Favorite Playstation 2 Games

Sony's Playstation 2 has perhaps the most diverse software library out of the next generation consoles, mainly because it has been out for so long. Thus the library of the "Greatest Hits" and its variants are larger than that of the Xbox and the Gamecube. There are actually four variants of top selling Playstation 2 games. In America the collection is known as the "Greatest Hits" collection, which can be identified by the bright red title. In Europe the collection is called the Platinum Hits collection. In Japan there are two honors that can be bestowed. There is the "Best" collection for top selling games, which is similar to the Greatest and Platinum hits collection. The highest honor is to be included in the Mega Hits collection, which is reserved for games that sell over 500,000 copies. These games are denoted with the word "mega" next to them.

On to the list!

Playstation 2 Greatest Hits USA EUROPE JAPAN
       
Ace Combat 4    
Ape Escape 2001    
Ape Escape 2    
ATV Offroad Fury    
ATV Offroad Fury 2    
Armored Core 2    
Armored Core 3    
Armored Core 3: Silent Line    
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance    
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter    
Burnout    
Burnout 2: Point of Impact    
Busin: Wizardy Alternative    
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001    
Conflict Desert Storm    
Crazy Taxi  
Conflict Desert Storm  
Crash Bandicoot: The Wraith of Cortex
Culdcept II    
Dark Cloud  
Dark Cloud 2    
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2    
Dead to Rights    
Dead or Alive 2  
Densha de Go! Shinkansen    
Devil May Cry MEGA
Dragonball Z: Budokai  
Dynasty Tactics    
Dynasty Warriors 2     MEGA
Dynasty Warriors 3   MEGA
Energy Airforce    
Extermination    
FIFA: 2001    
FIFA Football 2003    
Final Fantasy X MEGA
Formula 1 2001    
Freekstyle    
Gallop Racer 6: Revolution    
Gran Turismo 3: A-spec MEGA
Gran Turismo Concept    
Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Toyko    
Grand Theft Auto III  
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City    
Guilty Gear X Plus    
Guilty Gear XX: Reload    
Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon     MEGA
Gungriffon Blaze    
Gun Survior 2: Resident Evil Code Veronica X    
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland    
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets    
Hitman 2  
Hot Shots Golf 3   MEGA
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire  
James Bond 007: Night Fire    
Jet de Go! 2    
ICO    
Initial D: Special Stage    
Kessen    
Kessen 2    
Kingdom Hearts  
Klona 2    
Legia: Dual Saga    
Mad Maestro!    
Magic Pengel: The Quest For Color    
Max Payne  
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory  
Metal of Honor: Front Line  
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty MEGA
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Substance    
Midnight Club    
Monster Rancher 4    
Moto GP    
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance    
Mr. Mosquito    
MTV Music Generator 2    
Myst III: Exile    
Namco Museum    
NBA 2K2    
NBA Street    
NFL 2K2    
Onimusha  
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny   MEGA
Oni    
Okage: Shadow King    
Operator's Side    
Pac-Man World 2    
Parappa the Rapper 2    
Pilot Nina Rou! 2    
Pro Evolution Soccer    
Pro Evolution Soccer 2    
Rayman Revolution    
Ratchet & Clank
Red Faction  
Red Faction 2    
Resident Evil Code: Veronica X  
Rez    
Ridge Racer V     MEGA
Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII    
Samurai    
Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights    
Shadow Hearts    
Shinobi    
Sidewinder MAX    
Silent Hill 2  
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus    
Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth  
Smuggler's Run    
SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALs    
Space Channel 5: Part 2    
Spider-Man: The Movie  
SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of Flying Dutchman    
Spy Hunter    
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly    
SSX  
SSX Tricky    
Star Wars: Starfighter  
State Of Emergency  
Street Hoops    
Stuntman  
Super Robot Taisen: Impact    
Tales of Destiny 2     MEGA
Tekken Tag Tournament  
Tekken 4
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven  
Test Drive    
The Getaway    
The Simpsons Road Rage    
The Sims    
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers    
This is Football 2002    
This is Football 2003    
Time Crisis 2    
Timesplitters    
TOCA: Race Driver    
Tokyo Extreme Racer: Zero    
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon    
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell  
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3    
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4    
Twisted Metal: Black    
Ultraman: Fighting Evolution 2    
Vampire Night    
Victorous Boxers    
Virtua Fighter 4    
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution    
Virtua On Marz    
Wild 7    
Wild Arms 3    
World Rally Championship  
World Rally Championship II Extreme    
WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It!  
Xenosaga Episode I: The Will to Power    
Zone of the Enders    

There are few games that have a greatest hit rendition in all three territories. The ones that do are: Ratchet & Clank, Metal Gear Solid 2, Tekken 4, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Final Fantasy X, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, Devil May Cry and Jax and Dexter. Seems like these are the games that are deemed to have universal appeal. Most of the games that have universal appeal are the platformers. It seems that the classic platformer design can be enjoyed by anyone as seen in the popularity of games like Jax and Dexter, Ratchet and Clank and Crash Bandicoot.

