Hitting US store shelves in October 2000, the PlayStation 2 was the long-awaited successor to the smash-hit PlayStation, Sony's first foray into the gaming landscape. With the PS1 proving that Sony could not only stand among giants like Sega and Nintendo, but lead the pack, all eyes were on the PS2 before it launched, with it promising to once again push the boundaries of console gaming. Though Microsoft's Xbox acted as some surprisingly stiff competition, the PS2 still pulled ahead, and it's still widely considered to be one of the greatest consoles ever made.
The PlayStation 2's extreme success was in no small part due to its vast library of phenomenal titles. Games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4, Metal Gear Solid 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and much, much more all cemented the PS2 as an all-time great, but none of those titles were available on the PlayStation 2's launch line-up. Instead, early adopters of the PS2 had to make do with a collection of mediocre-at-best titles, most of which were sports games.
The PlayStation 2's US Launch Line-Up
- Armored Core 2
- DOA2: Hardcore
- Dynasty Warriors 2
- ESPN International Track and Field
- ESPN X-Games Snowboarding
- Eternal Ring
- Evergrace
- FantaVision
- Gun Griffon Blaze
- Kessen
- Madden NFL 2001
- Midnight Club
- Moto GP
- NHL 2001
- Orphen
- Q-Ball Billiards Master
- Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
- Ridge Racer V
- Silent Scope
- Smuggler's Run
- SSX
- Street Fighter EX3
- Summoner
- Swing Away
- Tekken Tag Tournament
- TimeSplitters
- Unreal Tournament
- Wild Wild Racing
- X-Squad
The PlayStation 2 launched in the US with a whopping total of 29 video games available day-one. Unfortunately, of these 29, only a handful are still remembered fondly today. The first TimeSplitters is one such title. Created by ex-Rare developers, TimeSplitters sees players travel across different time periods to hunt down the titular villains. With gameplay similar to GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, TimeSplitters became an early hit for the PS2, and its sequel would go on to be viewed as one of the console's greatest games.
Dark Souls and Elden Ring developer FromSoftware had a surprisingly prominent place on the PS2's launch line-up, with a total of three games on the roster. The first of these, and arguably the best, is Armored Core 2, a difficult but rewarding mech game that boasted a great deal of customization. Eternal Ring was up next, being a first-person fantasy RPG in a similar vein to FromSoft's King's Field series. The last title is Evergrace, a more open-ended action-RPG with a brighter color palette.
While every console launch in history has its fair share of sports games on the starting line-up, the PlayStation 2 took this to another level, with over seven sports games available at launch. By far the best of the bunch was Madden NFL 2001, a true step-up for the franchise in every respect, from graphics to sound design to actual gameplay. NHL 2001 was another surprise hit, again being more visually and technically impressive than its previous-gen counterparts by a country mile. A good handful of fighting games also released alongside the PS2. While Street Fighter EX3 was fine, and Tekken Tag Tournament had some great mechanics, it was Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore that really took the cake, with some of the most impressive visuals of any game at the time.
The PS2 also launched with a good few racing games. Ridge Racer 5 was a pretty solid next-gen title, though it lacked any real innovation from its predecessor. Rockstar's Smuggler's Run was one of the more unique racing games on the line-up, encouraging players to take creative routes through countrysides to reach their goal. Rockstar's Midnight Club was another huge success, essentially revolutionizing the open-world racing genre for a new age. But by far one of the most beloved racing/sports titles on the PS2's launch line-up was SSX, the first in the iconic snowboarding series that nailed just about everything the PS2 was setting out to accomplish. An incredible soundtrack, fluid controls, fast gameplay, and thrilling maps, SSX is one of the most beloved sports games of all time. Still, even with several solid games, none of these launch titles could really be deemed a system seller.