GamerNode: Latest PlayStation 2 News

Yakuza 2 launch trailer

Yakuza was a critical success in the US a few years back, but sold so poorly that the sequel never made it to US shores. Until now. Originally released in 2006, Yakuza 2 finally came to US shores last week. To help remind people that the franchise exists and to get them back into the mood for it, Sega has released this new Yakuza 2 launch trailer.

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SingStar: Disney announced for PS2 in PAL

Another bit of PAL-exclusivity this morning, and this time it's SingStar.

The hugely successful karaoke series which recently made its debut on the PS3 seems to be alive and kicking on the PS2-in PAL territories, that is. This Autumn, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is releasing the latest SingStar title: SingStar: Singalong with Disney.

Unlike the other Disney singing game hitting the market, this one features the GOOD Disney songs. So far the tracklist is still sparse, but includes Disney classics like: A Whole New World (Aladdin), The Bare Necessities (The Jungle Book), You Got a Friend in Me (Toy Story), Under the Sea (The Little Mermaid), and When You Wish Upon a Star (Pinocchio). The game will be released in various languages across PAL territories, and should be a huge success sa...

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Former Euro Sony boss says PS2 will win in 2011

It seems that every other week, an analyst or game executive proclaims their prediction on which game console will be the leader by 2011. So far, we've heard that the king of the hill will be the Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360. But a dark horse candidate has emerged--the venerable PS2.

At the Edinburgh's Interactive Festival, Chris Deering, former European Sony president, said that the number of active users for the PS2 will surpass the numbers of active Wii users in 2011.

As for the breakdown stats, he says that the PS2 will come in first with 90 million active users, Wii will have 80 million, The PS3 and PSP at 70 million, with the Xbox 360 coming in dead last in 2011 with only 40 million active users.

The numbers game, one that the various console manufacturers play, is just that, a game. With no o...

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Eternal Poison announced, trailer included

Atlus has announced that the Japanese strategy RPG Poison Pink will be coming to North American PS2s as Eternal Poison on November 11th of this year. Along with the announcement comes a cinematic trailer that looks very nice, but shows no actual gameplay footage. Have a look for yourself:

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Atlus announces, dates Persona 4 for North America...

The next entry in the popular Persona series will be on Japanese store shelves in in just a few days, but little over a half-hour ago, Atlus announced that the PlayStation 2 game will be coming to North America this year, as well.

On December 9th, the previously Japan-only RPG will be hitting western shores. What's more is that every single copy of the game will ship with a soundtrack CD, and will cost just $39.99. From the Press release:

"Experience a thrilling murder mystery RPG set in the Japanese countryside. A mysterious chain of deaths remains unanswered and only you and your team of gifted supernatural sleuths can uncover the truth.

Develop strong friendships to aid you in battle, take direct control of your party in combat, acquire and fuse Personas, craft weapons, sign up for part-t...

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New PS2 coming to Europe and India this fall

Apparently working its way west, the new model PlayStation 2 that hit Japan last November will be coming to the European and Indian markets by late October of this year. It will precede this year's Diwali festival, which takes place on October 28th, said SCE India manager Atindriya Bose.

The new model will be slightly lighter and slimmer than existing PS2 consoles, and will also do away with the bulky external AC adapter of those models. It will cost 6990 Indian Rupees ($163), which is the same price as the systems that are currently in stores. Pricing has not yet been announced for the European release.

Regarding the Indian gaming market, Bose said, "We feel PS2 has the potential to penetrate further into the Indian and Russian markets. Console gaming is in its nascent stage in India. These...

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Garfield Lasagna World Tour game launches

Blast! Entertainment and Conspiracy Entertainment have just released the game Garfield: Lasagna World Tour. With a game title like that, it just might be worth a look for either Garfield or lasagna fans.

The plot of the game has to do with a television channel organizing a treasure hunt. The winner of the contest gets free lasagna for life! Now that's a prize that a lot of us can appreciate.

According to the press release, you can:

The game is in stores right now and is available for the PlayStation 2.

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MGS Essential Collection not ported from PS1 to PS...

To prime everyone up for the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Konami is releasing the Metal Gear Solid Essential Collection for the PS2. The collection will include the director's cuts of both MGS2 and MGS3. But perhaps the most interesting part of the bundle was that it included the original MGS (PS1). Naturally, many assumed that it was a ported version that was playable on the PS2.

