Sony Has Officially Yanked PlayStation 2 Life Support
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s aftercare service for the PlayStation 2 in Japan is coming to an end. Though it was announced back in June that Sony Japan would be stopping all life support for the PS2, the time has finally come.
The popular console may have been out of production since 2012, but up until now Sony Japan was continuing to repair old machines, keeping them alive. As of August 31st, Sony has finally pulled the plug. According to the report from IT Media (via Kotaku), Sony Japan had asked all PS2 owners to fill out forms online before August 31st in order to have their consoles fixed for the last time. In addition, all consoles that arrive at the PlayStation Clinic service center in Iwate Prefecture, Japan after September 7th will not be serviced. Unfortunately, for anyone who did not register for the service online, they had until August 31st to send their consoles in, the same day the PS2 customer support also came to an end.
This comes just about 18 and a half years after the launch of the PlayStation 2 back in March of 2000. As you might already know, it went on to become the best selling console ever, a spot it still holds all these years later. With over 155 million consoles sold, it’s one of the only ones to have sold more than 100 million units in its lifetime. Only the Nintendo DS, Game Boy and Game Boy Color, original PlayStation and the Wii have managed to sell over that milestone as well. The closest of this generation is the PS4 with just over 82 million. Though it’s a sad day, there are sure to be do-it-yourselfers popping up on Youtube showing everyone how to keep that PS2 running smoothly. And that, is a good thing, because it means, at the very least, the PS2 won’t just cease to exist.
In honor of the PS2, what are some of your favorite memories on the console? Do you still have one? Let us know in the comments below!