The PlayStation 2 is far from dead, and the console is outselling the PS3. With Sony Europe's developer relations manager George Bain announcing that it's no longer necessary for developers to submit upcoming titles to Sony for content approval, don't expect the PS2 to die off anytime soon. The platform is now open, and this action will certain spur on a spate of low-cost titles. Bain cited territories like Russia and India that are now able to "create low-development cost titles and release them in their market". Dev kits are still a necessity, but there are no longer PS2 licensing fees. "This has never been done before," notes Bain. "This is something we're actively promoting."

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We're actually hoping that Sony starts scaling back the amount of content it uploads to the PlayStation Store. We're sick of typing out the full list! It doesn't help that Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One just hit the Store, which it abbreviates as Penny Arcade Adventures: OTRSPOD, Episode One, a luxury we can't afford! This week,the Store is swimming with add-on content for Mega Man 9, Guitar Hero World Tour, Rock Band and much, much more. The full list of goodies is after this.

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Announced during E3, Sony today released what's surely the last meaningful PS2 bundle, cobbled together to lead the console's charge into what's surely it's last meaningful holiday season. For $149, you're getting a PS2, Lego Batman and a copy of Justice League: New Frontier, the animated adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's amazing comic series. Sony promise that stocks are in "limited supply", and at that price, we're liable to believe them.

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Persona 4 for the PS2 is still an agonizingly long 2+ months away, and the folks at Atlus have decided to make the wait just a little bit tougher by releasing character profiles for the main protagonists in the game. Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko join the protagonist on the trail of a serial murderer who strikes in their small town of Inaba. Of course it wouldn't be a Persona game without something bizarre thrown into the mix, and that's where Teddie here comes in. It's apparently a mysterious creature that the group meets inside the TV. What exactly that means is up to us to discover, or our Japanese-fluent friends to completely spoil for us.

Persona 4 Gallery

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Square Enix today confirmed retail rumblings we'd heard from the recent GameStop Expo, announcing that the remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance will be hitting the PlayStation 2 later this year. Dubbed Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories for extra reading awkwardness, the PS2 version of the GBA original comes with a full coat of 3D paint and a budget price of $29.99.

Kingdom Hearts mainstays David Gallagher and Haley Joel Osment return for the remake, with a new batch of mini-games being whipped up for the console re-release.

Full details can be enjoyed in press release format after the jump, with a not-quite-done-yet official site going up today.

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Man, as a package, The Getaway sucked. But the driving parts, and the attention to detail in recreating London, those bits were pretty great, so it's good to see they're at last being put to good use by somebody. A modified version of the game's driving aspect has been used by British scientists to study how London cabbies are able to find their way around the city's winding streets. Their findings are all a bit scientific for our stimulus-soaked brains, but hey, we're sure the surviving Team SOHO members are thrilled to bits regardless.

Taxi drivers 'have brain sat-nav' [BBC]

Ah, yes. Those were the days. It was a simpler time. Back when developers only really had to worry about one machine — the PS2. Everyone had one, and all the devs figured out how to develop games on that platform. Things were competitive, but straight forward and streamlined, even. But now, now is hard. Everything is complex! Says Koei president Kenji Matsubara:

In the PlayStation days, the platform was only one, but the competition was so high. For PLAYSTATION 3, we have to spend huge resources. In the PlayStation 2 days, we could just focus on one platform, but these days, we have to spend resources on handhelds, popular consoles like the Wii, and high-performance consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS3. It means that we have to spend too much money and many resources. That's a challenge for us.

Hey, it's a challenge for consumers, too! Honestly, picking just one platform to own these days seems very, very hard.

Koei President Matsubara Explains Third-Party Challenges In Japan [Gamasutra]

A tipster who chooses to remain anonymous dropped us a line to let us in on a juicy little tidbit from the GameStop Expo in Las Vegas. According to the source, yesterday during Square Enix's presentation, mention was made of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the PS2.

Once Square-Enix was up, there was a small mention of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. When asked if it was the one that was included with Final Mix II in Japan, they confirmed it with a nod. There hasn't been any official announcement through Square, just a small mention...

Of course until we get an official announcement this is still firmly in the realm of rumour, but combined with the rumours that ran rampant back in July about Square Enix auditioning an English voice cast, there could very well be some truth behind it. With a hungry fanbase desperate for anything Kingdom Hearts related, it would be silly for this not to happen.

You got your SingStar 90s, your SingStar Summer Party, and now SingStar Country is coming to the Playstation 2. Now about that SingStar Gregorian Chant...

SS COuntry will come pack with 30 songs from artists I've never heard of, including Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, and Faith Hill. OK, so I've heard of them, but not by choice. Country is one of the few genres I just can't seem to tolerate. Well most country.

