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PS2 released in North America 20 years ago today
- Thread starter ThisThingIsUseful
- Start date
OP
OP
That was my jam.
"Wait, I have 1000 allies?!"
It always felt like me vs. the world until Dynasty Warriors 2, at least for me.
PS2 is still the most satisfying console in terms of genre variety. There is something for everyone and tons of niche stuff.
I gotta dig out my PS2 from the storage and play some God Hand.
I gotta dig out my PS2 from the storage and play some God Hand.
My first playstation console, loved it. Final fantasy 10/12 , socom and gran turismo were my GOATs
Should play some Shadow of Rome or some Firefighter FD 18 today. Lucked out in starting to collect for it last year when it was still pretty cheap and nabbed a lot of great stuff to play.
I never finished it, but remember thinking Shadow of Rome was very cool
Wasn't able to get one at launch but did eventually when FF X came out. Still have my PS2 collection in the garage somewhere.
OP
OP
This was the first screenshot:
First Grand Theft Auto 3 Screenshot - IGN
While it's a much bigger phenomenon in Europe than in North America, the Grand Theft Auto series is nonetheless a big deal for gamers pretty much anywhere. Now, everyone can see the first screenshot of Rockstar's upcoming PC/PS2 game, Grand Theft Auto 3, courtesy of a German-based Website, GTA Zone.
What a console. It raised video games to reach its golden days back then when many generations met the old ones and younger ones.
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This was the first screenshot:
First Grand Theft Auto 3 Screenshot - IGN
While it's a much bigger phenomenon in Europe than in North America, the Grand Theft Auto series is nonetheless a big deal for gamers pretty much anywhere. Now, everyone can see the first screenshot of Rockstar's upcoming PC/PS2 game, Grand Theft Auto 3, courtesy of a German-based Website, GTA Zone.www.ign.com
I love that they called it a 'new-fangled racing game'
Playing it for the first time was mind melting. What an awesome game.
GTA2 was my first game but god damn if 3 didn't blow me away.
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I've asked this all around the internet for years, BUT DOES ANYONE BESIDES ME REMEMBER GUNSLINGER, THE CHOOSE WHETHER TO BE A BANDIT OR HERO WESTERN GAME THAT NEVER RELEASED?!
You could shoot and kill the mayor, for example, and up your negative reputation, or you could be a hero, and it was going to be published by then-Sony Computer Entertainment America. It sounds pretty basic for now, but it sounded so awesome at the time since few games allowed that kind of flexibility.
Unfortunately, we never saw much of it past 2000/2001.
You could shoot and kill the mayor, for example, and up your negative reputation, or you could be a hero, and it was going to be published by then-Sony Computer Entertainment America. It sounds pretty basic for now, but it sounded so awesome at the time since few games allowed that kind of flexibility.
Unfortunately, we never saw much of it past 2000/2001.
Jeez what a terrible first screen not the graphics or anything like that.This was the first screenshot:
First Grand Theft Auto 3 Screenshot - IGN
While it's a much bigger phenomenon in Europe than in North America, the Grand Theft Auto series is nonetheless a big deal for gamers pretty much anywhere. Now, everyone can see the first screenshot of Rockstar's upcoming PC/PS2 game, Grand Theft Auto 3, courtesy of a German-based Website, GTA Zone.
Random and useless curiosity:
The Intellivision and Game & Watch launched 20 years before the PS2.
The PS2 is for us now what the Intellivision and Game&Watch were when the PS2 launched 😳
The Intellivision and Game & Watch launched 20 years before the PS2.
The PS2 is for us now what the Intellivision and Game&Watch were when the PS2 launched 😳
Deleted member 44122
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i played dark cloud on that demo disc sooooo much back then, challenging myself to get farther and farther during the time limit with each try :D
This reminds me that GUN was such a good game.I've asked this all around the internet for years, BUT DOES ANYONE BESIDES ME REMEMBER GUNSLINGER, THE CHOOSE WHETHER TO BE A BANDIT OR HERO WESTERN GAME THAT NEVER RELEASED?!
You could shoot and kill the mayor, for example, and up your negative reputation, or you could be a hero, and it was going to be published by then-Sony Computer Entertainment America. It sounds pretty basic for now, but it sounded so awesome at the time since few games allowed that kind of flexibility.
Unfortunately, we never saw much of it past 2000/2001.
GTA3 seemed to come from no where to me, I remember the official PS magazine in UK only giving the game an 8. Then once people got to play it, it exploded in popularity. It was a massive leap over GTA2 and Driver.
OP
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Strangely, this stuff got my brother and me very excited. I think it was just the concept of not having an overhead view and being right in the city this time.
Maybe the best console ever released. What a crazy huge game library, the only games I felt were missing on the system at the time were high quality RPGS like Fable or Morrowind - which I could only look at videos of on the internet and wish I could play them at the time. I didn't know you needed a memory card to save games, so I must have played the intro to GTA 3 10 times before I eventually ran to blockbuster in the pouring rain and got a card.
