After nearly 20 years, Sony ends PlayStation 2 repair support in Japan

If, like me, you hold on to your gaming hardware then you've probably got at least one PS2 in your collection. There are many things that can break on these aging systems, but in Japan you may be surprised to find Sony still runs a repair service for its second-generation console. Unfortunately for PS2 owners there, that service is coming to an end.

As Kotaku reports, even though the PS3 was launched in 2006, Sony continued to manufacture the PS2 right up until 2012. Ever since, an aftercare service has been available allowing owners in Japan to send their PS2 consoles to Sony for repair. There's a PlayStation Clinic in Iwate Prefecture that handles all repairs, but it will no longer repair any consoles arriving at its door after Sept. 7.

Last month, PS2 owners in Japan were required to fill out a form before Aug. 31 if they wanted their PS2 repaired one last time at the clinic. Customer support also stopped as August came to an end, leaving future PS2 support in the hands of any third-parties that want to continue to offer it. Some companies may even view this as an opportunity to branch out into PS2 repairs.

The PS2 is the best selling games console ever released having sold over 155 million units worldwide. Over 21 million were sold in Japan, with launch models recently turning 18 years old. Chances are, many of the consoles needing repair today are the PS2 Slim model released in 2004. In 2010, Sony also launched a Bravia KDL-22PX300 TV which has a PS2 built-in, but I'm not sure how the clinic would handle repairing one of those.

While Nintendo continues to battle against copies of its old games being offered for download, older cartridge-based games have been given a new lease of life on HD TVs through devices such as the RetroN 5 and RetroFreak. Hopefully we will eventually see similar systems appearing that are capable of playing PlayStation, Dreamcast, and GameCube games, because these consoles won't keep working forever.