The PlayStation 2

[AD2101]

All systems have great games but it is true that the PS2 has the most variety and should be able to please anyone with its huge library.

I'm so glad people on these boards are smart. I get so tired of hearing that _______ system has no good games. With the exception of the 32x and maybe another odd system here and there every console has an extensive library of quality games, at least enough to warrant their existence.

The PS2 has a lot of awesome games, more than I'll ever be able to play, thats for sure. I don't include the PS3 or Wii's yet in this as by the time this generation is over at least 1 of them will have enough good games to have people 15 years from now collecting them.

[Kogen]

Sony fans really annoy me sometimes. Both the PS1 and PS2 are easily 'good' consoles, they certainly are not 3DO or 32X quality, but it is laughable to call them great. The controller design is poor and still has not changed much, the first party games are poor, the systems age poorly, and they lack a lot of good action games on them and instead go for games that age poorly such as "realistic" games. Who can honestly go back and play GT1/2? But you can easily go back and play games like Super Hang-On(arcade) or Mario Kart, as they did not limit themselves with realism and went for fun. Most Sony games have this fault and thusly "die" when the next generation hits.

The list of consoles, both great and failures, that are above the PS2 is rather long.

[AD2101]

Sadly, thats most games today, awesome until the next one comes out, or the next console generation of it comes out. How you believe this problem is somehow unique to Sony is beyond me.

[Mr Smith]

I think it has more to do with gamers than games. Although I make sweeping generalizations; every console will have its following who enjoy the best each system has to offer, while your general bunch of morons follow the graphics and gimmicks onwards paying no heed to the history of video gaming and dismissing the true classics. It just so happens that the folk who post on here adore the Mega Drive and therefore our bias is skewed in its direcetion. I'm sure I had a point to this post when I started.

[Iron Lizard]

It took me awhile to warm up to the PS2 after the dreamcast debacle but after my brother bought me one and let me borrow Jak and then FFX I warmed up to it. I actually have happy memories of holding that once hated PS controller in my hand. I just got the Metal Slug Anthology along with component video cables finally. That alone is reason enough to own aside from the slew of cheap games games thanks to the new generation.

[j_factor]

Sony fans really annoy me sometimes. Both the PS1 and PS2 are easily 'good' consoles, they certainly are not 3DO or 32X quality, but it is laughable to call them great. The controller design is poor and still has not changed much, the first party games are poor, the systems age poorly, and they lack a lot of good action games on them and instead go for games that age poorly such as "realistic" games.

I agree about the controller, but both PSX and PS2 have some great first-party games, and some great non-realistic action games. I never cared for Gran Turismo in the first place, but I still think Rollcage is awesome.

[108 Stars]

I´ll never get why people can dislike the PS controller. I mean, it has not been changed for a reason: it´s pretty damn good and most people like it; it has become a standard in gaming, and when Sony was about to change it for the PS3 with that boomerang shape, people cried so loud they got back to the design people feel comfortable with. I just wish they would sell the pad in various sizes, as my hands are pretty big.

As for Kogen...well, I don´t get why you are so bothered by PlayStation-fans. Your view on the PlayStation is just as subjective as theirs. Believe it or not, there really are a lot of people who do think the PlayStations are pretty awesome. No reason to be annoyed (if you were seriously about it). You don´t have to agree, but hey, for me it is the same feeling with Saturn-, Xbox- and SNES-fans. At least this way there is a nice topic to discuss.

[j_factor]

I´ll never get why people can dislike the PS controller. I mean, it has not been changed for a reason: it´s pretty damn good and most people like it; it has become a standard in gaming, and when Sony was about to change it for the PS3 with that boomerang shape, people cried so loud they got back to the design people feel comfortable with.

Well the boomerang did look stupid. My complaints about the Playstation controllers are as follows:

-- Shitty d-pad. It's uncomfortable in general, and particularly unwieldy in 2d games that use diagonals. This isn't such a big deal nowadays (with the lack of 2d games and all), but back in the 90s, it was a huge problem.
-- Awkward analog sticks. They seem to have a dead zone in the middle and I don't like that they're completely convex and smooth. I'm not crazy about their position either.
-- Lack of analog triggers. Analog triggers provide much better control for many games. I know the buttons are pressure sensitive on PS2 (and I assume PS3 as well), but that's not as good. There was no reason not to make L2 and R2 into triggers back in the day.
-- With the PS2, the buttons became kind of mushy. Not the best for button mashing; it tires my hands more than other controllers.

I don't find the controller unuseably bad, I just think it could've used several design changes.

[Joe Redifer]

The PS3 has analog triggers. Some people don't like them, but I do. I did not like how there were 4 shoulder buttons on the PS1 and PS2. Way too many shoulder buttons and it always confused me. But since two of them are now triggers on the PS3, it feels right.

I don't like the whole "Let's name our buttons after shapes" nonsense. That is stupid and it took me forever to memorize the damn layout.

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

4 shoulder buttons = piss me the funk off

[MN12BIRD]

yeah it makes sense on the PS3 if you have 4 shoulder buttons. 2 are buttons and 2 are triggers now.