - not my genre, but far as I know, most were regarded as well or better than EA's. However, working in Software Etc at the time, a major factor with the PS2 was franchise entries - the next Metal Gear, the next Gran Turismo, the next Call of Duty, whatever. The PS2 had the next Madden (or FIFA, etc). The only other current hardware on the shelf when it launched...didn't.

Kind of a moot thing once the Gamecube and X-Box were on shelves too, but as for reasons people were standing in line for the system..definitely an argument for Madden actually being one.

[Jmustang1968]

I put Madden down below since it's so multiplatform and everlasting

A different angle on that is that Sony had EA Sports support in general, which was an important thing when it came to competing with the Dreamcast. Not that Sega's sports offerings were bad - not my genre, but far as I know, most were regarded as well or better than EA's. However, working in Software Etc at the time, a major factor with the PS2 was franchise entries - the next Metal Gear, the next Gran Turismo, the next Call of Duty, whatever. The PS2 had the next Madden (or FIFA, etc). The only other current hardware on the shelf when it launched...didn't.

Kind of a moot thing once the Gamecube and X-Box were on shelves too, but as for reasons people were standing in line for the system..definitely an argument for Madden actually being one.

Madden sold by far best on PS2. I knew people who only owned a PS2 to use as a DVD player and a Madden/NCAA football machine.

[alienjesus]

I am of the firm belief that a multiplatform game should not be considered, HD upgrades for modern systems excluded so games like kingdom hearts should be considered.

I am of the firm belief that they SHOULD be. Just because a game was also on another console, doesn't make it a less significant game in terms of defining this one.

For example, Call of Duty Modern Warfare is 100% a defining game for XBox 360, regardless of the fact that it was also on PS3 and PC. If you ask people to name important 360 games, it'll be right at the top of the list regardless of it's lack of exclusitivity.

Consoles don't exist in a vacuum of exclusives. The whole library make up the things that define the system.

[BogusMeatFactory]

I am of the firm belief that a multiplatform game should not be considered, HD upgrades for modern systems excluded so games like kingdom hearts should be considered.

I am of the firm belief that they SHOULD be. Just because a game was also on another console, doesn't make it a less significant game in terms of defining this one.

For example, Call of Duty Modern Warfare is 100% a defining game for XBox 360, regardless of the fact that it was also on PS3 and PC. If you ask people to name important 360 games, it'll be right at the top of the list regardless of it's lack of exclusitivity.

Consoles don't exist in a vacuum of exclusives. The whole library make up the things that define the system.

I will give it on a case by case basis. The Madden discussion makes sense as the ps2 community as a whole embraced it most. star wars battlefront... not so much.

[isiolia]

I will give it on a case by case basis. The Madden discussion makes sense as the ps2 community as a whole embraced it most. star wars battlefront... not so much.

I agree, and maybe others like Guitar Hero - sales numbers I don't think are the whole story either. The PS2 is the best selling console to date, so seeing higher numbers there should be expected. On the other hand, it probably does mean that most people would associate a lot of the top titles of the time with the system.

Some of the series listed did come out on PS2 first though, by a matter of years in some cases (GTA III and Vice City for example). Like the Street Fighter II discussion for SNES, that period of exclusivity meant a lot at the time.

[Melek-Ric]

I will give it on a case by case basis. The Madden discussion makes sense as the ps2 community as a whole embraced it most. star wars battlefront... not so much.

I agree, and maybe others like Guitar Hero - sales numbers I don't think are the whole story either. The PS2 is the best selling console to date, so seeing higher numbers there should be expected. On the other hand, it probably does mean that most people would associate a lot of the top titles of the time with the system.

Some of the series listed did come out on PS2 first though, by a matter of years in some cases (GTA III and Vice City for example). Like the Street Fighter II discussion for SNES, that period of exclusivity meant a lot at the time.

I agree. Some multiplats just became known for being on a particular system. Soul Calibur II on Gamecube or MvC2 on Dreamcast are examples of this.

[marurun]

Some of the series listed did come out on PS2 first though, by a matter of years in some cases (GTA III and Vice City for example). Like the Street Fighter II discussion for SNES, that period of exclusivity meant a lot at the time.

I think this is going to be a key detail: whether or not a multiplat had a critical window of defining exclusivity OR a major quality advantage such that not only is that multiplat associated overwhelmingly with the console but also the console overwhelmingly with the multiplat.

So use Guitar Hero as an example. Do free association. So we already know that for a lot of you, when you think of the PS2 Guitar Hero comes to mind. But when you think of Guitar Hero, does the PS2 immediately come to mind, or do you also think of the other platforms it was on? Was Guitar Hero a simultaneous release or did it have any exclusivity on PS2? Was the PS2 version of Guitar Hero better or more Guitar-Hero-ish than other platform versions?

As was mentioned earlier, the PS2 was so popular that you end up with a situation where many multiplats may have sold more on PS2 even if they weren't decidedly better or timed exclusives on the PS2. And given just how many games there were on the PS2, and how many potential defining games and series there were on PS2, are you willing to dump a platform exclusive for the multiplat in question?

Just throwing that out there for discussion and consideration.

[isiolia]

I agree. Some multiplats just became known for being on a particular system. Soul Calibur II on Gamecube or MvC2 on Dreamcast are examples of this.

Is Soul Calibur II really that known for the Gamecube version? I bought it for X-Box when it came out, and it seemed like it was just more a matter of what system(s) people had or what bonus character they liked.

MvC2 was built for the DC/Naomi, and ported to other systems years later (2000 versus 2002-3), which certainly gives the DC version an edge.