Video game accessory:PlayStation and PlayStation 2 GameShark Sampler

Sony scored an incredible success with the PlayStation home video game console. Released in the United States in 1995, the PlayStation quickly became the must-have system, and by 1999 the console sat alongside televisions in more than a third of all American homes. Born of an abandoned joint project with Nintendo, Sony's PlayStation appealed to a broader gaming audience. Standardizing the disc format allowed for greater quantity and quality of game content. By creating a conducive market environment, Sony attracted numerous third-party developers who produced scores of outstanding games. The PlayStation's production run lasted 11 years, sold over 100 million units worldwide, and over 1,000 titles. The Sony PlayStation 2 is the best-selling video game console of all time, with over 100 million units sold worldwide. The PS2 (as it is commonly known) has a broader age-range appeal than its main rivals, the Nintendo GameCube and the Microsoft Xbox. Released in 2000, the PS2 was backwards-compatible with Sony's previous-generation console, the PlayStation, but featured better graphics and more processing speed. Like the Nintendo GameCube (but unlike the Microsoft Xbox), the PS2 lacks a hard drive so users must buy a separate memory card to store their games in progress. Users can play this game either by themselves on their own TV or connected with other players through the internet.