PS2 outsells PS3 by 4m in 2008

Digital Spy Writes:

Sony's next-generation PlayStation 3 console has been outsold by the PlayStation 2 during 2008, according to the latest sales figures.

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

I think that this will translate in to more PS3 users down the road....

[shine1396]

what I'm really interested in is if anybody was predicting any different? who expected the ps3 to be at least on par with ps2 year sales...
there are a few things not really up to scratch in article, but the facts are at least in there..

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

I don't know I mean the PS2 came a great time... I mean there was really less competition I mean the dreamcast pulled out early which suck and the Xbox and game cube came later... and DVD was exploding and the starting price was a lot lower than what it is now for the PS3...

I think it will reach a large amount of people but the large sales of the system will be when the price drops...

[MADGameR]

PS2 is the king of consoles since it sold the most ever in video gaming history.

[AngryXbot]

This only proves the power of the Playstation brand but fanboys probably wanted to spin this around again.

PS2 selling 4 times as many as PS3? Guess what, its also almost 4 times CHEAPER than the PS3 aswell!

Imagine if the PS3 was that cheap. Hell imagine PS3 being 250 bucks. It will sell like fking hotcakes!

[prunchess]

The king of all consoles! Bow all before its might!!!!!!

[Condoleezza Rice]

Since they own both consoles!

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

I also can not believe how big a footprint the PS2 has... 154 million... world wide...

[Iron Man 2]

It's all good because it's all SONY!;)

[Kyur4ThePain]

That's true and I agree.
But watch as people try and flip this as a bad thing.

[INehalemEXI]

Sony's making mad cash with the playstation brand in 08. I bet they make even more in 09 though.

[Jim Crowslaw]

good chris rock allusion ;)

[juuken]

Oh yeah, Sony is cooking with fire now.
I can't even imagine what would happen if the PS3 reaches that point.
Oh, let the good times roll.

[juuken]

I notice some people disagreed with me.
Why am I not surprised.

[Maximus]

I wonder if this happened to the PS2 when it recently launched.
The PS One reacing it's 8th birthday and outselling the younger PS2. Does anyone remember?

[PAPERCHASER0396]

What is the use of this article? Does it mean something negative or positive to be stated. I would would looke at this as being overall positive for Sony since the ps2 money goes to the same company Duhh... for any xbot that turns this into negativity. Monetary funds made by the ps2 only help to support the growth of the Ps3, thats why most mountain climbers use ropes get it?

[timmyrulz]

Oh yeah sony, oh, oh, oh(hands down the pants knockin one off)

[eagle21]

There are still some good games releasing for the little wonder in 2008. 127 million ps2's is beyond success. I want it to reach 135 million so it will always wear the crown.

But this also means the ps2 outsold the 360 in 2005, 2006, 2007, and now 2008.

[Sir Ken Kutaragi]

I don't know what to say!!! ;-D
I can't Blame Micro$oft for that one!!! ;-D

[Covenant]

$129 vs. $399...duh.

Think about it...a PS2, with its catalogue of more than 1500 games and a thriving used/secondary market, is still a great buy for those wanting an inexpensive system for the family.

Plus, Sony's probably making a decent profit on PS2 hardware at this point, so they can't be too upset at the continued success of the PS2. And as someone else noted, that means more potential PS3 owners down the stretch. (Which is one of the reasons MS never should have discontinued the original Xbox).

PS3 still hasn't quite reached the mass-market price point yet...I think that PS3 sales will really accelerate when it reaches $299 or less. (Who will get there first? MS or Sony?)

[BigKev45]

HAHA, funny. And X360 outsells PS3 in 2008.

[RememberThe357]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Wait, what are we laughing about?

[dktxx2]

Are you stupid or just blind? If the ps2 is outselling the ps3, then its also outselling the 360. You should be able to to the rest of the math.

[juuken]

With the RROD and corporate scandals they won't.

