Jim Ryan claims Sony has sold 160M PlayStation 2 consoles

Outgoing Sony boss Jim Ryan has claimed that the PlayStation 2 has now sold 160 million units.

In an interview on the Official PlayStation Podcast to mark his retirement, Ryan was asked to discuss what he associates with each of his decades at the company.

When asked what he associated with the 2000s, Ryan replied, “I would say 160 million, which is the number of PS2s that we sold.”

While already the best-selling console of all time, the previously reported number of PS2s sold was around 155 million.

As Sony has long since stopped reporting on the sales of its second-generation console, this is likely the final word on the sales of the seminal console.

Earlier this year Nintendo reported that the Nintendo Switch had sold 139.36M units, meaning it would have to sell over 20 million more units during what is widely reported to be its final year in order to dethrone the PS2.

Jim Ryan will officially leave Sony on April 1.

Sony announced in September that Ryan had made the decision to retire in March 2024 after almost thirty years with the PlayStation business.

In his own statement, Ryan cited difficulties juggling his home life in Europe and work responsibilities in North America.

“After 30 years, I have made the decision to retire from SIE in March 2024,” he said. “I’ve relished the opportunity to have a job I love in a very special company, working with great people and incredible partners. But I’ve found it increasingly difficult to reconcile living in Europe and working in North America.

“I will leave having been privileged to work on products that have touched millions of lives across the world; PlayStation will always be part of my life, and I feel more optimistic than ever about the future of SIE. I want to thank Yoshida-san for placing so much trust in me and being an incredibly sensitive and supportive leader.”