The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is Sony's second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. Its development was announced in March 1999, and it was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000 and in the North American market on October 26, 2000. It was released in Europe on November 24, 2000.
The PS2 is part of the sixth generation era, and has become the fastest selling gaming console in history, with over 100 million units shipped, beating the previous record holder, the PlayStation, by three years and nine months.
The PlayStation brand's strength has lead to strong third-party support for the system. Although the launch titles for the PS2 were unimpressive in 2000, the holiday season of 2001 saw the release of several best-selling and critically acclaimed games.
Those PS2 titles helped the PS2 maintain and extend its lead in the video game console market, despite increased competition from the launches of the Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube.
Critically acclaimed games on the machine are the Grand Theft Auto and Final Fantasy series, the latest two Metal Gear Solid titles, all three Devil May Cry titles, the SSX series, latest three Ace Combat titles, the Square Enix/Disney collaboration Kingdom Hearts, and first-party Sony Computer Entertainment brands such as the Gran Turismo, SOCOM, Ratchet & Clank and Jak and Daxter series, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War and the Everquest spin-offs Champions of Norrath and Champions: Return to Arms.
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console and a product of Sony Computer Entertainment. It is Sony's third installment in its successful PlayStation line of video game consoles and their first entry into handheld systems. The PSP was first announced during E?2003 and was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference during E?2004.
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is Sony's next generation video game console in the market-leading PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 is slated for release in Spring 2006. It is the successor to the PlayStation 2 and will mainly compete against the Nintendo Revolution and Xbox 360. Sony has announced that the PS3 will be backward compatible with PS1 and PS2 games. At the moment, little more is known in public about the PS3 apart from its hardware specifications and reports that it will be based on open APIs for game development.