RIP: My PS2
Oh, the sadness. My PS2 appears to be broken. That means no more Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Gah.
I wish I’d known it was on its last legs before I bought those five new games and two guitars. Buying a new system hurts the wallet, of course, but the fact that I’ll have to buy all this GH stuff again just makes it worse. I can’t be *too* upset; the thing was 8 or 9 years old, I think, so it had a good long run. But still.
Here’s what it does: Every disc I put in, I get a disc error. Doesn’t matter what disc it is.
I read some troubleshooting tips online, and tried some of them: (a) used the vacuum to try sucking the dust out of the insides, (b) used a compressed air can to blow where sucking didn’t work, (c) I put the PS2 in the optional vertical position, as it supposedly reads discs better that way, and (d) "played" a lens-cleaning disc. All to no avail. The lens-cleaning disc probably didn’t actually even do anything since I couldn’t get the PS2 to play it (the instructions seem to indicate that "playing" the disc somehow activates the cleaning function, so getting the read error on that probably prevented it from doing anything useful).
So, any advice on either fixing the PS2 or on purchasing a new system? I’d considered buying a Wii after playing one over the Xmas holidays, so I thought about getting one of those. However, the research I’ve done seems to indicate that the Xbox360 is the best platform for playing GH and Rock Band, thanks to its networking capabilities that allow you to buy additional tracks at an online store, and play with your friends remotely.
Grant Stone
8:39 pm Mar-26-2008That’s a tragedy! I feel your pain.
What about buying another PS2? They’re so cheap these days.
I’ve got both a PS2 and a 360, but the 360 pretty much just gathers dust because all I ever play is Guitar Hero on the PS2.
John Joseph Adams
9:29 pm Mar-26-2008I thought of that, of course, but it seemed like a backwards thing to do. A friend of mine actually emailed me to say I could have his, though, as he doesn’t use it anymore. (The opposite of you, I guess–it’s his PS2 that gathers dust.)
Have you tried it on the 360 yet? Everything I’ve read about it indicates that the 360 has the best gameplay experience due to the great online play and the online store that lets you buy all those bonus tracks. There’s a few of those I’m envious of that I’ve seen, tracks from bands I really like.
-JJA
Grant Stone
9:41 pm Mar-26-2008I haven’t played it on the 360, mainly because I’m cheap and don’t want to buy the guitar again. I have to admit though, being able to download and play Code Monkey sounds pretty good.
rightcoast
11:37 pm Mar-26-2008I know how to fix this .. possibly.
The laser may need a minor adjustment. I can talk you through it if you want. I actually just fixed this for Vince, lol.
Rae Bryant
4:53 pm Mar-27-2008Hi John,
I have a Wii. Guitar Hero is/was awesome, but the guitar broke just two weeks ago. Although the reviews say Wii is excellent on return and warranty, I haven’t yet attempted the return–busy. Wii also has the online play and download. Haven’t played the 360 yet.
Too bad about your PS2. Mine is still working, and no, sorry, as much as I’d love to help you out, not givin’ it up.
Anyway, you’re eyeballs deep in zombies right now. What are you doing on the games? Kick, kick.
Cheers,
Rae
John Joseph Adams
5:41 pm Mar-27-2008Yes, as I was just saying to someone earlier–it actually broke at a fortunate time; it’s a good thing right now that I can’t play it. I’m on undeadline!