There's definitely a lot of great games to be explored on the PS2. But I can't ever imagine going for a full set. It would be akin to buying every DVD released by a particular movie studio. Sure, there's 300 great action and horror flicks. But then I'd also have to buy a thousand workout DVDs, cooking show boxed sets, children's films, and so on. But instead of workout DVDs, I'm buying franchise sports titles. And instead of cooking show boxed sets, I'm buying Singstar games with bulky microphones. And instead of children's films I'm buying games for preschoolers. The idea that this stuff would be taking up several bookshelves in my home is only made worse by the fact that I'd never be able to get back even half of what I paid for the shovelware in the first place. But, I mean, I guess it could be worse.
I got War of the Monsters (Awesome game BTW) and Champions: Return to Arms for $1.50 each at my local movie shop and Legend of Mana and FF7 last month there too got that on video
I got War of the Monsters (Awesome game BTW) and Champions: Return to Arms for $1.50 each at my local movie shop and Legend of Mana and FF7 last month there too got that on video
This is what I love about PS2 collecting. So many hidden gems and under the radar games it's nuts.
Was War of the Monsters complete? It's poster is pretty hard to come by.
There's a lot less shovelware in those 2000 games than you would think. It is definitely super hard to play through a game all the way without starting something else. I'm trying to work my way through Clock Tower 3 and Haunting Ground right now. I keep getting my horror games mixed up. Then I break down and pop in Shadows of the Colossus.
I was looking for a list of all PS2 special edition game releases and I ran across this which seems like a real good start. http://collectorsedition.org/foru...
Anybody know of anything not on that list?
Hmmm - I'm not seeing Lego Batman, Ar Tonelico 2 Melody Of Metafalica, Mana Khemia 2 Fall Of Alchemy, Sopranos, or Driver on there and I'm pretty sure they all had limited / collector's / special editions.
The cover archive is way outdated (by like 10 years, seriously), but the crappy pic of my collection is relatively recent and the Playstation 2 USA list is current. There are a couple stragglers not on that master list I keep an eye out for that I don't want anyone else snagging...
I always get a kick out of people who say they have a "complete" PS2 collection. There's always something they overlooked or don't consider necessary. Most people seem to consider a copy of every retail release "good enough" to claim completeness. Whatever floats your boat.
The cover archive is way outdated (by like 10 years, seriously), but the crappy pic of my collection is relatively recent and the Playstation 2 USA list is current. There are a couple stragglers not on that master list I keep an eye out for that I don't want anyone else snagging...
I always get a kick out of people who say they have a "complete" PS2 collection. There's always something they overlooked or don't consider necessary. Most people seem to consider a copy of every retail release "good enough" to claim completeness. Whatever floats your boat.
Sweet setup. I will get in touch with you sometime in the future my friend, when I need help figuring out what I need to finish off my set. Hopefully you will have long completed yours by then and will be willing to share that information.
The cover archive is way outdated (by like 10 years, seriously), but the crappy pic of my collection is relatively recent and the Playstation 2 USA list is current. There are a couple stragglers not on that master list I keep an eye out for that I don't want anyone else snagging...
I always get a kick out of people who say they have a "complete" PS2 collection. There's always something they overlooked or don't consider necessary. Most people seem to consider a copy of every retail release "good enough" to claim completeness. Whatever floats your boat.
The cover archive is way outdated (by like 10 years, seriously), but the crappy pic of my collection is relatively recent and the Playstation 2 USA list is current. There are a couple stragglers not on that master list I keep an eye out for that I don't want anyone else snagging...
I always get a kick out of people who say they have a "complete" PS2 collection. There's always something they overlooked or don't consider necessary. Most people seem to consider a copy of every retail release "good enough" to claim completeness. Whatever floats your boat.
I like the workout equipment in the PS2 room. Nothing like working up a good sweat in your PS2 library room. Do you use the games as weights?
I'm just short of 200 now for PS2 and I am finding it difficult to get some of the games I now WANT to play at a good price with excellent cases/manuals. Truthfully though PS2 collecting is farther down on my console collecting list. Right now XBOX 360, XBOX, PS1, GameCube, and 3DO are my priorities.
