Why Did The PlayStation 2 Sell So Well?
Unraveling the mystery of Sony’s most successful console
Holiday 2000, millions lined up at their local retailer to pick up the latest console from Sony. Sony’s first PlayStation was a hit, and the people waiting in line couldn’t wait to get their hands on the sequel. The customers heard Sony had created a machine that was leagues apart from the competition with powerful graphics, impressive titles, and a DVD player. Those features alone sold 500,000 units, and 1.3 million by the end of the year.
By the end of its life, the console had sold 155 million units as last reported on March 31, 2012. It’s regarded as Sony’s best-selling and best-marketed console of all time. So, what made the PlayStation 2 the money maker it was?
Outstanding hardware
Sony’s PlayStation 2 had powerful specs. It’s CPU ran at 300 Mhz, had 32 MB of onboard RAM, and used 8MB memory cards. Today those numbers are minuscule, but back then, those expenditures made the machine more powerful than its primary competitor, Dreamcast. Unfortunately, the GameCube and Xbox beat the PlayStation 2 hardware strength with…
