PlayStation 2 Slim
Variant of PlayStation 2
- Manufacturer
- Sony
- Released
- 2004
- Generation
- Gen 6
- Type
- Home
- Launch price
- $149
- Units sold
- 155.0M
About PlayStation 2 Slim
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on October 26, in Europe on November 24, in Australia on November 30, and other regions thereafter. It is the successor to the original PlayStation as well as the second installment in the PlayStation brand of consoles. As a sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo's GameCube, Sega's Dreamcast, and Microsoft's Xbox.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
4,399licensed games
- North America: 1,900
- Japan: 2,400
- PAL: 2,900
What's different from PlayStation 2
- Built-in Ethernet port (no Network Adapter required)
- Top-loading disc tray (vs. front-loading drawer)
- Much smaller footprint (~75% volume reduction)
- External power brick
- 3.5-inch expansion bay (no internal HDD support — kills HDD-required games like Final Fantasy XI on Slim)
- PCMCIA / Network Adapter expansion slot
- Internal power supply (moved to brick)
- Infrared receiver on early Slim revisions (some models)
- form factor: Large vertical/horizontal tower → flat lunchbox-sized slim
- hdd support: Internal 3.5-inch HDD bay → no HDD support (FFXI requires Phat)
- disc loading: Motorized front tray → manual top-loading lid
Lineage
Pricing
Launch price (2004)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $149
Controller
DualShock 2 / EyeToy
Launch titles & exclusives
SSX · Tekken Tag Tournament · Madden NFL 2001 · Smuggler's Run · TimeSplitters · Ridge Racer V · Armored Core 2 · Dynasty Warriors 2 · NHL 2001 · Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore · Unreal Tournament · FantaVision
None (no pack-in at launch)
God of War · God of War II · Shadow of the Colossus · Ico · Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3 · Gran Turismo 3 & 4 · Final Fantasy X & XII · Okami · Persona 3 & 4 · Jak and Daxter · Ratchet & Clank · Sly Cooper · Devil May Cry
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (2013) — Sony stopped manufacturing PS2 hardware the same year
Kuon (NA, ~$500–$1000 CIB); Haunting Ground (NA, ~$300–$600 CIB); sealed launch SCPH-30001 units
Hardware specs
- Cpu
- Emotion Engine
- Gpu
- Graphics Synthesizer @ 150 MHz
- Ram
- 32 MB RAM, 4 MB Video RAM
- Sound
- AV Multi: (Stereophonic sound, 2ch), (Quadraphonic sound, 4ch), (5.1ch), RCA connector, Analog stereo, Dolby Pro Logic / Pro Logic II (Analog recording, Analog), Optical audio: (2ch), (4ch), (5.1ch), Dolby Digital (video only), Dolby Pro Logic / Pro Logic II (Digital electronics, Digital), DTS, Inc.…
Hardware revisions
- Phat SCPH-10000 to SCPH-50000(2000)
original launch hardware
⚠ disc-read errors from worn lasers (Disc Read Error 'DRE') the dominant failure mode
- Slim SCPH-70000 series(2004)
dramatically smaller, built-in Ethernet, more reliable optical drive
- Slim SCPH-90000(2008)
final revision with integrated power supply, lightest and most reliable
Launch colorways & special editions
- Final Fantasy XII Sky Pirate Edition (silver, 2006)
- Star Wars Battlefront II Edition
- Madden NFL 06 Edition
- Crystal Limited Edition (2009)
- Pearl White (2009)
- Lego Star Wars Bundle
- God of War II Bundle
- MLB 06 The Show Edition
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- soft-mod
- Custom firmware
- FreeMcBoot (memory-card exploit); Open PS2 Loader (OPL)
Reception & legacy
Strong demand exceeded supply for months after launch; early library criticized as thin, with DVD playback as the de facto launch app
Loss of HDD support permanently locked Slim users out of Final Fantasy XI and other HDD-required titles; external power brick was bulky and easy to lose; later Slim revisions (SCPH-90000) removed IR receiver, breaking DVD remotes
Best-selling console of all time (~155M units); cemented Sony's dominance through the 2000s and was a Trojan horse that helped DVD win the home-video format war
References
More from Sony
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