I think I went through 3 PS2s becasue of Disc Read Errors, one of which was on the day I got Spiderman 2 :(
I think I went through 3 PS2s becasue of Disc Read Errors, one of which was on the day I got Spiderman 2 :(
Nah that makes alot of sense,I am going by todays standards but back then people would go crazy
Such a good system. The GOAT, along with the SNES (for non-portables). Insane number of high-quality games on there. I miss those times.
SSX and Ridge Racer V were fine at launch. However, we had to wait another year before PS2 became truly amazing.
Absolutely amazing console! I didn't get mine until around Spring 2001 after my parents had a hell of a time trying to find one at launch for the holidays. My first one was was dead on arrival and was replaced the next day fortunately, but then it broke about a year later. My dad sent it to Sony for repairs and it's been working since (or at least the as of the last time I tried it). Just had to clean off the laser once in a while for it to read games over time.
I believe that screenshot is taken just outside the main police station on the first island. I had so many gun battles there, just fighting waves and waves of police until the army and fbi eventually showed up with tanks to squish me.
In GTA3 I spent more time doing that sort of thing than actually playing the missions. Though I remember being quite fond of the questgiver Toni, who I believe went on to become the main character in one of the (really good) PSP games.
I did prefer Vice City and San Andreas to GTA3 (I refuse to acknowledge that GTA 4 even exists) but GTA3 was the huge step forward, everything since then has just been building on what GTA3 started.
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SSX and Ridge Racer V were fine at launch. However, we had to wait another year before PS2 became truly amazing.
Fuck, I always hate this pic. =P
Not that there weren't a bunch of good games, but a lot of it was a stretch (GT3 was a summer game, GTA3/Baldur's Gate/Silent Hill 2 weren't exclusives, MGS2: Substance came to Xbox the following year).
OP
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I used the tank cheat and fought police all the freaking time. Or sometimes I just listened to Chatterbox while speeding around.
I'd have to buy the PS2 trilogy on PS4 or something, but I think GTA3 may seem quaint given its small size compared to now and the inability to go into buildings, if I recall correctly. Eventually, you could go into restaurants, internet cafes, bars, etc. but I suspect it would be a learning curve to get back into that. And the lack of traffic in NYC of all places.
But for its time, there was something VERY special to me about going anywhere, doing minigames that, at the time, could have been their own games (like side missions in the cab or police car), and doing something serious in the story but listening to Chatterbox before starting a mission, taking the edge off.
Autumn 2001 was definitely one of the best times ever for gaming. Besides all those PS2 games listed above, you also had Halo multiplayer. I had 6 of those 10 PS2 games and got Silent Hill 2 early in 2002. I remember thinking no time could possibly be better than that.
LOL - you are of course correct. Nonetheless, the pic is great shorthand for illustrating how fun the fall of 2001 was for PS2 owners. May the word "exclusive" and how launch windows misuse seasons forever be the silly marketing lies they have always been.
OP
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Damn right. It's more the line at top, not the game themselves, that I've always had an issue with. But putting that aside and focusing on the games, even at the time I was amazed by the variety in 2001, especially once summer hit:
~2001 in gaming: what'd you think?~
Previous threads 1989|1991|1992|1993|1995|1996|1997|1999|2000|2002|2003|2004|2005|2006|2007|2009|2010|2013|2014|2015 Hey, all. In celebration of gaming in general, I'm continuing a retrospective series looking at gaming year by year. This is as comprehensive a list as possible of games with...
www.resetera.com
Greatest of all time system. It just had something for everyone and an insane number of all time classic games.
OP
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Am I the only one who didn't think the launch lineup was that bad? I wouldn't hold stuff like Smuggler's Run up on a pedestal or anything, but I felt there were some good, albeit not really great, games on the lineup. Some clunkers for sure.
www.ign.com
Armored Core 2 (Agetec, Action)
DOA2: Hardcore (Tecmo, Fighting)
Dynasty Warriors 2 (Koei, Action)
ESPN International Track and Field (Konami, Sports)
ESPN X-Games Snowboarding (Konami, Sports)
Eternal Ring (Agetec, RPG)
Evergrace (Agetec, RPG)
FantaVision (SCEI, Puzzle)
Gun Griffon Blaze (Working Designs, Action)
Kessen (EA, Adventure)
Madden NFL 2001 (EA, Sports)
Midnight Club (Rockstar, Racing)
Moto GP (Namco, Racing)
NHL 2001 (EA, Sports)
Orphen (Activision, RPG)
Q-Ball Billiards Master (Take-Two Interactive, Simulation)
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 (Midway, Sports)
Ridge Racer V (Namco, Racing)
Silent Scope (Konami, Shooter)
Smuggler's Run (Rockstar, Racing-Adventure)
SSX (EA, Sports)
Street Fighter EX3 (Capcom, Fighting)
Summoner (THQ, RPG)
Swing Away (Paradise Golf in Japan) (EA, Sports)
Tekken Tag Tournament (Namco, fighting)
TimeSplitters (Eidos, First-Person Shooter)
Unreal Tournament (Infogrames, First-Person Shooter)
Wild Wild Racing (Interplay, Racing)
X-Squad (EA, Action)
AV Club recently reviewed them. They weren't too impressed, lol. But I think Dynasty Warriors 2 is still fun, Madden 2001 was a blast, Tekken ag was fun, TimeSplitters were a sleeper hit for me (mostly due to that create-a-level mode), and even though I wasn't into those kinds of games, I know plenty of people who dug stuff like SSX and Midnight Club.
