Sony marks 10th anniversary of PlayStation 2's US debut
updated 04:15 pm EDT, Tue October 26, 2010
Sony PS2 hits 10th anniversary of US launch
Sony today celebrated the tenth anniversary of the PlayStation 2's arrival in North America. The console originally launched October 26, 2000 for $299 and is still Sony's most successful game system, with new system bundles being released even today and over 140 million systems in existence in the world. It was considered responsible for making DVD movie playback a mainstream option in the US along with setting up many of Sony's biggest game titles, such as the God of War series.
The PS2's built-in Ethernet jack also set up the PS2 as one of the first major consoles to make Internet access a common option, although Sega's Dreamcast was technically the first with its 56K modem. It has since shrunk by more than half its original size and now costs $100.
The PS3 is still selling relatively poorly compared to the PS2, owing to an initial price twice as high as well as a difficult development environment that discouraged games. However, Sony's launch of the slim PS3 and a price drop to $300 has led it back into modest success. Many also credit the newer system with helping Blu-ray win over HD DVD in high definition movie formats.
