News
PlayStation 2 Sales Reach 50 Million in North America
Sony's 2009 Roller Coaster Ride Keeps On Rolling
by Sean
It's hard to know what is going on with Sony these days. One day we get news that they're going to be laying off 5% of their workforce. Then, a few weeks later, at CES they announce surprisingly impressive 2008 holiday sales numbers. Fast forward to yesterday and we learn that, for the first time in the company's history, they posted a loss for the year, to the tune of $1.1 billion. Today the up-one-day-down-the-next cycle of news continues, as Sony is reporting that the PlayStation 2 has reached a sales milestone: 50 million units sold in North America.
Although 50 million is a huge number, bear in mind that worldwide the PlayStation 2 has sold 140 million units, so the North American sales don't even account for half of the system's overall success. Still, when you stop to consider that we're over two years into the life cycle of the PlayStation 3, it is impressive that sales are still strong enough on the last-gen console to lead to these kinds of numbers.
Sony clearly knows that the PS2 can still be a strong earner, as SCEA's hardware marketing head, John Koller, is quoted as saying, "We don't intend on discarding the system anytime soon."Good news for Sony, and good news for PS2 owners.
[Source]
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Comments
Does anyone else think the fact that legitimate PS2 releases are still coming out is insane? Hell, one of 2008's highest-rated games was on the PS2. Just crazy. Good news for Sony, though, and they need it.
I actually think that they should have stopped the production of PlayStation 2 games before 2009. Microsoft and Nintendo stopped producing games for their previous platforms. Sony just won't let go. This is all an issue of backwards compatibility. It has to be. Right?
Still an impressive number, though.
It's still got legs!
If Sony didn't have so many developers developing for an older system the numbers would have worked out much better for the current generation of hardware. But, alas, this is not how it is. Sad. The PlayStation 3 is superior in every way in comparison to the PlayStation 2. Just this whole backwards compatibility thing is going to keep adding to limited sales of the console.
IMO this situation sucks.
From my perspective I think SONY should be downplaying anything PS2 related. In fact they need to put a bullet in PS2 and try to save PS3 if they want to remain competitive. It's debatable what steps they should take (massive price drop would be a good start) but the PS3 is heading for icebergs and needs to be saved fast. There are SOME promising titles hitting in 2009 but those are far from certain. HOME is, by all accounts, retarded so far. I think that was a miss. It's pure hubris for them to think they're doing well right now in the face of XBox and Live. (Wii isn't even in the same league - Nintendo has carved out their own market that Microsoft and SONY can't even compete in right now) SONY needs to
1. Put a bullet in PS2 and Home.
2. Massively drop the price on PS3 (I'd love to own Little Big Planet but I'm not dropping $400 to do it)
3. Provide more and better support to 3rd party devs in the form of cash, incentive, tools, etc. Microsoft is kicking their ass all over the place in this area.
I like how you think, Vice!
Vice, I don't think the PS2 is holding the PS3 back.
The original PS was still around for quite a bit after the PS2 launched and the PS2 was not hurt by its existence one bit.
In fact, the PS2 is HELPING the PS3 and Sony overall. Without all the hardware & software sales of the PS2 in the last 2 or 3 years (which have been quite substantial) Sony would have been in an even worse position than they are now. At least they're making money with the PS2. Not to mention, some games that came out late in the PS2's life (God Of War 2 to name one) have been pretty successful.
The reason the PS3 is 3rd place this console generation in my opinion is the high price and the one year head start the 360 had. Add to that the lack of really desirable exclusives the first year it was out and you can see why it's not as successful as it could have been.
But sales this year prove they're slowly getting back on track. I think 2009 will see even further improvement.
And I predict the Wii's popularity will begin to wane sooner than expected.
Oh, and adding back backwards compatibility wouldn't hurt either.
@Relayer71
I take your points but I think keeping the PS2 around isn't in SONY's best interest for the long term. They are making money on PS2 but they needed to push the industry onto PS3 faster. Eventually PS2 money will dry up and if PS3 / Home isn't humming along they're going to have a problem.
I feel a little self conscious coming down the mountain, especially because I don't own a PS3, but from where I'm sitting the 360/Live seems like a much better value and has a much better library - especially exclusives.
Competition is good, though, so lets hope PS3 has a good 2009!
Simple: They're selling because there still is a market for it out there. It's affordable and has a wide variety of games for it, with an eight-year backlog. Perfect alternative (or complement) to the Wii for the "casual/mainstream gamer".
The PS3 has seen too many modifications and is generally too expensive. Even the "gimped" version is pricey. I think that consumers in general were turned off by these factors. I know I was.
I'm sure Sony was thankful for the PS2 (AND the PSP)...
NPD sales:
December 2008 Hardware Sales
Nintendo DS -- 3,040,000
Wii -- 2,150,000
Xbox 360 -- 1,440,000
PlayStation Portable -- 1,020,000
PlayStation 3 -- 726,000
PlayStation 2 -- 410,000
November 2008 Hardware Sales
Wii -- 2,040,000
Nintendo DS -- 1,570,000
Xbox 360 -- 836,000
PlayStation Portable -- 421,000
PlayStation 3 -- 378,000
PlayStation 2 -- 206,000
410,000 PS2s in December. The Gamecube didn't even sell that many at the peak of its lifespan, much less at the end.
And Vice, you make some good points but I still think killing the PS2 wouldn't have helped the PS3.
I don't have one either and I won't get one until the price drops. Sure I would get a Blu-Ray player out of it but I like having separate components, never liked "all-in-ones" so that's not a selling feature for me.
PS2 compatibility on the other hand would have been. I was a Gamecube fanboy (and DC before that) and have historically only supported one system at a time (and a handheld). Just not enough time to play everything (especially with PC RPG gaming in the mix) so I got into the PS2 pretty late, will be at least another year until I finish up the 20 or so PS2 games I've purchased the last year months, lol, not to mention any others I have on my list.
But I HAVE to get a PS3 when Resident Evil 5 and FFXIII come out... those are my weaknesses :(