An interesting topic entitled Reports of olders PS2’s having problems with SA has been growing steadily on our forums since the release of San Andreas, and has gathered over 300 replies and 13,000 views to date. The GTA series seems to be plagued with problems with its PS2 port. I even recall people complaining about GTA3’s compatibility with the Playstation 2. Whether this is a standard engineering mistake of the PS2 or just random occurences seems to have found an answer in a recent consumer alert bulletin by the official Playstation website.
The consumer alert bulletin states that the Playstation 2 may not play the DualDisc format correctly. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas uses the DualDisc format to allow for its wide range of radio stations and in-game audio, so anyone playing San Andreas on their PS2 is also affected by this.
The bulletin lists the following models to be not fully compatible with the DualDisc format:
- SCPH-30001
- SCPH-30001R
- SCPH-35000GT
- SCPH-39001
- SCPH-39001/N
- SCPH-39010/N
- SCPH-50001
- SCPH-50001N
- SCPH-50010/N
Interestingly, this list is effectively all the Playstation 2 models, including the new PStwo models. Sony’s recommendation for safely playing a DualDisc format game on the PS2 is the following:
The console should be placed in the horizontal position. When the console is placed vertically, there is a greater likelihood that the DualDisc will come into contact with the mechanical parts of the console, causing a light scratch on the disc. Avoid using the console in the vertical position.
So now there is official confirmation for the recent compatibility concerns. It’s interesting that Sony is distancing itself from the DualDisc format publicly, seeing as San Andreas is one of their key titles, and Sony was in close cooperation with Rockstar while the game was being developed. If you have experienced problems playing San Andreas on your PS2, please sign the relevant topic.