Sega: PS2 will continue to sell in its millions during 2007 and even 2008

Simon Jeffery of Sega USA commented that he expects the PS2 will still sell in its mega millions during 2007 and perhaps even 2008. He also believed that the PS2 can compete with 'next-gen' consoles as it is more something that will sit in the kids bedroom as opposed to on a HDTV in the living room.

quote:
Sony's PlayStation2 is now six years old, yet it's still going strong. How do you explain this?

The PS2's very large user base is partly the reason. It's also that Sony is still actively building, promoting, and selling the PS2. At its current price-we expect another price cut in the not-too-distant future-we believe the PS2 in November-December next year probably has the capacity to sell more than any other format. We think the PS2 will actively be sold for another two holiday seasons (2007 and 2008) and will continue to sell millions of units.

[Kage]

The way I see it is, the Ps3 doesnt really have to succeed, the PS2 is still a PlayStation product therefore bringing alot of profit to Sony. It may kill all PS3's business but Sony is still taking some of the market.

[MicroGamer]

will be replacing their worn out PS2 with a new one. That will account for a lot of the sales. A lot of people will also be buying them as secondary units to put in places like vacation homes and RV's. The same thing happened when the redesigned PSOne was released.

Kage, PS2 can't carry the Sony brand forever. At some point PS3 has to take over, and the sooner that happens, the better. The longer PS2 is on the market for a lower price and with more games and developers continue to support it, PS3 is going to be slow to reach critical mass. With the huge sales leads that 360 and Wii have on PS3, keeping the PS2 in production is going to contribute heavily to the death of PS3.

[Juevani]

PS2 will just warm up for the PS3, in march it will be around 6 mill. PS3 sold world wide if not more and guese it will be around 20 to 25 mill. PS3s sold between march and x-mas 2007, by then Sony will drop The PS2 to boost up the PS3 sells even more cus in that we'll see price drop and many exclusive games out, that way sony will sell millions of bundles in x-mas 2007 (MGS4 Bundle, FF13 maybe and many more) Sony is a one smart company.

[TheMART]

Nope, the laggards in buying process will buy a PS2 because it's still supported.

Those for next gen stuff go for the XBOX 360. The PS3 won't sell enough and could bring Sony in big trouble.

Selling figures of december 2006 for North America:

360 sold 2 million
Wii sold 1.8 million
PS3 sold 750k

The rest of the world even had no choice between next gen consoles and bought a 360 for Christmas right away.

Too bad. Sony waited, waited and lost

[Kage]

You realize with Sales of the PS2 Sony could afford to bring the PS3's pricetag down. Early this year if the PS3 isnt doing well they will reduce the price. If the PS3 goes down to 400 it will outsell the 360 with ease. All Sony has to do is play their cards right. Microsoft had their year of greatness, but this year is most likely not gonna be their year. Halo 3 is gonna be a really good title, but most of the ppl who wanted that game already have a 360 therefore wont be much of a system seller.

[Oncnawan]

How will Sony sell 5.15 million PS3s (6m - .85m = 5.15m) in three months when they couldn't sell 1 million PS3s in one and a half months during the holiday season?

[FeralPhoenix]

yes the sales of the PS2 are still very good, but that doesn't mean Sony can afford to lower the price on the PS3 since right now they are currently making only $8 dollars on every PS2 sold according to the latest figures I saw....but they are already losing $241.35 on every PS3 sold...

http://www.engadget.com/200...
-so I wouldn't expect a price drop anytime soon, Sony invest BIG TIME in the PS3 and they need to sell alot of PS2 just at to equal their losses on PS3, I have no doubt that Sony is please with sales of PS2 because it is help their overall bottom line in the market, but trust me even Sony would much rather sales pick up on PS3 because even though they will lose money on the front end, the PS3 is the key to their future success in the industry....and they need a large "next gen" fanbase to keep dev support and thus make recoup their losses from game sales.

BTW, orginal xbox never made a profit, but of course M$ was the new guy among 2 giants in the industry and they had the kind of money it takes to "get your foot in the door", if ya know what I mean.

[MicroGamer]

price drop on PS2 again soon. So there goes the $8 profit they were making on each unit. If they drop it even $10 they are back in the red with PS2, so they will have two consoles that are losing money on each sale.

[darx]

It's so 2004!

[r1000]

The only thing that keeps the PS2 going so strong is games. And thats the only way PS3 has to start catching fire... It needs games... once games start pumping out, the ps3 will get sales, and I don't think the price tag will will hinder it

[Oncnawan]

Lack of games is only one of the PS3's problems. The price point is unreasonable for the mass market that drives the console market. Most people who buy consoles wait for them to drop below $200(USD). Sales can't "catch on fire" until there are worthwhile games on the system, AND there is a reasonable price to go with it.

