PlayStation 2
The best-selling console of all time.
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000, in North America on October 26, in Europe on November 24, in Australia on November 30, and other regions thereafter. It is the successor to the original PlayStation as well as the second installment in the PlayStation brand of consoles. As a sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo's GameCube, Sega's Dreamcast, and Microsoft's Xbox.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Team Ico (SCE Japan Studio)
- Director
- Fumito Ueda
- Release window
- 2001 (Japan; North America), 2002 (Europe)
- Genre
- Action-adventure
- Signature mechanic
- Hand-holding with Yorda; shadow-world traversal
- Legacy
- Direct design influence on Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
Lore & Background
Announced in 1999, Sony began developing the console after the immense success of its predecessor. In addition to serving as a game console, it featured a built-in DVD drive. Full backward compatibility with original PlayStation games and accessories gave it access to a vast launch library. The console's hardware was also notable for its custom-built Emotion Engine processor, co-developed with Toshiba.
The PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold 160 million units worldwide. It received widespread critical acclaim and amassed a global library of over 4,000 game titles, with 1.54 billion copies sold. In 2004, Sony revised the console with a smaller, lighter body officially known as the 'Slimline'. Even after the release of its successor, the PlayStation 3, on 11 November 2006, it remained in production and continued to receive new game releases for several years with the last game for the system Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 being released exclusively in Europe on 8 November 2013. The console was discontinued on 4 January 2013.
Reader's Guide
The PlayStation 2 was officially unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show on September 20, 1999. Sony and Toshiba established a joint venture on April 1, 1999, to manufacture the Emotion Engine. The console's development was kept secret, but Ken Kutaragi reportedly began working on a second console around the time of the original PlayStation's launch in late 1994. By early 1997, press reported that a new PlayStation was being developed with backward-compatibility, a built-in DVD player, and Internet connectivity, though Sony denied it. Sony officially revealed the first details on March 2, 1999. The console was difficult to develop for according to some developers.
Did You Know?
- The Emotion Engine processor could deliver 6.2 gigaflops at 300 MHz, twice the speed of leading PC processors at the time.
- The PlayStation 2 was discontinued on 4 January 2013, giving it one of the longest lifespans in video game history.
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