It’s been 25 years since the PlayStation 2 first came out in the US. To celebrate, analyst Mat Piscatella from Circana recently shared some fascinating sales figures for the console.
The PlayStation 2 sold a total of 46.5 million units in the United States. American gamers also bought 147 million accessories for the console, with the 8 MB Memory Card being the most popular at 28.3 million units sold.
Top Bestsellers on PS2 in the USA
The most interesting moment was when the analyst revealed the best-selling games. As you might expect, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was number one, selling the most copies and earning the most money.
| # | Top games by the number of copies sold: | Top games by revenue: |
| 1. | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas |
| 2. | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City |
| 3. | Grand Theft Auto III | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock |
| 4. | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | Grand Theft Auto III |
| 5. | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | Guitar Hero II |
| 6. | Madden NFL 2005 | Madden NFL 2004 |
| 7. | Guitar Hero II | Rock Band |
| 8. | Madden NFL 2004 | Madden NFL 2005 |
| 9. | Kingdom Hearts | Madden NFL 06 |
| 10. | Madden NFL 06 | Madden NFL 07 |
| 11. | Madden NFL 07 | Madden NFL 2003 |
| 12. | Jampack Series: PlayStation 2 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec |
| 13. | Madden NFL 2003 | Need for Speed: Underground |
| 14. | Need for Speed: Underground | Kingdom Hearts |
| 15. | Star Wars: Battlefront II | SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals |
| 16. | Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition | Need for Speed: Underground 2 |
| 17. | Final Fantasy X | Madden NFL 2002 |
| 18. | Gran Turismo 4: The Real Driving Simulator | Final Fantasy X |
| 19. | God of War | Kingdom Hearts II |
| 20. | Medal of Honor: Frontline | Medal of Honor: Frontline |
Sony’s celebrating too, but they’re also highlighting some awkward truths
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the PlayStation 2’s US launch, Sony released a video showcasing popular games from the console that are now available to play on PS5 through the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog.
Many players have pointed out that Sony isn’t doing a good job of preserving its PlayStation 2 games. Several key titles from that console, like ICO, Twisted Metal Black, Ratchet & Clank, and the original God of War, aren’t currently available on newer systems.
Looking at the best-selling PlayStation 2 games shows us similar results. Many of those games aren’t playable on the PlayStation 5 either.
A video on the Nostalgia channel on X (formerly Twitter) provides a great look at what the PlayStation 2 launch was like in the USA.
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2025-10-29 16:03