The PS2 is doing so well because it has lots of games AND it is dirt cheap.

[r1000]

I'm not trying to nullify your comment... but lets see what the "mass market" is willing to spend money on..

Lets look at products that are "around" the $300 price range (remember I said around)

ipods
http://store.apple.com/1-80...
MS zune
http://www.bestbuy.com/site...
Surround systems
http://www.bestbuy.com/site...
People are spending are at least willing to spend for $300 mp3 players that just play music for 250-300.

I put a cheap surround sound system just for the hell of it.. some people might never even look at that surround sound system because it's so cheap (meaning they want better quality).

I'm just saying people want them to drop the price of the PS3 to 300, a system they are touting (i'm not saying it will succeed in this) that can be the center of your home entertainment media center to cost $300. How can you put a 300 dollar price tag on the PS3 with all it's technology (cell, blu ray, 60 gig, built in wifi, bluetooth enabled) in the same price as 300 dollar Ipod which is a harddrive with software to play music

[Oncnawan]

None of those items is a game console. The appeal is different. Surround sound systems are also purchased by people who buy HDTV's, which costs thousands of dollars. Are you suggesting that the PS3 sales would start catching fire if it cost $3000, but had some great titles? The market is different.

The appeal of a music device is vastly greater than a stay-at-home console. For what it is, merely a game, a console is not worth $600 to most people who buy consoles. I agree that more games increases the appeal of the console. However, look at the price point at which, historically, console sales have caught fire. It is not $300. That is the price that consoles have launched at, historically. The mass market waits to move until it drops below $200, even more so when it drops to $150 or less.

[r1000]

??? I don't know how in the world can people expect to pay 300 dollars for console... that would be the same price that I paid for a console 6-7 years ago... Things go up in price it's a fact. but yet that console capable of doing 3 times more capabilities of the one i payed 300 dollar 6 years ago
With very few convenient features... the car has not changed since say the 50's & yet cars now at days cost 20 times more then what they cost back then... even 20 years ago cars cost less..
houses,
Cars,
Gas,
I would love for things to be the same price they were 5-10-15 years ago, but they're not.
I'm willing to bet that 70-80 percent of the Ipod buyers are gamers and xbox, ps3's, wii's appeal to them as well...
And I never mention appeal.. technology/hardware speaking.
$300=hard drive with software to play music,
sony's going to charge
$300= hard drive, cell processer, blu ray player, wifi, High definition output, basically a whole mulitmedia hub, that can sit at the center of your living room...
sorry but that doesn't add up...

[MicroGamer]

$300 is the magic number that everyone has become used to over the years. Neo Geo broke with the price and got killed. PS3 broke with the price and is getting killed. 360 premium is $100 above that, but you can offset all or most of that by looking for a deal with rebates or freebies. That was the reason for the two tier pricing strategy by Microsoft. They knew they wouldn't be able to contain the price on the premium system below the $300 mark, so they created the Core system with less features that could be upgraded later for the price sensitive buyers. After more than a year on the market, and a new manufacturing process on the horizon, MS is getting to the point where they might be able to get the premium system down to below $300 which will trigger a rush of sales. The core system will benefit, too as it's price will also fall, assuming MS decides to keep it on the market.

[Oncnawan]

Where are Sony going to come up with a price cut on the PS2? At some point, console component prices just won't get cheaper. If they are losing money on the PS3 and barely making money on the PS2, where are they going to come up with enough margin for a price cut?

I can understand cutting the price of the PS3, as that is an investment in later hardware and software sales as a marketshare-grabbing maneuver. However, the PS2 has no competition from the original Xbox and the Gamecube. It is competing against the 360, the Wii and the PS3. Why would Sony pit a loss-making PS2 against a loss-making PS3? At least now they make a few dollars with the PS2.

Product cycles indicate that sound strategy is to take a loss as an investment in the PS2 early in its life in order to drive the market. Then, after establishing a large marketshare and lower product costs, Sony should be milking the cash cow (which they have been doing). Maybe a price cut (to parity with cost, or even below cost) is Sony's version of Blue Ocean strategy. You know, shake up the market, Nintendo-style. (I'm kidding here folks.)

[kewlkat007]

We all know sony did say they want the PS3 to last at least 10 years. So we will probally see a new XBOX product before the PS3 actually becomes mainstream.

I wonder if thats a good thing for sony?

[power of Green]

Is it not common sense a dirt cheap console with a huge dime a dozon collection of title's will sell better than all console's(although it's stealing the thunder from PS3 as consumers are not upgrading to the next-gen in Sony's camp).

