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The vertical stand, however, while not essential, is adds a lot of peace-of-mind if you have your PS2 in the vertical position.
It may be stable on its own, but I see the vertical stand as a necessity, as my PS2 is on a very small surface and I'd hate to see it rock and fall off if I snagged the cable while I was playing.
Incidentally, I saw an *excellent* unofficial vertical stand in my local store the other day - it has a cable which slots into the controller port, and has a built-in multi-tap on the left slope, allowing you to connect up to 4 controllers, and storage slots for six games on the right - all for £24.99.