The Best-Selling Games on the PS2

Even with the Dreamcast arriving first, the launch of the PlayStation 2 in 2001 served as one of the most significant leaps in gaming technology since the initial jump to 3D during the 5th generation. The PS2 continued to further push the envelope in terms of what kinds of gaming experiences were possible, picking up where the original PlayStation left off and delivering some of the most exciting and groundbreaking gaming innovations of the decade, right as it had just barely begun. Looking back at the best-selling games on the PS2 shows that the console’s library was stacked with titles whose influence is still felt today, and it’s no surprise that the PlayStation 2 would go on to become the best-selling home console of all time, given the strength of that library.

• Release Date — August 12, 2003
• Developer — EA Tiburon
• Publisher — EA Sports
• Genre — Sports
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 3.95 million units

Sports games were kind of the purview of the Sega Dreamcast, but it didn’t take long for EA’s Madden NFL to catch up to the excellent NFL 2K1. Compared to previous eras of console gaming, the Madden series had a bit of a slow start during the 6th generation. That all changed with Madden NFL 2004, which was the first truly great entry in a long, successful run of newer Madden games that once again saw the series rise to prominence — enough for it to become the sole officially licensed game by the NFL.

• Release Date — July 4, 2003
• Developer — London Studio
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Party
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4 million units

Motion controls and unique gameplay gimmicks have been around as long as home consoles, but during the 6th (and then, later, 7th) console generation, technology finally caught up enough to make using these unique control schemes actually fun. Before Nintendo would blow the lid off of the whole format with the Nintendo Wii, the PS2 had the EyeToy camera, complete with a series of games that were surprisingly competent and great to play with friends. One of the best was EyeToy: Play, which utilized the camera peripheral to put players into the action on-screen long before Xbox came out with its similar Kinect peripheral. Unsurprisingly, the novelty of EyeToy: Play made it a huge hit among PS2 owners.

• Release Date — December 3, 2001
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 4.2 million units

While Naughty Dog’s close relationship with Sony and place as a first-party studio were established during the PS1 era with the Crash Bandicoot trilogy, it wouldn’t be until the release of Jak and Daxter on PS2 that we would really start to see the seeds being sown for the modern Naughty Dog. Jak and Daxter is much more than just another “collect-a-thon” 3D platformer. It’s a story-rich experience with a compelling sci-fi plot, some gorgeous visuals, and tight pacing that made it an almost instant classic on the PS2, much like every Naughty Dog game has come to define each subsequent generation of PlayStation hardware since.

• Release Date — March 13, 2007
• Developer — Santa Monica Studio
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 4.23 million units

Even with the second God of War game launching after the release of the PlayStation 3, it still managed to become one of the PS2’s best-selling games — a testament to how groundbreaking the first game in the series had been. While other character action games had laid the foundation that God of War and God of War II would build upon, there’s an argument to be made that Santa Monica Studios’ Greek mythology take on the genre perfected it, and God of War II is bigger, better, and more bloody than the first game by a long shot.

• Release Date — August 9, 2004
• Developer — EA Tiburon
• Publisher — EA Sports
• Genre — Sports
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 4.35 million units

Much like its yearly predecessor from the previous year, Madden NFL 2005 was another step in the right direction for the franchise, both in terms of its critical acclaim and commercial success. With Madden 05, the franchise was firmly back on solid ground as the definitive football simulation game — a position it’s held for more than 20 years. Most importantly, though, Madden NFL 2005 was the first game in the series to fully embrace online functionality for its competitive multiplayer, which has since become a cornerstone of the franchise.

• Release Date — March 28, 2002
• Developer — Namco
• Publisher — Namco
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.35 million units

Compared to its predecessor, Tekken 4 was a bit of a disappointment. That said, following up the incredible Tekken 3 was always going to be a challenge, and Namco still managed to deliver a strong arcade port for the PS2 that helped move the franchise forward. Tekken 4 may be the lowest-rated game in the franchise, but it still managed to sell more than 4 million units, proving how essential the series was to the PlayStation brand.

