PS2 trade-ins cease at Gamestop as of June 1

Another nail has thumped into the PlayStation 2's coffin as the one-time king of consoles gradually fades into nostalgic memory.

In-store signage spotted by Reddit users indicates that GameStop's US outlets will no longer accept PS2 games, consoles or accessories for trade-in after June 1.

The news was confirmed by store representatives. As the most visible of the major trade-in chains, GameStop's decision is likely to have a knock on effects with other retailers.

Consoles normally life on in a kind of undead form long after they've been replaced, but the PS2 was only discontinued in January this year, giving it a used lifespan of just six months.

This shorter period may be related to the length of the current console generation, which has lasted about twice as long as expected, and looks set to continue well past the launch of next-gen systems - the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's new hardware, which will be revealed on May 21.

Despite its cumbersome development process, the PS2 is fondly remembered as one of the highlights of the last few generations, generating over 150 million sales worldwide. It's the most popular console ever, and a library of over 10,000 games, with well over 1.5 billion software sales.

Thanks, Joystiq.