Sony ships 50 millionth PlayStation 2

Sony announced Thursday that worldwide shipments of its PlayStation 2 video game console have surpassed 50 million units, broadening the electronics giant's lead over rivals Microsoft and Nintendo. Sony said that since the console was introduced in Japan in March 2000, it has shipped 21.5 million units to North America, 16 million to Europe and 12.5 million in Japan.

Nintendo has projected that worldwide sales of its GameCube console will hit 16 million by March 30, the end of its current fiscal year. Microsoft projects sales of 9 million to 11 million Xbox consoles by the end of its current fiscal year on June 30. Both rival consoles arrived on the market a full year after PlayStation 2.