Worldwide PS2 shipment figures top 91 million

In a presentation at the PlayStation Meeting 2005 held in Toky, Sony Computer Entertainment has revealed that 91.62 million PS2 units have been shipped around the globe so far.

Of that total 37 million were sold to North America, while the figure for Europe stands at 33.21 million. The remaining 21.41 million units were sold in Japan and Asia.

North America also leads the way in the area of PS2 software sales, with more than 395 million of the 863 million games sold worldwide being purchased in the US and Canada. Figures for Europe and Japan and Asia stand at 292 million and 176 million respectively.

When the figures are combined, the total number of PSone and PS2 games sold is 1.822 billion - 767 million in North America, 594 million in PAL regions and 461 million in Japan and Asia. Both consoles are now available in more than 120 different countries and there are more than 7700 PSone and 5200 PS2 games for consumers to choose from.

SCE observed that the PlayStation demographic is changing in Japan - most of those buying the new slimline PS2 consoles are aged between 40-44, whereas most regular sized PS2 owners are 25-29. SCE also noted that there are more women buying consoles.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that the older and female demographic are actually playing on the consoles they buy; it could be an indication that the platform has become more mass-market with the launch of the slimline model, to the point where a lot more parents are buying them for younger children.

The Japanese giant then took the opportunity to show trailers for forthcoming PS2 games such as Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Dragon Ball Z Sparking!, Shin Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Resident Evil 4, Tales of Legendia, Shadow of the Colossus and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.