Sony Computer Entertainment has released its updated sales figures for hardware on a global basis, revealing statistics as staggering as they are unsurprising.

According to the electronics giant, an incredible 74 million PlayStation 2's have been consumed - a figure trumped by sales of the two iterations of the original PlayStation hardware, now standing at 100 million.

And the PS2 figure is expected to be greatly swelled by sales of the recently launched slimline version which has been selling rather well across the globe. Indeed, Saturday afternoon in retail outlets the length and breadth of Britain, hoards of gamers of all ages could be seen scurrying home clutching a copy of San Andreas and a brand new console to play it on.

A global sales breakdown reads as follows:

Japan - 17,890,000 units
North America - 32,230,000 units
Europe - 25,880,000 units
Total - 74,000,000 units


Japan - 20,950,000 units
North America - units 40,190,000 units
Europe - 39,750,000 units
Total - 100,890,000 units