However, the release of several blockbuster games during the 2001 holiday season pushed the PS2 far in front even as the Xbox and GameCube made their impressive debuts.
In September of that year, in time for the launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (the best-selling game during the 2004 Holiday season), Sony revealed a new, smaller PS2 (see Hardware revisions).
It was not until late 2001 that the Microsoft Xbox became the second console with (non-standard) USB and DVD support.
When it was released, the PS2 had many advanced features that were not present in other contemporary video game consoles, including its DVD capabilities and USB and IEEE 1394 expansion ports.
Since the V12 version had already been established for this model, there were some disputes regarding these sub-versions.
With a price of $299.99 per console, Sony made gross sales of roughly $153,000,000.
Another major selling point over the Dreamcast was the PlayStation 2's ability to play DVDs, which gained it a presence in electronics stores which did not formerly sell video game consoles.
Although Sony placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first year, all that changed because of the launch of the online-capable Xbox.
Developers also complained that it was difficult to develop for the system, with little in the way of reference material from Sony for its exotic architecture.
In September 2004 Sony unveiled the third major hardware revision (V12, model number SCPH-70000).
When it was released, the PS2 had many advanced features that were not present in other contemporary video game consoles, including its DVD capabilities and USB and IEEE 1394 expansion ports.
