The success of the PlayStation 2 has no ceiling. Has it ever had one? Definitely not: in 2024 it is still the best-selling video game console in history and, not even a quarter of a century after its launch, today it reaches a new milestone: officially, PS2 is the first and only video game console recognized by the Japanese National Museum of Science and Nature as the best-selling console in history. Future Technological Heritage of Japan. Quite an honour, of course, but what is that?
Since 2008, the Tokyo-based museum has been giving honorary status to those technological devices created in Japan that have had a huge impact on society, to the point of being considered part of its heritage and contribution to future generations. And, believe it or not, until now there had not been a portable or desktop console to receive this honor.
In fact, there are currently 381 official entries in Japan’s Future Technological Heritage, ranging from LCD calculators to the recently added Seiko Chariot Quartz watch. There are also sewing machines and devices that don’t seem so cutting edge today when it comes to technology but were a huge step forward for consumers. In fact, before the PS2, Sony owned several of them, such as the Walkman player.
From here the question asks itself: Why the PS2 and not the first PlayStation or Nintendo’s Famicom? According to the Museum itself, there are two specific criteria for being eligible for this honour: being a reflection of important aspects and stages in the development of science and technology and, in addition, having played a prominent role in the development of people’s lives and the creation of new lifestyles.
In this regard, Sony’s console not only hit the shelves offering cutting-edge technology, including a DVD player at a price that was too affordable for its time, but standardized many of the pillars of current systems when it comes to new technological and entertainment standards. Not to mention its wide-ranging cultural impact and a footprint and legacy that is still very present in the video game industry.
The PS2 is the 365th item in the museum’s registry and the first console to be recognized as a Future Technological Heritage of Japan. A status to which current and future systems assembled in the land of the rising sun must aspire, which, in fact, does not overshadow other milestones of previous or subsequent systems. This door has simply been opened. Which does not mean that PlayStation 2 is today much more than a video game console: it is a cultural icon and, now officially, part of Japan’s legacy to the world.
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