Well, that speculation proved incorrect, as Konami PR has now informed Game Almighty that it will not be on PS2 discs, but rather, pressed on original PS1 discs. Why is this significant? Well, I can't speak for all the other countless millions of MGS fans, but for me the only real reason for buying this package would be an upgrade for the original MGS to a more current console. If that isn...

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PS2 price drop coming? Target ad says yes

It looks like Sony's PlayStation 2 will finally take the plunge into the sub-100 dollar price range after almost eight years on the market. According to an ad released by Target stores, the slimline PS2 will go on sale for $99 beginning this Sunday, February 24th.

Although this is supposedly just a "sale," one has to wonder if it is also a harbinger of a more permanent price drop for the console. With the PlayStation 3 in its second year and developers steadily decreasing support for the older PS2, I would imagine that must be the case. Eight years is a pretty damn good run, though.

If somehow you missed out on the PS2 era, and have limited cash to spend on your next console, I would definitely recommend picking one of these up. Heck, I already own a PS2 and I might grab one, just for b...

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Special Metal Gear Solid compilation revealed

Playing the Metal Gear Solid games, was for many, a unique experience in which stealth and action elements were combined at the same time-- you no longer had to kill everything in sight; in some cases being undetected was more important.

For those who missed the original series or would want to re-live the stealthy moments, Konami announced that it will be releasing a compilation of the Metal Gear Solid games for the PlayStation 2.

According to an official news release, Konami said:

"Since its inception, the Metal Gear Solid franchise has been one of the most successful game series in the history of video games, receiving worldwide recognition and praise. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection represents a great value for gamers, bringing together three must-have classic titles which pi...

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MGS: The Essential Collection up for pre-order at ...

Want to catch up on that whole "Metal Gear Solid" thing before the release of MGS4, but haven't quite been able to track down copies of all the games? Or are you just pissed that Japan gets an MGS collection while the US got shafted? If the answer to either was yes, then worry no more, if Play-Asia's to be believed.

Over on playasia.com, they've listed a PS2 titled called "Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection." The package will sell for $34.90, and contains MGS 1-3. Not only are you getting all three titles, but you're getting the director's cut of 2 and 3, as well as new box art from Shinkawa.

The release date is listed as March 2008. So far there's been no official word from Konami about the package, and it doesn't appear on other sites like Amazon or GameStop, but it wouldn't be the...

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First trailer for NIS and Gust's Mana Khemia

I'm in a trailery mood right now. Next up, the first official English trailer for NISAmerica and Gust's upcoming game, Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis Mana Kehmia is the fourth game in the Atelier Iris series, but the first to take place primarily in a school setting. Much like Persona 3, the game splits time between school stuff and outside stuff. Unlike Persona, though, this time you have assignments to complete, such as making certain potions or finding/defeating certain things. (I assume.)

If you've played any Gust or NISAmerica games in the past, you know what to expect. For a bonus, check out the official page to enter to win a free copy of the game.

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UK judge blocks sale of Manhunt 2 (again)

Just when you hoped the world was done with the Manhunt 2 drama...

On Friday, the UK once again blocked sale of Rockstar's Manhunt 2. Last month, you may remember the Video Appeals Committee lifted the ban at the request of Rockstar, and awarded the game an 18 certificate (meaning you have to be at least 18 to purchase it). Their conclusion? It was unlikely to cause harm to children or adults who happen to play it.

Now, a High Court judge in London deemed the VAC decision fatally flawed by "a clear error of law" when it came to their determination that the game didn't cause harm. Why? Because despite the 18 rating, children might still get access to the game.

During the hearing, the British Board of Film Censors also expressed displeasure at the VAC decision, saying that their overturning o...

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Silent Hill Origins confirmed for PS2

Last week, we posted a rumor that Silent Hill Origins was coming out on the PS2. At the time, only retail and rental sites showed the new product, while Konami was mum on the subject. Today, though, Konami has sent out a press release confirming the rumor.

