October 26 - The successor to the original PlayStation, PlayStation 2 system is officially launched in North America. Equipped with a 128-bit CPU called the “Emotion Engine” and a high-speed graphics processor called the “Graphics Synthesizer” that goes beyond the capability of any PC at that time, the PS2 deliversa highly advanced visual presentation. In addition to the dedicated software provided on DVD-ROM, the system provides backward compatibility so that users can enjoy most PlayStation format software titles. It also is the first console to include a DVD-Video player.