Linux for PlayStation 2

Linux for PlayStation 2

Cover art for Linux for PlayStation 2
Developer	Sony Computer Entertainment
OS family	Linux (Unix-like)
Working state	Discontinued
Initial release	2002; 23 years ago (2002)
Platforms	PlayStation 2 SCPH-50000 and earlier
Kernel type	Monolithic (Linux kernel)
Default user interface	Window Maker
Official website	web.archive.org/web/20100524023205/http://playstation2-linux.com:80/ (archived from the original)

Linux for PlayStation 2 (or PS2 Linux) is a kit released by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2002 that allows the PlayStation 2 console to be used as a personal computer. It included a Linux-based operating system, a USB keyboard and mouse, a VGA adapter, a PS2 network adapter (Ethernet only), and a 40 GB hard disk drive (HDD). An 8 MB memory card is required; it must be formatted during installation, erasing all data previously saved on it, though afterwards the remaining space may be used for savegames. It is strongly recommended that a user of Linux for PlayStation 2 have some basic knowledge of Linux before installing and using it, due to the command-line interface for installation.

The official site for the project was closed at the end of October 2009^[1] and communities like ps2dev^[2] are no longer active.

Distribution

This kit has stopped being officially sold in the US as of 2003 due to the entire allocation of NTSC kits selling out. However, it is still available through some second-hand markets, such as eBay. Some incorrectly^{[citation needed]} speculate that it was used as an attempt to help classify the PS2 as a computer in order to achieve tax exempt status from certain EU taxes that apply to game consoles and not computers (It was the Yabasic included with EU units that was intended to do that).^[3] Despite this, Sony lost the case in June 2006. The kit was released in the spirit of the earlier Net Yaroze. PlayStation and Sony ended their support of hobbyist programmers with the support of Linux on the PlayStation 3 being discontinued.

See also

• Linux on the PlayStation 3
• Linux for gaming

References

1. "Linux for PlayStation 2 Community: Closing down playstation2-linux.com". playstation2-linux.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
2. "PS2DEV.ORG: Playstation Programming". Archived from the original on February 2, 2008.
3. Smith, Tony. "Sony adds Basic to PlayStation to sidestep EC import tax". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2021-05-19.

External links

• Sony's PlayStation 2 Linux Community at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 May 2010)
• PS2 Linux forum on PSX-SCENE.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 15 March 2015)
• Open source PlayStation Linux kernel loader