15 Mind-Blowing Facts About The PS2

6. Export Limits Due To Terrorism Fears

It's funny now, but in late-2000, reports emerged that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were stockpiling thousands of PS2 consoles, looking to modify the machines into military weapons. The story was all over the place at the time, widely reported on by huge news conglomerates such as CNN, the BBC and NBC. Due to fears that the PS2 was so powerful it could be used for terrorism, an export embargo was placed on the console in Japan, meaning shipping of the system was closely monitored. Of course, this didn't hurt sales whatsoever, because once the news realised that the story was utterly ridiculous, it was business as usual for Sony. There have been theories since that this was nothing more than a story pedaled by Sony themselves to help make the machine seem more powerful, which is unlikely, but nonetheless intriguing.