From time to time, equipment still pops up on places like Ebay-
Example-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Playstation-2-PS2-DEV-TOOL-Developer-Development-kit-/181852000067?hash=item2a57394f43:g:zM8AAOSw~gRV410u
Are they still actively attempting to acquire replacement equipment? At this point, $1000 seems a small price to pay to extend the life of the game- and outside of stuff like "Freshly Picked Vana'diel" I haven't seen mention of the hardware issues that are ending updates for the game.
A little public advertising in the right places might actually help.