• Release Date — March 31, 2005
• Developer — Namco
• Publisher — Namco
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.35 million units

Namco wisely listened to both casual fans and members of the hardcore fighting game community when it came to iterating on the Tekken franchise after the disappointing Tekken 4, giving players one of the series’ all-time greatest entries with Tekken 5 as a result. Accordingly, Tekken 5 was a major success both in terms of its commercial sales and its critical reception, selling only slightly more copies than its already successful predecessor but blowing it out of the water with its review scores. The “best” Tekken game on the PS2 is arguably Tekken Tag Tournament, but if you have to pick a mainline game as a standout, it’s obviously Tekken 5.

• Release Date — March 13, 2003
• Developer — Square Product Development Division 1
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.55 million units

The release of Final Fantasy X-2 was a big deal. Both the first official sequel in the franchise’s history and a continuation of the fan-favorite characters and story from Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2 was incredibly hyped up ahead of its release, leading to it becoming an almost instant sales success. And while it’s tonally a bit silly and leans more towards action RPG territory than any of the mainline games in the franchise up to that point, Final Fantasy X-2 gives players the happy ending for Yuna that Final Fantasy X denied them.

• Release Date — March 22, 2005
• Developer — Santa Monica Studio
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 4.62 million units

Capcom’s Devil May Cry helped kick off a modern era of action games built around fighting game-style combat and spectacle, giving rise to the “Character Action” genre. But it would take Sony and Santa Monica Studio to fully realize the genre’s potential on the PS2 with the incredible God of War. God of War dials up everything players loved about the fledgling character action genre to 11, delivering some of the best combat of any game of the era, along with some jaw-dropping setpiece moments and a sense of scale that was unmatched by any contemporaries. It’s no wonder the game sold 5 million units in almost no time flat.

• Release Date — December 22, 2005
• Developer — Square Enix Product Development Division 1
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.75 million units

A lot of players will point to Kingdom Hearts as the superior entry on the PS2, even though Kingdom Hearts II goes to great lengths to smooth out its predecessor’s rough edges. So while Kingdom Hearts II is technically the “better” game (mechanically, at least), its selection of worlds and sharp pivot from the story of the original resulted in it not selling quite as well as the first. Still, Kingdom Hearts II proved the validity of Square Enix and Disney’s partnership, moving almost 5 million units and establishing that Disney’s animated worlds were rife with potential for great gameplay.

• Release Date — November 27, 2004
• Developer — Level-5
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.84 million units

Most of the impressive sales numbers for Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King were driven by the series’ dedicated following in Japan, but Western players contributed too — if for no other reason than Dragon Quest VIII was how players could get their hands on the Final Fantasy XII demo disc. In all seriousness, though, Dragon Quest VIII is one of the best games in the franchise and a strong outing from Level-5, who have continued to cement themselves as an incredibly talented and underrated JRPG developer since its release.

• Release Date — March 16, 2006
• Developer — Square Enix
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 5.4 million units

It’s safe to say that Final Fantasy XII was well ahead of its time when it initially released, evidenced by the fact that it holds up incredibly well in a modern context as one of the best and most underrated entries in the franchise. But it still managed to be a major sales success at the time of its release, even with its launch happening just months ahead of the PS3’s arrival. Final Fantasy XII takes players back to the world of Ivalice from PS1 classics Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, and its top-notch combat and narrative helped it serve as a fitting swan song for the franchise on the PlayStation 2.

• Release Date — March 28, 2002
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 5.55 million units

Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts was practically destined to be a major sales success, merging the popularity of the Final Fantasy franchise with the universal love and recognition that Disney’s worlds and characters have. Sure enough, Kingdom Hearts would go on to sell nearly 6 million units, becoming the PlayStation 2’s best-selling action RPG and establishing the Kingdom Hearts franchise as one of Square’s most important IPs. Even if the story is complete nonsense, it’s hard to find fault in Kingdom Hearts‘ accessible hack-and-slash gameplay and great selection of iconic Disney settings.

