Vertical Stand

Description

The Official PlayStation 2 Vertical Stand saw Sony turn a practical space-saving measure into a premium visual statement. Released alongside the original “Fat” PS2 console, it captures a specific era where Sony sought to elevate the console from a mere toy to a piece of high-end, living room A/V equipment. While previous consoles could occasionally be propped on their side (and some PS1 owners notoriously did so to fix failing laser tracking), the PS2 was specifically engineered, ventilated, and marketed to stand vertically. The stand was introduced not just as an optional peripheral, but as the intended way to complete the console’s stark, skyscraper-like silhouette.

The physical design is built entirely around lead hardware designer Teiyu Goto’s original thematic vision. The PS2 itself features a subtle blue gradient along its base, which Goto stated represented the transition from the Earth into the deep black of space. The SCPH-10040 vertical stand acts as a physical extension of this design language. Cast in a heavy, translucent “graduated organic blue” plastic with a textured black underside, it seamlessly locks into the bottom of the console using a single, coin-slotted retention screw. This ensures the incredibly heavy original unit cannot easily be tipped over while the high-speed disc drive is actively spinning, protecting both the hardware and the disc media.

Retrospectively, the original SCPH-10040 stand really brings back the iconic, early-2000s promotional imagery of the system. The concept was so successful that Sony maintained it throughout the PS2’s entire lifespan, eventually releasing the SCPH-70110 and SCPH-90110 stands for the subsequent Slimline revisions—though those later iterations were mostly flat, opaque plastic discs that lacked the premium, translucent look of the original. Furthermore, as Sony began releasing limited-edition console colors (such as Sakura Pink, Pearl White, and Aqua Blue), they manufactured matching color variants of the vertical stand, making those specific color-coded accessories incredibly rare pieces for complete-in-box collectors today.