Im pretty sure the biggest reason is b/c the PS2 community is still thriving in japan, whereas in the states (and I assume Canada) the only place you are really finding PS2 games are in the dollar bin at used game stores, flea markets, and garage sales. It doesn't make sense to put all the effort into manufacturing a hard copy of the game if you have no real place to sell it. Now, as to why they don't make it a digital download? No clue.