# PlayStation 2 Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/playstation-2/ 31 people recommended PlayStation 2 in Hacker News comments, 9 had mixed feelings and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 12 months, in 19 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Recommended for its huge game library, low price, and DVD playback; critics say its hardware was weak and its floating-point unit is hard to emulate. Summary written by Claude from 41 comments. ## Why people recommend it - Cheap for its time (5 comments in the sample): "it was like the same price (close enough) as a regular Sony DVD player, which was nuts" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46825507)) "Sony managed to bring its price all the way down to $99." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50204634)) "The PS2 felt like a great consumer-focused value." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48750192)) - Fans keep returning to it (4 comments in the sample): "My all time favorite console. I keep coming back to it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46821594)) "I'm still perfectly happy with my solo racing games on PS2" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49139320)) "the reason the PS2 is having a resurgence in popularity" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48755316)) - Huge library of games (2 comments in the sample): "the sheer number of titles made for it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50312069)) "2001 for the PS2 was one of the greatest years in gaming history." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50310568)) - Doubled as DVD player (1 comment in the sample): "the DVD player functionality was HUGE" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47312852)) ## What people warn about - Complicated to program (3 comments in the sample): "Powerful. Complicated to use. But, not complicated to specify." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46820795)) "nothing like the nightmarish complexity of the PS2" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46436428)) "I would be having a little panic attack if I had to go back to working on PS2 only code" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48001557)) - Quirky floating-point unit hurts emulation (3 comments in the sample): "PS2 floating-point behavior is one of the few hardware misfeatures so awful it affects emulation of competing systems" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46817910)) "shipped with completely out-of-spec garbage floating point hardware" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49734197)) "The PS2 FPU has weirdness around NaN, Infinity" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46019808)) - Weaker hardware than rivals (2 comments in the sample): "the PS2 was the weakest console of its generation in most respects save for its unique data streaming capabilities" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47114114)) "it was outsold by Xbox and PS2" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47048873)) - Slow, failure-prone optical drive (1 comment in the sample): "stationary gaming consoles have been held back by slow (optical) storage" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46136534)) ## Other game consoles people recommend - [Valve Steam Machine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/steam-machine/): 221 recommend, 79 mixed, 207 criticize - [PlayStation 5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/playstation-5/): 73 recommend, 35 mixed, 168 criticize - [Xbox 360](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xbox-360/): 31 recommend, 7 mixed, 18 criticize - [Xbox console](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xbox/): 28 recommend, 24 mixed, 206 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "PlayStation 2", https://hackerapproved.com/p/playstation-2/ (31 recommend, 9 mixed, 6 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.