A report on popular Japanese website Famitsu says that Sony has already stopped shipment of the PlayStation 2 in Japan this week. This means that what stocks left available in that country are what the stores have right now. It is still unclear whether the company will also halt shipments of this aging 13 year old device to other regions as well. We do know that it is still popular in many developing countries as it has a large library of affordable games so they might still be capitalizing on this on those areas.
The PlayStation 2 was first launched on March 2000 and has since then sold more than 155 million units worldwide. It was partly responsible for the eventual demise of SEGA’s competing console, the Dreamcast. It holds the distinction of being Sony’s best-selling console so far.
The original PS2 was a bulky console which was later superseded by a slim line model released in 2004. Despite being discontinued there are still several new games being developed and sold for this console.
This recent development may mean that we might be seeing the PS4 released as early as next year making it the flagship console of the company. Playing the part of second string will be the PS3 with the PS2 officially out of the game.
For those who owned the PS2 here are the top 15 games made for this console based on sales made
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
- Gran Turismo 4
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Grand Theft Auto III
- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- Final Fantasy X
- Final Fantasy XII
- Kingdom Hearts
- God of War
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
- Madden NFL 2005
- God of War II
- Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
- Final Fantasy X-2
