PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console in history. Period. With 155 million units sold across a lifecycle spanning 2000 to 2013, it dominated the sixth generation with supremacy never seen before or since. And its secret wasn't just power or games: it was a genius launch strategy based on a single word — DVD.

When the PS2 launched March 4, 2000 in Japan, it was the cheapest DVD player on the market. A standalone DVD player cost ¥50,000-70,000; the PS2 cost ¥39,800 and also played video games. Millions of families bought it as a DVD player that "happened" to play games, creating an installed base that attracted developers like a magnet. The ultimate Trojan horse.

The Emotion Engine processor, developed with Toshiba, was a custom chip with floating-point capabilities rivaling professional workstations. The Graphics Synthesizer could render textures and geometry with fluidity the competition — Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox — struggled to match despite arguably superior hardware. But the PS2 had something no rival could buy: total PS1 backwards compatibility and a library of over 4,000 titles making it the console with the largest catalog ever.

The list of franchises born or perfected on PS2 is staggering. Grand Theft Auto III invented the modern open world. Shadow of the Colossus proved games could be contemplative art. Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 redefined interactive cinema. Kingdom Hearts fused Disney and Final Fantasy in a way that shouldn't have worked but was magical. God of War, Devil May Cry, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, ICO, Okami, Persona 3 and 4, Final Fantasy X and XII, Dragon Quest VIII: every genre found its definitive expression on PS2.

The PS2 also globalized gaming: hugely popular in emerging markets like Brazil, India, Middle East and Southeast Asia, where its longevity and accessible price made it ubiquitous. The last official game — FIFA 14 — released in 2013, thirteen years after launch. No console before or since has had such a long and consistently relevant lifecycle.