The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 30 November 2000. 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. It is the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold over 155 million units worldwide.
Announced in 1999, Sony began developing the console after the immense success of its predecessor. The PS2 offered backward-compatibility for its predecessor’s DualShock controller, as well as its games.
The PlayStation 2 received widespread critical acclaim upon release. A total of over 4,000 game titles were released worldwide, with over 1.5 billion copies sold.[15] In 2004, Sony released a smaller, lighter revision of the console known as the PS2 Slim. Even after the release of its successor, the PlayStation 3, it remained popular well into the seventh generation. It continued to be produced until the beginning of 2013 when Sony finally announced that it had been discontinued after over twelve years of production, one of the longest lifespans of any video game console. New games for the console continued to be released until even slightly after the end of its life and support from Sony.
Background
Released in 1994, the original PlayStation proved to be a phenomenal worldwide success and signalled Sony’s rise to power in the video game industry. Its launch elicited critical acclaim and strong sales; it eventually became the first computer entertainment platform to ship over 100 million units.[16] The PlayStation enjoyed particular success outside Japan in part due to Sony’s refined development kits, large-scale advertising campaigns, and strong third-party developer support.[17] By the late 1990s Sony had dethroned established rivals Sega and Nintendo in the global video game market.[18][19] Sega, spurred on by its declining market share and significant financial losses,[20] launched the Dreamcast in 1998 as a last-ditch attempt to stay in the industry.[21]
Development
Though Sony has kept details of the PlayStation 2’s development secret, Ken Kutaragi, the chief designer of the original PlayStation, reportedly began working on a second console around the time of the original PlayStation’s launch in late 1994.[22][23] At some point during development, employees from Argonaut Games, under contract for semiconductor manufacturer LSI Corporation, were instructed to design a rendering chip for Sony’s upcoming console.[24] Jez San, founder of Argonaut, recalled that his team had no direct contact with Sony during the development process. Unbeknownst to him, Sony was designing their own chip in-house and had instructed other companies to design rendering chips merely to diversify their options.[24]
By early 1997, the press was reporting that a new PlayStation was being developed and would have backward-compatibility with the original PlayStation, a built-in DVD player, and Internet connectivity.[25][26] However, Sony continued to officially deny that a successor was being developed.[27] Chris Deering, then-president of SCEE recalled that there was a degree of trepidation among Sony leaders to produce a console which would recapture or exceed the success of its predecessor.[28]
Sony announced the PlayStation 2 on March 2, 1999.[29] Sega’s Dreamcast enjoyed a successful US launch on September 9 of that year;[29] fuelled by a large marketing campaign, it sold over 500,000 units within two weeks.[30][31]