Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Sony Ends Its Repair Service For the PlayStation 2 More Than 18 Years After the Console Went On Sale (bbc.co.uk)

Posted by BeauHD on from the end-of-the-road dept.

Sony has decided to end its repair service for the PlayStation 2, more than 18 years after it first went on sale. The best-selling gaming console ever produced was first released in Japan in March of 2000. Sony stopped manufacturing the device in 2012, roughly six years after the PlayStation 4 was released. The BBC reports: Sony said it was no longer able to offer repairs because it was running out of replacement parts for the aging console. In a statement, the company thanked customers for their "continued patronage." Gamers seeking repairs will now have to try their luck with unofficial services. More than 150 million PlayStation 2 consoles have been sold.

7 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Unbelievable... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I work hard and pay Sony good money for their PS2 console and this is how they repay me. Unbelievable. I guess I'll take my future business somewhere else. - Soccer mom

  2. PS4 is not that old. by EmilioCobos · · Score: 2

    "Sony stopped manufacturing the device in 2012, roughly six years after the PlayStation 4 was released." That would be the Playstation 3, not 4.

    1. Re:PS4 is not that old. by Luckyo · · Score: 2

      Not necessarily, as PS4 pro was released, and that's effectively the next gen console. It's just that now consoles are effectively x86/amd64 PCs, so they can be easily made to be fully backwards compatible with all of their old games made for the x86/amd64 consoles. For all we know, we'll simply see hardware bumps every few years, PC gaming style from now on. And eventually standard PS4 will go away and in its place we'll have PS4 mega, ultra, or whatever, which will be to PS4 pro what PS4 pro is to vanilla PS4.

      Or they might even call it PS5. But it will likely still be the same x86/amd64 machine with a spec bump.

  3. Dang, I effed up by Snotnose · · Score: 3, Funny

    Back in '06 or so I overpaid for a PS3. Had I known that for only $100 more I could get a PS4 I'd have overpaid for that instead.

  4. New title by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sony ends its repair service for Playstation 2 5 years after selling it.

  5. I am still using PS3 as a media player by guacamole · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It plays Blu Ray and its hard drive can store and play MP4 (H264) and mp3 files. It runs Netflix, Hulu, Amazon prime, HBO Go, and Youtube apps. Not bad for such an old device. I know a 30 dollar Roku express can do most of this better, but I still like being able to play an occasional optical disk. 802.11g wi-fi is the only disappointment as it can take a long while to transfer a media file to the disk over http.

    1. Re:I am still using PS3 as a media player by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      I believe your nostalgia is misdirected, since you are describing a PS3, not a PS2. PS2 had no hard drive, apps, or a BluRay drive (it was DVD).