Games

PS2 Drops to $109, No Joke

By Eli Green
March 31, 2009 - 15:45

No, it's not an April Fools joke, though we do see it as a sign that the Playstation 2 is reaching the end of its 10 year life cycle. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced today that it will be dropping manfacturer's suggested retail price of the Playstation 2 to $109 CDN tomorrow. Since releasing the Playstation 2 in 2000, Sony has sold over 136 million units of its second generation home video game console worldwide (that's as of December 2008), making it the most popular system in the video game industry to date (we figure that the Nintendo DS will be passing that mark rather soon, as Nintendo has already shipped over 100 million of them – unless you don't count it because of the different iterations).

Remember the original Playstation 2? It's nice to see that it's been slimmed down.

There are a few specific reasons the Playstation 2 has been so successful over the years. One reason is Sony's introduction of the 10-year system lifespan. No longer would consumers have to feel that their system would soon be obsolete, especially if they bought it a couple years in, after some price drops. Consumers could feel secure knowing that games would continue being developed and released for the Playstation 2, even if Sony released another system (PS3 anyone?) during that 10-year life cycle. Another major reason was major third party support, continued largely from what Sony was already doing with the original Playstation. A large number of third party developers and publishers helped bring a number of unique titles to the Playstation platforms and, especially considering Nintendo's lackluster third party support at the time, had a lot more to offer than other systems on the market. One last reason, and probably one of the biggest, aside from the ease of modding (yes, easy piracy helps system sales) and its out-of-the-box CD and DVD playing capabilities, was extreme market saturation of games. Sony flooded the market with a vast collection of Playstation 2 games. As games hit a specific number of units sold, they would become Greatest Hits and be re-released at ridiculously enticing prices.

The current, slim PS2

This latest price drop does tell us one thing though, the time of the Playstation 2 is almost up. Well, that and the fact that it is now early 2009 and the system will be turning 10 next year, thus reaching the end of its life cycle. $109 is definitely an enticing price, but with one year left to go until the Playstation 2 really is obsolete, is it worth picking up? That will probably depend on what Sony does with the Playstation 3 and its price over the next year. Comparatively, the price difference is still so major that it doesn't make sense for most consumers to purchase a Playstation 3, either because they can't afford its still ridiculously high price or because they won't be able to put it to full use (i.e. its high definition or superior surround sound features). If you do choose to purchase a Playstation 2 though, you will have a back catalogue of nearly 1,900 games available to you, even after its time is up.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12