You can argue about the best videogame system of all time. While the Dreamcast, the Super Nintendo and even newer systems like the Xbox 360 are all in the running, there’s one system that reigns supreme – at least when it comes to sales.
Fresh off of the announcement of the NGP and PlayStation Suite, Sony hads one more big announcement. The PS2, which was released way back in 2000, just hit the 150 million system sales mark.
It was a great selling system when it launched, and kept selling well long into its life. Now 11 years after launch, the PlayStation 2 is still the most successful videogame system of all time. The Nintendo DS is close, but is still six million units short of the PS2’s record.
Part of what got the PlayStation 2 into homes around the world is the same thing that’s been working for the PlayStation 3. The Nintendo GameCube didn’t play DVDs, and the Microsoft Xbox needed a special adapter, but the PS2 could play DVD right out of the box.
The other big selling point was the game selection. To date, Sony says that there are 10,828 PlayStation 2 titles available. The number seems a little high, but it’s damn impressive.
With the PS2 still selling, there’s no telling when Sony will finally discontinue the system. At $99 and with an enormous library of games, it’s still a great deal for someone getting a first console, or anyone who wants to go back and play some of the best games ever made.
HuskerGuy
The PS2 is/was an incredible machine and for a split second this weekend I contemplated picking one up while I was bumming around Best Buy (PS3 slim owner). I’m still hanging on to several great PS2 games yet have no way to enjoy them currently.
Shannon Nutt
Does the Slim PS3 not have the ability to play PS2 games? I have one of the original 60GB PS3s and an early patch made it able to play all PS2 games.
Dick Ward
The 60GB PS3 has a PS2 built right into it so there’s no question of compatibility. The 80GB system has limited software support for backwards compatibility and the new Slim systems don’t do it at all.
William Henley
“The other big selling point was the game selection. To date, Sony says that there are 10,828 PlayStation 2 titles available. The number seems a little high, but it’s damn impressive”
Are you taking into account titles released OUTSIDE of the US? Yeah, I can easily see 10,828 titles if you include the US, Japanese, and European Markets.
I don’t think I could ever go to a PS3 Slim – I have like 3 PS3 games, but I have a good 20 PS2 games, and probably another 20 PSX games. The fat PS3 for me!
Dick Ward
Their press release specified 10,828 but that just seems like way too many to me. That’s something like 18 games a week. Even considering three markets that’d be six games a week per market.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, but the number just seems crazy to me 🙂
HuskerGuy
Maybe it’s counting the same game amongst different regions as different games? Either way, the PS2 has a massive pile of games to choose from.
Jane Morgan
The PS2 hit 100M units within 5 years.
The PS3 will only hit about 50M at the 5-year mark.
Blu-ray could be the #1 reason why Sony lost this console war.
That said, I love the PS3. And I don’t care who wins the mass market. I would rather be with the hardcore elite than down with the casual sheep.
Aaron T. Starks
You could always just like what you like without having to “be with” any particular group.
That’s what I never get about today’s “gamers”. It’s not about gaming at all but about identifying yourself with a particular console or group. Actually gamin is secondary (and sometimes tertiary) to console sales, game exclusivity and game reviews. For a lot of people, not all.
Dick Ward
AuthorSame here. People spend so much time online complaining about reviews for games they’ve never played and boasting that their system is better.
I understand that some folks take pride in their system or feel the need to defend their purchase, but in the end we’re all on the same side. Xbox 360 fans and PS3 fans are especially guilty of a strange divide, though most of the games they play are the same. It seems silly to argue about which is superior instead of share the joy of both systems being awesome.
Jane Morgan
Don’t think of it in terms of HD-DVD vs Blu-ray.
Think in terms of Blu-ray vs DVD, or DVD vs VHS. I like being with the early adopters. I like to see technological progress acknowledged by those who understand craftsmanship and future math.
Identification with groups is very very human. Gamers and videophiles are no different than sports fans. The guy with one mutual fund roots for its growth. The girl who owns five systems respects the nature of competition and the benefits of war.
Arguing, in any category, about what is superior is poli-intellectual sex.
i.e. The Oscars.
Patrick A Crone
Fanboy-ism has been around in gaming since the Atari/Intelevision days. Many a hardcore gamer has found themselves choosing their favorite system and staying loyal almost to a point of stupidity. As an adult gamer I’ve learned to enjoy all the major systems and what they have to offer. Picking only one system these days means missing out on some truly excellent software.
Aaron T. Starks
I used to say the Dreamcast was the best system ever, now it’s the XBOX360.
Shayne
Nes and Snes are the only gaming consoles I still play regularly (and I own many.) Is it too much to ask in this day and age of remakes, reboots and all-around nostalgia-whoring that they start producing some new honest-to-goodness game cartridges again? I mean if they are going to release new 8-bit Mega Man games anyway, why limit them to the Wii network, give me a good old gray cartridge and I am all over that shit.