In the year 2000, Sony’s PlayStation 2 was launched worldwide, and over its lifetime it’s accrued quite a library of classic titles, from your Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid games, to Gran Turismo and Resident Evil, as well as Devil May Cry, God of War, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, amongst many, many more.

Here at the tail-end of 2009, the PlayStation 2 is officially being released in Brazil, with a selection of over 14 titles to choose from, as Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) expands its business to Latin America. From the press release:

“Starting this November, Brazil’s gaming and entertainment enthusiasts can snap up the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the best selling system in the world, and dozens of PlayStation 2 software titles for purchase at over a thousand retail stores across the country.”

“Brazil is home to a large community of gaming enthusiasts, making the country an ideal opportunity for SCEA to introduce the PlayStation experience to a new legion of fans.”

Brazil has traditionally been known as a hotspot for game and software piracy, which has lead to hardware manufactures remaining particularly skittish over launching their consoles in the country, but according to a report over at 1Up revealing that import taxes for products in Brazil have run as high as 60% since the mid-90’s, this underground culture of piracy is no surprise.

So it’s with a little bit of disbelief that Sony will be launching the PS2 in Brazil for approximately US$445 (or R$799), while games for the system will cost between US$66 (R$119) and US$55 (R$99). More from the press release:

“The launch highlights SCEA’s commitment to expand the PlayStation business in Latin America and marks the beginning of a two-phase operation to roll out PlayStation products and services to consumers across Brazil.”

You’ll need to do better than $445 for a nine-year-old console to promote further expansion in the region, Sony, especially when the console is available for a mere US$99 in the rest of the world…