Playstation 2

On March 24, 2000 in Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment released its long-awaited follow-up to the successful PlayStation console. At the time of its release, Sony's next-generation PlayStation 2 was the most technologically advanced console system to hit the market. Its performance specifications compared favorably to most available computer hardware at the time, and the system represented a step forward in the evolution of home entertainment by combining a state-of-the-art game console and a DVD/CD player in a single box.

Sony released the PlayStation 2 console in Japan on March 4, 2000. Within two days of its debut, sales for the PlayStation 2 had reached 980,000 -- ten times the number of original PlayStation units sold during its initial three-day release period in 1994. Upon its first day of introduction in Japan, a catalog of ten new titles were introduced specifically for the PlayStation 2. Software shipments exceeded 1.3 million units during the console's first weekend of release, while DVD software sales in Japan increased between two to four times. On August 1, 2000, five months after the system's release in Japan, Sony announced it had shipped over 3 million units.