"Console gamers can now expect the same chilling, suspenseful and fear-filled experience that handheld gamers encountered when we released Silent Hill Origins on the PSP system," said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami. "This is their chance to learn more of the mystery and mythos surrounding Silent Hill that's been hinted at in earlier games and made the series such a success."

There's still no word on what (if any) changes will be made to the PS2 port, other than the mention in the release that the controls will be ...

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SNK Arcade Classics: 16 games at once

SNK Playmore announced today that a compilation of 16 classic arcade titles will be released on the Playstation 2 and the PSP sometime during the first part of 2008.

Much like the Metal Slug Anthology from last year, SNK Arcade Classics: Volume 1 aims to capitalize on the everything-retro-is-cool mentality that has been sweeping the industry in recent years.

Some of the games on the list have already been re-released in various other forms (Wii Virtual Console; other compilation discs), but this particular collection looks like a very solid combination of titles. More importantly, it's far more cost effective to procure these games in this way than by purchasing them elsewhere.

The full list of games (with descriptions) is as follows:

ART OF FIGHTING - The first game in SNK's second fi...

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Jaffe says next game is revealed in Twisted Metal

The internet adores Dave Jaffe. Everyone loves what he's got to say, and wants to know what he's up to. I won't lie; after playing God of War, I could definitely see myself stalking him from dark alleys on cold autumn nights.

Kidding.

The most recent tidbit from Mr. Jaffe comes our way via a recent interview with GamePro, where the charismatic game designer explained that his new studio's next game will be revealed in the upcoming Twisted Metal Head On: Extreme Edition on the Playstation 2. He said:

"Listen, if you want to know what our next game is, it's absolutely revealed if you have a sharp eye in Twisted Metal Head On: Extreme Edition. It's hidden really, really, really well. And just because it's hidden in Twisted Metal doesn't mean it has anything to do with Twisted Metal. That's w...

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Silent Hill Origins headed to the PS2?

There has been no official announcement from Konami as of yet, but both GameFly and Amazon are listing a PS2 version of Silent Hill Origins with release information pointing to somewhere in the month of March.

This may be a good way for Konami to squeeze a few more bucks out of the game, possibly reaching a new audience. On the other hand, players might find that Silent Hill Origins is really much better suited to the PSP than a home console such as the PS2, due to its shorter length and less engaging gameplay than the typical venture into the eerie town of Silent Hill.

In any case, GamerNode will be on the lookout for any official word from Konami regarding this possible port.

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Capcom ends online services for two PS2 games

Capcom has announced via the company's official blog that online services for both Resident Evil: Outbreak and Monster Hunter for the Playstation 2 will come to an abrupt end on December 31st of this year.

After three years of service, these games will be coming off the online buffet line, not because of Capcom, but because the external company that provided the servers for these game is getting out of the PS2 online world.

This leaves Outbreak and Monster Hunter fans with nothing but bitter tears and offline play.

Unfortunately, the servers will not be replaced by Capcom or any other external company, so get your online fix for these two games within the next four weeks.

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The Romantics sue Activision over Guitar Hero

According to a report on Billboard, members of American rock band The Romantics are suing Activision over the usage of its song "What I Like About You" in the game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's.

The suit states the game uses a version of the song that sounds too much like the original band... seriously?

The suit "claims that the sound-alike recording of the song improperly imitates the band's sound, which the members have developed since 1979."

The band members want the court to prevent further distribution of the game and, of course, want a share of the profit. Activision was questioned about the incident but they haven't replied.

Being in a band myself, while I do see where the lawsuit is coming from, I have to say that it's pretty preposterous. While I care about the music I play, ...

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NiGHTS: Into Dreams coming to PS2

Sega has announced that in the original Saturn classic NiGHTS: Into Dreams will be flying onto the Playstation 2 early next year. Set for a February 21st release in Japan, the port will feature graphical improvements, and possibly a few gameplay features not found in the original game.

It's been quite a while - 11 years, in fact - since the gaming community has gotten a taste of NiGHTs, and now, with Journey of Dreams hitting the Wii in mid-December and Into Dreams following in just a few months, it's looking to be a veritable NiGHTS fiesta pretty soon.

Fans of the series must be jumping for joy right about now, but be aware that no U.S. release date has been announced for the PS2 game as of yet. GamerNode will be sure to keep you posted as we learn more.

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