The End of Era. PS2 ends after 12 long years

Perhaps one of the most popular video consoles of all time and one of the best sellers world wide, according to an article on www.guardian.co.uk the Playstation 2 has met its end earlier this month.

The Playstation 2 was released in March of 2000 as a part of the sixth generation of console gaming. Its competitors was the last foray into the console marketplace by Sega, known as the Dreamcast, Microsoft's fledgling entry into the video game marketplace known as the Xbox and Nintendo's very own Gamecube.

Coming of off the heels of the success of the Playstation, a library of exclusives such as the Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear and Final Fantasy Series Playstation dominated over its competitors with a whopping 153.6 million consoles world wide during its lifespan, its closest rival was the Xbox which sold 24 million before being discontinued in 2007.

Even with the release of the Playstation 3 in 2006 the Playstation 2 didnt show signs of slowing down. Just two years prior it was given a new slim redesign which offered many improvements over the original design including an ethernet port built in, a quieter running machine, a power supply outside of the system to prevent over heating and the removal of pop out CD tray. Sony would go on selling the two systems side by side for 5 more years.

For many the reasons to own a PS2, as it would go on to be called were varied. For some it was the exclusives, for some it was the ability to play their old Playstation discs still others it was the fact that not only could the PS2 play both Playstation and PS2 games but it could play DVDs as well become one of the first multimedia players in the early stage of multimedia machines, yes the Xbox could play DVDs as well but not without having to purchase a separate DVD remote. It was where we saw a birth of The Grand Theft Auto series into the sandbox style that they are today. It was one of the first video game consoles to have an MMO on it, and was one of the first systems to have a motion controller in the form of the EyeToy.

While it is indeed sad to hear of its ending like some say all good things must come to an end, the Playstation 2 will not slowly faded away. With its library of over 2000 games and a life span of 12 years the Playstation 2 could very well be the greatest console of all time.

And also with the ending of PS2 so does the era of the sixth video game console generation.

So let us share our tales of our beloved PS2s, our favorite games, favorite gaming moments, when we got ours, why we chose PS2 over the Xbox, Dreamcast or even the Gamecube. Yes I know this is primary a Nintendo site but I had to give a little nod (ok make that a big nod) to the PS2 cause even though its not a Nintendo system you have to give it props for making it 12 years.

So what are your memories? Feel free to add yours below.

I liked mine, but sadly the only games that were good that I had were R&C, J&D, KH, MGS, and FFXII (which I haven't started)

Tasuki Im movingthis topic to Game Consoles from General Chat.

I'll miss the PS2 system.
I like the square enix games especially Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts I and II!

ps2 was a great console. I remember exatly were i was when it was announced all those years ago.

Star Ocean: Till The End of Time is still my favorite game of all time! I remember getting the game on its release date here in America which was in September 2003 and was blown away by the story and PS3 quality CGI cutscenes which were unrivaled for several years!