But for Country fans this seems like a big win. SCEA has teamed up with Sony BMG Nashville for the title, meaning they can put the artists on the cover. They've also teamed up with the label to kick off a nationwide SingStar Country radio promotion called Sing your Way to the CMA Awards. The promotion will bring SS tournaments to LA, Dallas, Houston, Chicago and San Francisco, giving gamers a chance to attend the 42 annual CMA Awards on Nov. 12.

More details on the jump.

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While a lot of us will be picking up The Force Unleashed for Xbox 360 and PS3 there are still plenty of folks who will be grabbing the PlayStation 2 and PSP version of the game. For that reason we got two new videos where Producer Dan Wasson walks us through some of the scenarios as well as the extra content on the PSP version. Second video after the jump.

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With over 140 million PlayStation 2s walking the earth, surely their must be one or two that have broken down. Maybe even three. Possibly even more than that, as there are apparently enough to establish a product made from recycled PS2s.

UK based Pli Design is taking advantage of all those unwanted consoles with its Reee chair, which features 100% recycled PlayStation 2 plastic. Sound familiar? It might, as we wrote about Pli's PlayStation product last year. Seems Pli is just getting around to "launching" it next week.

If you're worrying about compromising "environmental credentials", look no further than the Reee. You've never sat this green before.

Recycled PlayStation®2 chair is a UK first [Pli]

Like the look of that shiny new PS2, Britain? Bet you do. Better keep on looking, too, because you cannot touch. The 9000 series consoles that are already out in Japan - and the US as well - won't be coming to the UK. Some other European territories, yes, but Britain, no dice. No reason was given for the move, so feel free to come up with your own.

No super-slim PS2 for the UK News [Eurogamer]

Multiple readers across North America have emailed to inform us that the new, slightly smaller, AC adapter-less PlayStation 2 systems are hitting U.S. retail outlets this week. Reader Schpadoinkle666 works at Walmart (we're sorry) and sends us a picture of the new package, while a guy named Creighton sends word that he found one in his local Fry's Electronics yesterday.

I was browsing the local Fry's Electronics on Monday and saw that they had the 90000 series PS2s in stock for $US 129. The box was slightly smaller than the slims (reduced to $US 124); the definitive clue to me was that the description of the box contents mentioned an ac cord but omitted mention of an ac adapter.

This was kinda lost in the maelstrom of Sony news from yesterday, but is worth pointing out today; Sony have announced two new PS2 SingStar games. One isSingStar: Singalong With Disney, but the second? It's SingStar: Queen. That's not some corny title for a "queens of pop" collection or something, either, it's the literal application. Queen. Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon. It'll be out later in the year, and will be accompanied by two Queen song packs for the PS3 SingStore, though these will probably just be ten of the better tracks from the PS2 version. Sony, listen, let's make a deal: you put "Who Wants To Live Forever" on there, and I'll take back almost everything bad I've ever said about SingStar. Almost.

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Ever wanted to sing along with iconic Disney characters such as Aladdin, The Littler Mermaid, and Cinderella? Well, if you live in PAL regions you can. The Playstation 2 is still alive an kicking it seems as this Autumn PAL people can enjoy another new SingStar game. Now that's a regional exclusive I'm jealous of. So I know most of you are wondering, yes, the characters will indeed sing with you on screen. Imagine, if you will, singing "A Whole New World" with the Aladdin! The mind boggles. Check the jump for the full release plus the current track list with more expected to come.

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Perhaps wanting to catch some of that crowd-pleasing lightning in a bottle from Nintendo's fabulous E3 2008 keynote, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe reps showed off EyeToy Play: Hero at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival. The PlayStation 2 game, revealed earlier this Spring, is touted as having one-to-one motion sensing, a phrase we've heard bandied about often since Nintendo revealed the Wii MotionPlus add-on.

UK site DarkZero wrote up the first-person sword swinging adventure game's on-stage demo, which utilised the fluorescent-green foam toy sword to interpret a player's motions. That NERF-life sword comes packed in with the EyeToy Play sequel.

SCEE London sounded pretty proud of themselves for developing the tech, but we'd actually seen it in an EyeToy game before. An early version of Harmonix's EyeToy Antigrav, a futuristic hoverboard game, was initially going to ship with bright green gloves to achieve the same effect. Ultimately, it didn't, depriving us of fingerless glove ownership (again).

Sony to have 1:1 motion-tracking sword game by Xmas [Dark Zero]

Two of Atlus' best publishing efforts from the PlayStation 2 era are getting the Greatest Hits treatment, with Odin Sphere and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. The latter of those two took an impressive five years and change to receive the coveted $US 19.99 price drop and dreaded red bar. We're not complaining, as all PlayStation 2 owners should give these titles a whirl at these low, low prices. We're just sort of shocked that someone at SCEA remembered Disgaea existed.

