PlayStation 2 Turns 9

On October 26, 2000, the PlayStation 2 launched in North America. It was quite a hyped up piece of machinery. Not only could it play PS1 and PS2 titles, it also functioned as DVD player (even if it was a sub-par DVD player).

Do you remember the USA PS2 launch? I sure do. Sony had originally promised 1 million units for the system's state side launch, but the number was cut it half for whatever reason. To say the shortage created chaos would be an understatement. The things some folks did to get one of these black boxes was just insane (The PS3 launch was actually similar to the PS2's.) Let's just say that the demand for the PS2 brought out some of humanities's worst qualities.

I didn't get a PS2 on launch day like my dad and I had planned. Even people that had reserved a system had gotten the shaft due to aforementioned cut in units. It took some time, but I was able to secure a PS2 because I was working at Toys 'R Us at the time and I happened to be working in the back when a shipment came in. Naturally there was a catch: If you bought a PS2 at Toys 'R Us (or at least the one I worked at), you had to buy two games or else you got no system. So that was $400 for a PS2! Was it worth it? Well, it was the must have item of the holiday season and even months afterwords it was tough to keep the thing on the shelf. The games looked and sounded amazing, but the system was plagued with a software drought shortly after it's launch. The drought didn't end until the Spring/Summer of 2001 where a steady flow of quality titles had finally kicked in.

These days you can get a PS2 for chump change and if you don't own a PS3, then the PS2 is the next best thing. There are a ton of games to choose from, many of which are at bargain prices. I have over 100 PS2 games and my library still isn't complete. Even if I didn't take into account the PS2's backwards compatibility feature, the PS2 stands fine on it's own because it has such a huge selection for gamers.

In a struggling economy where this gamer can't afford next gen hardware, the PS2 has been a dear friend to me, proving hours upon hours of gaming thrills. Botched launch and software drought aside, the PS2 has proven to be one of the best consoles in gaming, at least in my opinion.