Twenty-five years ago today, Sony released the PlayStation 2 in North America and what followed next was a cultural movement that was arguably best defined by a gaming console becoming a living room fixture and, of course, Grand Theft Auto.

According to Circana’s retail data, as revealed by Matt Piscatella on Bluesky, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas remains the best-selling PS2 game ever released. It tops the historical charts both in terms of units and in dollar sales. In second place? Grand Theft Auto: Vice City followed by Grand Theft Auto 3 in third.

Now bundled under Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, the PS2-era 3D Universe titles’s mix of freedom, storytelling, and controversy was partly the reason why the console was nearly impossible to ignore.

This isn’t just based on the numbers either. It’s been confirmed that Sony wanted GTA on the PS2, a move that would later help the console sell more than 160 million units worldwide. In the United States alone, the PS2 moved 46.5 million units. It’s a staggering figure, especially considering that gaming was still seen by many as a niche hobby when the PS2 first hit store shelves.

As a whole, the PS2 feels just as relevant today as it once was. Many of its games continue to be remastered, re-released, or rebuilt entirely for modern hardware. Yet, at the same time, the originals still hold their charm.

Outside of the aforementioned GTA titles, Rockstar’s best outings were also synonymous with the sleek black gaming box like Midnight Club and Bully.

With that said, GTA’s success on the PlayStation platform wouldn’t end with the PS2. Although not as commercially successful as its predecessors and successors, Grand Theft Auto 4’s sales were predominantly made on the PlayStation 3. The still-alive Grand Theft Auto V would later top that same list, even going as far as to make history as the best-selling PlayStation title of all time.

Only time will tell if Grand Theft Auto 6 will pull off a similar feat, but all signs suggest that Sony’s longstanding partnership with Rockstar will continue more than two decades later.

In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to dust off your old memory card and see if the original version Los Santos still loads and holds up (trust us, it does).