Videogames have proven a much needed distraction in recent months. From a string of much-anticipated releases like Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part 2. Animal Crossing, too, launched at just the right moment, becoming the Switch’s killer app for a month or two. It’s not just new games that saw a sales bump, though. There’s also been a spike in the prices of older games, though. The Nintendo Wii, for instance, saw prices for some of its evergreen titles soar as people dug them out of the loft for the sensation of bowling or to get some Wii Fit exercise. If you’re looking for some cheap retro thrills, however, its still hard to beat the Playstation 2.
A PS2 can be yours for anywhere between £30-50 depending on your luck on eBay or if you buy one from CeX. There’s no ideal place to buy an old system – by their very nature they’re prone to issues. CeX at least offer a warranty and test the systems they buy in. If you don’t mind spending a little extra I’d recommend a PS2 slim. They both play the same games, but the slims were manufactured later and tend to be more reliable. A particular issue with the older, bigger “fat” systems is the mechanical disc tray. This can be a point of failure, but most commonly they just ‘stick’ and can need a little coaxing to open. For example, my silver PS2 fat works fine but the tray catches when not on a completely level surface. There are other consoles in the same price bracket; you can get a DS lite for less or even a 3DS for a little more. So what’s so great about the PS2?
No system has a library as vast as the PS2. From the magnificent to truly awful shovel-ware, the console got it all. And the reason the PS2 is such a good system to buy is that they’re mostly cheap. If you look out at charity shops and car boot sales its not hard to find PS2 games for £1-2. There’s a good chance they’ll be sports games, but there’s often some decent titles too. If you’re looking to buy online then prices will go up, sometimes a lot, but its still a lot more affordable than most systems. Nostalgia fuelled classics like The Simpsons Hit and Run, Crash: Wrath of Cortex and Sly Raccoon will cost more, but there’s plenty of games under £5. There’s a wealth of licensed games, from Spider-man and Harry Potter and even movies like The Thing and The Godfather. Staples like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Final Fantasy XII, and the confusingly titled Final Fantasy X-2, can be head for just a few pounds. And this is just the start. If you want more suggestions check out YouTube for people’s recommendations or for obscure titles, such as ‘MetalJesusRocks‘ below:
- TAGS
- PlayStation
- playstation 2
- ps2
- Retro