I went to Slackers in Belleville. The games were overpriced, but I did manage to get .Hack GUI volume 1 (disc/case/manual) for $25. I'm not sure if I should play it, as I don't want to get into that series, because of how stupid the prices are.
I've been working on my master list a lot over the last week or so. Does anyone have a true number of licensed standard released games for NTSC North America? There is so much variation when you look it up (some have around 1850, some have over 2k). I know some games are iffy (i.e. FIFA 14), but there shouldn't be that much margin of error. When doing a quick countif on my excel sheet, I get the following:
Standard Editions: 1789 (black label releases)
Greatest Hits: 306
Collector's/Limited/Special Editions: 18 (this number is low, I still have some to add)
Game Series: 52 (this number is low, I still have some to add)
Demos: 13 (jampack games)
Variants: 33 (same game, different SCUS/SLUS code or rerelease of the same game like guitar hero dual pack - also a work in progress)
I've been working on my master list a lot over the last week or so. Does anyone have a true number of licensed standard released games for NTSC North America? There is so much variation when you look it up (some have around 1850, some have over 2k). I know some games are iffy (i.e. FIFA 14), but there shouldn't be that much margin of error. When doing a quick countif on my excel sheet, I get the following:
Standard Editions: 1789 (black label releases)
Greatest Hits: 306
Collector's/Limited/Special Editions: 18 (this number is low, I still have some to add)
Game Series: 52 (this number is low, I still have some to add)
Demos: 13 (jampack games)
Variants: 33 (same game, different SCUS/SLUS code or rerelease of the same game like guitar hero dual pack - also a work in progress)
I would be interested in seeing that when it's done.
I agree with everythang you said Robbie. Ive been picking up PS2 a lot over the past 2 years. But Im not going for a full set, thats pretty intense, how many games are there, 1500?
The last time I counted, if you had a PlayStation 2 system you could play 8,000+ PlayStation 1/PlayStation 2 games with it. That would be one serious collection!
When I think single player console gaming, PS2 is easily one of my top 2 consoles of all time because there's something for everyone. Most games still hold up today and a lot of great ones were given PS3 and/or PS4 remasters which speaks to the ongoing legacy of PS2.
I also believe PS2 sold more consoles than any other gaming system to date IIRC. I know some would attribute the sales to PS2 also being the cheapest DVD player back in the day.
When you really sit and think about it, PS2 was the end of the golden age of gaming. It was the last era where games were 100% finished when you bought them...no DLC and patch updates to worry about...no Youtube around at the time to quickly view gameplay, and some early (but sometimes unreliable) multiplayer games such as Battlefield Modern Combat, etc... Plus PC gaming was at a great high point in the Windows '98 and Windows XP era (at least for me and my small group of friends) so when I wasn't on consoles, I was definitely on PC.
I think you made a great point here that I would like to emphasize. Games for newer systems may not be collectible in the future once their online networks get turned off, etc. The fact that PS2 games are 100% finished is definitely something to think about when comparing those games to newer systems.
V-stock has another B2G1 free sale this weekend. Hit them up for about 30 games. Still waiting on some mail games, but right at 1191 now (I also updated my list, which altered my count removing some variants).
Oh man, this collection is so awesome. I've never even played a PS2 before, but the idea of trying to achieve a collecting goal of this sort is just amazing to me. Always nice hearing about your updates
V-stock has another B2G1 free sale this weekend. Hit them up for about 30 games. Still waiting on some mail games, but right at 1191 now (I also updated my list, which altered my count removing some variants).
Jealous. This place is nowhere near me and their online store doesn't specify if it comes with the box and manual.
Here's my PS2 pickups this week. The first pick is from one of my local game stores. The girl that works there always gives me good deals and this week was the best yet. Despite what the price stockers say, I only paid $48 for everything. I couldn't believe the prices she was giving me as she was ringing me up. She told me while I was looking that she would give me buy one get two free, then she discounts the prices even more as she was ringing them up. She said she was trying to clear out her PS2 sock so I told her I would be back to help with that. The other pic is a score I had at Savers, $3 for each game. Not too shabby. BTW, Mad Maestro is a nice little hidden gem. It's surprisingly intricate for a rhythm game that uses the Dualshock 2.
