PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 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 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.
Announced in 1999, Sony began developing the console after the immense success of its predecessor. In addition to serving as a game console, it features a built-in DVD drive and was priced lower than standalone DVD players of the time, enhancing its value. Full backward compatibility with original PlayStation games and accessories gave it access to a vast launch library, far surpassing those of its competitors. The console's hardware was also notable for its custom-built Emotion Engine processor, co-developed with Toshiba, which was promoted as being more powerful than most personal computers of the era.
The PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold 160 million units worldwide—nearly triple the combined sales of competing sixth-generation consoles. It received widespread critical acclaim and amassed a global library of 10,987 game titles, with 1.54billion 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, in 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 in Europe in November 2013. Manufacturing officially ended in early 2013, giving the console one of the longest lifespans in video game history.
History
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. 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. By the late 1990s Sony had dethroned established rivals Sega and Nintendo in the global video game market. Sega, spurred on by their declining market share and significant financial losses, launched the Dreamcast in 1998 as a last-ditch attempt to stay in the industry. Fuelled by a large marketing campaign, it sold over 500,000 units within two weeks.Development
Though Sony has kept details of the PlayStation 2's development secret, Ken Kutaragi, "the Father of the PlayStation", reportedly began working on a second console around the time of the original PlayStation's launch in late 1994. At some point during development, employees from Argonaut Games, under contract for semiconductor manufacturer LSI Logic Corporation, were instructed to design a rendering chip for Sony's upcoming console. 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.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. However, Sony continued to officially deny that a successor was being developed. Chris Deering, then-president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe 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. As such, Sony aimed for a consecutive market success, noting that neither Nintendo nor Sega had achieved back-to-back console victories. Deering compared the goal to winning "two gold medals in two back-to-back Olympics".
Sony officially revealed the first details of the PlayStation 2 on 2 March 1999, confirming in a press release that its processor would ensure full backwards compatibility with original PlayStation software, significantly boosted performance, four-fold increase in data transfer rates, and a 20-times faster serial interface. Kutaragi affirmed that the new console would allow video games to convey "unprecedented emotions". Indeed, Sony estimated the PlayStation 2 could render 7.5 million to 16 million polygons per second, whereas contemporary independent estimates ranged from 3 million to 20 million, compared to Sega's estimates of more than 3 million to 6 million for the rival Dreamcast. Later in the year, Nintendo announced their next console, the GameCube, and Microsoft began development of their own console, the Xbox.
Rumours soon emerged suggesting that, despite its technical capabilities, the PlayStation 2 was notably difficult to develop for. Capcom designer Shinji Mikami, known for creating the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis franchises, criticised the lack of adequate development tools provided by Sony. Having worked on titles for multiple fifth-generation platforms, Mikami described the PlayStation 2 as the most challenging system he had encountered. Likewise, Konami's Hideo Kojima expressed disappointment with the console's power, feeling it had not met his expectations.
The PlayStation 2 was officially unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show on 20 September 1999, in the presence of around 1,500 journalists. Although no physical console was shown and the name had yet to be finalised, Sony presented a series of visually striking—if somewhat overstated—technical demonstrations that generated considerable media attention. A press release issued the same day described the hardware as featuring "the world’s fastest graphics rendering processor", capable of producing "movie-quality 3D graphics in real time". One of the event's most symbolic moments came when Sony president Norio Ohga expressed pride in formally associating the Sony name with the PlayStation brand—a notable reversal from the company's cautious stance during the development of the original console, when concerns about entering the video game industry had led executives to distance the corporate brand from the project. By this point, the PlayStation had sold over 50 million units worldwide and become one of Sony's most profitable divisions, accounting for roughly a quarter of their operating income. Shortly after its unveiling, Sony announced a major restructuring that included workforce reductions and a shift in focus towards PlayStation as a core part of the company's future. Kutaragi, once considered a maverick for championing the original PlayStation, remarked: "We’re just going to be forced to educate the Sony Corporation a bit".
On 1 April 1999, Sony and Toshiba established a joint venture in Nagasaki Prefecture to manufacture the PlayStation 2's central processor, known as the Emotion Engine. Sony Computer Entertainment held a 49 per cent stake in the new company, which was formed to ensure a steady supply of the chip and avoid production issues similar to those faced by rivals such as Sega and NEC. The Emotion Engine was central to Kutaragi's vision for the console. Designed specifically for gaming, it featured strong floating-point performance and could deliver 6.2 gigaflops at 300 MHz—twice the speed of the leading PC processors at the time. Kutaragi envisioned the chip as enabling more lifelike and emotionally resonant gameplay. According to then-Worldwide Studios head Phil Harrison, the processor's architecture was initially met with scepticism when presented at a chip design conference, with some experts doubting it could be manufactured at scale. Sony ultimately invested over $1 billion in production during the console's first two years. The ultimate success of the Emotion Engine helped elevate SCE's profile from a game developer to a serious player in semiconductor design.
Incorporating a DVD player in the console proved to be a pivotal decision. While Sony presented it primarily as a gaming device, the DVD functionality would prove influential in expanding its appeal. Ray Maguire, then-managing director of SCE UK, later said that although the DVD feature was acknowledged in marketing, the focus remained on games. In contrast, Deering noted that in regions such as Southern Europe, where gaming was less prevalent, the DVD capability was to be promoted more heavily. This strategy proved successful in increasing console penetration in markets like Spain, where the PS2 significantly expanded the installed base of video game hardware. The decision to include DVD-Video support was the result of Kutaragi witnessing a demonstration for the Nuon, an enhancement chip developed by VM Labs that added video game support to commercial DVD players. The original PlayStation's success had elevated Kutaragi's stature within Sony to the extent that he could overrule the company's concerns over cannibalizing sales of their standalone DVD players.
Launch
Japan
Sony launched the PlayStation 2 in Japan on 4 March 2000, at a price of. Reported scenes of "hysteria" contrasted with the relatively subdued launch of the original PlayStation in 1994. More than 10,000 people queued across Tokyo on its launch day, some of whom had started waiting four days earlier. Demand was exceptionally high, with all one million launch units selling out over the course of the first weekend. A black market had quickly opened up in Akihabara, with most consoles on eBay selling in excess of $2000 each. One Japanese man committed suicide after failing to purchase one. Within five days, a million PlayStation 2 had been sold. Despite very strong hardware sales, the Japanese launch was not without issues. Software sales were initially low, with reports suggesting that many consumers purchased the console primarily for its DVD playback capabilities. Additionally, early complaints about faulty memory cards contributed to a dip in Sony's stock price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the days following the release.Former Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida acknowledged that Sony had been "awfully unprepared" for the transition from the original PlayStation, noting the company's limited experience in managing generational console launches. Due to a lack of launch software, much of the early consumer interest centred on the console's ability to play DVDs. According to Yoshida, in Japan, the best-selling title during the launch period was not a game, but a DVD of The Matrix. He remarked that while standalone DVD players were still expensive at the time, the PlayStation 2 offered comparable functionality at a significantly lower price point, contributing to its immediate commercial success. The PlayStation 2 launched with eleven "underwhelming" titles, including Ridge Racer V, Tekken Tag Tournament, and Street Fighter EX3. By 31 March 2000, the PlayStation 2 had sold its entire inventory of 1.4 million units in Japan.