Maker(s): Sony Computer Entertainment Inc
Date: 2006
On display: No
Object number: LX65
Credit line: On loan from a private collector
This is a limited edition PlayStation 2 ‘slim’ console, in pink. This particular model, the V15, was first released in Europe in late 2006. The slim model, also known as the ‘slimline PS2’, was a re-model of the original PlayStation 2 console, first released in Japan in 2000.
The pink PS2 was advertised as a ‘fashionable accessory’ for women and girls, and brand managers at Sony sought to use the device to boost the console’s popularity and relevance within the gaming community. It was often sold bundled with group games such as Singstar or Buzz, and the console came in a bright pink box, complete with flowery text. The focus here was not on the console’s technical powers, but rather its ability to fit into a players’ assumed lifestyle.
In order to be able to shrink the size of the larger PS2 into the slim model, designers opted to remove the console’s Hard Disc Drive (HDD). This meant that players had to rely on (already limited) memory cards in order to save their games’ progress. Larger games that required HDD storage, such as the popular Final Fantasy XI , were impossible to play. The slim model was also plagued with overheating and disc reading errors.
The pink slimline PS2 wasn’t the first console released with women and girls as a primary target audience. In 1995, nearly a decade before, the Casio Loopy was released. Not just a console, the Loopy also printed stickers, and came decorated with pink and blue hearts. The Loopy’s release roughly marks the beginning of what is known as the ‘Girl’s games movement’, an era when games companies began to realize the buying power of girls and women within the games market.
Ten years after the beginning of the ‘Girls’ games movement’ and negative stereotypes surrounding how women and girls played games were still prevalent, as the marketing of the pink slimline PS2 showed. Whilst some of these stereotypes still remain within gaming today, the colour of pink and its connection to games has been reclaimed by many feminist critics, game developers and players – showing you don’t have to choose between playing games and being girly.
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