Here were the other launch lineups:
PS1:
Air Combat
Battle Arena Toshinden
ESPN Extreme Games
Kileak: The DNA Imperative
NBA JAM Tournament Edition
Power Serve 3D Tennis
The Raiden Project
Rayman
Ridge Racer
Street Fighter: The Movie
Total Eclipse Turbo
Zero Divide
PS3:
Blast Factor
Call of Duty 3
Genji: Days of the Blade
Madden NFL 07
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
NBA 07
NBA 2K7
Need for Speed Carbon
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Tony Hawk's Project 8
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
PS4:
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
Battlefield 4
Blacklight Retribution
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Contrast
DC Universe Online
FIFA 14
Flower
Injustice: Gods Among Us -- Ultimate Edition
Just Dance 2014
Killzone Shadow Fall
Knack
Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Madden NFL 25
NBA 2k14
Need for Speed Rivals
Resogun
Sound Shapes
Super Motherload
Trine 2: Complete Story
Warframe
And now PS5:
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Astro's Playroom
Demon's Souls
Destruction All Stars
Dirt 5
DmC 5: Special Edition
Godfall
Madden NFL 21
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Watch Dogs: Legion
The PS2 Launch Titles - IGN
Here's the final and definitive list of all the games that were…
Armored Core 2 (Agetec, Action)
DOA2: Hardcore (Tecmo, Fighting)
Dynasty Warriors 2 (Koei, Action)
ESPN International Track and Field (Konami, Sports)
ESPN X-Games Snowboarding (Konami, Sports)
Eternal Ring (Agetec, RPG)
Evergrace (Agetec, RPG)
FantaVision (SCEI, Puzzle)
Gun Griffon Blaze (Working Designs, Action)
Kessen (EA, Adventure)
Madden NFL 2001 (EA, Sports)
Midnight Club (Rockstar, Racing)
Moto GP (Namco, Racing)
NHL 2001 (EA, Sports)
Orphen (Activision, RPG)
Q-Ball Billiards Master (Take-Two Interactive, Simulation)
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 (Midway, Sports)
Ridge Racer V (Namco, Racing)
Silent Scope (Konami, Shooter)
Smuggler's Run (Rockstar, Racing-Adventure)
SSX (EA, Sports)
Street Fighter EX3 (Capcom, Fighting)
Summoner (THQ, RPG)
Swing Away (Paradise Golf in Japan) (EA, Sports)
Tekken Tag Tournament (Namco, fighting)
TimeSplitters (Eidos, First-Person Shooter)
Unreal Tournament (Infogrames, First-Person Shooter)
Wild Wild Racing (Interplay, Racing)
X-Squad (EA, Action)
AV Club recently reviewed them. They weren't too impressed, lol. But I think Dynasty Warriors 2 is still fun, Madden 2001 was a blast, Tekken ag was fun, TimeSplitters were a sleeper hit for me (mostly due to that create-a-level mode), and even though I wasn't into those kinds of games, I know plenty of people who dug stuff like SSX and Midnight Club.
Here were the other launch lineups:
PS1:
Air Combat
Battle Arena Toshinden
ESPN Extreme Games
Kileak: The DNA Imperative
NBA JAM Tournament Edition
Power Serve 3D Tennis
The Raiden Project
Rayman
Ridge Racer
Street Fighter: The Movie
Total Eclipse Turbo
Zero Divide
PS3:
Blast Factor
Call of Duty 3
Genji: Days of the Blade
Madden NFL 07
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
NBA 07
NBA 2K7
Need for Speed Carbon
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Tony Hawk's Project 8
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
PS4:
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
Battlefield 4
Blacklight Retribution
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Contrast
DC Universe Online
FIFA 14
Flower
Injustice: Gods Among Us -- Ultimate Edition
Just Dance 2014
Killzone Shadow Fall
Knack
Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Madden NFL 25
NBA 2k14
Need for Speed Rivals
Resogun
Sound Shapes
Super Motherload
Trine 2: Complete Story
Warframe
And now PS5:
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Astro's Playroom
Demon's Souls
Destruction All Stars
Dirt 5
DmC 5: Special Edition
Godfall
Madden NFL 21
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Watch Dogs: Legion
Best console ever.
And I didn't even want one originally; I wanted a Dreamcast. Don't get me wrong, DC is still amazing, but I'm glad I got a PS2 instead.
And I didn't even want one originally; I wanted a Dreamcast. Don't get me wrong, DC is still amazing, but I'm glad I got a PS2 instead.
OP
OP
Thing was hard to find for a while. I remember rushing my mom at a Toys R Us to look at the PS2 because I saw a kiosk, and I'm like, "Here it is! Come quick!" and when I got up close, I was really confused.
Turns out it was actually a Dreamcast kiosk.