This led to further shortages, and the issue was compounded in Britain when a Russian oil tanker became stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking a ship from China carrying PS2s bound for the UK.
Yet, the PS2 initially sold well solely on the basis of the strength of the PlayStation brand and its backwards compatibility, selling over 900,000 units in the first weekend in Japan.
V7 and V8 are also similar, and V9 (model number SCPH-50000/SCPH-50001) added the Infrared port for the optional DVD Remote Control, removed the widely unused FireWire port, added the capability to read DVD-RW discs, and a quieter fan.
In September 2004 Sony unveiled the third major hardware revision (V12, model number SCPH-70000).
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.
Later, Sony gained steam with new development kits for game developers and more PlayStations for consumers.
When the PlayStation 2 launched in Japan in March 2000, Sony sold 980,000 units over the opening weekend.
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.
