Playstation 2 Has Sold Over 160 Million Units Worldwide

On November 26, Sony has announced that the PlayStation 2, had sold over 160 million units worldwide since its 2000 launch. Although the PlayStation 2 (PS2) has been off the market for over a decade, it remains the top-selling video game console of all time.

The Success of Playstation 2

Originally released in 2000, the PS2 succeeded the original PlayStation and was a success from the start. Along with releasing games that showed a major generational leap between the PS2 and PS1, the PS2 was also backward compatible with most PS1 games, controllers, and memory cards. The PS2 was powered by the Emotion Engine CPU, which was a collaborative effort between Sony and Toshiba. At its original launch MSRP of $299, the PS2 was also considered an affordable DVD movie player, when the format was relatively new. Four years after its release, the PS2 received a slimmed-down revision known as the PS2 Slim.

Over two decades since the PS2 took the world by storm, Sony revealed how many units of its sixth-generation console have been sold. According to Sony’s PlayStation history blog, the PS2 has sold over 160 million consoles worldwide since its 2000 launch, up from a previously established total of 158.3 million. The new total is for all PS2 units, including the PS2 Slim, sold during its lifespan. The staggering sales figures of the PS2 were corroborated by former Sony President and CEO Jim Ryan in March 2024, around the time of his retirement. Ryan oversaw the launch of the PS2 and other Sony products. Although Sony continued producing PS2 units until 2013, the same year that the PS4 was launched, the PS2 released over 4,000 titles during its lifespan and launched series such as God of War and Ratchet and Clank that still see releases today.

Although the PS2 has the current top spot, the Nintendo Switch is not far behind at 146 million units sold. PS2 remained the top selling video game console of all time, but another challenger is not far behind. The Nintendo Switch has sold over 146 million units since its March 2017 release, which puts it roughly within 14 million units of overtaking the PS2. The Switch sales figures included both the Switch Lite and OLED variants. With Nintendo working on a yet-unrevealed successor to the Switch, its hybrid console remains on pace to potentially surpass the PS2 soon.

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