PS2 ends production run in Japan after 13 epic years
The PlayStation 2's massive success spawned an incredible library of games. Some of them were clear phenomena like Ratchet and Clank and the re-birthed Grand Theft Auto series, but others flew under the radar, only to explode into something special years later. Stories abound around the system that almost wholly defined a console generation, and we'll take a peek at some of the system's unique successes today.
After an incredible thirteen years, the mighty PS2 has ceased production in its homeland of Japan. Sony's crown jewel amassed more than 150 million units, which works out to one PS2 for every fifty people on the planet. That incredible user base was broad enough to support some quirky games that, once given some room to breathe, ended up spawning some of gaming's largest success stories. Think of it as throwing spaghetti against the wall: eventually, something is going to stick.
Some of these games stuck as critical darlings, others as cult hits, and other as important inspirations for future works, and we've got five of our favorites for you in the gallery below.
Via Joystiq
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2. Mr. Mosquito Okay, so Mr. Mosquito isnât a success story, it flopped, but itâs perhaps the quirkiest game to ever see release on the PS2. As youâd expect, you play as the titular, and surprisingly adorable Mr. Mosquito. The flight action gameplay tasks you with sucking the blood out of an unlucky family. The highlight is the actual blood-sucking mini-game where the player is tasked with balancing feeding quickly but not quickly to attract attention and certain death.
4. Katamari Damacy Need I say more? Katamari Damacy, the game about rolling the Earth into a ball to satisfy the King of All Cosmos is now a phenomenon. Can you imagine the boardroom pitch for it? The series, now eight games long and six platforms across spawned from one cooky idea that couldnât have found a home anywhere but on the ubiquitous PS2.
3. The Mark of Kri This game, out of Sonyâs San Diego studio was a critically well-received action-adventure romp that didnât quite find an audience. The Mark of Kri has a gorgeous art style and a satisfying, deliciously gory combat. Going back to it after so many years reminds one of a game that it decidedly inspired, God of War.
1. Rez Tetsuya Mizuguchi had his breakout hit with Rez, a trippy rail shooting game set to an incredible electronica soundtrack. Set inside a virus-ridden AI, the player was tasked with blasting the computer system back to health. The game was a critical hit, and Mizuguchi went on to create the beloved puzzle series Lumines, as well as other hits like Meteos for the DS and Child of Eden for Kinect.
5. Frequency Harmonix made the music game Frequency in 2001. The game tasked players with pressing certain face buttons on the controller to the rhythm of the electronica soundtrack. If that sounds a little familiar, it should. Though Frequency and its sequel Amplitude failed to find an audience, the team knew they were on to something. A year after Amplitude launched Harmonix went on to create the wildly successful Guitar Hero and Rock Band series.
