Pre-owned PS2 Junk

[The_Book_Of_G'Kar]

I brought a pre-owned PS2 a few years back and it was fine until recently when it seems all my games incur the wrath of the Disc Read Error monster! I'm not suprised about this since I have read online that this can happen to old PS2 consoles and it just stays like that forever unless it gets repaired. I don't know what to do really, whether it is worth sending it off for repairs or just trading it in for some cash or just throwing it away as junk. I have a PS3 but I can't play PS2 games on it, and I still have some PS2 games I am yet to finish! What a quandary!

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

You can always just try and fix it yourself. http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/ps2.ars

 

[pleschga]

I brought a pre-owned PS2 a few years back and it was fine until recently when it seems all my games incur the wrath of the Disc Read Error monster! I'm not suprised about this since I have read online that this can happen to old PS2 consoles and it just stays like that forever unless it gets repaired. I don't know what to do really, whether it is worth sending it off for repairs or just trading it in for some cash or just throwing it away as junk. I have a PS3 but I can't play PS2 games on it, and I still have some PS2 games I am yet to finish! What a quandary!

I was under the impression that PS3 does in fact play PS2 games??????

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I brought a pre-owned PS2 a few years back and it was fine until recently when it seems all my games incur the wrath of the Disc Read Error monster! I'm not suprised about this since I have read online that this can happen to old PS2 consoles and it just stays like that forever unless it gets repaired. I don't know what to do really, whether it is worth sending it off for repairs or just trading it in for some cash or just throwing it away as junk. I have a PS3 but I can't play PS2 games on it, and I still have some PS2 games I am yet to finish! What a quandary!

I was under the impression that PS3 does in fact play PS2 games??????

The early releases did (but they were never released in the UK), then they removed the chip and elected for software emulation. I believe that they stopped backwards compatibility altogether when they dropped the price though.

 

[pleschga]

Well, that sucks......

maybe my wife and I should slow or stop our PS2 games purchases. She really likes the SingStar and Karaoke revolution games.....

 

[USS KG5]

The early releases did (but they were never released in the UK), then they removed the chip and elected for software emulation. I believe that they stopped backwards compatibility altogether when they dropped the price though.

Well Sony were getting fed up with losing their shirt so they saved a couple of bucks on each one by leaving out the chip.

 

[The_Book_Of_G'Kar]

I've tried fixing it myself by opening the box and turning the white gear inside and testing the disc, but to no avail.

 

[FordSVT]

The early releases did (but they were never released in the UK), then they removed the chip and elected for software emulation. I believe that they stopped backwards compatibility altogether when they dropped the price though.

Well Sony were getting fed up with losing their shirt so they saved a couple of bucks on each one by leaving out the chip.

...and continued to lose their shirt.

 

[USS KG5]

The early releases did (but they were never released in the UK), then they removed the chip and elected for software emulation. I believe that they stopped backwards compatibility altogether when they dropped the price though.

Well Sony were getting fed up with losing their shirt so they saved a couple of bucks on each one by leaving out the chip.

...and continued to lose their shirt.

Well yes...

 

[Vance]

Actually, Sony's been in the black with the PS3 now for two quarters. The only console company in trouble, really, is Microsoft which is nearing a trillion dollars in total debt, with no plans for profitability.

As for repairing the PS2, seems like you've got a lens failure. This happens because the 'slide-switch' for the PS2-DVD/PS1-CD gets stuck or out of alignment. This is generally a minor fix, but with how cheap PS2s are now, you're likely better off just getting a new one.

 

[FordSVT]

Actually, Sony's been in the black with the PS3 now for two quarters. The only console company in trouble, really, is Microsoft which is nearing a trillion dollars in total debt, with no plans for profitability.

A TRILLION dollars? Microsoft isn't a G8 country for God's sake.

There's so much wrong with your comments it's laughable. Sony is still losing money on every console (while MS actually makes a few bucks) and they have not yet reached a software:hardware ratio at this time that would allow them to make a profit. The 360 is beating both the Wii and the PS3 in that regard. Sony's PS2 and PSP profits are allowing them to stay in the black overall, but the PS3 is still a money loser for them. I have no idea why you think the PS3 made money in the past two quarters, it's simply not true. Microsoft has spent almost two billion on the RROD issue, and that's impacted their profits, but they actually began turning a profit in their games division in fall of 07.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/08/sony-shooting-for-ps3-profitability-in-08-duh/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080107.wgthirai0107/BNStory/Technology

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/35055/Microsofts-Xbox-Division-Turns-a-Profit

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8838&Itemid=2

There are plenty more articles out there that say the same things, read some of them instead of spreading the Sony fanboy junk.

