The PS2 is a central figure in some of my very happiest memories. Some of the spookiest, too: I literally had nightmares about the RSOD as a kid. Worth it, though. It's my pick for best aesthetic and best library of games of any home console ever. Today's big-money industry is all but devoid of the anarchic, experimental spirit that characterized the sixth console generation. Luckily, us folks who were inspired by it never went anywhere, and the spirit lives on in indie games and thoughtful retrospectives like this one. Hope we get your take on the Dreamcast aesthetic, too!
Don't worry, unless an article idea gets literally 0 votes, I'll be making it sometime :)
The PS2 absolutely deserves to be held in the high regard it does, it has a lot of shovelware crap but its variety is its strength; the PS1 has a similar issue but I think the PS2 has higher highs and higher lows too. It isn't quite my favourite console of all time but along with the Gamecube, this thing ate up my spare time as a kid. I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
Great memories. Especially your mention of the differences between the boot-up sequences and initial presentation of the competing consoles of the era - my impression is that they're reflective of the companies' different attitudes toward what they were doing. Nintendo felt like they were making a fun toybox, Microsoft, a curated showcase of hardware and software. Sony [and the Playstation team of this era in particular] knew what a game console REALLY was - an eerie portal into alien worlds. That intro is like the last thing some overzealous scientists see before they get torn apart on a molecular level and reassembled in Hell. Remember the PS3 baby commercial?
I've seen that one, absolutely bizarre. To me you can really tell that the California part of Sony won the internal power struggle, the first 3 stations really feel very Japanese compered to the PS4 and PS5.
A very good generation for gaming. Sony at their peak, Microsoft was new and fun and experimental and Nintendo seemed to need the humbling they got.
The PS2 is a central figure in some of my very happiest memories. Some of the spookiest, too: I literally had nightmares about the RSOD as a kid. Worth it, though. It's my pick for best aesthetic and best library of games of any home console ever. Today's big-money industry is all but devoid of the anarchic, experimental spirit that characterized the sixth console generation. Luckily, us folks who were inspired by it never went anywhere, and the spirit lives on in indie games and thoughtful retrospectives like this one. Hope we get your take on the Dreamcast aesthetic, too!
Don't worry, unless an article idea gets literally 0 votes, I'll be making it sometime :)
The PS2 absolutely deserves to be held in the high regard it does, it has a lot of shovelware crap but its variety is its strength; the PS1 has a similar issue but I think the PS2 has higher highs and higher lows too. It isn't quite my favourite console of all time but along with the Gamecube, this thing ate up my spare time as a kid. I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
Dear gawd, was Pinhead the lead designer of the RSOD screen?!? Being in Team Xbox at the time I'd never seen this before. The horror!
I hated the PS2 BIOS as a kid but I absolutely love it today, it's so eerie and distinct
Great memories. Especially your mention of the differences between the boot-up sequences and initial presentation of the competing consoles of the era - my impression is that they're reflective of the companies' different attitudes toward what they were doing. Nintendo felt like they were making a fun toybox, Microsoft, a curated showcase of hardware and software. Sony [and the Playstation team of this era in particular] knew what a game console REALLY was - an eerie portal into alien worlds. That intro is like the last thing some overzealous scientists see before they get torn apart on a molecular level and reassembled in Hell. Remember the PS3 baby commercial?
I've seen that one, absolutely bizarre. To me you can really tell that the California part of Sony won the internal power struggle, the first 3 stations really feel very Japanese compered to the PS4 and PS5.
A very good generation for gaming. Sony at their peak, Microsoft was new and fun and experimental and Nintendo seemed to need the humbling they got.