Ico did not sell very well. Though critics loved it, the simple third person puzzler failed to capture an audience on the PS2. (youtube trailer) Fast forward a few years to Shadow of the Colossus, and desiger Fumito Ueda struck gold. Earning tons of critical praise for his story of a young boy out to bring his love back from the dead. [more inside]
posted by tylerfulltilt on Mar 1, 2008 - 74 comments

Like a missing entry from Adam Pennyman's Catalogue of Obsolete Entertainments, the game Rez (previously on MeFi) combines abstract visuals with 21st century call-and-response musical theory (subscription site) for a synesthetic experience that changes through the player's on-screen interactions. Playing through four levels; Earth, Mars, Venus, Uranus, and Eden the player's avatar evolves within a sentient computer network as you attempt to free the core AI from suicidal depression. Woefully underpromoted upon release everywhere except Japan, and with few merchandise opportunities available to it, the game slipped into obscurity and attained cult status, retaining almost full value on the second-hand Dreamcast and PS2 markets. Unfortunately for the second-hand market, HD Rez has recently been announced for X-Box Live Arcade in early 2008 in glorious Hi-Def and 5.1 surround. Rejoice!
posted by Molesome on Nov 15, 2007 - 25 comments

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has refused to rate Manhunt 2, Rockstar Games' latest controversial offering, effectively banning it from sale in the United Kingdom. This surprising decision comes only weeks before the game's July 10th release date. The last game to be blocked from sale in the UK was the 1997 classic Carmageddon. Appeal remains a possibility for Rockstar, “although it sometimes takes up to two months to get this happening.”
posted by mek on Jun 19, 2007 - 72 comments

Having trouble with that new videogame you got for Christmas? Text-only walkthroughs don't do it for you? Then try Stuck Gamer. Video walkthroughs for a pretty good number of games. Including, thanks the Lords of Kobol, Ninja Gaiden.
posted by WolfDaddy on Dec 26, 2005 - 16 comments

The clueless reviews the Mac Mini His chief gripes are "The Mini boots up into a stripped-down operating system which Apple calls OS X, similar to the stripped-down WindowsCE OS found on many handhelds." and "No serial ports, no way to connect a printer, no PS/2 ports, no floppy drive, no 5.25" bays." Let the hate mail campaign begin!
posted by StormBear on Feb 2, 2005 - 47 comments

PS2 Vibrator for Her Pleasure (NSFW, suggestive pictures)
Friday Fun: A new add-on for the PlayStation 2 does pretty well nothing but give your girlfriend something to enjoy while you waste hours killing pixelated beasts.
A review by Game Girl Advance gives it a very big and satisfied thumbs up. via As I Lay Laughing
posted by fenriq on Sep 24, 2004 - 14 comments

PlayStation 2 launches online service - Hard-core gamers looking for new challengers will now have an Internet full of them. Sony on Tuesday released adapters that make PlayStation 2 the first console player to go online. Playstation 2 players who purchase the $39.99 connector can link to Sony's network through a number of new games, including the military shoot-em-up "SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs" and the football simulator "Madden NFL 2003."
posted by DailyBread on Aug 27, 2002 - 24 comments

Under 5,000 Xboxes sold in Japan last week. This is compared to 100k Playstation2s and 25k Gamecubes. Since its launch, the Xbox has sold 190k units in Japan versus the Playstation's 980k units sold in the first 3 days.

Is the Xbox doomed in the notoriously tough Japan gaming market, or does the Xbox just need a price cut to stay competitive?
posted by jragon on Apr 8, 2002 - 51 comments

Future Development for Sony and the PSX2 and PSX3. Now that the Game Developers Conference is over what do you think of the plans for the PSX3? It may even have an IBM architecture underneath.
posted by AsiaInsider on Mar 24, 2002 - 7 comments

Is it buyer beware or Ebay's responsability when 75 winners of Playstation 2 systems receive nothing but a picture of the unit that cost them $300.00
posted by Eric Lloyd NYC on Dec 30, 2001 - 42 comments

With the gamecube, xbox and ps2 all on the market (although ps2 has been around awhile), it seems to be gaming heaven. I've always been a nintendo man, what do you guys/gals think? Can you rate your top five consoles of all time (based purely on joy it brought to you)?
posted by dig_duggler on Nov 17, 2001 - 53 comments

Nintendo delays U.S. launch of GameCube Nintendo has pushed back the U.S. arrival of its new GameCube video game console by nearly two weeks, with executives saying they intend to avoid the shortages and frustrated consumers that marked the debut of Sony's PlayStation 2 last fall.
posted by Brilliantcrank on Aug 23, 2001 - 21 comments

Any console gamers out there thinking about getting an X-box instead of a PS2? Which system has a brighter future?
posted by thirteen on Jan 6, 2001 - 43 comments

PlayStation 2 not quite what it was promised to be. "Japanese have purchased about 3.5 million PlayStation 2s, but there are signs that sales have leveled off."

"Analysts had predicted a runaway success, but now they are forecasting Sony losses of more than $200 million on its game business in the year ending next March—its first such loss in years."
posted by Steven Den Beste on Dec 12, 2000 - 20 comments

"That wasn't me, that was the guy before me!" This is like "A bear walked in the door and ate it" from a little kid... What scares me is that people are stupid enough to fax him pictures of their credit cards. Wait until they see their next bills!
posted by Steven Den Beste on Dec 3, 2000 - 0 comments

Want to become a PlayStation 2 programmer? The European release may ship with a BASIC interpreter, in order to squeak past EC tarriffs.
posted by harmful on Nov 7, 2000 - 0 comments

Now while these guys are not exactly the most unbiased source for an evaluation of the PlayStation 2, they have nonetheless backed up their evaluation with a lot of convincing hard information on the performance and in particular about the financing. If these guys have got it right, Sony's going to take a bath on this; they'll never come close to recouping their costs of production, let alone all the research they did. If these guys have it right, Sony will lose money on the PS2 as long as they sell it. This Is Not Good. (Unless you hate Rambus, like I do, because this means both of their markets will collapse.)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Oct 30, 2000 - 19 comments

How to have fun with your new Playstation 2!
posted by Steven Den Beste on Oct 29, 2000 - 9 comments

The PlayStation 2 is a munition. This is nearly as entertaining as when Belle, the first computer to receive a Master rating in chess, was siezed by customs before a world tour.
posted by plinth on Apr 19, 2000 - 0 comments

The Playstation 2, just like the G4 is considered a Supercomputer too. It's nice to know that hostile nations won't rip apart the system after they get gunned down in Metal Gear Solid.
posted by Cavatica on Mar 9, 2000 - 0 comments