The PlayStation 2’s meteoric rise to the position of the best-selling console of all time changed not only gaming, but also culture in general. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, God of War and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty ushered in a up-to-date era of interactive storytelling – one in which games competed with films for prestige and attention and were covered not only in specialist magazines and forums, but in major newspapers and national television programs.
Today, on the 25th anniversary of the PS2’s launch in Europe, IGN spoke with two people who witnessed the console’s launch and its rapid development from different perspectives. Shawn Layden was vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and later held some of the most senior positions at Playstation, and Daniel Griffiths was deputy editor of the official Playstation magazine in the UK.
They told IGN about their personal memories of the period: Griffiths recalls the panic caused by the console’s surprise reveal, how Xbox was “impressed” with the press, and how one Sony event ended with a river of melted chocolate coins; Layden describes his surprise when he first saw the PS2 demo, his fear of failure in the console’s first year, and how it turned gaming into a hobby that could be discussed “in polite company.”
“The Insider” – Shawn Layden
IGN: What was your first memory of seeing the PS2?
Shawn Layden: The first thing I saw was the Gran Turismo demo on PS2. We were at a company meeting and they had a video recording. And it just blew us away. Unfortunately, Gran Turismo 3 didn’t launch on hardware because it takes forever for this team to make games, but it gave us some insight. I don’t think this jump has ever happened in console generations, the jump from PS1 to PS2. It took you to another fucking planet. And on this planet everything runs at 60 frames per second.
IGN: How did the development teams react when you found out PS2 was coming?
IGN: Was there any competition between the teams chosen to work with the PS2 and other developers?
Shawn Layden: It wasn’t a competition, but rather awe and delight. There were our best engineers, our best designers, our best physicists. They all go to this one room in the studio that no one else can go into. But everyone knows what’s going on there, right? It was as if an alien ship had landed in our backyard. We’re trying to analyze the technology he brought us.
IGN: How did the PS2 change the type of games you could create?
The PS1 generation was great, wonderful and brilliant, but it was like your dad’s gaming console. The PS2 became a completely different way of creating and appreciating games – it was really the beginning of narrative-driven gaming.
IGN: How huge a deal was the DVD player?
Shawn Layden: We sold bundles of PS2 hardware and a movie copy of The Matrix. We initially chose the DVD format for the PS2 to give us more memory and space to create our games. When it was ready for release, we realized that DVD was a up-to-date format and people had gotten rid of their VHS players. I don’t think there was much intention in connecting the two, but coincidence is a great thing, right? A elated coincidence. This turned out to be a huge accelerator because so many people were able to convince their spouses or parents that, hey, you can also watch DVDs on this gaming machine.
IGN: Did you know from the beginning that PS2 would be a success?
Shawn Layden: It wasn’t a foregone conclusion. We launched PS2 based on Ridge Racer, Tekken and Fantavision, a fireworks simulator. We were positive about it later, but at that point we thought, “Oh dear God, is everything going to be okay?” We can’t just sell three games in 10 years. There was a learning curve, so it took some teams a while to figure out how it worked. For the first few years of the PS2, we had to survive in hope that more games would come out, right? This will be amazing, right? The first year was largely driven by fear. Once the teams started playing, the games were quick and furious. There was a lot of risk-taking, a lot of games where you looked at it and wondered, “What is this?” And you want to discover it.
IGN: How has this changed the way gaming is viewed in broader society?
Shawn Layden: People started to accept gaming as more than just a bunch of pimply teenagers in a basement. PS2 was when gaming truly became a cultural phenomenon. It was the first time when you could talk about your slot machine in polite company and not feel embarrassed. Back on PS1, you’d hear someone at a party say “Tomb Raider” and you’d be like, “Oh, you know Tomb Raider?” Oh, that’s amazing? But thanks to PS2, we’re all there. We wear the logo on our shirts. We talk in bars, pubs and anywhere else about the up-to-date game we’re playing.
When we launched The Getaway, we premiered in Leicester Square and showed a 27-minute gameplay trailer. And it was like a full movie premiere, red carpet, the whole thing, these spotlights going up into the sky and the Times of London covering everything. It gave me the feeling that, wow, gaming is at a higher level now. It’s not just happening at Electronics Boutique – it’s happening in Leicester Square.
The Outsider – Daniel Griffiths
IGN: Do you remember your first experience with the PS2 console?
He says, “I will describe to you what I saw, and you will write as if you had seen it.” So he read from his notebook and I transcribed verbatim what he said based on his description. I’ve never seen it, but I wrote the whole thing: “We’ve been to Japan, we’ve seen it.”
IGN: What happened once you got your hands on it?
Since it was on DVD, the sound was much better too. It had real music, real spoken word and acting. Things like Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, with its orchestral score by Harry Gregson-Williams and fantastic, if somewhat questionable, writing and voice acting. This was next level. PS1 to PS2 was like going from a landline phone to an iPhone, and you could see that everything would be great from now on. People who were holding off on the PlayStation 1 saw that it wasn’t going away.
IGN: How extravagant was the marketing?
Daniel Griffiths: The PlayStation 2 was when the money landed and spending a lot of money on crap made sense. Currently, it seems to me that it does not exist at all. I remember going to a party and it said, “Ladies and gentlemen, Pulp.” They were 20 feet away from us, playing a full show, and were the hottest band at the time
For parties, they took over these weird places like abandoned parking lots, put on art exhibits, had a stage and a band and a huge free bar that only had Red Bull and vodka all evening long, filled the place with chilly people and gaming journalists, and everyone just walked out and said, “Sony, they’re the bomb.” I remember going to one and seeing a perfect pyramid of gold chocolate coins, maybe 12 feet high… then as I was leaving it was just torn down, melted and all that was left was a blob of chocolate for people to slip on. It was witty.
IGN: What happened when Microsoft entered the picture?
They ran scared. You could see they said, “This might be the biggest mistake we’ve ever made, but we’re making a console.” The PlayStation marketing team showed it off on TV and in fashion magazines, and footballers gushed about their favorite PlayStation games in the press. It was everywhere… so I think when Xbox came along and said, “We have a console,” it was just like, you’re going to have to really prove it. To their credit, they worked very difficult and I have nothing but admiration for them.
IGN: When do you think the PS2 cemented its reputation as the all-time great?
Daniel Griffiths: I think one of the reasons it became so popular is the mess they made of the PlayStation 3. The PS1 was a gaming machine. The PS2 became home entertainment with the advent of DVD players, and then the PS3, God knows what they were thinking. It was supposed to replace your computer, your TV, your everything. The reason the PlayStation 2 is somewhat respected is because they screwed up the PlayStation 3.
Player – you
Do you have fond memories of PlayStation 2? Were you there 25 years ago and waited in line to buy at midnight? Did you buy it for the DVD player or for cinematic narrative games with unlocked technology? Or maybe you’re a fan of early multiplayer advancements, perhaps online with SOCOM US Navy SEALs or split-screen with Timesplitters 2 via the Multitap Adapter? Share your stories from the PS2 era with us in the comments below. For more on the PS2, check out how Sony secured GTA as a PlayStation exclusive.
Interviews in this story have been edited for length and clarity.