I think some people read "Sony makes a profit" and translate that into "PS3 makes a profit", and that simply isn't the case. It might this year, and they've brought their production costs down and are starting to sell more software, but not yet.

 

[USS KG5]

Actually, Sony's been in the black with the PS3 now for two quarters. The only console company in trouble, really, is Microsoft which is nearing a trillion dollars in total debt, with no plans for profitability.

Microsoft are not in trouble, neither are Sony - though the fact the two continue to spread silly propaganda about each other is pretty reprehensible.

Sony lose money on every console they sell, which is fine by them in the long term as long as they sell a lot of software from which they get a licensing fee - once you buy three games or so they have made back that loss in locensing and they are in profit from then onwards, so when every PS3 owner has five games, they will be in the black - at least once they have paid off their initial (massive) R&D costs.

They are not there yet though - the Sony games division still does very well out of the PS2, so if you look at the overall figures they are better than they seem, and of course winning the HD video war will make them all very happy.

 

[Vance]

A TRILLION dollars? Microsoft isn't a G8 country for God's sake.

And yet, there it is. Keep in mind, this is TOTAL debt from MS spanning about 15 years now since the Games division first came online. That division, which includes the XBox and X360 has never been profitable.

There's so much wrong with your comments it's laughable.

Actually, my sources can easily be gathered from www.gamasutra.com , which is a free site and has far more information about what really goes on in the gaming industry than fanboi rantings.

 

[TerriO]

A TRILLION dollars? Microsoft isn't a G8 country for God's sake.

And yet, there it is. Keep in mind, this is TOTAL debt from MS spanning about 15 years now since the Games division first came online. That division, which includes the XBox and X360 has never been profitable.

Could you please point me toward a source on this? Because a review of Microsoft's annual reports doesn't indicate anything of the sort, and that would be something of tremendous note to shareholders.

 

[Vance]

Could you please point me toward a source on this? Because a review of Microsoft's annual reports doesn't indicate anything of the sort, and that would be something of tremendous note to shareholders.

It came up in the EU case against them, which is probably the most recent public numbers. Microsoft basically is funneling a lot of their overall corporate funding into their games division, in an attempt to obfuscate their overall losses. For awhile, this worked, until both their Windows and Office divisions started to tank in sales as well.

Ironically, this is the sort of thing that Clinton/Reno went after them for in the 1990s, but they were largely innocent of the charges at the time. :S

 

[FordSVT]

A TRILLION dollars? Microsoft isn't a G8 country for God's sake.

And yet, there it is. Keep in mind, this is TOTAL debt from MS spanning about 15 years now since the Games division first came online. That division, which includes the XBox and X360 has never been profitable.

There's so much wrong with your comments it's laughable.

Actually, my sources can easily be gathered from www.gamasutra.com , which is a free site and has far more information about what really goes on in the gaming industry than fanboi rantings.

I'm familiar with that site, but you must have problems reading English.

Microsoft has not lost a hundred billion dollars a year for the past decade on their Entertainment division. Do you know how idiotic that statement is? There isn't a corporate entity in the entire WORLD that could handle that much debt! Hell, WalMart, GM, Google and Microsoft put TOGETHER couldn't handle 100 billion dollars a year in debt for ten years. Heads would have rolled long before that!

So please, produce the article! Or maybe they meant a trillion yen!

Or is their really some language barrier here where you think a trillion isn't a thousand billion dollars as in $1,000,000,000,000? The United States' debt is just under 10 trillion.

 

[USS KG5]

So please, produce the article! Or maybe they meant a trillion yen!

I think they probably did mean a trillion Yen its a lot more believable.

 

[Mallory]

Could you please point me toward a source on this? Because a review of Microsoft's annual reports doesn't indicate anything of the sort, and that would be something of tremendous note to shareholders.

Somehow I suspect that a reliable source will not be forthcoming. As others have pointed out, it simply isn't possible.

 

[Vance]

So please, produce the article! Or maybe they meant a trillion yen!

I think they probably did mean a trillion Yen its a lot more believable.

Gotta love the rational discourse here.