Both titles will have their box arts slightly shrunk and their street value hit rock bottom this September in North America. Congrats to both.

Despite being one of the best damn games we've ever played, Okami bombed (at the register, relative to its quality) on the PS2. Bombed on the Wii, too. So maybe, uh, third time's a charm? Let's hope so (because this isn't official confirmation)! A listing for a Greatest Hits version of the game - on PS2 - has turned up on retailer Play-Asia, with a ship date of later this month. Who knows, maybe a cheap, cheap price will look great to the 3-4 people who somehow missed it first time around. And don't own a Wii.

Okami (Greatest Hits) [Play-Asia, via Siliconera]

We touched on the assignment system in Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and showed you what it looks like on the current gen. However, for all of you that haven't made the switch to the Xbox 360 or PS3 fear not, Mercenaries 2 is also hitting PlayStation 2. If you want to take a look at the linked video you can make a comparison, but my consensus is the PlayStation 2 version ain't half bad. The game comes out to you on August 31st.

Atlus has been one busy little company this year, haven't they? It almost seems like there's a new game announcement coming from those folks every week, like this latest one for the strategy RPG Eternal Poison for the PS2. Released in Japan under the name Poison Pink, the game follows five bands of adventurers as they explore the homeland of the mysterious Majin. Some wish to rescue a kidnapped princess, others yearn for revenge, and even more are drawn to rumours of the Eternal Poison, a treasure rumoured to make your darkest desires come true. Since my darkest desire at the moment is chocolate chip pancakes, readily available at IHOP, I hardly see the point, but it could be right up your alley. Eternal Poison, complete with a bonus soundtrack in every box, is due out in November at the budget price of $US 39.99. Hit the jump for the teaser trailer!

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Nintendo is doing its thing: Getting traditionally non-gamers to pick up a Wii. And for Nintendo, that's been very, very successful. But Sony isn't interested in going after silver gamers. Oh, no. Sony is keen on going after PS2 gamers. Says the company's Scott Steinberg:

I think the reality is that we will win hands-down if we convert the PS2 owners to PS3. When we look at the total available market, we salivate at the notion of converting our existing PS2 universe.

Every million units we drop into the PS2 is an annuity that's going to pay out later on for PS3 upgrades, and we've got some interesting ideas on how to reach out to those PS2 owners in the US and convert them up.

But I think the notion of that controller is a non-trivial point that you've brought up, that control and that familiarity is like comfort food — from my perspective, we lead, we don't follow. And as a brand, Nintendo's got their thing, and we're not trying to get the senior citizen group to get into gaming, we're looking to convert the PS2 owners and the tens of millions of installed base that were playing DVDs and playing games on their PS2, to now play Blu-ray movies and Blu-ray games with their PS3.

Hit the jump for more, including the always thrilling "ten year life cycle" line.

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As hinted at last week, this week's Famitsu announces a new Atlus RPG. The guesses were right! It is Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs Avadon King. The PS2 game is currently 80 percent done and slated for October 23rd. The first screens look quite nice.

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Sega is giving shmup fans one more reason to import a Japanese PlayStation 2 this fall with the release of the Sega Ages 2500: Fantasy Zone Complete Collection. Like the recently announced Thunderforce VI, classic side scrolling action will be hitting PS2's on the other side of the Pacific courtesy of Sega in September. Unlike Thunderforce, however, the Fantasy Zone Collection will be packed with primaries and pastels, as it's more cute 'em up than not.

Hit the jump for everything that's included.

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You might not be as thrilled as I was to see first gameplay footage of Thunderforce VI for the PlayStation 2, but that's largely due to you having no soul and/or no Japanese console to play it on. It may also have something to do with my Sega Genesis nostalgia, as Thunderforce II is a game I bought twice over, back when funds were nigh impossible to come by as a 14 year old. Yes, that warrants three exclamation points.

Don't miss those beefy shot sound effects and classic shot types, even if you're distracted by the totally metal soundtrack. Here's one late birthday gift I'm treating myself to.

Midway is packaging their last three Mortal Kombat games into a exclusive Playstation 2 collector's edition box set. The set will come with Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.

Midway says Mortal Kombat: Kollection is due out this September for $US 30.

"Mortal Kombat has been a pinnacle fighting franchise for well over a decade now and this is an ideal package for fans and collectors in terms of content and price point", said Mona Hamilton, vice president of marketing, Midway Home Entertainment. "With the PlayStation 2 still holding the highest market share of any home console, we saw this as the perfect opportunity to offer an incredible value to our consumers as we ramp up for the highly anticipated launch of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe".

Don't know your Mortal Kombat: Deception from your Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks? You will in a second.

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