According to Gamasutra, Sony still has big plans for the PS2.  Why not, it has sold over 50 million units in the US to date!

If 2008 proved one thing, it's that the PlayStation 2 is still an important part of Sony's lineup. The system provided a nice financial cushion in the face of the money-gobbling PlayStation 3, with significant sales that saw it finish ahead of the Xbox 360 for much of the year.

Despite much higher revenue numbers for next-gen hardware and software, Nielsen data shows that gamers collectively spent more time with their PS2 than with nay other console.

And yesterday, Sony announced that the console has reached 50 million units sold in North America. On the day of the milestone, Gamasutra spoke to John Koller, director of hardware marketing at SCEA.

"It's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy; as it continues to sell, development continues, and consumers continue to buy," says Koller. "There's such a wide range of entertainment experiences available that I think it would be very difficult for people to complain, 'this console doesn't have anything that appeals to me'."

According to Koller, CEO Jack Tretton believes "the only way to kill the PS2 business is to stop supporting it." Though unwilling to reveal any key games, Koller says, "With the lineup for 2009 and 2010, the PS2 is not going away anytime soon."

Defining the Keys to Success

How does the success of the PS2 compare to the original PlayStation? Says Koller, "The PS1 was obviously very successful in its own right and did mid-30 millions... [But with the PS2] back in 2000, that was a time when we were able to garner a lot of software support as well as create the value in the box that consumers are really asking for."

According to Koller, the initial keys to the PS2's success, which laid the foundation for its continued sales, include the then-advanced technology in the box.

In addition, the system's "dual role" as a game console and DVD player, and its "incredible software lineup" helped birth a system which, by 2009, features over 1800 games in North America -- with 130 released in 2008.

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Posted at 11:32AM Jan 14, 2009 by Kevin P McAuliffe in Astound  |  Comments[0]