It all comes down to how crazy you want to get with variations. Do you have the obvious cover variations for MX World Tour, NHL 2004, and Tetris Worlds? Do you consider the Disney Classics re-issues of Monster's Inc., Stitch: Experiment 626 and Treasure Planet or new releases since they switch from a SCUS to SLUS codes? Do you consider FIFA 13 and FIFA 14 "necessary" since they are true NTSC-U/C games, but foolishly only released in South America? What's your take on hardware pack-ins- or is it just "unique games"? (Do you need every Singstar + microphone pack, Guitar Hero III bundles (black Kramer, Walmart's red Gibson SG and Target's 2 White SGs), Disney Th!nk controller combos, Buzz Buzzers packs, SOCOM + Headphone version, Dance games + dance mat combos, all the Eye Toy bundles, Ace Combat 5 flight stick & throttle bundle since it comes with the game, all 5 copies of Batman Rise of Sin-Tzu (regular release and the 4 different action figure releases), how about those art books when you ordered direct from Rosenqueen- hell, I have an And1 hoodie from JC Penny's with the game packed in with it.) Then you get into goofy stuff like all the games that may or may not have come with movie ticket vouchers. Does it drive you nuts when you have a regular case and manual and then notice the disc SLUS code ends in "P" or "S", so you know it came from a bundle? Then that City Crisis printing variation where a ton of them had a blank black spine. Is any collection truly complete if you don't have the Larryboy and the Bad Apple Walmart Exclusive release? Or the 3-pack of games that Toys-r-us had (I know Garfield Lasagna World Tour was in one of them- but I foolishly tossed the packing years ago.. another had DT Racer, Suzuki TT Superbikes and Rebel Raiders). How about that PS2 ESA Triple Pack that I still kick myself for not getting before it disappeared, or the Harry Potter 3pk, or Sega Fun Pack? Or that damn Trigger Man game that has a Teen rating on the case and manual and *usually* T on the disc, but I've stumbled across a couple of the Mature rated discs before but can't for the life of me find a M-rated manual or case.
It all comes down to how crazy you want to get with variations. Do you have the obvious cover variations for MX World Tour, NHL 2004, and Tetris Worlds? Do you consider the Disney Classics re-issues of Monster's Inc., Stitch: Experiment 626 and Treasure Planet or new releases since they switch from a SCUS to SLUS codes? Do you consider FIFA 13 and FIFA 14 "necessary" since they are true NTSC-U/C games, but foolishly only released in South America? What's your take on hardware pack-ins- or is it just "unique games"? (Do you need every Singstar + microphone pack, Guitar Hero III bundles (black Kramer, Walmart's red Gibson SG and Target's 2 White SGs), Disney Th!nk controller combos, Buzz Buzzers packs, SOCOM + Headphone version, Dance games + dance mat combos, all the Eye Toy bundles, Ace Combat 5 flight stick & throttle bundle since it comes with the game, all 5 copies of Batman Rise of Sin-Tzu (regular release and the 4 different action figure releases), how about those art books when you ordered direct from Rosenqueen- hell, I have an And1 hoodie from JC Penny's with the game packed in with it.) Then you get into goofy stuff like all the games that may or may not have come with movie ticket vouchers. Does it drive you nuts when you have a regular case and manual and then notice the disc SLUS code ends in "P" or "S", so you know it came from a bundle? Then that City Crisis printing variation where a ton of them had a blank black spine. Is any collection truly complete if you don't have the Larryboy and the Bad Apple Walmart Exclusive release? Or the 3-pack of games that Toys-r-us had (I know Garfield Lasagna World Tour was in one of them- but I foolishly tossed the packing years ago.. another had DT Racer, Suzuki TT Superbikes and Rebel Raiders). How about that PS2 ESA Triple Pack that I still kick myself for not getting before it disappeared, or the Harry Potter 3pk, or Sega Fun Pack? Or that damn Trigger Man game that has a Teen rating on the case and manual and *usually* T on the disc, but I've stumbled across a couple of the Mature rated discs before but can't for the life of me find a M-rated manual or case.
PS2 is the devil, I say.
