Are games still made for the PlayStation 2?

No, game development and publication for Sony‘s category-dominating PlayStation 2 console has definitively ended as of late 2013. This past November marked 10 full years since the PlayStation 3 first replaced the PS2 as Sony‘s flagship system. Nevertheless, the PS2‘s staggering 13-year run with new game releases is an duration unparalleled in the video game industry.

The Historic Lifespan of the PlayStation 2

Given the rapid pace of technological advancement in the gaming space, the PS2 seemed an unlikely candidate to still receive game support all the way into the mid 2010s. Here‘s a comparison of generation timespans across console history:

Sony managed to extend the tail end of the PS2‘s lifespan for multiple years thanks chiefly to its utterly massive user base. As the best selling home console ever with over 155 million systems sold, the PS2‘s ubiquity allowed publishers to continue reaping profits even as cutting-edge software gravitated toward HD-capable platforms.

What Was the Final PS2 Game?

While major developers and Sony itself largely transitioned PS2 support to the PS3 following its late 2006 launch, one stalwart publisher remained committed to ongoing PS2 game production years beyond industry expectations: Konami.

The last known new game published for the PlayStation 2 was 2014‘s Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, exclusively released in Europe that November. Ceasing PS2 development would have left many Pro Evo fans unable to play the latest annual entry on their only available console.

Series producer Naoya Hatsumi explained Konami‘s PS2 loyalty in a 10th anniversary retrospective interview:

We still make the PS2 version as there is still such a big audience for it, especially in places like Brazil and Asia where the PS2 installed base is still massive. Of course making a PS2 version while also making HD versions does create problems of its own but we don’t mind because we see those challenges as being worth it to enable those late adopters to enjoy PES on the console we know they still own and love.

What PS2 Titles Sold Best in the Late Years?

Even with no new first-party games, Sony managed to sell nearly 4 million PS2 units in 2013 during the console‘s final months of production. This shows a substantial portion gamers were still actively purchasing and playing new PS2 releases.

Below are the last notable PS2 games that managed to produce strong sales well over a decade past the console‘s peak:

*PES 2014 only saw a partial year of tracked sales before PS2 support was discontinued

These titles demonstrate that some evergreen sports franchises maintained substantial PS2 fanbases even with flashier simulators available on modern platforms.

Why Did Developers Stick With PS2 For So Long?

In addition to publishers‘ financial motivations, creating PS2 games for such an extended timeframe was actually viable due to deliberate technical constraints. Game engines advanced substantially from 2000-2013, requiring stripping down newer titles to function on vintage hardware.

In an interview, Final Fantasy XI developer Sage Sundi revealed his team‘s PS2 development strategy:

"We have to come up with schemes to reduce polygons, we‘ve made so many tricks to reduce the data size. At some point, we had to stop bumping up the graphics otherwise the data wouldn‘t fit on a DVD."

As a result, later PS2 games like PES 2014 adopted a stripped-back graphical style minimizing textures, details, physics and animation to enable running on the primordial PS2 architecture. Producing these visibly aged experiences demanded its own specialized effort separate from mainline development.

Projecting the Future Value of PS2 Games

Much as with the retro cartridge-based console generations, scarcity and nostalgia are propelling increasing prices for the PS2‘s enormous and landmark game library. Well-preserved disc copies of the console‘s most acclaimed titles often already exceed original MSRP:

As the above data shows, critical and commercial darlings like Shadow of the Colossus already demand multiples of original MSRP more than 15 years later. However, predictably precipitous early drops for PS2 platinum titles has reversed into a gradual price recovery.

With the PlayStation 2 user and collector base only continuing to grow more nostalgia-driven as time passes, certain defining early 3D-era experiences seem poised to regularly fetch $100 or more before the decade‘s close.