[sandip787]

i dont understand how its STILL selling so well! i mean are there many i havent seen a ps2 advert for a long time, or many new high profile games. kudos to sony for keeping the old warhorse gong though

[cliffbo]

it's not 154 million PS2s, it's 127 million. (get it right!) every PS brand sold regardless of whether it is PSP or PS2 will inevitably lead to a large percentage of those taking up the PS3 later. Sony have got their strategy spot on. everyone talks about how much Sony are losing on the PS3 without considering that that is offset by the amount of money they are making on the PSP and the PS2. MGS will cause a surge and there are 127 million PS2 owners out there. you'd better crank up the production Sony

[cliffbo]

'HAHA, funny. And X360 outsells PS3 in 2008.'

what figures have you been reading? LOLOL

[Meresin]

Only the NPD ones, apparently...It still amazes me that so many people think the US is the only country that buys games. ;)

[Azures]

Playstation 2 was the best console ever, not surprising lol.

[tk]

PS2 still going strong.
It is cheap, it has great games, vibrant second hand cheap games market, lots of Platinum titles. It outlived consoles that was launched after it (XBox and GameCube), and at this tempo, might even outlive the XB360.

It is a good buy for the bargain market. If they add some motion controller a'la Wii, then this one will be on the market for another 4-5 years. Got the Golf game with the motion controller for PS2 - plays it on the PS3. The one with the strings on it - works really well actually.

Good going for the PS2.

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

It would be nice to see a repeat of the success with the PS3, but I think the larger price point will make a huge difference...

[yanikins111]

Make or allow a motion sensitive wii-type controller. They want people to upgrade to a ps3 sooner or later. The ps2 would last another 5 years if they did that.... hell it might anyway

[cliffbo]

'It would be nice to see a repeat of the success with the PS3, but I think the larger price point will make a huge difference...'

so you think the PS3 will stay at the same price for the next 8 and 1/2 years?!

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

No I am saying when the PS2 first came it is was not 500 bucks... so the timeline for these system selling are going to be very different just because of the starting price...

So less early adopters since the price difference was a lot...

[yanikins111]

Hasn't the ps3 been selling better than the ps2 did in its first years? I heard that somewhere. Could be wrong though.

[afghani]

Its me again. The absconder from Afghanistan. I was wandering if some of u can tell me how much it costs for sony to manufacture their three consoles that are out now? I mean the psp, ps2 and the ps3?

Otherwise i can inform u that i am looking forward to playing mtg4..hope it captivates me like an orgamsme..hehe

May god bless america, the playstationbrand and nothing else!

[Jdoki]

That's kinda impressive all round really...

It's impressive that the PS2 is still selling. That really does Sony proud that they created such a phenomenal machine.

It's also impressive that apparently the PS3 is selling better than the PS2 did at the same point in it's life cycle. In effect the PS3 is doing well at a higher price point and not only competing with XBox360 and Wii, but also the original PS2.

I hope Sony continues with sort of strategy (i.e. still supporting the older console in each new generation). Owning a PS3 means knowing you will get a solid 10+ years from your purchase - and that works out as great value for money!!

[MEGANE]

So if ps3 outsells 360 ps2 is way ahead of 360 then! thats only a proof that the playstations are here two stay for a long time (10 years at least)

[seraph741]

i'm sure this comment will be blasted (this is n4g afterall), but I think that the thing is that PS3 is selling mostly on brand recognition instead of which system is actually better. I know a few people that aren't really into gaming, but thing PS3 is better "because Playstation has always been better." I'm not saying this is a bad thing necessarily, but it shouldn't automatically mean the PS3 is better.

As always, i follow with this disclaimer, I own all 3 systems, and play them all pretty equally, so i have no bias, this post is just my opinion.

[Jdoki]

I agree with you to a pint, but brand recognition has to be earned - and you can hardly blame Sony for trading on that strength.

Just like in the 80's people didn't play console games they 'played Nintendo'. People don't vacuum, they 'Hoover'. People don't photocopy, they 'Xerox'.

Somehow through a combination of being in the right place at the right time, with a quality and desirable product, backed with good marketing and a little luck some brands go beyond being just a product and reach a wider audience while being synonymous with their core market/industry.

Does it mean they are better? No way. But brand recognition on the scale of PlayStation, Coke, Nike etc has to be earned by doing 'something' right.