This is a collectors site so we all understand the concept of variants and the debate about what constitutes true "completeness". I think what dr. Robbie is trying to nail down is a list of each individual unique title. After we have that we can worry about the variations contained therein. Since you seem to be further along in the quest and more knowledgeable on the subject, perhaps you could be a swell guy and share with the group?
It all comes down to how crazy you want to get with variations. Do you have the obvious cover variations for MX World Tour, NHL 2004, and Tetris Worlds? Do you consider the Disney Classics re-issues of Monster's Inc., Stitch: Experiment 626 and Treasure Planet or new releases since they switch from a SCUS to SLUS codes? Do you consider FIFA 13 and FIFA 14 "necessary" since they are true NTSC-U/C games, but foolishly only released in South America? What's your take on hardware pack-ins- or is it just "unique games"? (Do you need every Singstar + microphone pack, Guitar Hero III bundles (black Kramer, Walmart's red Gibson SG and Target's 2 White SGs), Disney Th!nk controller combos, Buzz Buzzers packs, SOCOM + Headphone version, Dance games + dance mat combos, all the Eye Toy bundles, Ace Combat 5 flight stick & throttle bundle since it comes with the game, all 5 copies of Batman Rise of Sin-Tzu (regular release and the 4 different action figure releases), how about those art books when you ordered direct from Rosenqueen- hell, I have an And1 hoodie from JC Penny's with the game packed in with it.) Then you get into goofy stuff like all the games that may or may not have come with movie ticket vouchers. Does it drive you nuts when you have a regular case and manual and then notice the disc SLUS code ends in "P" or "S", so you know it came from a bundle? Then that City Crisis printing variation where a ton of them had a blank black spine. Is any collection truly complete if you don't have the Larryboy and the Bad Apple Walmart Exclusive release? Or the 3-pack of games that Toys-r-us had (I know Garfield Lasagna World Tour was in one of them- but I foolishly tossed the packing years ago.. another had DT Racer, Suzuki TT Superbikes and Rebel Raiders). How about that PS2 ESA Triple Pack that I still kick myself for not getting before it disappeared, or the Harry Potter 3pk, or Sega Fun Pack? Or that damn Trigger Man game that has a Teen rating on the case and manual and *usually* T on the disc, but I've stumbled across a couple of the Mature rated discs before but can't for the life of me find a M-rated manual or case.
PS2 is the devil, I say.
You sound like my kind of guy. These are issues I've been dealing with as well. I break my list down into the categories of standard release, GH, variant, demo, game series, and special edition. Here are my current classifications:
Cover variants - Just considered variants. I list variants with different codes currently, but they are not counted number of standard NA NTSC releases. Just label variations aren't included at this point.
Disney Classics - Also variants. Same game, different SLUS codes. They are listed, but as variants.
Guitar Hero Dual Pack - Variant. Same games, re-released in another case. Included as variants.
FIFA 13/14 - True releases in my book. Wii collectors count the Mexican releases. I count these for the PS2 as well.
Bundles - Not listing specific bundles at this time. They can be added later. I have been listing the different games though because they usually have different SLUS numbers than the stand alone releases (like 55555B, etc). I count these as variants at this time and note that they were part of bundles.
City Crisis - variant. Not currently listed because it's only a label variation, same code.
If the Code ends in P or S - I add the variation, but only as a variant. These are often the game series that were rereleased in sets. I list them, but they are classified as game series and not counted as part of the standard releases. Or bundles if they came in bundles.
Most of the rest you are talking about are just variants.
Also, limited/collector's/special editions are on the list, but noted as special editions and don't count towards the total of standard releases
I still have some work to do on my list, but I hope to share it so others can chime in and add their 2 cents. I've spent easily 100+ hours on it so far. It's a pain, but I'm hoping it helps PS2 collectors in the long run. I'm currently going through a guy's video that states that he has every released PS2 game and adding what I'm lacking. I also noticed a few that he's missing, so I guess he doesn't actually have all of them either
Here's an example of what I've got so far on the list. I've never used dropbox, so not sure if this will jack up the conditional formatting and other things like Google did.
Here's my updated and cleaned up list. I have it at 1795 unique titles:
It really depends on what kind of collector you are and what your taste in games are. For example, just in the last two pictures posted here, I see lots of lesser quality titles. Between the two pictures totaling 51 games, I counted 10 games worth owning, 6 of which I already own. So right there you can see the difference between my PS2 collecting and others when there's 41 out of 51 games I wouldn't drop a dollar on.
