"What happens when you combine the world's most popular computer entertainment system with the number one mobile video system?" asks the official page for the Advent ADV10PS2 in-car mobile entertainment module, released in 2010. "Everybody wins!"
We're sure many of you will be familiar with the concept of in-car entertainment products. During the DVD era, it was common to see these all-in-one devices strapped to the back of car seats, providing unruly children with something to gawk at during dull road trips.
They've since faded from memory thanks to the inexorable rise of smartphones and tablets, but back in the 2000s, some clever devil came up with the idea of fusing such a system with a PS2 – which, lest we forget, is also a DVD player, giving your offspring the best of both worlds.
We have to admit, we'd never heard of the Advent ADV10PS2 until we were approached by Game Interest, who was lucky enough to purchase one – fully boxed and in new condition – recently.
According to Game Interest, two versions of this particular device appear to exist – the ADV10PS2 and the VOD10PS2. "As far as I can tell, the VOD10PS2 came with different controllers and receivers, which were grey," he tells us. "Those controllers and receivers were PlayStation branded, and the receivers had the FORCELINK branding on them as well."
The ADV10PS2 unit purchased by Game Interest has controllers labelled AUDIOVOX. "I suspect the VOD10PS2 came out before the ADV10PS2, but this is just a guess on my end," he adds, before pointing out that, despite having the skills to do so (his day job is working as a mechanic), he won't be installing it in his vehicle.
He's more interested in documenting and preserving what is a pretty unique piece of PS2 history; for example, while it's tempting to think that all this company did was bung a console inside a special casing, Game Interest has noted differences. "The PS2 Slim in all of them looks to be a SCPH-90000, [but it] doesn't have the plastic strip between the disc drive and the rest of the console."
As you can imagine, finding one of these fully boxed is a challenge, and getting it for a reasonable price is even more so. To that end, Game Interest has thoughtfully asked us for a favour.
"My wife requested a shout-out for being totally cool with me buying ridiculous stuff like this that I don't actually need but would like to preserve."
Hello, Game Interest's wife! Thanks for being so cool about him buying largely pointless stuff. Keep up the good work!