Ex-PlayStation Exec Confirms Total Number Of PS2s Produced

Key Takeaways

PlayStation confirmed it has sold over 160 million PS2s since release, causing many to seek out exactly how many PS2s were actually produced.
After finding a special 2 that was made to mark the end of production, it was revealed that 160,636,885 were produced.
Doubting the legitimacy of the number, ex-PlayStation chief Shawn Layden spoke up to say that both the special PS2 and production number are “legit”.

Earlier this week, PlayStation broke down its entire history on a single website for its upcoming 30th anniversary, which included a timeline of each console, how it performed, and how much of an impact it had on many of our lives. It was on this website that it was confirmed for the first time that over 160 million PS2s have been sold since its release, which is a mighty amount.

A lot of people don’t quite believe that number though, and some rather cynical Nintendo fans believe that PlayStation’s official total keeps rising whenever the Nintendo Switch even thinks about overtaking the system in sales. It’s led many to seek out just how many PS2s have actually been produced, and it’s led people to an image of a PS2 that seems to have been especially made to celebrate the halt of manufacturing back in 2013.

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This particular PS2 was first shared by a Twitter user called DoctorJopa12 in an effort to try and prove the amount of PS2s that have been produced. It states on the console itself that it was made to celebrate the PS2s lifespan, and that a grand total of 160,636,885 consoles were made between January 2000 and March 2013, though questions were raised about the authenticity of the console.

Ex-PlayStation Exec Confirms Total Number Of PS2s Produced

After another user called Pierre485_ shared an image of ex-PlayStation chief Shawn Layden’s special PSP as a place where the text could have been lifted from, none other than Layden himself waded into the conversation to clear things up. In a couple of follow-up tweets, Layden claims that the PS2 console in question “looks legit”, as well as the PS2 production number on the side.

Layden had been working at Sony since 1987, going on to work as the chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment from 2014 to 2019. If there’s anyone that would know the production number of a console as popular as the PS2, it would be him, which means we now have a confirmed number for the amount of PS2s PlayStation put out into the world.

Of course, we don’t really know if all 160,636,885 of those produced consoles were sold, but if PlayStation itself claims it sold over 160 million, then the real number must be inbetween. It also means that if Nintendo wants that all-time record, it will have to shift more than 160,700,00 units between now and the end of production. Time will only tell whether it can manage it or not.