PS2 outselling PS3

[j_garcia]

LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) - While Sony (6758.T) battles with Microsoft (MSFT.O) over which of their next-generation video game consoles will dominate, its seven-year-old PlayStation 2 still has a lot of life in it.

The Japanese company has sold over 100 million of the consoles globally since the 2000 launch.

Now PlayStation 2 has come down so much in price that it is cheap enough for people in Western Europe or North America to buy on a whim and affordable for consumers in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Sony said.

Sales are still going strong, with the PlayStation 2 outselling Sony's new flagship PlayStation 3 by a ratio of almost four to one in the second quarter of this year.

ARTICLE

 

[alexsound]

LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) - While Sony (6758.T) battles with Microsoft (MSFT.O) over which of their next-generation video game consoles will dominate, its seven-year-old PlayStation 2 still has a lot of life in it.

The Japanese company has sold over 100 million of the consoles globally since the 2000 launch.

Now PlayStation 2 has come down so much in price that it is cheap enough for people in Western Europe or North America to buy on a whim and affordable for consumers in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Sony said.

Sales are still going strong, with the PlayStation 2 outselling Sony's new flagship PlayStation 3 by a ratio of almost four to one in the second quarter of this year.

ARTICLE

The PS2 outsold, domestically, here in the U.S. all other consoles last year, and from what I've read here and there on the internet from CNN and FOXNEWS and other sites like Business Week, it will more than likely outsell all the others again this year. It is the cheapest console (that is still being manufactured) out there, with the largest (BY FAR) catalog of games and the lowest prices on the games themselves, overall.

P.S. When I say "all the others" I don't mean all the others combined.

 

[j_garcia]

I thought it was funny that they make such a big deal about how well the Wii is selling when the PS2 still oustold it last year LOL. Definitely the best selection of games you are going to find too with the PS2. I still have both of mine around.

 

[abboudc]

I thought it was funny that they make such a big deal about how well the Wii is selling when the PS2 still oustold it last year LOL. Definitely the best selection of games you are going to find too with the PS2. I still have both of mine around.

Er, you realize the Wii came out in mid-November, right?

 

[j_garcia]

I believe when I read about it, it said the Wii was outsold by the PS2 in December alone, but I think supply was an issue for Nintendo with the initial shipment and demand was very high for the Wii at that time also. Mainly because it is still less expensive and has graphics that are just as good. I thought about picking up a Wii in Dec. but I found a PS3 and the Wii was just as hard to get, so...after seeing the graphics, I wasn't as impressed with the Wii anyway, but it is all about the fun factor with the Wii not the best graphics.

 

[abboudc]

If the rumors are true, i'm hearing Sony will release a "motion-controller" this holiday, bundle it with the PS2, and sell it for $99. That could make things very, very interesting.

Software sales are a different story though. The Wii and DS continue to dominate the top20 lists. In June's Amazon list, there wasn't a single PS3 game in the top 20. That's amazing considering it's a new console with new releases and very bad news for Sony. There were a few PS2 titles though, and they're lucky in that the PS2 is a cash cow. It was similar when the PS2 came out...not a whole lot of software the first year, except for SSX.

Help is on the way, the question is will it be too late? The exclusives -- Final Fantasy, God of War won't be around til next year. Up until now, Sony enjoyed the best version of the multiplatform games, as they were typically coded for PS2 and ported to the others. Even though the Xbox was more powerful, the graphics were only marginally better, and sometimes even worse, with framerate hitches, etc since the engine was optimized for PS2. The reverse is happening now....Madden and NCAA football run at 60fps on the 360 and 30fps on the PS3 even though it's a more powerful machine. Gears of War and Bioshock look as good as anything i've seen on the PS3 thus far.