• Release Date — July 19, 2001
• Developer — Square Product Development Division 1
• Publisher — Square
• Genre — RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 6.37 million units

Compared to the trilogy of entries on the PS1, Final Fantasy X feels both familiar and new. Gameplay-wise, it’s essentially the last of the “classic” turn-based games in the series, subtly iterating on a decades-old formula before the mainline games started to experiment with different systems. In terms of its story and presentation, though, Final Fantasy X is a quantum leap forward from its three PS1 predecessors, with fully voice-acted cutscenes, impressive facial animations (even in a modern context), and a story that ranks as one of the most poignant and emotional in the series. No wonder, then, that Final Fantasy X ended up being the best-selling Square Enix game on the PS2.

• Release Date — October 22, 2001
• Developer — DMA Design
• Publisher — Rockstar Games
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 97% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 8.5 million units

Looking back on the launch of Grand Theft Auto III, it can be easy to underestimate how groundbreaking a game it was if you weren’t there to experience it firsthand. But as someone who waited impatiently for GTA III‘s launch and picked it up on release day, the term “revolutionary” feels appropriate. The tenets of modern open-world game design begin with Grand Theft Auto III as their foundation, and the amount of freedom and emergent gameplay that it offered were unlike anything else; enough for it to sell more than 8 million units and spawn two other best-selling games on the PS2.

• Release Date — October 27, 2002
• Developer — Rockstar North
• Publisher — Rockstar Games
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 95% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 10.25 million units

The success of Grand Theft Auto III (and the slew of copycats it inspired) all but ensured that not only would we get a sequel, but that its launch would be one of the biggest gaming events of the 6th generation. Vice City was even bigger and better than Grand Theft Auto III, with new gameplay elements, an iconic 1980s Miami setting, a star-studded voice cast, and one of the all-time greatest soundtracks in the history of video games. It’s safe to say that Vice City, and its 10 million copies-plus success, laid down the red carpet for Grand Theft Auto to become the juggernaut it is today.

• Release Date — November 12, 2001
• Developer — Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
• Publisher — Konami
• Genre — Action, Stealth
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 11.24 million units

Just over a year after the PlayStation 2’s North American launch, players would finally get the game that they had been waiting for since the console’s arrival: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The original Metal Gear Solid had been such a pivotal title in the PS1’s library that anticipation for the sequel was at a fever pitch, which was only heightened by the demo disc included in an early PS2 cult-classic: Zone of the Enders. Ultimately, the launch of Metal Gear Solid 2 was a major event that helped put millions of PS2s into players’ living rooms and helped it become one of the system’s best-selling games.

• Release Date — December 28, 2004
• Developer — Polyphony Digital
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 11.75 million units

Although most longtime series fans consider Gran Turismo 4 to be a bit of a step backwards from its predecessor (a first in the franchise), the title would still manage to be the most technically impressive game on the PS2 and sell nearly 12 million units. In fact, driving/racing games wouldn’t catch up to the level of quality of Gran Turismo 4‘s visuals until well into the 7th console generation, further establishing how Polyphony Digital are experts at harnessing the full power of each new iteration of PlayStation hardware.

• Release Date — April 28, 2001
• Developer — Polyphony Digital
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 95% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 14.89 million units

Nearly a year after the PS2’s initial Japanese launch, and months after the console had been available around the globe, players got the first “must-have” game for Sony’s then-next-generation console with Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. Accordingly, Sony put together a new PS2 bundle that included the title as a system pack-in, which helped it quickly sell nearly 15 million units as the console’s killer-app. It doesn’t hurt that Gran Turismo 3 is still one of the best games in the entire series, with a fantastic selection of real-world vehicles, smooth driving physics, and visuals that are still impressive almost a quarter-century later.

• Release Date — October 26, 2004
• Developer — Rockstar North
• Publisher — Rockstar Games
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 95% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 17.33 million units

Thanks to its place as a console exclusive, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas quickly became the PS2’s best-selling game, blowing far past the sales figures of the other two games in the Grand Theft Auto series’ PS2-era trilogy and moving more than 17 million units. San Andreas moved the franchise’s setting forward, swapping Vice City‘s 1980s Miami for a fictionalized version of 1990s South Central LA, and it brought a slew of new gameplay elements along with it that started to blur the line between Grand Theft Auto being an open-world action game and an RPG. The series has never been the same since, and it’s all for the better.