Sony Interactive Entertainment to have stopped its aftercare services for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. While the console’s production had been reportedly stopped since 2012, Sony is said to have maintained its after-sale services for the game, but today it decides to end it. The PS2 was released on March 4th, 2000 in Japan, with its US, release following several months later in October. So that counts to a total of 18 years of repair, which is a commendable feat.
IT Media is said to report that Sony Media had asked all its customers of PS2 to fill out online forms till the last working day of August, to request the company for the last service to be provided. 7th September is given the last date for a PS2 to be provided service to at Iwate Prefecture Service center. It is also reported that the manufacturing company had mentioned that those who had failed to register online will have time till 31st August to send in their consoles for repair.
Sony has cautioned that even for customers who had followed the outlined procedure, some repairs simply might not be possible due to the uncertainty of the inventory of parts that the company has on hand.
We have to understand that this move in inevitable as Sony has to allocate its resources on the more recent consoles such as the PS3 and PS4. However, it is to be remembered that PS2 had been the company’s best selling console with an amazing library of games. Statistics from 2013 say the PS2 had sold a total of 158 million units worldwide, a number which is probably still unbeaten.