[Schmitty07]

With the low price, abundance of games, and support from developers around. Gamecube and Xbox are dead, and their next gen succeeders are doing very well, but on the other hand PS3 is not and PS2 is selling great.

[specialguest]

PS2 may be the "Gameboy" of Sony. meaning it'll be what helps keep Sony alive and kicking, just like what Gameboy did for Nintendo, when the N64 and GameCube couldn't in terms of sales.

[Boink]

if I was a kid and someone gave me a ps2 for xmas I would kick them in the teeth and yell "YOU THINK THIS IS 2004?!!!"

[mandrake]

The vast majority that bought a PS2 recently will not be buying a PS3 anytime soon. Buying a PS2 when a PS3 has the same chipset inside strongly indicates that whoever is purchasing a PS2 instead is unwilling to spend the extra money to buy into SONY's vision of the next generation, at least for the moment. A cheap PS2 negates backward compatibility as a selling point for the PS3. In that sense, PS2 may help SONY stay afloat in the near term, but its continued popularity may actually hinder SONY's long term strategy.

[Monchichi025]

That the biggest reason these people are buying PS2's is because of it's cheap price and large selection of games. 5 Years from now, which console do you think will be in this similar position. Nope not the PS3 as it will be impossible to ever go under $200, it will be the X-box 360!!

[djbassay2k5]

people arent buying the ps3 because store employees are telling them

-there is not that many games yet but the 360 has more games at the moment, buy it instead

-we dont have them instock, come back next week

-man the PS3 sucks, i wouldnt buy it

-retailers were hording them

-bad press from the New York times (A WORLD CLASS NEWS PAPER)

-other countless instances negative press and rumors from the Inet, Prime time TV shows, and various other media sources

with all that im surprized they even sold 1.. let alone over 1 million in only 2 territories

[MicroGamer]

but the criticism of PS3 and Sony is not at all unfounded. The people who work in the retail outlets are supposed to know their stuff. They see on a daily basis what is arriving in terms of games for the PS3 and they also see what is on the way in the near future. Go to any Gamestop and look at their reservation board. Some of the games on it are almost a year away. If they say that there is no overwhelming reason to buy a PS3 for at least a year, they know what they are talking about. Now, retail employees get at least part of their pay from sales commission. So a customer comes in with no clue which system he wants, the salesman is going to sell the system that he thinks is least likely to result in a return and loss of his commission. 360's are in stock, cheaper than PS3, have tons of games to keep the buyer busy for a long time, and the best online service, so of course they are going to sell them a 360 instead. They would be stupid not to. It has nothing to do with fanboyism at the retail level, it's about making the customer leave the store with a bit less money than he had when he walked in. If the situation were reversed and PS3 had more games and better online and there was no shortage, they would be pushing that, even with the higher price tag.

[OblivionMon]

The PS3 is a interesting console and will most likey only atract those with a deep-pocket or a sony fanboy. You see it has alot of potential to change the industry but with the price and the lack of a good online network it may be shot by the Xbox Live service.

The price shall not be changed for a while because production costs have them losing money, but as the pro costs get lower so will the retail price.

[Ugly American]

And it was a gag gift for my father-in-law. He plays guitar, so I got him the cheap ass PS2 and Guitar Hero 2. He was impressed, but I just laughed it off. I have two 360's, two PS3's(anybody want to buy a new PS3 for $600?), and a wii. The PS2, with all of this next-gen power, sucks.

[bigj]

sony is losing alot of money on the ps3. If I am not mistaken they are losing about $200 to $300 on the ps3 with each sale. So tell me how are they gonna make a profit on a $129 ps2 to make up the loss on the ps3. This is a stupid and ridiculus article. The ps2 is only selling good because its cheap. It is not even in the same category of xbox360,wii, and ps3. People still buy VCR's but to put them in the same class as a dvd player is just insane.

[bigj]

this is a reliable source of information beings its coming from Sega. Thats probably what happened to them banking on an older console besides putting more effort in trying to sale the Dreamcast. Which in my opinion the Dreamcast was a bada_s gaming machine, but Sega just could not keep up.

[djbassay2k5]

sony will probably sale 4-5 Ps2's for PS3 sold and they make like $50 off each PS2(assumingly)

[FKN Unbelievable]

Was'nt you just told that they make 8$ by Feral? I tell you Sony and thier Beef up Numbers. Now all of a sudden they sold 1 million Ps3. Go Figure.

[BoneMagnus]

A great bargain! I can play all the PS exclusive games I missed out on and get my next-gen on with my 360.