Sitting comfortably upon the throne of best-selling home consoles is Sony’s PlayStation 2. For many, it is a cherished evolution of the original PlayStation that came with the special bonus of converting to DVD player when parents were looking. But that’s not the only reason it was so successful.
Although Sony stopped releasing platform sales figures in 2012, a 2009 press release confirms that PS2 sales have tipped 138 million units, and the current figure is expected to be in excess of 155 million. Bolstering its launch—which coincided with the excitement of the new millennium—was a strong lineup of first party titles including TimeSplitters, Street Fighter EX3, Tekken Tag Tournament and Rayman Revolution, plus the tantalising promise of future releases like Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3.
Some of the best-selling franchises—God of War, Kingdom Hearts—first made their mark on PlayStation 2, and slowly but surely, Sony managed to position the PlayStation brand in the center of the gaming universe in what was essentially a sales charts checkmate.
In 2013, Sony announced that it would be switching off life support for the PlayStation 2. Yet even today, you’ll hear people discussing it fondly, remembering its contributions to the game industry and players alike. The hype was real.
