PlayStation 2

• 1. Secret Chips And Strategic Doubts

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  Ken Kutaragi began working on a second console around the time of the original PlayStation's launch in late 1994. He reportedly kept details of the development secret from most employees and external partners. Employees from Argonaut Games were instructed to design a rendering chip for Sony's upcoming console under contract with LSI Logic Corporation. Jez San, founder of Argonaut, recalled that his team had no direct contact with Sony during this process. Unbeknownst to him, Sony was designing their own chip in-house and had instructed other companies to design rendering chips merely to diversify their options. By early 1997, the press reported that a new PlayStation was being developed with backward compatibility and a built-in DVD player. Sony continued to officially deny that a successor was being developed despite these reports. Chris Deering, then-president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, recalled trepidation among leaders about producing a console that would recapture or exceed the success of its predecessor. Deering compared the goal to winning two gold medals in two back-to-back Olympics.

• 2. Hysteria In Tokyo And Shortages Abroad

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  Sony launched the PlayStation 2 in Japan on the 4th of March 2000 at a price of 38,000 yen. Reported scenes of hysteria contrasted sharply with the relatively subdued launch of the original PlayStation in 1994. More than 10,000 people queued across Tokyo on its launch day, some having started waiting four days earlier. Demand was exceptionally high as all one million launch units sold out over the course of the first weekend. A black market quickly opened up in Akihabara where most consoles on eBay sold in excess of $2000 each. One Japanese man committed suicide after failing to purchase one. Within five days, a million PlayStation 2s had been sold. Software sales were initially low with many consumers purchasing the console primarily for its DVD playback capabilities. The best-selling title during the launch period in Japan was not a game but a DVD of The Matrix (1999). The United States launch on the 26th of October 2000 received mixed reception due to supply constraints and manufacturing issues. Sony reduced their initial shipment from one million units to approximately 500,000 leading to widespread shortages.

• 3. The Emotion Engine And Graphics Synthesizer

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  Sony and Toshiba established a joint venture in Nagasaki Prefecture on the 1st of April 1999 to manufacture the central processor known as the Emotion Engine. Sony Computer Entertainment held a 49 per cent stake in the new company formed to ensure steady chip supply. The Emotion Engine consisted of eight separate units performing specific tasks integrated onto the same die. These units included a central CPU core, two Vector Processing Units, a 10-channel DMA unit, a memory controller, and an Image Processing Unit. The CPU had a clock rate of 294.912 MHz with floating point performance of 6.2 GFLOPS. The system's I/O processor ran at 36.864 MHz providing full backward compatibility with the original PlayStation. The GPU named the Graphics Synthesizer had a fillrate of 2.4 gigapixels per second capable of rendering up to 75 million polygons per second. It ran with a clock frequency of 147.456 MHz which was half the speed of the Emotion Engine. The system featured 32 MB of RDRAM and 4 MB of Video RAM in the form of eDRAM.

• 4. Slimline Redesign And Media Center Variants

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  In September 2004, Sony revealed a newer slimmer model dubbed the Slimline for $149. An apparent manufacturing issue and underestimated demand caused initial slowdowns producing the new unit. The issue was compounded when a Russian oil tanker became stuck in the Suez Canal blocking ships carrying PlayStation 2s bound for the Port of Felixstowe. During one week in November 2004 British sales totalled 6,000 units compared to 70,000 units just weeks prior. Sony remedied this by hiring Russian Antonov An-24 cargo planes to airlift units twice weekly. The slimline included a built-in Ethernet port and an external power supply but did not contain the 3.5 inch expansion bay supporting internal hard disk drives. Sony also manufactured a consumer electronic device called the PSX marketed as an all-in-one home media centre released exclusively in Japan on the 13th of December 2003. It integrated nanotechnology combining the Graphics Synthesizer and Emotion Engine into a single chipset known as the 90 nm EE+GS. Two models were available: the DESR-5000 with a 160 GB hard drive priced at ¥79,800 and the DESR-7000 with a 250 GB hard drive priced at ¥99,800.

• 5. Grand Theft Auto III And Commercial Dominance

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  By 2001 Sony had established a commanding lead bolstered by Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto III and Konami's Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The former game's open world design captured attention marking a turning point in momentum. The console's growing library reflected wide-ranging appeal offering something for every type of consumer. By October 2002 it had sold 40 million units worldwide. Market research firm In-Stat projected that Sony would sell 120 million consoles by 2006 reaffirming commercial dominance. Sony cut the price from $299 to $199 in North America undercutting both the Xbox and GameCube. Further price drops followed in Japan during the next year. The best-selling PlayStation 2 game is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which sold 17.33 million units. After discontinuation in 2013 cumulative software shipments reached 1.54 billion units. Despite problematic launches the system became an immediate financial triumph compounding Sega's serious financial issues.

• 6. Online Adapters And Peripheral Ecosystems

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  The PlayStation 2 introduced optional online functionality via a dedicated network adaptor enabling Ethernet and dial-up Internet connections. The hardware component was smaller than a standard paperback book installing easily into the expansion bay at the rear. Sony did not operate their own subscription-based service allowing users to connect through existing Internet Service Providers like AOL charging around $4.95 per month. Some providers imposed additional charges for console connectivity while broadband provided significantly smoother experiences. Sony delegated responsibility for online functionality to individual developers requiring them to manage servers and infrastructure. Each third-party developer managed their own servers leading to varied quality depending on expertise. Specialized controllers included light guns fishing rod reels and a Dragon Quest VIII slime controller. A Final Fantasy X-2 Tiny Bee dual pistol controller and Onimusha 3 katana controller were also released alongside Resident Evil 4 chainsaw controllers. Early versions could be networked via an i.LINK port though this had little game support ultimately removed in the Slimline model.

• 7. Thirteen Years Of Production And Final Games

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  Production officially ended on the 4th of January 2013 after almost thirteen years of production one of the longest lifespans of any video game console. Sales dropped significantly to 600,000 units by early 2012 partly due to global launch of PlayStation Vita months prior. By the 31st of March 2012 twelve years after launch over 155 million units were sold worldwide. New games continued until end of 2013 including Final Fantasy XI for Japan and FIFA 14 Legacy Edition for North America. The last game ever released was Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 for United Kingdom on the 8th of November 2013. Repair services for system in Japan ended on the 7th of September 2018 due to shortage of parts. In February 2024 Jim Ryan confirmed on Official PlayStation Podcast that PS2 had sold 160 million units worldwide. This figure appeared on PlayStation 30th Anniversary website in November that year. Sony introduced a Bravia television with built-in PlayStation 2 in 2010 demonstrating enduring market presence even as sales declined sharply.