Sony wants to celebrate PS2’s 25th anniversary with a movie, but accidentally shows how many classics are missing from PS Plus

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