I know a few people buying PlayStation 3's, purely on brand strength. They loved PS1, they loved PS2... why wouldn't they buy PS3?! Xbox never came in to the equation for most of them, and for those who were on the fence the negativity around the Xbox brand (RRoD) pushed them towards Sony - so it does work both ways.

[jones smokey]

lol, this is good and bad news,.....i dont still understand how u will enter a game shop and see a ps2 and ps3 and still go for the ps2, i guess sony is in comptetion with its self, lol

[RecSpec]

One example I know is people that want to play a certain game. Like say, Guitar Hero.

People I know have seen GH and asked me. "How much do I have to spend to play THAT." Obviously the cheapest one is the PS2 version.

[Ri0tSquad]

Good job Sony?

[MANCREEP]

Major Props to the PS2. But what does this say about the PS3? Obviously its not a good thing. It only tells me, that the PS3 lacks games and costs way too much. Sure the PS3 has seem a rise in sales over the past 3-4 months, but its TOO LITTLE-TOO LATE.

I own a PS2, I dont play it very often, because of my 360. People like to talk trash about 360s breaking down alot, and IF mine does, my PS2 will take over until my 360 comes back from repair.

I just dont see how this could be a positive in a Sony Fanboy's eyes.

[RecSpec]

Well, all that money from PS2 sales goes in the same pocket as the money from PS3's.

Do the math.

[Jdoki]

I don't think this says anything negative about the PS3 at all...

Compare PS3 sales to PS2 sales at the same point in their life cycle. PS3 is ahead (according to Sony).

Look at the price point of the PS2 compared to PS3. The PS2 is now almost an impulse buy. The Wii has also shown that a lower price point works well - I suspect the Wii would not have sold as many if it was at the PS3's price point.

Look at how long the PS2 has been out. A 10 year+ life cycle can only give confidence to people looking to 'buy in' to Playstation brand. If I get 10 years of gaming from my PS3 I'll be damn happy, and the PS2 has shown there's every chance that Sony will continue that strategy.

The PS2 has the biggest gaming library, and is still getting developer support. No wonder it's still popular! Not everyone has an HDTV and 7.1 sound set up!

Continuing the support of PS2 - which now makes a (heafty) profit on each unit sold means that Sony makes less of a loss when introducing new hardware. The impact and cost of R&D and initial manufacturing is offset (to a point) by strong sales of previous hardware - from a business point of view Sony is going to be extremely happy.

The more people who buy PS2, the more people will probably move to PS3 or PS4. Getting people to buy in to the brand (creating brand loyalty) is hugely important.

[iHEARTboobs]

Can't see how this could be positive? No games for the PS3? Too little, too late?

Laughing My Ass Off! haha

Seriously though, do you even think about the things you say?

[DADO]

PS2 outsells PS3 and PS3 outsells 360.!

[PoSTedUP]

i already said they need a price cut for the ps2. imagine how good it would do then.

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

This Christmas it will happen and they they will take the PS2 off the market... to help boost PS3 sales...

[Citizen Cook]

Never mind Sony, at least your being beaten by yourselves...
And at least the PS2 makes you money...
And at least the PS2 is cheap to buy...
And at least the PS2 has loads of games...

unlike say, the PS3rd....

HA HA HA HA!

[Spinner]

And the PS3 is beating the 360 ... so PS2 is also beating the 360 :P

3604th place

[MEGAHURTZ86]

yeah ps2 is still the console to beat. Everybody is talking about the wii and how its dominating sales but they forget about the good ole ps2. I don't see any other console have the long lasting impact of the ps2 except the ps3 of course

[Rageanitus]

So why not keep it in the market, futher more it will help tone down the growth of the WII... once the ps3 starts gaining ground at the end of 2008 you can see the ps2 will drop out of the picture

[sumfood4u]

PS3 needs to do the Math A look at its Past genre an Adding fuel to its Sucessful Fire for a Sucessful Year! More GB like 300GB will do wonders for Starters, instead of selling bundles with 40GB!

[Meresin]

The last thing Sony needs to do is something that would jack up the price more. They're already losing a good chunk of change on the hardware. I'm just glad that they're smart enough to realize that making money in the long term is what matters, or there'd be no PS3, and I'd be one sad panda.