Low-Price Compact PlayStation 2 Due Next Year

MCV is reporting that a $99 version of the PlayStation 2, in a new and compact format, will be released next year. The new unit will incorporate the power supply into its housing, allowing Sony to manufacture the product very inexpensively. "The news will surely come as a blow to Sony rivals Nintendo and Microsoft, who have seen sales of PS2 suffer somewhat due to the introduction of Wii and Xbox 360 in recent years. PS2 this week celebrated its seventh anniversary, during which time it has sold over 120 million units worldwide. Yet this cut demonstrates Sony's belief that the system's market is far from exhausted. Last month, publisher bosses from the likes of Eidos, Ubisoft and Atari suggested to MCV that a price cut on the console could massively reinvigorate its sales figures."

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[happyemoticon]

Well, I don't know. I bought my first PS2 a few months ago, because 1) the system itself and all the games I wanted to play are cheap, 2) there is still far more entertainment value in the PS2's library than all of the next-generation consoles combined, 3) I have a better job, 4) I don't have an HDTV and 5) I needed a new dvd player. I can't believe what I was missing all of these years! Seems like the PS2 is still a good choice in the cheap-nostalgic-non-cutting-edge-need-a-DVD-player demographic.

Smaller units

[Enderandrew]

Some people are obsessed with smaller units, and will replace their existing PS2's with the smaller unit. This isn't aimed solely at people who haven't purchased a console yet. Many people with older PS2's may have experienced DVD drive failures, and a cheap, smaller replacement may appeal to them, especially since the cheaper PS3 lost backwards compatibility.

When I was in Europe, smaller appliances were all the rage.

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[happyemoticon]

I can see how you could take those statements as somewhat inconsistent. I'm pretty young. At the time the PS2 was really big I was a starving student, so any type of electronic entertainment beyond what could also be used for schoolwork was a luxury. I suppose I should add that I still try to be pretty frugal even now that I have a real job with a comfortable salary - I'll now allow myself a game system, but I went for the best perceived value.

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[Anonymous Coward]

If I had to buy one, I'd buy the PS2. The Wii doesn't have any available games that I care about (and I'm not into the Mario/Metroid/Zelda franchises).

Gifts? Well, the PS2 is quite a bit cheaper, so I guess I'd buy that too.

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[donaldm]

If you had to buy just ONE, which one would you want to buy?
Now if you had to buy 3 as gifts, which one would you want to buy
The Wii wins on both counts.

I fail to see your logic here. If a person wants a PS3, Xbox360 or a Wii then then they are going to buy on price and/or perceived entertainment value and people who buy these machines are not normally going to buy them as a present unless it is for the immediate family or themselves.

Most people looking to give a games machine as a Christmas present will find a cheap brand new (you would not give a second hand one, would you?) PS2 an excellent gift. If you are a person who is looking to buy more than one Wii as a Christmas present then you are going to pay one and half times what the new PS2 costs. In addition the games for the PS2 are relatively cheap and there is such a diversity of games that they cater for nearly all tastes, in addition the graphics are just as good as the Wii's graphics, especially if you don't have a HDTV. Actually my PS2 games as well as my Gamecube games still look good on my 37" HDTV since it smooths Standard Definition output.