The PlayStation 2, or PS2, is a home video game console that was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It’s the direct successor to the PlayStation and is the second installment in the PlayStation lineup of consoles. The console was released on March 4, 2000, in Japan, October 26, 2000, in North America, November 24, 2000, in Europe, and November 17, 2000, in Australia. Take a look below for 27 more interesting and fascinating facts about PlayStation 2.

1. The PlayStation 2 was a direct competitor with the Sega Dreamcast, the Microsoft Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube in the sixth generation of video game consoles.

2. Announced in 1999, the PlayStation 2 was the first PlayStation console to offer backwards compatibility for its predecessor’s DualShock controller as well for all of its games.

3. The PlayStation 2 is the best selling video game console of all time, in front of the Nintendo DS, selling over 155 million units, with 150 million being confirmed by Sony in 2011.

4. More than 3,874 video games have been released for the PS2 since launch, and more than 1.5 billion copies of games have been sold.

5. Sony later manufactured several smaller, lighter revisions of the PS2 known as Slimline models in 2004.

6. Even with the release of the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 remained popular well into the seventh generation of video game consoles and continued to be produced until January 4, 2013, when Sony finally announced that the PlayStation 2 had been discontinued after an incredible 13 years of production.

7. Despite the announcement of discontinued production, new games for the PS2 continued to be produced until the end of 2013, including Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin for Japan, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 for North America and Europe, and FIFA 14 for Brazil.

8. The design of the PlayStation 2 is based on an old Atari computer, the Falcon 030 Microbox. Sony bought the design patent when Atari were going bankrupt.

9. One of the unique features of the PlayStation 2 was that users could sit it horizontally or vertically, depending on their preference.

10. PlayStation 2 offered gamers the option to play online for free with other people from around the world.

11. The memory card for the PS2 was only 8MB. Gamers weren’t happy with the shortage of memory cards as there were not enough available for the millions of people who bought the consoles.

12. The console was capable of high definition for some games, such as Valkyrie Profile 2 and Tourist Trophy.

13. Sony had some series issues in the beginning with the PlayStation 2, such as the Disc Read Errors, which often destroyed games and player states. However, Sony fixed the consoles, replaced the games and even gave a rebate check.

14. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas became such a popular game with users that it sold 17 million copies for the PlayStation 2 alone.

15. Sony released a Linux disc, keyboard and mouse, Ethernet adaptor, and a VGA adaptor to allow tech savvy gamers to use open source code and create their own games.

16. A man named Dan Holmes was so crazy about his PlayStation 2 that he changed his name to Mr. PlayStation 2.

17. The console could also play DVDs, which was a bonus for owners of the console as they could watch movies without having to buy and store a DVD player. The PlayStation 2 was the first gaming console to offer this function.

18. At one point, there was a rumor that Saddam Hussein was collecting thousands of PlayStation 2 consoles to use as military weapons. An export embargo from Japan tracking shipments found that the rumor was false.

19. The PSX was released in 2003. It was a video recorder that allowed you to play PlayStation 2 games. It had a built in hard drive but it didn’t sell well due to the high price.

20. The black console with its blue logo are meant to represent the Earth surrounded by the blackness of space.

21. The PlayStation 2 was planned to take advantage of streaming broadband services, and Sony promised a streaming music service, which never happened.

22. The first PlayStation console to stream Netflix was the PlayStation 2, but it was only available in Brazil.

23. Japan faced restrictions exporting the PlayStation 2 because the powerful hardware inside might be used for military purposes.

24. The PlayStation 2’s DualShock 2 controller is almost identical to the PlayStation’s DualShock, however, it includes analog pressure sensitivity on the face, shoulder and D-pad buttons, replacing the digital buttons of the original.

25. Early versions of the PlayStation 2 could be networked via an i.LINK port, though this had little game support and was later dropped.

26. Some third-party companies, such as JoyTech, have produced LCD monitors and speaker attachments for the PlayStation 2, which could be attached to the back of the console.

27. Unlike the original PlayStation, which required the use of an official Sony PlayStation Mouse to play mouse compatible games, the few PlayStation 2 games with mouse support work with a standard USB mouse as well as a USB trackball.