PlayStation 2
Article
July 5, 2022
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Released in Japan on March 4, 2000, in North America on October 26, 2000, and in Europe and Australia on November 24, 2000, it is the successor to the original PlayStation. A sixth-generation console, it competed with the Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox. Announced in 1999, the PS2 offered backwards compatibility for the original DualShock as well as PS1 games. The PS2 is the best-selling console of all time, with over 155 million units sold. More than 3,800 games have been released for the PS2, with more than 1.5 billion copies sold. In 2004, Sony released a smaller and lighter version of the console, known as Slim. Even with the release of its successor, the PlayStation 3, the PS2 remained popular well into its seventh generation and continued to be produced until 2013, when Sony announced that it was discontinuing production after twelve years of launch, one of the longest ever console releases. Despite the announcement, new games continued to be released for the console through the end of 2013, including Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin for Japan, FIFA 13 for North America, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 for Europe. Console repair services in Japan ended on September 7, 2018.