Customer Reviews

Playstation 2 Black Console Slim

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A great buy for anyone looking to purchase a Playstation 2. The size has been reduced by more than half, and it's about half as heavy (about the size and weight of a book). There have been rumors of a overheating issue, but mine hasn't gotten as warm as the old PS2 because I keep it on a cookie cooling rack. It didn't even get warm after 8 straight hours of playing Kingdom Hearts. The top-loading drive is more convenient than the tray drive, however the first time I put a CD in, it came up with a disc read error. It turns out that I hadn't pushed the CD in until it snapped into place, and I haven't gotten an error since then. I have had no issues with my unit, and would recommend it to anyone out there who has been considering this model. Sony outdid themselves on this one. Great product!

With all the hype about the PS3, Wii and XBox 360, take another look at the PS2. It has a huge library of games, a reliable system, and is inexpensive!

The PS2, which launched in December 2001, uses DVDs as its storage medium, meaning the unit can double as a CD and DVD player. It is small, light for carrying around, and doesn't have the sound or heat problems that the 360 and PS3 have. It's extremely sturdy - we have two PS2s and haven't had any problems with either one.

The graphics on the PS2 are very impressive, especially some of the later games where the game designers had years to learn how to take advantage of every last detail in the system's design. For a long while the XBox had a clear advantage with graphics, but with some of the recent releases, like Final Fantasy XIII, the cut scenes were just gorgeous.

Speaking of Final Fantasy, with the PS2 you can play all games from the PS2 *and* PS1 series - meaning you can play every Final Fantasy game that is out. That alone could keep you occupied for months if not years. Guitar Hero is another fantasic game that is only on the PS2. The guitar controllers literally cannot plug into a PS3.

Here's a pretty clear indicator of how good the PS2 system is. We've had the XBox 360 for a year, and got the Wii and PS3s right when they came out. Even so, we were still going back to our PS2 to play the games we had on it, rather than bother with moving our save games up to the PS3. The games were really that good.

Sometimes it's not about high def super graphics. Sometimes it's about pure, fun gameplay. The PS2 has perfected that over the years, and there are numerous games on this system that have legions of fans. There's even a network port if you want to play online. Note that it doesn't have "built in wireless" - you have to plug a bridge or other wireless adaptor into the port to have it connect to your home wireless network. This is really easy to do, though, and I have full instructions if you need them.

Well recommended, even in an age of next-gen consoles!

The playstation 2 console is pretty good. Obviously it cannot compare with the graphics of XBox360, PS3 or Wii. But it does have a great variety of games available plus it has been out there for a while now so it seems to be more reliable compared to the new gen consoles who still have to fix a lot of initial bugs.

I have been playing PC games all my life so if I want real good graphics I can always go to my PC games. The reason I went with PS2 was that I wanted to play games not available on the PC platform e.g Soul Calibur III, GT4, Resident Evil 4, MGS etc.

Another advantage of getting a PS2 right now is that the games are pretty cheap as compared to those for the new gen consoles - around $20 compared to $49.99 for Wii and $59.99 for the XBox360. Plus you can get a lot of used games from ebay, EB games etc.

I will be sticking with my PS2 for a couple of years. In the meantime the new gen consoles would have fixed their initial bugs and the console as well as game prices would have come down (hopefully). Then I might think of getting the new consoles.

Thats what I meant by staying behind the curve.

Remember....you are getting a video game to have fun and not admire at the graphics. The graphics certainly do enhance the experience but it can never replace a quality game design....playstation2 has a lot of good games out there.

Remember that you will have to spend more than the $129 to get started. You will need to get component cables - $25 sony brand. I have not tried the other cheaper ones. I dont think they will be any different and you can save some money here. Also you need to get a memory card. I bought the 2-pack - sony brand for like $29. I think its worth since the single pack is for $19. You might also need to get an extra controller. So be prepared to shell out another $40-$55 for the cables and memory card.

