# PS2 Vertical **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 5, 2002, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443 "2002-11-05T22:03:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/1 "2002-11-05T22:03:43Z")
I’ve heard some horror stories about having your PS2 verticle (like scratched CDs, etc). Is there any merit to these statements? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![micilin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@micilin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micilin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/2 "2002-11-05T22:32:10Z")
Not from personal experience. There might have been a problem with earlier models though… ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/3 "2002-11-05T22:35:24Z")
I have _heard_ of the drive suffering premature failure when stood vertical. Nobody that I know has kept theirs vertical though. Mine is a launch unit and hasn’t given me the slightest bit of grief yet… I keep it horizontal. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/4 "2002-11-05T23:07:26Z")
mine hasn’t been horizontal a day in its life. And no problems here (10 months and heavy usage) ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/5 "2002-11-05T23:09:46Z")
I read the Japanese have small apts, so that’s why they have vertical for it… I like gravity, its a nice thing, thus all my game machines are horizontal. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/6 "2002-11-06T00:54:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duderdude2 \* > \*\*I’ve heard some horror stories about having your PS2 verticle (like scratched CDs, etc). Is there any merit to these statements? Thanks. \*\* Well, I’ve talked to some people who say this has happened. I believe that, if true, the reason it would be more prominent with a PS2 in a vertical position than with something else is that you are more likely to accidentally move the thing while running, which I believe can scratch a disc in any type of drive. Someone want to shoot me down? ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2002, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/7 "2002-11-06T01:06:17Z")
My ex-roomate actually had to stand his PS1 vertical to be able to play disks that he had made ‘archival copies’ of. Seems the focusing servos on the laser (the ones that control how far the lens is from the disk’s surface) had trouble adjusting to the burned CD-Rs when the unit was horizontal. ---
**Author:** ![pud\_lumpkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@pud\_lumpkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pud_lumpkins)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/8 "2002-11-06T01:58:32Z")
Maybe some wires or parts moved in the crappier models when the PS2 was placed vertically… or dust ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2002, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/9 "2002-11-06T15:20:43Z")
There were certain versions of PS2s that would do that to your disks whatever position it was. Also some that only read cd games not dvds. I would say it was a manf issue. Shouldn’t be an issue with the new ones these days. At any rate, check the instruction book ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/10 "2002-11-06T20:09:23Z")
My first PS2 was kept vertically, and died after three weeks (maybe 5 total hours of use). I honestly don’t think there was any correlation with that, though. The drive motor died, so I think it was just a defective product. It didn’t scratch the disc or do anything other than just stop spinning up. However, my current one is kept horizontal, but that’s more because of the way I rearranged the entertainment center than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/11 "2002-11-07T03:18:21Z")
My PS2 works better in the vertical position. Some games pause for several seconds at the browser/configuration menu if the PS2 is horizontal, but if it’s vertical they start right up. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-vertical/135443/12 "2002-11-07T05:06:18Z")
Just another piece of data for you. I have a “launch” unit and used it vertical every day I had it. No problems to speak of.