Playstation 2 is Sony's Second Video Game

The PlayStation 2 is Sony's second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. Its development was announced in March 1999, and it was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000, in North America on October 26, 2000 and in Europe on November 24, 2000.

The PS2 is part of the sixth generation era, and has become the fastest selling and arguably the most dominant home console of video game history, with over 115 million units shipped worldwide by December 2006.

Only a few million people had obtained consoles by the end of 2000 due to manufacturing delays. The PlayStation 2 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.

Many analysts predicted a close 3-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 pushed the PS2 in order to maintain momentum and hold off its rivals.

Games
The brand strength has led to strong third-party support for the system. Although the launch titles for the Playstation2 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 GameCube. In several cases, Sony made exclusivity deals with publishers in order to pre-empt its competitors.