unrelated to the OP but still at PS2 question:
How can I turn off the parental controls on my PS2?
I’d like to watch Ghostbusters without having to enter a special code.
The whole vertical thing has always puzzled me. Even with the stand, that sucker’s almost guaranteed to fall over at the slightest possible jiggle. Why not just lay it flat and avoid the possibility? It boggles my SPOOFEy imagination…
Why would it wear out within a year? Why on earth would a salesperson make such a stupid claim?
Granted, every new product can have start-up issues, but the PS2 ought to be fine by now. Mine’s 6 monhts old, never a problem.
Moreover, the laser wear thing is of course moot. I have a portable CD player that I purchased in, what, 1989 or so? It has a 1000 times more spins on it then my PS2 will ever turn playing DVD’s, and it still works fine. Unless Sony (co-inventors of the CD, remember?) dropped a piss-poor laser unit into the PS2, I don’t see why it would routinely break down any sooner than my ol’ portable CD player.
And given that the repeated stop-go action of games might actually be more damaging to the lens than continuous DVD reading, the whole thing is an obvious scam. If anything, a PS2 laser unit ought to be stronger than a “regular” DVD’s one.
As far as upgrading the parts inside a console:
They don’t change the specs of the console, but they do change the design. The PS2 price drop was in large part facilitated by the fact that the Sony plants that make the thing recently were able to combine the two processors of the PS2 (graphics chip and CPU) onto one single board, instead of the two that are in older versions. You can tell what version you have by looking at the model number on the unit.
Also, as far the DVD remote, it works better with the newer units. If you have one of the new models (again, check the model number), you don’t need to install drivers onto a memory card.
Personally, it’s because at home my home theater was 8 components large (including 2 VCRs) and my game console collection had topped out at 3 consoles, so it was largely a decision to save space. And FWIW, with the stand, I’ve accidently pulled/jerked the controllers and bumped the thing while futzing with cables, and the PS2 didn’t even consider falling over (never went more than 10[sup]o[/sup] off it’s axis, even with the direct bump).
If you want to watch the salespeople squirm, after they offer to sell you the extended warranty, ask them, “So what you’re saying is that you sell shoddy, defective merchandise that won’t last?”