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PlayStation (Games) Entertainment Games

PlayStation Hits 100 Millionth Shipped 38

Posted by simoniker from the quite-a-few dept.
Thanks to Yahoo/AFP for its story noting global shipments of Sony's original PlayStation console have exceeded 100 million, explaining that "overseas sales of PlayStations jumped after the company launched its lightweight 'PSOne' model in 2000." Although sales are slowing (though not by as much as GamePro is claiming), since: "In the year to March 2004, the company produced and shipped 3.31 million PSOne units", the PlayStation 2 may be on course to beat its predecessor, as it "has shipped 70 million units... since March 2000."
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PlayStation Hits 100 Millionth Shipped More

PlayStation Hits 100 Millionth Shipped

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  • How many dupes? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wheresdrew ( 735202 ) on Wednesday May 19, 2004 @07:11PM (#9200435) Journal
    Too bad they can't factor in multiple sales to the same household. I know both the early PS1 and PS2 models had reliability problems, forcing some people to replace their systems if they wanted to keep playing.

    I still remember having a model 1000 series PS1 that had to be turned upside down to get games to play, since the plastic rails supporting the CD drive would warp if the system go too hot.

    • Re:How many dupes? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Trejkaz ( 615352 )
      Good to see it lives up to Sony's quality standard.
      • For reference, I had an identicle system and never had a problem with it at all, even with heavy/long playsessions. I'd still have it but I sold it to a neighbor about 6 months after I got a PS2.

        It worked great for them untill a large book fell of a shelf and crushed the poor thing.

    • We solved our problem with those by drilling holes into it and putting it downwind a cyclone fan. Last winter my friend was still using it to play FF7 [amazon.com] which he has never beat, heh. 3 years plus to play a game is there a world record out there or is some dork going to say they have an apple II with zork on it that has been on the opening screen since 1989?

  • I like video games because of the replay value (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 19, 2004 @07:16PM (#9200458)
    If every movie I went to gave me the movie on DVD or gave me a key to download it at my leisure when I left the theater I would feel satisifed but they don't and I can get a 5-10 dollar playstation game off ebay [qksrv.net] and be content with my purchase for years. 10 bucks is not chump change to me.
  • Well I guess if they've shipped 70 million PS2s they are no longer selling them at a loss.

    I've always been skeptical of that rumour.

    • Re:70 million PS2s (Score:3, Interesting)

      by NanoGator ( 522640 )
      "I've always been skeptical of that rumour."

      Heh. Yeah somebody's been reading the "Facts of Gord" or whatever it's called. The big difference is in how you do the math. Sony spent like $2 billion dollars researching that system. Even if on a per-component level they made money, it still took them a while to break even. There was still the "we need to sell 4 games per system" quota initially.

      • Re:70 million PS2s (Score:1, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Did you know that the xbox is selling on a 12-18 games per system quota just to break even?

  • Is this why... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SuperMo0 ( 730560 ) <supermo0@g m a i l.com> on Wednesday May 19, 2004 @09:04PM (#9201025)
    ...there's still a slow trickle of game software being made for the PS1? The PS1 is probably the longest lasting piece of video game hardware in terms of how long games have been made for it officially after its successor came to market. Games are being made specifically for it, and games are also being made jointly for PS2 and PS1 (mostly sports games are what I've seen).

    • Re:Is this why... (Score:4, Informative)

      by shadowcabbit ( 466253 ) <cx.thefurryone@net> on Wednesday May 19, 2004 @09:10PM (#9201044) Journal
      No, the reason XS Games and other companies are still cranking out PS1 software is the combination of Sony no longer requiring licensing fees for the software (IIRC), and because there's a cheap buck to be made in porting games which four years ago would never have passed Sony inspection, but squeak through now because Sony feels, "hey, who's really going to buy it now? Everyone who matters already has a PS2 and it's not like we'll be losing money or anything."

      Sadly, I was one of those people... picked up a copy of "High School League Dodge Ball" or something (not the good one from about a year ago), was pleasantly surprised to see it was an anime-styled game, and then got disgusted with the awful play control and sold it back two weeks later for $7.