While there are few similarities there are many more differences in the tastes of gamers. Many of the popular American brand names such as Scooby Doo and Spongebob Squarepants have top selling games. This isn't too surprising since the top Japanese brand names such as Initial D and Gundam also are on the Japanese best seller list. Even the ever popular Harry Potter graces the European platinum hits list, but doesn't appear in either of the US or Japanese lists despite a release in both of those countries. What does this mean? Brand names sell games.

However few of the games on the lists are actually "brand name games". If only games based off of movies and TV shows sold the most the list would be full of games like Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (ugh!) and Simpsons Skateboarding. A decent amount of the favorite American games are extreme sports games such as the SSX series and the Tony Hawk series. Another popular genre is the first person shooting genre seen by the popularity of Medal of Honor: Frontline, the Tom Clancy games and the Bond series.

Japanese gamers have a slightly different taste in games. First of all they have a slant towards RPGs. Legia Dual Saga, Wild Arms 3 and even the lukewarm Breath of Fire V all appear on the best seller list. A number of fighting games like the Guilty Gear series and even Capcom Vs. SNK 2 appear on the list. There are also quite a few light gun games such as Time Crisis 2, Vampire Night and also scorned Gun Survivor 2: Code Veronica. The Dynasty Warriors series of games is extremely popular, with both titles becoming Mega Hits. Yet not even one Dynasty Warriors title appears as a greatest hit in America. Another popular series is the Armored Core series, a mech fighting series, that showed little popularity in America. There are also some unique games such as the hard to find Rez, the bargain bin Mad Maestro! and the innovative Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color in the list too. One big surprise is where is Kingdom Hearts on the list? The game appears in both the American and European lists, but not in the Japanese one. This is most likely due to the release of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, which is still selling well in Japan.

European gamers have more similar tastes to American gamers, but there are a few surprises in the list too. The Europeans agree with the American with games like Grand Theft Auto III, Silent Hill 2 and Red Faction. The Dynasty Warriors series is more popular in Europe than it is in Japan since Dynasty Warriors 3 makes it to the platinum hits list. What else is really big? Football (or as some of you call it soccer). Pro Evolution Soccer, FIFA and This is Football all appear as platinum hits. Racing games are also a big deal since Burnout, World Rally Championship and Gran Turismo Concept are all top sellers. Something else to note Dead or Alive 2 is one of the two fighting games on the European list. Virtua Fighter 4 or Capcom vs. SNK don't seem to have the same amount of popularity. There is one other surprise on the list, MTV Music Generator 2, which barely sold any copies in America is a platinum hit in Europe.

What games are missing from the lists?

Some of the other top selling games in America are the football games like the Madden series, which never apply to become greatest hits titles. The Lord of the Rings games (Two Towers and Return of the King) should appear as greatest hits eventually along with the other top selling movie game Enter the Matrix. We're pretty sure Final Fantasy X-2 will appear here as well since it sold a million copies in the states already. Other games from last year that will eventually be greatest hits titles are Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, True Crime: Streets of LA, Need for Speed Underground and of course Soul Calibur 2. We also think that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will appear here and finally get the respect it deserves.

In Japan there are a lot of top selling games that keep selling well so they don't appear as part of the best collection. Games like Virtua Fighter 4 and Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution still sell at full retail price. Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X-2 are being repackaged with the American voices and resold. Games based off of popular anime series like Naruto: Narutimett Hero and Dragonball Z: Budokai sold a large number of copies and should be added to the best collection. Other games that will be included are Soul Calibur 2, the .hack series and Zone of Enders 2 will be included. Finally, Dynasty Warriors 4, which was a hot seller will be added to the mega hits collection.

In Europe there are some games that have yet to be added. The Sims, which is a greatest hit title in the US will be one in Europe too. Also the Eye Toy: Play camera peripheral which has taken Europe by storm will appear repackaged in platinum hit form. Timesplitters 2, which was another popular title in Europe will likely be a platinum hit too. Some of the other games that are to be included are Soul Calibur 2, Ghost Hunter and Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando.

NEXT: On to the top Xbox games