Software Compatibility

One of the most important selling points for the PlayStation 2 was the continued support for original PlayStation games, allowing owners of the original system to upgrade to the PS2 without losing access to their original software library. As an added bonus, the PlayStation 2 had the ability to enhance original PlayStation games by speeding up disc read time and adding texture smoothing to improve graphics. However, in some cases, faster disc reading could cause some games to play incorrectly or even fail to load. Texture smoothing was generally effective, although some odd effects appeared where transparent textures were used - white borders would be seen around certain 2D pictures used to create objects known as 'sprites'.

Occasionally, some PlayStation titles (notably Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions) would fail to run at all on the PS2, although this problem seemed to have been rectified with the release of the slimline version of the PS2.

Software for all PlayStation consoles contains one of four region codes:

• Europe and Oceania: PAL
• Japan and Asia: NTSC/J
• North America: NTSC-U/C
• China: NTSC/C

Games were released specifically for each region and each console was designed to play one region code only.