I booted but my old PS2 to do my annual playthrough of The Suffering when I noticed it was taking longer than the year prior to boot up the disk. The thing was wheezing and groaning and making all sorts of sounds. I reset the PS2 and was able to get the disk out. It was then I had to come to terms with something I've been putting off – the Playstation 2 I've had for over two decades was dying.
That old PS2 has gotten me through some bad times but got me through some very good times like on Christmases when I got a new Looney Tunes DVD collection. It was always exciting when that happened. Also, the games I played reminded me of things I had long forgotten, like playing Kingdom Hearts reminded me of my love for Disney Animated Movies, at least the classics. Indeed, the PS2 was the first DVD player I had that I could watch in the comfort of my room rather than in front of a computer screen, which wasn't very comfortable.
When the PS3 came out, I had saved up and bought one that was backwards compatible and I put the PS2 in the closet. But when that PS3 broke and I had to save up for a new one, the cheapest one I could afford (I'm on a fixed income) was not a backwards compatible version. So, back out came the PS2, me alternating between it and the PS3 HDMI socket or whatever it's called; I had a special converter that could be used for both PS2 and PS3 cords.
Over the years, though, I've neglected my old console and it sat on my table (and later my PS4, which I also had to save up for and buy a cheap one on sale) collecting dust. But, every once in a while, I would fire it back up to play Dark Cloud 2 or Suikoden 3 or Dead to Rights or, as I've said, The Suffering, annually. It creaked like an 18th galleon by this point and the games crashed a few times, but mostly it still worked.
But, now I realize it just doesn't have the power anymore. It feels like I've lost a friend, and I'm still reeling from the death of my mother last year. I know it's odd to compare the breaking down of a video game console to the death of a parent, but you can have good memories with both and I think both can be missed equally.
Now I can always use an emulator and a ROM but it's not the same. Nothing beats seeing that PS2 slide open to pop in a disk and then sliding back in. It's so very satisfying. And the start up screen with all the towers representing the games you've played made you feel like it was it was another dimension. Besides, ROMs aren't perfect. They can cause tears in the game or certain mechanics to go wonky or important cutscenes to not play.
I'm attaching a pic of the games I have for the PS2. Some I got for birthdays or Christmases but a number I got at thrift stores before they became very rare. And what frustrates me is that a number of the games I have on my collage will not be getting packaged releases or HD updates or remakes. Yeah, you can legally play The Suffering on PC, but there's no option for a controller, not like the Dead to Rights PC port.
Farewell, PS2. You were much appreciated.