    • Re:Is this why... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Frizzle Fry ( 149026 )
      The PS1 is probably the longest lasting piece of video game hardware in terms of how long games have been made for it officially after its successor came to market.

      I'd be surprised if it has beat the original gameboy. It was ages after it came out until the gameboy color was released, and I think a while after that until there stopped being new non-color games. Anyone have numbers/ years available on this?

    • Re:Is this why... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Tezkah ( 771144 )
      Actually, the Neo-Geo [retro-games.co.uk] is the longest lasting game console, it was released in 1990, and just this year the last game for the system was released.

      Of course, you had to pay lots of money (hundreds of dollers per game), but they had a decent following, although it never had the success of the PSOne. They're still [search.ebay.ca] quite expensive. Gabe [penny-arcade.com] from Penny-Arcade is a collector.
      • I wasn't referring to pure life of a console, I was referring to life after a successor has hit the market. How long did N64 have games made for it after GCN hit shelves? Or SNES/N64? Or SMS/Genesis? Most consoles die quick deaths once their successor comes to market, but the PSOne seems to have achieved a sort of slow trickle of activity, which is unusual this late in its lifespan.
    • I think a big factor is compatability with PS2. I never had a PS1, but I've bought numerous PS1 games to play on the PS2. Even if a title is offered for both PS1 and PS2, they may be completely different games. For example, Monsters, Inc. for PS2 was completely different from the game for PS1.

  • Its a vicious cycle... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Tezkah ( 771144 )
    ... where units sold brings more developers to your system, and then those new developers bring games to your system, which sells more units.

    Hopefully Sony realizes this and get as many PSPs out the door as possible (with a low price point), which is really the key to success for any console. The GBA ("classic") is really a horrible system (the screen...), but theres so many out there, it makes developers bring more good games to it, making it an awesome handheld (especially now that the screen is fixed).

  • Environmental Concern (Score:3, Funny)

    by superpulpsicle ( 533373 ) on Wednesday May 19, 2004 @09:30PM (#9201120)
    I am glad the PSone is still selling like hot cakes. If it was Xbox controllers selling 70 million units, the earth would have ran out of materials.

  • I'll always remember the cold winter night (in 1994?) that I went round to a friend's house and was introduced to the PlayStation. 6 hours later at 4am I went home amazed. I could not believe that graphics could be so good. Graphics that worked for-you. I hope they put the playstation in a Museum one day and discuss life before PS and how mechanical it was. I'd love to know how Sony manage their RnD and QA departments so well. (I never did actually BUY one though! I'm not into games generally.)
    • You never played a Sega Saturn have you? While the PS1 was truely revolutionary in terms of graphics, it wasn't for a nearly a year did it make some advances in gameplay. Who here still plays PS1 launch games like Battle Arena Tosheden(sp) or Loaded? No, they play games like Mega Man 8 which used the old tried-and-true gameplay and FFVII which is a mixed bag depending on how you looked at it.
      • You are quite right... I never played a Sega Saturn. What do you think is the best games console these days?

        • Depends on what you mean by 'games.'

          If you're looking for Japanese RPGs, PS2, no contest. If you're looking for platformers, PS2 or Xbox. If you're looking for Zelda, Mario or Metroid, GC. If you're looking for new or inventive gameplay, DreamCast or Xbox. If you're looking for sports, I believe it's PS2, at this point. If you're looking for online, Xbox.

          I've had an xbox for years, now, but I finally got around to picking up a PS2 for the .hack series, Final Fantasy X and X-2, and I plan to get Lif

  • Sadly... (Score:3, Funny)

    by ffsnjb ( 238634 ) on Wednesday May 19, 2004 @11:00PM (#9201498) Homepage
    I have neither the PS1 or PS2. I'm still using a p2-400 to play Counter-Strike. Why, oh why, did I spend $100,000 on college to get a shit job when I could have bought thousands of Playstations and still have the same job?


    Come on Sony, sell them for $10 so I can not eat for a day, and then pick one up. :)


  • Or, um, perhaps I should just say I've ensured fair use rights for my friends and their game collections.

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