Keep it up though because I enjoy seeing all the different games the system has to offer. It's always fun to look up a game on Youtube that strikes my interest and see if it's good or not. Once you have a nice big PS2 collection it will look pretty good on the shelves similar to how N64 CIBs do. PS3 games look even better to me because the cases seem slightly thicker. Plus you can get all those Ratchet & Clank or Jak and Daxter games on 1 remastered compilation along with many other PS2 games.
I got War of the Monsters (Awesome game BTW) and Champions: Return to Arms for $1.50 each at my local movie shop and Legend of Mana and FF7 last month there too got that on video
This is what I love about PS2 collecting. So many hidden gems and under the radar games it's nuts.
Was War of the Monsters complete? It's poster is pretty hard to come by.
Nope and this is news to me, I didn't know it came with one.
A little background. Years ago I helped Cowering with the GoodSNES and GoodN64 databases before he went public with his rom tools. Great times. Anyways, we bitched and bitched about having to hunt down all the differents cartridges so they could be dumped and verified (NES was being a pain at the time). So with Playstation winding down and this new-fangled Playstation 2 being announced, I said:
"Hey- I got this. Whenever a PS2 game gets down to $20, I'll just snag a copy so we have one 100% fresh real copy to go off of. PSX had 500ish releases, so even with maybe 2 a week I should be able to drop $40 a week for maybe the next 6 years and this will be f'n awesome."
A little background. Years ago I helped Cowering with the GoodSNES and GoodN64 databases before he went public with his rom tools. Great times. Anyways, we bitched and bitched about having to hunt down all the differents cartridges so they could be dumped and verified (NES was being a pain at the time). So with Playstation winding down and this new-fangled Playstation 2 being announced, I said:
"Hey- I got this. Whenever a PS2 game gets down to $20, I'll just snag a copy so we have one 100% fresh real copy to go off of. PSX had 500ish releases, so even with maybe 2 a week I should be able to drop $40 a week for maybe the next 6 years and this will be f'n awesome."
Ahahahahahah. I was such an idiot.
Thanks man, now that is awesome. I will have to print that out and keep it with me while I'm hunting. Super helpful, thanks again.
Comments
It could be the Wii.
I got War of the Monsters (Awesome game BTW) and Champions: Return to Arms for $1.50 each at my local movie shop and Legend of Mana and FF7 last month there too got that on video
This is what I love about PS2 collecting. So many hidden gems and under the radar games it's nuts.
Was War of the Monsters complete? It's poster is pretty hard to come by.
'
Anybody know of anything not on that list?
I was looking for a list of all PS2 special edition game releases and I ran across this which seems like a real good start. http://collectorsedition.org/foru...
Anybody know of anything not on that list?
Hmmm - I'm not seeing Lego Batman, Ar Tonelico 2 Melody Of Metafalica, Mana Khemia 2 Fall Of Alchemy, Sopranos, or Driver on there and I'm pretty sure they all had limited / collector's / special editions.
http://www.evilbadman.com/
The cover archive is way outdated (by like 10 years, seriously), but the crappy pic of my collection is relatively recent and the Playstation 2 USA list is current. There are a couple stragglers not on that master list I keep an eye out for that I don't want anyone else snagging...
I always get a kick out of people who say they have a "complete" PS2 collection. There's always something they overlooked or don't consider necessary. Most people seem to consider a copy of every retail release "good enough" to claim completeness. Whatever floats your boat.
PS2 is the devil.
http://www.evilbadman.com/
The cover archive is way outdated (by like 10 years, seriously), but the crappy pic of my collection is relatively recent and the Playstation 2 USA list is current. There are a couple stragglers not on that master list I keep an eye out for that I don't want anyone else snagging...
I always get a kick out of people who say they have a "complete" PS2 collection. There's always something they overlooked or don't consider necessary. Most people seem to consider a copy of every retail release "good enough" to claim completeness. Whatever floats your boat.
Sweet setup. I will get in touch with you sometime in the future my friend, when I need help figuring out what I need to finish off my set. Hopefully you will have long completed yours by then and will be willing to share that information.