But, yes, Microsoft DOES work at that scale. Microsoft has made itself 'essential and irreplaceable' in many aspects of the western economy. It's not that Microsoft has that much buying power, but that that much money flows through them. If you buy a car, for instance, chances are some of the computer hardware as well as the OS of your onboard diagnostic computer is from Microsoft.

But you're not paying attention to what I said - because the number seems, on the surface, insane. The thing is, the 'games and entertainment' aspect of Microsoft encompasses far more than both the X360 and XBox. You have to include things like WinG, XNA, DirectX, HD-DVD, Live, and a whole schlew of other products, as well as (perhaps more importantly) a number of commercial buyouts and services all in the name of 'entertainment'.

When you throw it all together, suddenly Microsoft's insane numbers start to make sense. But, why then, is the X360 so important to Microsoft's plans, if the $8 per annum loss on the console sales relatively minor, and seems like it would make more logical sense (from sales) to dump it?

Because Microsoft's goal has never been to profit from the X360. The X360 is a delivery medium for what Microsoft truly wants to be, the 'essential and irreplaceable' delivery medium for entertainment. If you want a game, move, song, what have you, Microsoft wants to be that link that makes selling it to you possible. In short, they want to be the ultimate middleman of the digital age - just as they are with Windows, etc. This is why you have insane buyouts and huge payoffs from Microsoft to other companies, all of which come out of this budget.

Microsoft has openly stated this as their goal, most notably when discussing features of XBox and Windows live. This isn't a coincidence, and isn't a 'marketing gimmick', Microsoft wants to be that cog - which all other digital entertainment must work around.

That's why the huge amount of money, and huge amount of loss. It's never been about 'being the number one console of this generation'. They don't want Sony and Nintendo out of business.. they want a cut from these companies, by making 'live' the standard that even their competitors have to follow.

Sound far fetched? Look at Microsoft's new partnering for DS applications and using XNA.

 

[USS KG5]

But, yes, Microsoft DOES work at that scale. Microsoft has made itself 'essential and irreplaceable' in many aspects of the western economy. It's not that Microsoft has that much buying power, but that that much money flows through them. If you buy a car, for instance, chances are some of the computer hardware as well as the OS of your onboard diagnostic computer is from Microsoft.

Microsoft has huge cash reserves and is probably (foolishly in many ways) willing to spend $48 billion on Yahoo, so their buying power is pretty impressive.

But you're not paying attention to what I said - because the number seems, on the surface, insane.

No, the number is made up, though not by you. I remember it being discussed at length somewhere and while I don't have a link I believe it was raised by someone as you say in the European Court. Microsoft did not disagree with the satement as pleading poverty helped their cause.

Also I believe it referred to their total liabilities not their total debt.

The thing is, the 'games and entertainment' aspect of Microsoft encompasses far more than both the X360 and XBox. You have to include things like WinG, XNA, DirectX, HD-DVD, Live, and a whole schlew of other products, as well as (perhaps more importantly) a number of commercial buyouts and services all in the name of 'entertainment'.

I believe Direct X is worked on by the Windows division, might be wrong on that though - I agree it is far more than just the 360.

Because Microsoft's goal has never been to profit from the X360. The X360 is a delivery medium for what Microsoft truly wants to be, the 'essential and irreplaceable' delivery medium for entertainment. If you want a game, move, song, what have you, Microsoft wants to be that link that makes selling it to you possible. In short, they want to be the ultimate middleman of the digital age - just as they are with Windows, etc. This is why you have insane buyouts and huge payoffs from Microsoft to other companies, all of which come out of this budget.

Oh TOTALLY agreed there absolutely. Nail on the head firmly hit.

The new media age is coming onwards at warp 9 and the current distribution model will die far quicker than anyone expects, as I have said in many threads here before.

The one thing which will kill the new media age is a failure to drop DRM, sadly everyone wants MORE DRM, oh and lets not forget MS's model for DRM is buggy and does not work, the original WMA codec sucks and, oh never mind...

Microsoft has openly stated this as their goal, most notably when discussing features of XBox and Windows live. This isn't a coincidence, and isn't a 'marketing gimmick', Microsoft wants to be that cog - which all other digital entertainment must work around.

Totally agreed.

That's why the huge amount of money, and huge amount of loss. It's never been about 'being the number one console of this generation'. They don't want Sony and Nintendo out of business.. they want a cut from these companies, by making 'live' the standard that even their competitors have to follow.

They are willing to take massive losses sure, but these losses do not add upto a trillion dollars, sorry, liabilities yes I can believe that but actual end-of-year losses? Sorry.