Playstation 2 Games

The PS2's brand strength has led to strong third-party support for the system. Although the system's launch titles were unimpressive in 2000, the Christmas season of 2001 saw the release of several best-selling and critically acclaimed games. These games helped the PS2 maintain and extend its lead in the video game console market, despite increased competition from the launches of the Microsoft Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube. In several cases, Sony made exclusivity deals with publishers in order to preempt its competitors.

Critically acclaimed games on the PS2 include the Grand Theft Auto series, several entries in the Final Fantasy series, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, the Devil May Cry series, four SSXs , the Ace Combat series, Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and Gran Turismo 4, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, the Sly Cooper trilogy, Ape Escape, the Splinter Cell series, the Jak and Daxter series, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, the God of War series, Champions of Norrath, Champions: Return to Arms, five Dragon Ball Z: Budokai games, seven Tony Hawk games, the WWE SmackDown! series, and the Ratchet and Clank series. The PS2 has also been the home to many music games, such as the latest Dance Dance Revolution games and the guitar controller-based Guitar Hero series.

At the end of 2006, 8,571 PS2 titles had been released worldwide (4,745 in Asia, 1,375 in North America, and 2,451 in Europe),accounting for cumulative production shipments of 1.205 billion units.

Playstation 2 History

Only a few million people had obtained consoles by the end of 2000 due to manufacturing delays.The PS2 was so popular after its release that it was difficult to find units on retailer shelves.Another popular option was purchasing the console online through auction websites such as eBay. The PS2 initially sold well partly on the basis of the strength of the PlayStation brand and the console's backward compatibility, selling over 900,000 units in the first weekend in Japan. This allowed the PS2 to tap the large install base established by the PlayStation — another major selling point over the competition. Later, Sony gained steam with new development kits for game developers and more PS2 units for consumers.

A notable piece of advertising for the PS2 launch was accompanied by the popular "PS9" television commercial. 9 was to be the epitome of development, which the PS2 was the next step on the way towards. The ad also presaged the development of a portable PlayStation (first released in Japan on December 12, 2004).

Many analysts predicted a close three-way matchup between the PS2 and competitors Microsoft's Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube (which was the cheapest of the three consoles and had an open market of games); however, the release of several blockbuster games during the 2001 holiday season maintained sales momentum and held off the PS2s rivals.

Although Sony, unlike Sega with its Dreamcast, placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first years, that changed upon the launch of the online-capable Xbox. Sony adapted in late 2002 to compete with Microsoft, with several online first–party titles released alongside it, such as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs to show its active support for Internet play. Sony also advertised heavily, and its online model had the support of Electronic Arts. Although Sony and Nintendo both started out late, and although both followed a decentralized model of online gaming where the responsibility is up to the developer to provide the servers, Sony's attempt made online gaming a major selling point of the PS2.

In September 2004, in time for the launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (the best-selling game during the 2004 holiday season), Sony revealed a new, smaller PS2 (see Hardware revisions). In preparation for the launch of a new, slimmer PS2 model (SCPH-70000; also known unofficially as the "PStwo"), Sony stopped making the older PS2 model (SCPH-5000x) during the summer of 2004 to let the distribution channel empty its stock of the units. After an apparent manufacturing issue caused some initial slowdown in producing the new unit, Sony reportedly underestimated demand, caused in part by shortages between the time the old units were cleared out and the new units were ready. The issue was compounded in Britain when a Russian oil tanker became stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking a ship from China carrying PS2s bound for the UK. During one week in November, British sales totaled 6,000 units — compared to 70,000 units a few weeks prior. There were shortages in more than 1700 stores in North America on the day before Christmas

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 (プレイステーション2, Pureisutēshon Tsū?, abbreviated "PS2") is Sony's second video game console, the successor to the successful PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. Its development was announced in March 1999, and it was released subsequently after a year in Japan.

Released little more than a year after the Sega Dreamcast and a year before its main competitors Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube, the PS2 is part of the sixth generation of video game consoles. As of March 2007, 117.89 million PS2 units have been shipped worldwide.