Collector’s Log #7: PS2-sday

2026 is about 2 weeks in, and the early collecting focus is on bolstering my PlayStation 2 library. After being kind of an afterthought over the last few years, I have felt compelled of late to take a look at what I have and do two things: fill in holes and upgrade owned games as needed. The PS2 is an excellent video game platform with a library that’s incredibly deep and varied. Prices have also started ticking higher, so this feels like the time to shore that library up before it gets more expensive to do so.

Having said that, 95% of you are going to see and read about the games I’ve acquired and will be… unmoved. Many are sports games– a genre that most devoted video game fans don’t care much about. That said, those who know me (and my tendencies) will definitely understand my intent here.

This first set is almost exclusively sports games. Sony’s own offerings (NCAA Final Four, NBA ShootOut) are almost universally recognized as being lower in quality than games from EA or SEGA/2K at the time, but I view them as important when looking back at sports games as a whole from that period. The amount of competition in the sports video game arena was, I think, a net positive. While some games were better than others, I think that most brought at least one or two interesting things to the table… and I like to revisit the games to see if I can identify those positive things. You also see High Heat Major League Baseball 2003 here, which filled a hole in my collection. The High Heat games won no awards for graphics– in fact, the games were almost ugly by comparison to other baseball games– but the gameplay they offered was absolutely among the best in the genre. MVP Baseball came closest, and eventually surpassed it thanks to the masterpiece that is MVP Baseball 2005. Finally in this set, you see Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2. This series never really got the traction here in the US that it probably deserved, as it’s a bit less approachable than Virtua Tennis or Top Spin… but Smash Court 2 is definitely worth a look. There’s a learning curve, but once you get the mechanics, it’s quite fun to play and has some key licenses that add authenticity. Finally, I have to call out that sealed copy of Syphon Filter 3 for the original PlayStation. It’s a Greatest Hits variant, which many collectors tend to dismiss, but it was one of the two Syphon Filter game variants I was missing. The other is the exceptionally rare 9/11 Syphon Filter 3 release, which is worth four figures. It’s always nice to have a sealed copy to crack open and play for the first time.

I’ve got one more photo this time around:

This is a smaller haul, and a more varied one. Warzone 2100 for the original PlayStation is completely new to me. It’s a game that I’ve been meaning to land for some time, and finally found it. NHL FaceOff 2003 is another Sony sports effort. I really don’t have a lot of experience with the PS2 FaceOff games. I had 2001 already, but 2003 was missing. I think there was some effort with the PS2 FaceOffs, but they could never really compete with the established EA and 2K efforts. This really could be extended to the original PlayStation FaceOff games, which fell behind EA in the 1998 sports year and never really recovered. Last, but certainly not least, is the SEGA Genesis Collection, which is a compilation that I’ve wanted to own complete for awhile now. I really enjoy compilations of older video games, and this release perfectly fits that bill. The emulation isn’t perfect, but it’s more than good enough for me… especially when considering that Digital Eclipse threw in some cool extras like interviews and unlockable arcade games (Zaxxon for the win!).

More games are coming this week, so it won’t be too long before another update gets posted, provided that I can kick this illness I’ve been fighting off.