PS2 is the devil.
http://www.evilbadman.com/
The cover archive is way outdated (by like 10 years, seriously), but the crappy pic of my collection is relatively recent and the Playstation 2 USA list is current. There are a couple stragglers not on that master list I keep an eye out for that I don't want anyone else snagging...
I always get a kick out of people who say they have a "complete" PS2 collection. There's always something they overlooked or don't consider necessary. Most people seem to consider a copy of every retail release "good enough" to claim completeness. Whatever floats your boat.
That is freaking awesome man.
PS2 is the devil.
http://www.evilbadman.com/
The cover archive is way outdated (by like 10 years, seriously), but the crappy pic of my collection is relatively recent and the Playstation 2 USA list is current. There are a couple stragglers not on that master list I keep an eye out for that I don't want anyone else snagging...
I always get a kick out of people who say they have a "complete" PS2 collection. There's always something they overlooked or don't consider necessary. Most people seem to consider a copy of every retail release "good enough" to claim completeness. Whatever floats your boat.
I like the workout equipment in the PS2 room. Nothing like working up a good sweat in your PS2 library room. Do you use the games as weights?
Standard Editions: 1789 (black label releases)
Greatest Hits: 306
Collector's/Limited/Special Editions: 18 (this number is low, I still have some to add)
Game Series: 52 (this number is low, I still have some to add)
Demos: 13 (jampack games)
Variants: 33 (same game, different SCUS/SLUS code or rerelease of the same game like guitar hero dual pack - also a work in progress)
I've been working on my master list a lot over the last week or so. Does anyone have a true number of licensed standard released games for NTSC North America? There is so much variation when you look it up (some have around 1850, some have over 2k). I know some games are iffy (i.e. FIFA 14), but there shouldn't be that much margin of error. When doing a quick countif on my excel sheet, I get the following:
Standard Editions: 1789 (black label releases)
Greatest Hits: 306
Collector's/Limited/Special Editions: 18 (this number is low, I still have some to add)
Game Series: 52 (this number is low, I still have some to add)
Demos: 13 (jampack games)
Variants: 33 (same game, different SCUS/SLUS code or rerelease of the same game like guitar hero dual pack - also a work in progress)
I would be interested in seeing that when it's done.
I agree with everythang you said Robbie. Ive been picking up PS2 a lot over the past 2 years. But Im not going for a full set, thats pretty intense, how many games are there, 1500?
The last time I counted, if you had a PlayStation 2 system you could play 8,000+ PlayStation 1/PlayStation 2 games with it. That would be one serious collection!
When I think single player console gaming, PS2 is easily one of my top 2 consoles of all time because there's something for everyone. Most games still hold up today and a lot of great ones were given PS3 and/or PS4 remasters which speaks to the ongoing legacy of PS2.
I also believe PS2 sold more consoles than any other gaming system to date IIRC. I know some would attribute the sales to PS2 also being the cheapest DVD player back in the day.
When you really sit and think about it, PS2 was the end of the golden age of gaming. It was the last era where games were 100% finished when you bought them...no DLC and patch updates to worry about...no Youtube around at the time to quickly view gameplay, and some early (but sometimes unreliable) multiplayer games such as Battlefield Modern Combat, etc... Plus PC gaming was at a great high point in the Windows '98 and Windows XP era (at least for me and my small group of friends) so when I wasn't on consoles, I was definitely on PC.
I think you made a great point here that I would like to emphasize. Games for newer systems may not be collectible in the future once their online networks get turned off, etc. The fact that PS2 games are 100% finished is definitely something to think about when comparing those games to newer systems.
V-stock has another B2G1 free sale this weekend. Hit them up for about 30 games. Still waiting on some mail games, but right at 1191 now (I also updated my list, which altered my count removing some variants).
Jealous. This place is nowhere near me and their online store doesn't specify if it comes with the box and manual.
PS2 is the devil, I say.
