After nearly nine years on the North American market, the PlayStation 2 continues to sell. Sony’s sophomore console might be dead last in the monthly NPD charts, but it is still a viable platform. In February, the system shifted 131,000 units in the U.S. alone. As of tomorrow, the DVD-enabled system will officially drop to $99.99 in America and most European countries. Eurogamer has reported that the price cut will not apply to the United Kingdom. And no, I am not yanking your chain.

John Koller, the director of hardware marketing for Sony, dropped the news on the PlayStation Blog this morning.

“This new price means that more people than ever will be able to join in on the fun that so many of you PlayStation 2 owners have been enjoying for years, which means new families will become part of the platform’s record-breaking install base,” Koller said. “With this new price, we intend to introduce a new generation of consumers – some of whom weren’t even alive when the system was first introduced in 2000 – to the immense entertainment value offered by PlayStation 2.”

In mid-January, Koller revealed that the PS2 had become the first console to surpass 50 million units sold in North America. The milestone was achieved in December.

Koller also touted the system’s expansive software library, which includes hundreds of budget titles.

“PlayStation 2′s unmatched gaming library will grow to nearly 1,900 titles from both our first-party studios and publishing partners this year, with a particular focus on the social and sports genres that are so popular with the emerging family demographic,” he said.

Titles set to release for the PS2 this year include “Ghostbusters: The Video Game,” “MotorStorm: Arctic Edge,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” “Secret Agent Clank,” a title previously released for the PlayStation Portable, will also ship for Sony’s aging console. There probably aren’t any triple-A releases left in the PS2 pipeline, but it is nice to see that publishers are still supporting the platform. I haven’t purchased a PS2 game in quite some time, but, as a “Ratchet & Clank” junkie, I might have to pick up “Secret Agent Clank.”

The new price point, along with the system’s DVD playback, will appeal to families looking to maximize their entertainment dollars. With “Guitar Hero Greatest Hits” launching this year, as well as kid-friendly titles like “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” there seems to be plenty of family-oriented titles coming to the platform.

Though, Gamasutra analyst Matt Matthews doesn’t seem to think that this price cut will significantly impact software sales.

“Any consumer waiting to get a PS2 which it reaches $100, as opposed to $130, is cost-conscious enough to avoid expensive new software and opt instead for games from the giant pool of used games available at retailers like GameStop,” he said.

Hardcore gamers are certainly willing to splurge on software in a struggling economy, but many of those individuals have long since graduated to the current generation of systems. The PS2 has an impressive library of quality titles, but will new PS2 adopters simply use it to play “Guitar Hero” games? If so, the price cut won’t do much to help Sony’s bottom line. Platform holders’ profits generally come from licensing fees and software sales.

Sources: GameDaily, Eurogamer, PlayStation.Blog, PlayStation.Blog, Gamasutra