Since its launch in Japan on March 4th, 2000, sales of PlayStation 2 has grown steadily, securing its place as the most favorite computer entertainment platform in homes around the world. Particularly, the new slim line PlayStation 2 (SCPH-70000 series), which went on sale in November 2004 starting from Japan, has gained strong support around the world and demand for the platform continues to grow steadily, with shipment reaching 16.17 million units in the last fiscal year (ending March 2005) alone. Shipment of 90 million units within 5 years and 3 months since launch is more than 2 years and 3 months faster in penetration speed, compared to the original PlayStation®, which has sold more than 100 million units in total.
On the software side, more than 5,000 game titles are currently available for PlayStation 2 worldwide, with cumulative shipment reaching over 800 million units. Software shipment has been outstanding, recording an all-time high of 252 million units in 2004, with many more new and attractive titles expected to be released from first and third party software developers and publishers.
PlayStation 2 Cumulative Shipment by Territory (as of June 2, 2005)
- Japan (including Asian countries and regions including South Korea) : 21.04 million units (launch date: March 4, 2000)
- North America : 36.48 million units (launch date: October 26, 2000)
- Europe/PAL : 32.48 million units (launch date: November 24, 2000)