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They grow up so fast.

Happy 10th Birthday, Playstation 2. October 26th, 2000.

The PS2 is still the highest selling game console of all time - and for good reason. It had a lot going for it when it first came out, and stayed pretty strong well onto it’s later years. Backwards compatibility with PS1 games, the ability to play DVDs on it when they were still a new media format, a great controller (Dualshock 2 is the shit), and most importantly, an amazing library of games.

I don’t remember exactly when I was gifted PS2 from my parents (good grades in middle school, fuck yeah), but I do remember we managed to find one at a local liquidation store. The PS2 model at the store was used as a display model at some department store for demo purposes, so we managed to get it for pretty cheap. I remember stopping by Blockbuster on our way home, renting Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, and playing it all night and being blown away from how nice the game looked. Actually, that game still looks pretty good today.

Now, my PS2 is sitting in my closet back home with a broken disc reader. Naturally, consoles you buy from liquidation stores tend to crap out on you pretty easily. I’m surprised mine lasted as long as it did, actually. I’ve cracked it open on 3 occasions to clean out the dust and the lens with some rubbing alcohol, but I still get that horrible Disc Read Error message when I try and play it.

I’m pretty sure I’ve spent more time playing my PS2 than any other game console I have ever owned. The system had library of games that seemed to get better and better as time went on, and developers kept pushing the boundaries of what the system was capable of. Some of my all-time favorites include:

• Metal Gear Solid 2/3
• Final Fantasy X
• Katamari Damacy
• The Grand Theft Auto Series
• Kingdom Hearts 2
• Guitar Hero 2

… and a whole bunch more I’m probably forgetting. There are still a number of games I have yet to play/beat, actually. (Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Persona 3/4…)

Looking back, it really was a nice, robust system. You had a great mix of action games, RPGs, shooters, sports games, and even more. Games that appeal to everyone. And in the end, that’s all that matters, right? The games the system has.

Anyway. The PS2 was great. I just may skip the rest of my classes and start up a new game in Metal Gear Solid 3 today.

Read more about how awesome the PS2 is here:

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9062376