PS2 Appreciation Thread

[Fragems]

The Phat PS3 design looks retro, especially when the gloss is scratched to hell and is sitting next to a slim PS3.

Also, gloss is so out of style, i cant stand gloss covered electronics...

I wish everyone would see gloss for the finger print/scratch nightmare it is . Was checking out a few of the older backwards compatible PS3s at a pawn shop the other day and every single one of them looked like it had been scrubbed with a Brillo pad . That didn't keep the crazies from putting $250 on them .

[AppleQueso]

glossy black looks really nice until you look at it funny and suddenly it gets caked with dust and fingerprints.

Everything should be dust-grey colored. Then you'll never notice when it gets covered in dust.

[Sano]

I don't know if I would call it retro, at least not just yet. Can't pick a word that suits its status better though.

[SoltanGris]

Not sure if it is retro yet, but I've noticed my local GameStop has real cheap PS2 games (just a disc in a paper sleeve) out on a table.

I don't have a PS2, I went DreamCast back then, but I'm thinking of picking up copies of the better PS2 games and then searching out a system to play them on.

I want to get in before the collectors/monitizers decide PS2 is the next big thing and start scarfing the games up and jacking up the prices.

[vic oakland]

Yes. For these 6 reasons.

1. Best played on a CRT. No HDMI. Scan lines. Games often involve massively bright, saturated, primary colors.

2. Best way to play both PS1/PS2 games and Arcade ports (definitely retro) as they were designed to be played/viewed (on a CRT, w/o input lag) and the PS2's component cable/CRT combo makes both PS1 and PS2 games look sharp and sweet...and old school.

3. Phat PS2 + Sony CRT looks retro. (Designed to look futuristic, but are now heavy, bulky and plastic...ie. designed so long ago that they now look like what we thought the future would look like way in the past. In fact, Sony now "referencing" phat PS2 in the look of the PS4.)

4. Many genres that acheived excellence on PS2 are decidedly retro: JRPGs. SRPGs. Shmups. 2d and 3d Fighters. 2.5d, 2d, and 3d platformers. Puzzle games. Action RPGs. Stealth. Driving games. Beat 'em ups. Samurai themed games. Retro arcade ports. etc.

5. Most games designed for single-player or in person co-op w/o online achievements or sharing. And most PS2 online games now have servers shut down.

6. Saves to an 8MB solid state "Memory Card."

[AppleQueso]

3. Phat PS2 + Sony CRT looks retro. (Designed to look futuristic, but are now heavy, bulky and plastic...ie. designed so long ago that they now look like what we thought the future would look like way in the past. In fact, Sony now "referencing" phat PS2 in the look of the PS4.)

Nah, if anything the PS2 was designed to deliberately look "retro." It's look based on an Atari computer from the early 90s, the Falcon 030 Microbox specifically. Sony actually bought the patent from Atari.

4. Many genres that acheived excellence on PS2 are decidedly retro: JRPGs. SRPGs. Shmups. 2d and 3d Fighters. 2.5d, 2d, and 3d platformers. Puzzle games. Action RPGs. Stealth. Driving games. Beat 'em ups. Samurai themed games. Retro arcade ports. etc.

2D platformers? On Ps2? Where? (Ports and compilations don't count)

[vic oakland]

2D platformers? On Ps2? Where? (Ports and compilations don't count)

Putting aside the PS1 games and my basic point...there's plenty of memorable, distinct 2d platforming to be found on the PS2 if we look for it. Sheesh, just go for it!

Nah, if anything the PS2 was designed to deliberately look "retro."

Yes, agreed!

[Violent By Design]

Are 2D platformers really retro anymore? They've become very popular in the 7th gen, and they don't seem to be going anywhere. I'd say the 3 big consoles and PC have probably generated more 2D platformers than the PS2 has.

[vic oakland]

My basic point is simply that the PS2 is most definitely retro.

Walk into a room with a PS2 hooked up to a CRT and most any substantial game collection and you will likely see:

-corded controllers, light guns, external memory cards with ridiculously puny memory storage, jewel and dvd cases, etc.
-two heavy plastic contraptions (TV and console) designed before the wii, the iphone/ipad, the flat tv, broadband, massive hard drives, downloads etc. completely changed the gaming playfield and how most people game
-on top of which, many of the best games you can play on this set up will be in genres that are without a doubt retro and will look and play that way

This is the point. PS2? Yeah, it's retro.

While modern gen gaming has reinvented 2d platforming, it looks different...and given that, in contrast, old school 2d platformers on a CRT played on a PS2 are decidedly retro. Rayman. Skullmonkeys. Lomax. Arcade platformers on compilations. These are retro games. The best way to play them to get the old school experience is on a PS2 hooked up to a CRT. These old games inspired this reinvention of the genre, but the games themselves? Retro.

Enough time has passed that some genres that excelled on the PS2 have been completely reinvented for a new generation of gamers. And, yeah, that only makes the PS2 even more retro.

[o.pwuaioc]

Once again, there is a difference between old and outdated and retro. It's not that hard, folks. Consult a dictionary.