By Rahul Majumdar
Contributing Sports Writer
The PlayStation brand is celebrating its 30th anniversary on December 3, and Sony has revealed updated sales figures for its classic consoles in its celebration. A newly launched website for PlayStation history shows that the PS One sold over 102 million units worldwide, with the PS2 surpassing it with over 160 million units sold.
The new figures peg the PS2 as the highest-selling home console in history, beating the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Switch for the top spot. The last time Sony officially revealed the PS2's sales stats was over ten years ago in 2011.
The PlayStation 2 was originally launched in Japan on March 4, 2000, and its manufacturing was discontinued in 2013. The console enjoyed a prolonged lifespan of over twelve years, getting new releases late in its life cycle until the launch of the PS4.
The PS2's success relied on a steady delivery of high-quality titles like God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Ratchet and Clank, Killzone, and more. Its second killer feature was full backward compatibility support for the original PlayStation. It was also the first console with a built-in DVD player, making it a cheap entry point for home media enthusiasts.
The Sony website has also revealed sales stats for its successors: the PS3, PS4, and PS5. The PS3 has sold over 87 million units worldwide, while the PS4 is the fifth best-selling console at 117 million units sold. PlayStation 5, Sony's current generation console, has sold 65.6 million units, more than double the combined sales of Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S consoles.
There's a good chance that the upcoming successor of the Nintendo Switch will give the PS2 some stiff competition. The new console will be backward compatible with the original Switch, so it remains to be seen how well Nintendo will compete with Sony for the top spot on the market.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Sony is also selling limited edition PS One-themed PS5 consoles and accessories. Following the release of the PS5 Pro, Sony has a long way to go if it wants to beat its record in the current generation of home console sales.
English (US) ·