The PlayStation 2 (Japanese: プレイステーション2, Hepburn: Pureisutēshon Tsū?, officially abbreviated PS2) is a video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. It was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan, and then was released on October 26, 2000 in North America, and November 24, 2000 in Europe. As part of the sixth-generation of console gaming, its primary competitors were the Sega Dreamcast, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube.
The PlayStation 2 have reached over 150+ million units sold as of November 21, 2011. Sony has stated that there are 10,828 titles available for the system and that 1.52 billion PS2 titles have been sold since launch. In late 2009, with developers creating new games and the console still selling steadily a decade after its original release, Sony stated that the life cycle of the PlayStation 2 will continue until demand ceases. The console was succeeded by the PlayStation 3 in 2006.
As of 2012, over 12 years after its initial release, new games continue to be developed and sold. The latest games are FIFA 13, released on September 27 in the UK and September 28 in Europe, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, released on October 25 in Europe, October 26 in the UK and November 6 in North America.
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