Special PlayStation Consoles Found in the Garbage

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One lucky employee of an electronic waste disposal facility recently stumbled on a pair of old PlayStation debugging stations that someone discarded in the garbage. Their find serves as a throwback to the days of the second- and third-generation PlayStation hardware.

Unlike PlayStation dev kits, which are meant to support game development, Sony's debugging stations are primarily aimed at quality assurance processes. Although debugging is an inherent part of game development, these two types of non-consumer consoles differ in terms of capabilities. E.g., dev kits normally come with more memory, the ability to connect to PCs, and dedicated debugging ports. Meanwhile, debugging stations offer features that are much more in line with retail consoles, since the whole point of them is to mimic a consumer experience, but they have some limitations lifted to allow for easier testing.

Two such devices were recently discovered by Reddit user Any-End5772, who stumbled upon them during their shift at an electronic waste disposal facility. Specifically, they found the PS2 and PS3 debugging stations, both free of any visible damage beyond some surface scratches. Any-End5772 subsequently took to Reddit to ask about this discovery, only to learn that they have two exceedingly rare gaming consoles on their hands. Looking at the current eBay prices, PS2 debugging stations in working condition regularly go for around $900 a piece, while their PS3 counterparts are about $150 cheaper on average, presumably because there are more of them in circulation.

The older console is also more eye-catching, not least because it has the word "test" in place of the large PS2 logo on the front. Compared to this rare PlayStation 2 unit, its PS3 counterpart could be mistaken for a retail console, as its testing designation is much more subtle, located below its standard logo. Any-End5772 decided to keep both consoles, describing that as one of the perks of their job.

This lucky find may end up reigniting their gaming interest, with Any-End5772 explaining that their last experience with a Sony system was playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the PS3. The user has yet to post an update clarifying if either of these newly surfaced debugging stations actually work. But seeing how even broken test consoles can fetch a price in the ballpark of several hundred dollars, Any-End5772 could ostensibly sell this duo to some eager collector in order to finance a pair of working classic PlayStation consoles while even making some money in the process.