The component cables do make a lot of difference. Please buy them if you have a TV which has component inputs. In not then atleast get the S-video cable. Its definitely worth upgrading from the stock composite cable.

Also, you do not need to buy an optical audio cable (toslink). It is used only for DVD playback. So if you have your own DVD player you do not need to get the cable for your PS2. The L-R RCA audio cables are enough since none of the PS2 games I know support digital audio. They do have a lot of games which support Dolby ProLogic-II e.g. Resident Evil 4, God of War etc. If you have a receiver which supports Pro-LogicII then its really great since it really sounds great when using ProLogic-II. For more info on Pro-Logic II I would recommend googling it up or look up Wikipedia. Pro-LogicII is a type of dolby surround system which does not require optical audio cables. The signal can be transferred through our regular RCA audio cables and the receiver decodes the information and creates the surround effect.

Amazon shipping was great and before time.

Okay, I had been having problems for over a year with my first, original ps2 - disc read errors, some dvd/games that wouldn't work, and frequent disassemblies to try to remedy the problems.

A couple of weeks ago, I finished with a ROUGH week of finals (senior in college) and wanted to get some games to celebrate. I went Saturday morning the day after finals and bought Resident Evil 4 and Gran Turismo 4(the game I was really after). I stick GT4 in, and the opening movie was going like 1 frame every 10 seconds and the disc was making a bunch of noise. So I figured I had to take it apart again and readjust the white dial that changes the lens height because it wasn't able to read the disc properly. The top cover of the playstation slid off my desk while I was working on it and pulled the power/reset ribbon cable out of the socket - so I had to fiddle a while to get that back in. Then, the controller/memory ribbon cable came out of the socket, and I fiddled with that for a while and could never make it go back in.

Finally, I said SCREW trying to fix this, I'm getting another playstation. Although, I didn't drive back out that weekend to get another one, so I had two new games just sitting there doing nothing until Monday afternoon after work. Surprisingly, I had to look at 3 different stores before I found a slim Ps2.

I've been using it for about a week, and I LOVE IT. It plays all my games, DVDs, its quiet (no noisy PSU fan anymore), I think it seems to load games slightly faster, AND it has a built-in IR sensor - I hadn't heard anyone mention that in all the reviews I read, but this is a GREAT feature - you don't need that bulky thing that takes up a controller slot anymore to use your DVD remote - and you don't have to reconfigure anything. Oh, AND it has a built in network adapter - I'm glad I didn't waste money on one for my old ps2. Also, I set up the network adapter with zero difficulty.

I've heard the top-loading disc tray being considered a disadvantage. I disagree. Less moving parts - less possibility of malfunction! The lens is exposed for easy cleaning (or damage, so be careful). I think this design works for longer - just look at how long portable CD players work vs. bulky stereos that have ejecting cd trays. My past stereos always skipped during songs or wouldn't play it all, but he ol' discman always worked better.

Also, no hard drive capability. From what I've heard, the hard drive is really only having if you want to play FFXI, but that game costs like $12 a month or something and I've heard it's not that much fun anyway.

One other thing, I think I've read that the slim ps2's are difficult/impossible to mod. Not an issue for me, but maybe that would bother some people.

I love this thing!!!

I'm probably the last person on planet earth to upgrade from the PS1 to the PS2, but now that they're down to a really reasonable price, I couldn't resist. And boy, am I glad I did! The gameplay is much more fast paced in the PS2 games. The PS1 was hampered by the directional pad, but with the analog sticks on the PS2 the characters can move around much quicker and with a much better sense of direction. And the selection of games is huge, I've only got two so far but I've got about 25 on my wishlist.

This new slimline model is really small, not much larger than the DVD cases that the games come in. You need to buy a memory card or you won't be able to save your games. That's about it. I hooked mine up and it works fine, no problems with overheating (after 3 hours I can barely tell that it's above room temperature). No problems with noise, it's virtually silent.

