The PS2 will not die, says this article. This brings up a few very salient points. Sony is both the breakout hit and the unbelievable flop of last decade.
Somehow, they did so well with the PS2. It was an instant hit, such that everyone was playing catchup. It was inexpensive from launch, and now sits at a $99 MSRP - and often sells for less than that. It was a DVD player when nobody had them, and extremely powerful to boot. How could Sony get the PS3 so wrong?
The answer is that they didn’t. Yes, the PS3 was too expensive at launch, but that isn’t why it hasn’t sold as well as hoped. It’s because the PS2 was simply so dominant. When the PS3 came out, the PS2 hadn’t even enjoyed its last hit, in God of War II. The PS2 was so dominant that it was the bestselling console into 2008, two years after it had been replaced, and three years after the XBOX 360 had been released.
Because of this, PS2 owners didn’t see a need to buy a PS3, while the owners of the O.G. XBOX longed for an upgrade. Momentum was shifted to Microsoft’s console, and the rest is history.
Meanwhile, Sony has quietly continued to pump out the PS2 - turning it into a downmarket embedded console for kids. It’s now found in backseat DVD systems and inexpensive TVs. They’ve sold more units than any other game system in history - 150 Million. The PS3 is five years into its lifecycle - middle aged. And it’s only just starting to build the momentum that it should have had from the start. Playstation, as an experiment for Sony, is most likely extremely profitable. Selling nearly $100 million - in consoles that were outclassed years ago - should help with that. And that’s not counting the games. I’d like to see some statistics for the back catalogs of PS2 games vs. the PS3’s older titles. Anyone want to bet that SCEA sells more copies of God of War II in a month than they do of Motorstorm 2?
I am.
The PS2 has surpassed the N64 and the SuperNintendo as the greatest game console of all time. It’s a darn shame nobody realizes it.
I still miss my PS2. Last I heard it was in a box in the basement of a friend - who got 3 years of use out of it after my PS3 came along.
What a machine.
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