The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console created and sold by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000, in North America on October 26, in Europe on November 24, in Australia on November 30, and in other regions later. It is the next version of the original PlayStation and the second console in the PlayStation series. As a sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo’s GameCube, Sega’s Dreamcast, and Microsoft’s Xbox.
Sony announced the PlayStation 2 in 1999 after the success of its first PlayStation. In addition to being a game console, it had a built-in DVD player and was sold at a lower price than separate DVD players, making it more valuable. It could play games and accessories from the original PlayStation, giving it a large collection of games at launch, more than its competitors. The console’s hardware included a special processor called the Emotion Engine, developed with Toshiba, which was said to be more powerful than most computers at the time.
The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling video game console in history, with 160 million units sold worldwide—more than three times the total sales of other sixth-generation consoles. It received high praise from critics and had over 4,000 game titles available, with 1.54 billion copies sold. In 2004, Sony released a smaller version called the "Slimline." Even after the PlayStation 3 was introduced in 2006, the PlayStation 2 stayed in production and continued to get new games for several years. The last game for the system, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, was released in Europe in November 2013. Manufacturing ended in early 2013, making the PlayStation 2 one of the longest-lasting video game consoles in history.
History
Released in 1994, the original PlayStation became a very successful product worldwide and showed Sony's growing influence in the video game industry. Its launch received praise and strong sales; it eventually became the first computer entertainment platform to sell over 100 million units. The PlayStation was especially popular outside Japan because of Sony's improved development tools, large advertising campaigns, and support from outside game developers. By the late 1990s, Sony had replaced long-time competitors Sega and Nintendo as the leading company in the global video game market. Sega, facing lower sales and financial problems, launched the Dreamcast in 1998 as a final effort to remain in the industry. With a big marketing campaign, the Dreamcast sold over 500,000 units in two weeks.
Although Sony kept details about the PlayStation 2's development private, Ken Kutaragi, known as "the Father of the PlayStation," reportedly started working on a second console around the time the original PlayStation was launched in late 1994. During development, employees from Argonaut Games, who were working for semiconductor manufacturer LSI Logic Corporation, were asked to design a special chip for Sony's new console. Jez San, founder of Argonaut, said his team had no direct contact with Sony during the process. Unaware of this, Sony was designing its own chip and had asked other companies to create similar chips to have more options.
By early 1997, the press reported that a new PlayStation was being developed. It would support games from the original PlayStation, include a built-in DVD player, and have Internet connectivity. However, Sony officially denied that a successor was being made. Chris Deering, then-president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said Sony leaders were nervous about creating a console that could match or beat the success of its predecessor. Sony aimed to achieve two successful console generations in a row, something neither Nintendo nor Sega had done before. Deering compared the goal to winning "two gold medals in two back-to-back Olympics."
Sony officially shared details about the PlayStation 2 on 2 March 1999. A press release confirmed the new console would support original PlayStation games, have much better performance, four times faster data transfer, and a 20-times faster serial interface. Kutaragi said the new console would allow video games to create "unprecedented emotions." Sony estimated the PlayStation 2 could render 7.5 million to 16 million polygons per second, while other estimates ranged from 3 million to 20 million. Later that year, Nintendo announced their next console, the GameCube, and Microsoft began developing their own console, the Xbox.
Rumors suggested the PlayStation 2 was difficult to develop for. Capcom designer Shinji Mikami, known for creating the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis games, criticized Sony for not providing enough tools for developers. Mikami said the PlayStation 2 was the hardest system he had worked on. Similarly, Konami's Hideo Kojima said the console's power did not meet his expectations.
"PlayStation 2's real-time graphics have no limitations. That's why I chose the colour black as it represents the infinity of the universe. The blue represents the intelligence and life spouting up."
The PlayStation 2 was officially shown at the Tokyo Game Show on 20 September 1999, with about 1,500 journalists in attendance. No physical console was displayed, and the name had not yet been finalized, but Sony presented technical demonstrations that attracted media attention. A press release described the hardware as featuring "the world’s fastest graphics rendering processor," capable of producing "movie-quality 3D graphics in real time." A key moment was when Sony president Norio Ohga expressed pride in linking the Sony name with the PlayStation brand, a change from earlier caution about entering the video game industry. By this time, the PlayStation had sold over 50 million units worldwide and became one of Sony's most profitable divisions, contributing about a quarter of their operating income. Shortly after the unveiling, Sony announced a major restructuring, including workforce reductions and a focus on PlayStation as a central part of the company's future. Kutaragi, once seen as a risk-taker for pushing the original PlayStation, said: "We’re just going to be forced to educate the Sony Corporation a bit."
