The PlayStation 2 (プレイステーション2, Pureisutēshon Tsū^?, officially abbreviated PS2) is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game consoles. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was released a year later in Japan. Its primary competitors were Sega's Dreamcast, Microsoft's Xbox, and Nintendo's GameCube.
The PS2 is the best-selling console to date, having reached over 140 million units sold as of September 30, 2009.^[1] In late 2009, with developers creating new games and the console still selling steadily almost a decade after its original release, Sony stated that the life cycle of the PlayStation 2 will continue until demand ceases.^[6]
In 2009, IGN named the PlayStation 2 as the third best video game console of all time, out of a field of 25.^[7]