Overall, highly recommended for anyone who wants to have a lot of fun with a gigantic selection of games, but doesn't want to spend an absurd amount on a next-gen system that only has a tiny fraction as many games.

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Off the top... If you're a videophile, buy for gaming only... not as a DVD player. I'll explain in a minute.

The latest PS2 77001 series isn't going to have PS3 or 360 graphics - but for $129.99 its still impressive.

If you stay below... say a 37" in a 16:9 format, maintain a reasonable distance from the screen you should be pleased.

And for $129.99 it does well... as a gaming machine.

I own a 47" 1080p LCD.

Picked up the latest PS2 and am irritated the unit will play certain games (not all) in 480p but not DVDs. Secondly, if you have a HD 16:9 set as I do the unit only produces 4:3 (Standard) and 4:3 (Letterbox, NOT 16:9). Up-converting sets like mine taking 480i to 1080p simply looks like [...].

It does have an optical output and will send both DD and DTS.

It has an Ethernet connection... no WiFi nor BlueTooth. It has USB connectors. Yes, you can go on the internet and connect a keyboard and mouse.

Be further warned...

Sony states the PS2 should not be hooked up to a plasma and/or projection tv as it will cause burn (damage).

My experience so far... each game, if capable of 480p play, has to be instructed to do so manually and then the setting has to be stored on an optional memory card or each play will require the same setup.

Unit comes w/ a proprietary 3 pair cable (Left/Right/Video). If you want SVideo (SCPH-100060 U) or component (Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr) audio/video (SCPH-100100 U) you'll need to purchase an additional cable. I did and I'm not impressed. Granted its better than composite video but not by much.

[...].

Great price and the unit is really small.
Only comes with Composite connectors, no Component or DVI must buy that extra (not really an issue unless your screen is larger than 37" and you sit less than 8' away).
Comes with only 1 controller.
Comes without a memory card - need to buy separately.
On box picture the unit stands vertically, but the vertical stand is sold separately.

My old PS2 died and I faced the dilemma of paying to fix it, replace it, or upgrade. The PS3 is still far too expensive, so I bit the bullet and bought this newer version of the PS2.

This slim PS2 blows the old design away!

The size is so much smaller and lighter. I keep looking at it and smiling.

The discs no longer slide out of the front, but instead the the top pops open. Fewer mechanical things to go wrong with, and it works quite nicely.

The addition of the network adapter as a standard feature is easily worth the price of buying this new console over fixing the old console and upgrading the adapter.

Reaching behind the console to turn off the system is a thing of the past, as well. Easily turns off and on from the front now.

Overall, from a design perspective, this is a vast improvement.

I recently got a slim PS2. I had owned the standard PS2 system for a while before I eventually sold it and got this version, and this version offers tremendous improvements from its sleaker look and space convienence, to the ease of exchanging disks, to the built in online support. Now if you own the more clunky older version of PS2 and are fine with it I wouldn't put this slim version as a must have product, but unless you plan on picking up one of those new consoles soon (Wii, 360 or PS3) I would say it's something you should concider.

To anyone who has never owned a PS2 and have at least a casual interest in video games this product is simply a must have, and what it comes down to beyond anything is games. There are over 1,000 games that have come out for the American audiance spacifically for the system, and it plays virtually all of the over 1,000 games that came out for the PS1. I hear there are certain PS1 games that don't work with the system, but I have tried numerous games out and haven't had a problem. (Be aware that you need a PS1 memory card to save PS1 games and a PS2 memory card to save PS2 games) In the end the game variety will satisfy any gamer no matter what their tastes.

So bottom line owners of the original PS2 should concider an upgrade, but it's really a must have for those who have never owned a PS2 before. It offers something for anyone, unless by chance they just plain hate video games all together.

With the flood of "next generation" gaming platforms out there, it's nice to find that the PlayStation 2 is still a relevant console for avid and hobby gamers.