On 1 April 1999, Sony and Toshiba formed a joint venture in Nagasaki Prefecture to manufacture the PlayStation 2's central processor, called the Emotion Engine. Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) owned 49% of the new company to ensure a steady supply of the chip and avoid production problems faced by competitors like Sega and NEC. The Emotion Engine was central to Kutaragi's vision for the console. Designed for gaming, it had strong floating-point performance and could deliver 6.2 gigaflops at 300 MHz—twice the speed of leading PC processors at the time. Kutaragi believed the chip could make games feel more lifelike and emotionally engaging. Phil Harrison, then-head of Worldwide Studios, said the processor's design was initially doubted by experts at a chip design conference. Sony invested over $1 billion in production during the console's first two years. The success of the Emotion Engine helped raise SCE's profile from a game developer to a major player in semiconductor design.
Including a DVD player in the console was a key decision. While Sony promoted it as a gaming device, the DVD feature helped expand its appeal. Ray Maguire, then-managing director of SCE UK, said the DVD feature was mentioned in marketing but the focus remained on games. In regions like Southern Europe, where gaming was less common, the DVD capability was promoted more heavily. This strategy helped increase console sales in markets like Spain, where the PS2 expanded the installed base of video game hardware. The decision to include DVD-Video support came after Kutaragi saw a demonstration for the Nuon, a chip developed by VM Labs that added game support to DVD players. The original PlayStation's success gave Kutaragi enough influence within Sony to override concerns about reducing sales of standalone DVD players.
Sony launched the PlayStation 2 in Japan on 4 March 2000, priced at ¥39,800. Scenes of "hysteria" contrasted with the calmer launch of the original PlayStation in 1994. More than 10,000 people waited in Tokyo on its launch day, some starting four days earlier. Demand was extremely high, with all one million launch units selling out quickly.
Hardware
The main central processing unit (CPU) is the 64-bit R5900-based "Emotion Engine," custom-designed by Sony and Toshiba. The Emotion Engine has eight separate "units," each performing a specific task, all built onto the same small chip. These units include a central CPU core, two Vector Processing Units (VPU), a 10-channel DMA unit, a memory controller, and an Image Processing Unit (IPU). There are three interfaces: one to connect to the I/O processor, which runs at a speed of 36.864 MHz; one to connect to the graphics synthesizer; and one to connect to the system memory. The Emotion Engine CPU runs at a speed of 294.912 MHz (299 MHz on newer versions) and has a performance of 6,000 MIPS, with a floating point performance of 6.2 GFLOPS. The system's I/O processor was based on the PlayStation's CPU and was designed to work with older PlayStation games. The system has 32 MB of RDRAM.
The GPU is also custom-designed for the console and is called the "Graphics Synthesizer." It can create 2.4 gigapixels of image data each second and can draw up to 75 million polygons each second. The GPU runs at a speed of 147.456 MHz (half the speed of the Emotion Engine), and 4 MB of DRAM can display images with a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels on both PAL and NTSC televisions. The PlayStation 2 can display up to 16.7 million true colors. When considering features like lighting, texture mapping, artificial intelligence, and game physics, the console can handle 25 million polygons each second. The PlayStation 2 has two USB ports and one IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port for certain models. A hard disk drive can be added to the console's expansion bay, which is required to play some games, such as Final Fantasy XI. The system has 4 MB of Video RAM in the form of eDRAM.
Software was mainly distributed on DVD-ROMs, though some early games used blue-tinted CD-ROMs. The console can also play audio CDs and DVD movies and is backward-compatible with most original PlayStation games. The PlayStation 2 supports PlayStation memory cards and controllers, but original PlayStation memory cards only work with original PlayStation games, and the controllers may not support all features for PlayStation 2 games. The standard PlayStation 2 memory card has 8 MB of storage and uses MagicGate encryption.
The PlayStation 2 can display video resolutions from 480i to 480p on standard and high-definition televisions. Some games, like Gran Turismo 4 and Tourist Trophy, can display up to 1080i resolution. The PlayStation 2 supports several video standards, including composite video, S-Video, RGB, VGA, YPbPr component video, and D-Terminal. Cables are available for all these connections, and they also provide audio. An RF modulator is also available to connect to older televisions.
The PlayStation 2 had many design changes over time. It is mainly divided into two types: the original "fat" case design and the later "slimline" models, introduced in 2004. In 2010, Sony released a 22" HD-Ready television with a built-in PlayStation 2.
The standard color of the PS2 is matte black. Other colors, such as ceramic white, light yellow, aqua, metallic silver, navy blue, and others, were produced in different regions.
In 2004, Sony released the "Slimline," a smaller version of the original PlayStation 2. It has a built-in Ethernet port and an external power supply. Unlike the original, it does not have a 3.5" expansion bay for a hard disk drive, which limited some games that required the drive. The Slimline uses a top-loading disc mechanism instead of the original's motorized tray. It can be placed horizontally or vertically, though vertical placement needs a stand.
Sony also made a device called the PSX, which combined the PlayStation 2's Graphics Synthesizer and Emotion Engine into one chip called the 90 nm EE+GS. The PSX included an analogue TV tuner, the ability to record TV shows and DVDs, broadband internet, and a memory card slot for photos and music. It was sold only in Japan in two models.
