PS2 Won't Play PS2 Games

http://gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=6923, although it mentions there's a list of games (more than yellowbinder listed) but doesn't link to the official list.

It doesn't seem unusual, or something to get upset over. Systems often have revisions where hardware is changed for the purposes of cost/size reduction. This sometimes obsoletes some software due to the fact that they were using tricks that relied on some goofy part of that hardware. Sony publishes that list of obsoleted software publicly. When the smaller ps2 was released the various gaming sites talked about this. it isn't news now, and it wasn't that big of a deal then. The option is always there for consumers to educate themselves on the compatibility of various kinds of hardware and software combinations, their knowledge or lack thereof isn't the fault of the seller. I could see you having a complaint if, say, 50% of the PS2's software catalog couldn't play, but this number is minuscule even if I enjoy some of those games (I own beyond good and evil).

I could swear I played BG&E on my slim system. Hang on... Yup, boots up and starts fine. I'm not going to play through it again, though.

I can confirm that BG+E is entirely playable, all the way through, on a slim PS2. I've never had trouble with any games I own.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour® 2005 -Electronic Arts works fine on mine.

Sony publishes that list of obsoleted software publicly. Really? Could you point me to where I could find it? (I ask because the people I talked to at Sony completely deny that the revised hardware made any game obsolete.)

It doesn't seem unusual, or something to get upset over. Systems often have revisions where hardware is changed for the purposes of cost/size reduction. This sometimes obsoletes some software due to the fact that they were using tricks that relied on some goofy part of that hardware. I'd be pissed, too, because that's really lame. Incompatibility among console models ruins the single greatest advantage consoles have over PC gaming.

Jak X definitely worked fine on my slim PS2, though it randomly corrupted virtual memory cards on the PS3. As another data point, God of War II never worked on my fat PS2. I suspect this is because it was a dual-layer DVD, and dual layer DVD movies never worked properly on that machine either, despite Sony's insistence that they did. I don't think you can hold Sony responsible for this kind of incompatibility in the general case. I'd be shocked if you couldn't talk Activision or the store you bought it from into taking the game back and refunding your money. However, given the number of people who disagree on which games work, the problem may be a specific hardware/firmware revision instead of the model, or there may just be something wonky with your machine.

Sony publishes that list of obsoleted software publicly. Sony does publish a http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/CompatibleStatus. That may be what that comment refers to.