It all comes down to how crazy you want to get with variations. Do you have the obvious cover variations for MX World Tour, NHL 2004, and Tetris Worlds? Do you consider the Disney Classics re-issues of Monster's Inc., Stitch: Experiment 626 and Treasure Planet or new releases since they switch from a SCUS to SLUS codes? Do you consider FIFA 13 and FIFA 14 "necessary" since they are true NTSC-U/C games, but foolishly only released in South America? What's your take on hardware pack-ins- or is it just "unique games"? (Do you need every Singstar + microphone pack, Guitar Hero III bundles (black Kramer, Walmart's red Gibson SG and Target's 2 White SGs), Disney Th!nk controller combos, Buzz Buzzers packs, SOCOM + Headphone version, Dance games + dance mat combos, all the Eye Toy bundles, Ace Combat 5 flight stick & throttle bundle since it comes with the game, all 5 copies of Batman Rise of Sin-Tzu (regular release and the 4 different action figure releases), how about those art books when you ordered direct from Rosenqueen- hell, I have an And1 hoodie from JC Penny's with the game packed in with it.) Then you get into goofy stuff like all the games that may or may not have come with movie ticket vouchers. Does it drive you nuts when you have a regular case and manual and then notice the disc SLUS code ends in "P" or "S", so you know it came from a bundle? Then that City Crisis printing variation where a ton of them had a blank black spine. Is any collection truly complete if you don't have the Larryboy and the Bad Apple Walmart Exclusive release? Or the 3-pack of games that Toys-r-us had (I know Garfield Lasagna World Tour was in one of them- but I foolishly tossed the packing years ago.. another had DT Racer, Suzuki TT Superbikes and Rebel Raiders). How about that PS2 ESA Triple Pack that I still kick myself for not getting before it disappeared, or the Harry Potter 3pk, or Sega Fun Pack? Or that damn Trigger Man game that has a Teen rating on the case and manual and *usually* T on the disc, but I've stumbled across a couple of the Mature rated discs before but can't for the life of me find a M-rated manual or case.
PS2 is the devil, I say.
This is a collectors site so we all understand the concept of variants and the debate about what constitutes true "completeness". I think what dr. Robbie is trying to nail down is a list of each individual unique title. After we have that we can worry about the variations contained therein. Since you seem to be further along in the quest and more knowledgeable on the subject, perhaps you could be a swell guy and share with the group?
Edit: Maybe something along the line of what this guy did with the PSP? http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=166267&StartRow=1#bottom
I mean, damn, that is helpful.
It all comes down to how crazy you want to get with variations. Do you have the obvious cover variations for MX World Tour, NHL 2004, and Tetris Worlds? Do you consider the Disney Classics re-issues of Monster's Inc., Stitch: Experiment 626 and Treasure Planet or new releases since they switch from a SCUS to SLUS codes? Do you consider FIFA 13 and FIFA 14 "necessary" since they are true NTSC-U/C games, but foolishly only released in South America? What's your take on hardware pack-ins- or is it just "unique games"? (Do you need every Singstar + microphone pack, Guitar Hero III bundles (black Kramer, Walmart's red Gibson SG and Target's 2 White SGs), Disney Th!nk controller combos, Buzz Buzzers packs, SOCOM + Headphone version, Dance games + dance mat combos, all the Eye Toy bundles, Ace Combat 5 flight stick & throttle bundle since it comes with the game, all 5 copies of Batman Rise of Sin-Tzu (regular release and the 4 different action figure releases), how about those art books when you ordered direct from Rosenqueen- hell, I have an And1 hoodie from JC Penny's with the game packed in with it.) Then you get into goofy stuff like all the games that may or may not have come with movie ticket vouchers. Does it drive you nuts when you have a regular case and manual and then notice the disc SLUS code ends in "P" or "S", so you know it came from a bundle? Then that City Crisis printing variation where a ton of them had a blank black spine. Is any collection truly complete if you don't have the Larryboy and the Bad Apple Walmart Exclusive release? Or the 3-pack of games that Toys-r-us had (I know Garfield Lasagna World Tour was in one of them- but I foolishly tossed the packing years ago.. another had DT Racer, Suzuki TT Superbikes and Rebel Raiders). How about that PS2 ESA Triple Pack that I still kick myself for not getting before it disappeared, or the Harry Potter 3pk, or Sega Fun Pack? Or that damn Trigger Man game that has a Teen rating on the case and manual and *usually* T on the disc, but I've stumbled across a couple of the Mature rated discs before but can't for the life of me find a M-rated manual or case.