The PlayStation 2 could connect to the internet using a network adaptor, which supported both Ethernet and dial-up connections. The adaptor was small and installed in the console's expansion bay. Sony did not provide its own online service, so users connected through their internet providers. Some providers charged extra fees for online access.
Sony supported both broadband and dial-up connections, unlike Microsoft's Xbox, which required broadband. This made the PlayStation 2 more accessible for users without high-speed internet. Sony let game developers manage their own online services, which meant users had to create separate accounts for each game, and online quality varied depending on the developer.
The PlayStation 2's DualShock 2 controller has similar features to its predecessor but includes pressure-sensitive inputs on the directional pad, face buttons, and shoulder buttons. It has 255 levels of sensitivity for these controls. The controller is slightly lighter and has a black design. It uses simpler vibration motors than the original.
Game library
The PlayStation 2 has a wide variety of games from around the world. Popular game series include Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, Gran Turismo, Persona, and Metal Gear. Most games in these series were released only for the PlayStation 2. Many well-known series first appeared on the console, such as God of War (2005), Ratchet & Clank (2002), Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001), Sly Cooper (2002), Katamari (2004), Devil May Cry (2001), and Kingdom Hearts (2002). The most sold PlayStation 2 game is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), which sold 17.33 million copies. After the PlayStation 2 stopped being made in 2013, a total of 1.54 billion games were sold for the console.
The PlayStation 2 was first released in Japan in 2000 with eleven games available at launch. Early important games included Ridge Racer V (2000) and Tekken Tag Tournament (2000). When the console launched in North America, there were 29 games available, and 30 games were available in Europe. The last games released for the PlayStation 2 were Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin (2013) in Japan, FIFA 14 (2013) in North America, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (2013) in the United Kingdom.
Reception
The PlayStation 2 received praise when it was first released. Early reviews highlighted its strong hardware, excellent graphics, ability to play DVDs, and compatibility with games and hardware from the original PlayStation. Some early criticisms included the lack of online features, only two controller ports, and a higher price compared to the Dreamcast in 2000. In 2001, PC Magazine called the console "outstanding," noting features like the Emotion Engine CPU, 32 MB of RAM, support for IEEE 1394 (called "i.LINK" by Sony and "FireWire" by Apple), and two USB ports. However, the magazine also pointed out that games were expensive and the system supported only two controllers without a multitap accessory.
The ability to play DVDs was a key reason for the PlayStation 2's commercial success. At launch, the PS2 was priced similarly to standalone DVD players, making it an appealing choice for buyers. This versatility made the console popular with people who were not traditional gamers and helped increase DVD use in homes.
Some concerns arose after the first few games, Ridge Racer V (2000) and Tekken Tag Tournament (2000), lacked anti-aliasing, which made edges in graphics look jagged. This issue continued for a time as there were few new, high-quality games available. However, this changed in late 2001 with the release of highly praised games. Later reviews, especially after the GameCube and Xbox launched, continued to praise the PlayStation 2's large game library and DVD playback. However, they also criticized its weaker graphics compared to newer systems and its basic online features compared to Xbox Live. In 2002, CNET gave the console a 7.3 out of 10, calling it a "safe bet" but noting its graphics had jagged edges. CNET also said DVD playback had "passable" video quality and "rudimentary" controls, suggesting users buy a remote. The system’s two controller ports and expensive memory cards were also criticized.
The slim model of the PlayStation 2 was praised for its small size and built-in networking features. However, it was criticized for overheating easily because it lacked the original model’s fan. The need for a separate power adapter was also a point of criticism. The top-loading disc drive was less likely to break compared to the tray-loading drive in the original model.
The PlayStation 2 succeeded despite the earlier launch of Sega’s Dreamcast and later competed with Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s GameCube. Its success and the Dreamcast’s failure led Sega to leave the console market. Sony’s inclusion of a DVD player helped the console become a cost-effective home entertainment device, attracting more users beyond gamers. This feature helped the PlayStation 2 become widely used as DVD technology became popular.
The console was the exclusive platform for early important games like Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Final Fantasy X (2001), and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001). These games introduced cinematic storytelling and open-world gameplay, which increased the system’s popularity. Piers Harding-Rolls, a senior analyst at IHS Screen Digest, noted that Sony’s marketing, especially its connection to association football, helped the console gain traction in regions where gaming was not previously common. In later years, the PlayStation 2 expanded its audience by offering lifestyle and social games, increasing its appeal in the mid-2000s.
The PlayStation 2 is often ranked among the best video game consoles. In 2020, Keith Stuart from The Guardian named it the second best console, calling its "utter dominance" and technical power a sign of a golden era in gaming. IGN ranked it third in 2009, praising its diverse game library and ability to appeal to many people. In 2018, Retro Gamer placed it fifth, crediting its large game selection and appeal to developers as key to its success.