5 ms·

PS2 was dominant because it had great games, backward compatibility (for awhile) and was also a DVD player. The piracy angle didn't affect sales, despite what S

by 1970-01-01 4y ago

PS2 was dominant because it had great games, backward compatibility (for awhile) and was also a DVD player. The piracy angle didn't affect sales, despite what Sony says.

GGO 4y ago
It only helped sales in third world countries which to start with is not a big chunk of total sales, so doubt that it had any significant effect.
ChuckNorris89 4y ago
Not true entirely. Yes all those features helped, but in developing markets, the ability to easily mod chip them to play pirated games was the real seller.
Gordonjcp 4y ago
The same week that Sony launched the PS2 they also launched a 100-disc carousel CD/DVD changer as part of their home theatre kit. There might also have been a 200-disc changer, but I know the shop I worked in stocked one of the 100-disc changers. Just think! All your CDs and movies in one machine, that you can play on your big rear projection TV over your 5.1 surround speakers! Just think! They had absolutely no intention of releasing a version that was actually a PS2 with wireless controllers, and indeed thought the very idea that anyone would buy such a thing was laughable. That would have blown the market to pieces.
asdff 4y ago
It was also out for so long that it gave it plenty of time to end up used for cheap. It seemed like everyone had one laying around or in the closet at home by the end of its run, usually a slim one honestly.
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  DVD playback was huge when it came out. DVD players were still expensive so if you wanted one, it barely cost any more to get a DVD player that was also a PlayStation. Between that and PS1 backwards-compat, the PS2 was a bargain.
  - asdff 4y ago
    That's true with the latest consoles too, honestly. They are even better deals in terms of what you get. My Xbox one is nearing 10 years old and it still plays new games, it plays a lot of the older games if they've been ported at least (bone of contention I know it not being proper backwards compatibility), performantly runs all streaming services (can't be said about modern smart TVs), its a blu ray player, I have 5.5 tb of local storage on it, and I got it used for about the price of a modern game.
bitwize 4y ago
PS2 was always backward compatible with PS1. PS3 was originally PS2 backward compatible, then they removed that feature to shave a few bucks off the BOM.
Cyph0n 4y ago
You underestimate the impact of piracy in developing countries. It’s true that almost no one bought games at full price, so Sony was only seeing unit sales. However, once these countries developed further and the people who grew up with PS consoles started to make more money, guess which consoles and games these people decided to buy? Hint: it wasn’t Xbox! Long story short, easy access to piracy was a gateway to future PS game sales in many developing countries.
- dizhn 4y ago
  I agree with what you're saying but I would not exclude Xbox. They were also hacked to play ripped games.
  - Aromasin 4y ago
    I can echo that sentiment. My original xbox was chipped. As a hacky kid with no money, it was the only way I could play new games. Guess who went on to own every xbox generation for the next 10+ years?
  - Cyph0n 4y ago
    Thanks for noting that. My experience growing up in the Middle East was very skewed towards Sony consoles.
- morsch 4y ago
  About 130 of 160 million PS2s were sold in North America, Europe and Japan. Developing countries don't appear to be a significant market for the console. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_sales https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_sales
  - Asooka 4y ago
    "developing countries" in that context are places like the former soviet union, i.e. half of Europe at the time, or latin america. The hardware was hella expensive, but with several months of savings it was possible. The games were a different matter. You were basically buying imports from the other end of the continent with all the shipping and customs taxes that incurs. Piracy was what drove people's buying decisions.

PS2 was dominant because it had great games, backward compatibility (for awhile) and was also a DVD player. The piracy angle didn't affect sales, despite what Sony says.

GGO 4y ago

It only helped sales in third world countries which to start with is not a big chunk of total sales, so doubt that it had any significant effect.

ChuckNorris89 4y ago

Not true entirely. Yes all those features helped, but in developing markets, the ability to easily mod chip them to play pirated games was the real seller.

Gordonjcp 4y ago

The same week that Sony launched the PS2 they also launched a 100-disc carousel CD/DVD changer as part of their home theatre kit. There might also have been a 200-disc changer, but I know the shop I worked in stocked one of the 100-disc changers. Just think! All your CDs and movies in one machine, that you can play on your big rear projection TV over your 5.1 surround speakers! Just think! They had absolutely no intention of releasing a version that was actually a PS2 with wireless controllers, and indeed thought the very idea that anyone would buy such a thing was laughable. That would have blown the market to pieces.

asdff 4y ago

It was also out for so long that it gave it plenty of time to end up used for cheap. It seemed like everyone had one laying around or in the closet at home by the end of its run, usually a slim one honestly.

yamtaddle 4y ago
DVD playback was huge when it came out. DVD players were still expensive so if you wanted one, it barely cost any more to get a DVD player that was also a PlayStation. Between that and PS1 backwards-compat, the PS2 was a bargain.
- asdff 4y ago
  That's true with the latest consoles too, honestly. They are even better deals in terms of what you get. My Xbox one is nearing 10 years old and it still plays new games, it plays a lot of the older games if they've been ported at least (bone of contention I know it not being proper backwards compatibility), performantly runs all streaming services (can't be said about modern smart TVs), its a blu ray player, I have 5.5 tb of local storage on it, and I got it used for about the price of a modern game.

bitwize 4y ago

PS2 was always backward compatible with PS1. PS3 was originally PS2 backward compatible, then they removed that feature to shave a few bucks off the BOM.

Cyph0n 4y ago

You underestimate the impact of piracy in developing countries. It’s true that almost no one bought games at full price, so Sony was only seeing unit sales. However, once these countries developed further and the people who grew up with PS consoles started to make more money, guess which consoles and games these people decided to buy? Hint: it wasn’t Xbox! Long story short, easy access to piracy was a gateway to future PS game sales in many developing countries.

dizhn 4y ago
I agree with what you're saying but I would not exclude Xbox. They were also hacked to play ripped games.
- Aromasin 4y ago
  I can echo that sentiment. My original xbox was chipped. As a hacky kid with no money, it was the only way I could play new games. Guess who went on to own every xbox generation for the next 10+ years?
- Cyph0n 4y ago
  Thanks for noting that. My experience growing up in the Middle East was very skewed towards Sony consoles.
morsch 4y ago
About 130 of 160 million PS2s were sold in North America, Europe and Japan. Developing countries don't appear to be a significant market for the console. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_sales https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_sales
- Asooka 4y ago
  "developing countries" in that context are places like the former soviet union, i.e. half of Europe at the time, or latin america. The hardware was hella expensive, but with several months of savings it was possible. The games were a different matter. You were basically buying imports from the other end of the continent with all the shipping and customs taxes that incurs. Piracy was what drove people's buying decisions.