More than 18 years after the console's initial release, Sony brings an end to its official support for the PlayStation 2.

It's hard to imagine a time when Sony didn't have a massive stake in the games console market. That time did exist though, and it wasn't too long ago in the grand scheme of things. During the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, there was no PlayStation, and Nintendo and Sega still ruled the day.

Then the PlayStation came along and changed the way that most of us game. The console effectively took Sega's place on the market as the Saturn and Dreamcast did not really move units. While the original PlayStation was revolutionary, it was in 2000 with the release of the PlayStation 2 that Sony really hit its stride. The console would go on to become the best-selling console of all time, a record it still holds.

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The PlayStation 2 has been so popular that almost two decades later, Sony still offers a support service for repairs on the console. Well, it did. As originally reported by Kotaku, that support has now come to an end. PlayStation 2 owners in Japan had until August 31, 2018, to fill out a form and send off their consoles for repair one last time. The consoles need to be with Sony Japan by Sept. 7, 2018, to be repaired.

If your PlayStation 2 is in trouble and you didn't register before Aug. 31, 2018, we're afraid we have some bad news. You'll have to take your console elsewhere to get it fixed. There's also a chance that those who did register might not be able to have their PlayStation 2s repaired either. Sony doesn't have many parts left for what has become a legendary console, so if it needs something Sony no longer has, there will be nothing the company can do.

As touched upon above, the PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console of all time. It was first released in Japan in March 2000 and in the US later that year, in October. Production of the console ceased in 2012, six years after the PlayStation 3 was first on the market and only a year before the official release of the PlayStation 4. The console is fondly remembered by an awful lot of us and will go down in history as one of the greatest ever.

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