As of October 26 2020, the PS2 celebrated the 20th anniversary of its launch in North America. It still remains the best-selling console of all time. Its outreach was so massive that it stayed in production until 2013 aka the year the PS4 launched. If that doesn’t spell dedication, then nothing does.
Speaking of dedication, fans absolutely love this thing, from the actual hardware to its vast video game library. Some adore it so much that they have even made their own portable renditions to carry that love on the go. In celebration of this momentous year. let’s see what some of the best modded PS2s look like.
10 PIS2
This unit looks like an even bigger Sega Game Gear. The color scheme fits with that device along with the overall design. It also adheres to the classic PS2 black and blue color schemes from Sony. This was posted in 2019 on Reddit by user darkwingmod. They said it took six years to make and it plays 99% of PS2 games.
9 The First Modern PS2 Portable
This system looks like the Switch with the button placement. It’s a smaller, more boxy design though as far as portables go. The smooth rectangle does look like it could be comfy on the hands. This was posted on GManModz’s YouTube channel in 2017. They said they used all real PS2 parts, meaning they dissembled consoles and controllers to make this possible.
8 The Portable With A Long Name
This one is more of a bootleg than a fan console, but one could could argue that some fan created this in mind to make some money along with paying homage to the system. Anyway, this console has no quick and easy official name.
To quote the store page has this on is called the “7 inch IPS screen Arcade Game console Modified by P/S2 motherboard NO Raspberry Pi Not simulator Double joystick.” That is quite the mouthful. There is a sequel portable called the PS2P-300, which is a much better name. It looks more like a PS Vita and is a whopping $600.
7 Knight Raizer
Unlike some of these other entries, Raizer04 actually showed his process. It’s a step by step guide on how they made this Knight Raizer portable homage to the PS2. It’s complete with text, pictures, and everything. The most interesting thing about the breakdown is the fact that they crammed pretty much a whole controller into the guts of this thing. It’s not the most elegantly design portable on this list, but if it works it works.
6 Circuito Maker’s PS2
This console has a similar design to Raizer04’s in that it has a tall, box like shape. Circuito Maker posted his process up on his YouTube channel in multiple parts so it went even more in depth than Raizer04. However, it is in another language so for English speakers it might be tricky to follow along. Language barriers aside, just watching the process is fascinating enough on its own. It’s like a giant black Game Boy that can play PS2 games.
5 Techknott’s PS2
Techknott posted his process up on the ModRetro boards. He also made a YouTube channel where he demonstrates how it works. Unlike most that use emulation to play PS2 games, this actually loads discs from the back of the console. The R1, R2, L1, and L2 buttons are also cleverly poised back there similar to how the PS Vita used its L2 and R2 shoulder buttons. Putting the analog sticks on top of the device seems a bit weird but otherwise it’s a solid looking fan console.
4 PlayStation U2
This is pretty much just a Wii U shell with PS2 parts replacing everything. The buttons are half Nintendo, half PlayStation making for a weird Frankenstein like hybrid.
That said, the Wii U, despite poor sales, did have a cool design concept so more power to ohkin86 for reusing it for something else. They put up their process on the BitBuilt forums. One might wonder if that TV button still does anything.
3 PS2 Portable
Ben Heck is well-known for taking consoles and turning them into portables systems. Some of his most famous works includes turning the PS4 and Xbox One consoles into laptops which both have elegant designs. This first go at a PS2 portable is a bit chunky and looks hefty to carry around let alone hold for long periods. It does use discs and memory cards though so this is officially a PS2 through and through.
2 ABH PS2
Most of these fan system shave been black, or grey so far far, but this is the first white design and it looks great. It’s about as nice as the glacier white PS4 that launch with Destiny in 2014. The portable is reminiscent of GManModz’s but a little more sleek almost like a Switch Lite. ABH put this up on the BitBuilt forums and they even made 3D models.
1 PS2 Razer
Gman also posted his PS2 fan portable up on the BitBuilt forums. It is by far the most portable system on the list as it adheres to Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance SP philosophy. It’s called a PS2 Razer as homage to the Razer flip phones but based on the blue design, it is for sure also calling back to Nintendo's portable as well. In their breakdown they said they used many systems to make this possible including the D-Pad and action buttons from the PS Vita, the Switch’s analog sticks, and the start and select buttons from the PS2 controller.