PS2 is the devil, I say.
You sound like my kind of guy. These are issues I've been dealing with as well. I break my list down into the categories of standard release, GH, variant, demo, game series, and special edition. Here are my current classifications:
Cover variants - Just considered variants. I list variants with different codes currently, but they are not counted number of standard NA NTSC releases. Just label variations aren't included at this point.
Disney Classics - Also variants. Same game, different SLUS codes. They are listed, but as variants.
Guitar Hero Dual Pack - Variant. Same games, re-released in another case. Included as variants.
FIFA 13/14 - True releases in my book. Wii collectors count the Mexican releases. I count these for the PS2 as well.
Bundles - Not listing specific bundles at this time. They can be added later. I have been listing the different games though because they usually have different SLUS numbers than the stand alone releases (like 55555B, etc). I count these as variants at this time and note that they were part of bundles.
City Crisis - variant. Not currently listed because it's only a label variation, same code.
If the Code ends in P or S - I add the variation, but only as a variant. These are often the game series that were rereleased in sets. I list them, but they are classified as game series and not counted as part of the standard releases. Or bundles if they came in bundles.
Most of the rest you are talking about are just variants.
Also, limited/collector's/special editions are on the list, but noted as special editions and don't count towards the total of standard releases
I still have some work to do on my list, but I hope to share it so others can chime in and add their 2 cents. I've spent easily 100+ hours on it so far. It's a pain, but I'm hoping it helps PS2 collectors in the long run. I'm currently going through a guy's video that states that he has every released PS2 game and adding what I'm lacking. I also noticed a few that he's missing, so I guess he doesn't actually have all of them either
Here's my updated and cleaned up list. I have it at 1795 unique titles:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/soq65u2upo44jke/AABsot5jZ6n9-RNt1cJ53NY4a?dl=0
Keep it up though because I enjoy seeing all the different games the system has to offer. It's always fun to look up a game on Youtube that strikes my interest and see if it's good or not. Once you have a nice big PS2 collection it will look pretty good on the shelves similar to how N64 CIBs do. PS3 games look even better to me because the cases seem slightly thicker. Plus you can get all those Ratchet & Clank or Jak and Daxter games on 1 remastered compilation along with many other PS2 games.
I got War of the Monsters (Awesome game BTW) and Champions: Return to Arms for $1.50 each at my local movie shop and Legend of Mana and FF7 last month there too got that on video
This is what I love about PS2 collecting. So many hidden gems and under the radar games it's nuts.
Was War of the Monsters complete? It's poster is pretty hard to come by.
Nope and this is news to me, I didn't know it came with one.
http://evilbadman.com/Kirkland's_Unique_PS2-USA.txt
A little background. Years ago I helped Cowering with the GoodSNES and GoodN64 databases before he went public with his rom tools. Great times. Anyways, we bitched and bitched about having to hunt down all the differents cartridges so they could be dumped and verified (NES was being a pain at the time). So with Playstation winding down and this new-fangled Playstation 2 being announced, I said:
"Hey- I got this. Whenever a PS2 game gets down to $20, I'll just snag a copy so we have one 100% fresh real copy to go off of. PSX had 500ish releases, so even with maybe 2 a week I should be able to drop $40 a week for maybe the next 6 years and this will be f'n awesome."
Ahahahahahah. I was such an idiot.
Try:
http://evilbadman.com/Kirkland's_Unique_PS2-USA.txt
A little background. Years ago I helped Cowering with the GoodSNES and GoodN64 databases before he went public with his rom tools. Great times. Anyways, we bitched and bitched about having to hunt down all the differents cartridges so they could be dumped and verified (NES was being a pain at the time). So with Playstation winding down and this new-fangled Playstation 2 being announced, I said:
"Hey- I got this. Whenever a PS2 game gets down to $20, I'll just snag a copy so we have one 100% fresh real copy to go off of. PSX had 500ish releases, so even with maybe 2 a week I should be able to drop $40 a week for maybe the next 6 years and this will be f'n awesome."
Ahahahahahah. I was such an idiot.
Thanks man, now that is awesome. I will have to print that out and keep it with me while I'm hunting. Super helpful, thanks again.