The official repair service in Japan for the legendary Playstation 2 console has finally been shut down.
For more than a decade, thirteen years specifically, the PS2 was a titan in the games industry and managed to remain on store shelves so long that the PS4 debuted by the time the second-generation games console was retired. The console helped sell more than 500 million total console within the Playstation family.
The console sold more than 150 million units, helping to turn Sony into a massive force within video games. Part of what made the console so powerful an influence was the constant support in terms of both quality games and repair services. After all, some consoles will break, and Sony was always there to repair ailing console for many a gamer. Playstation Clinic was essential to that support structure in Japan.
Sadly, the PlayStation Clinic will no longer be servicing PS2 units after September 7, 2018. A press release (via Kotaku) announced the impending end of the aftercare service. The deadline for filling out online forms for repairs was 31st August, and the deadline for machines reaching the PlayStation Clinic is 7th September. No further consoles will be accepted for service as of now.
If you’re in that group that no longer has a PS2, but may still wish to play some of the classic games, you have a couple of options. The legal route, albeit with limited choice, would be to rebuy the games on the PS4. The other option will have more options, assuming you can deal with the technical details and the constant crackdowns, would be to fall back on emulation.