Gaming: A Giant's Final Days?
Written by Hopper, Monday April 27 2009
A fact many people are not aware of is that Sony's Playstation 2(PS2) is the world's best selling video game unit of all time. Since it was released into the world back in 2000, it has sold over 136 million units. More than Microsoft's Xbox or 360, more than Nintendo's Gameboy, Gamecube, 64, or Wii, and even more than its predecessor, the original Playstation.
Unfortunately, the best-selling gaming unit of all time may be in its final days on the shelf.
Since its successor, the Playstation 3, hit the shelves back in 2006, everyone knew it would only be a matter of time before the PS2 was no longer on the shelves. Miraculously, Sony's sleek product has managed to remain on the shelves for 9 years, including 3 years sharing the shelves with the more updated PS3.
Not only that, but brand new games have also been made for the PS2 as well over the past 3 years. EA Sports has continued making updated versions of its uber-popular Madden NFL game, as well as NCAA Football and Basketball, MLB, NBA, NHL, FIFA Soccer, NASCAR, Fight Night(Boxing), and even NFL Head Coach games for the PS2. And several other video game franchises, including the makers of Guitar Hero, have done the same.
But today, when I made my weekly trip to Target, I took my usual stroll over to the electronics, and noticed that something was missing. The area that usually contains the PS2 games and accessories(which has been getting smaller and smaller over the years), now simply held PSP(Playstation Portable) accessories and games. I searched and searched, and the only thing I could find related to the PS2 were a couple boxes of Guitar Hero, and maybe a few accessories.
But, if you do not wish to take my word for it, the evidence that the PS2 is dissappearing off the shelves is as clear as Sony's see-through controllers. All over the internet, including on Bestbuy.com and Walmart.com, PS2 consoles are selling for less than $100, an all-time low for the best-selling unit of all time.
Of course, we won't know for sure how near the demise of the PS2 is until mid-summer, when a slew of new EA Sports games, including the aforementioned football games and Fight Night, are expected to be released. If they are available for the PS2, then perhaps the end is a little farther off than one may expect.
But, regardless of whether or not those games are available for the PS2, anyone familiar with the gaming world knows that the end is near for the PS2. The only remaining question would be, as I said, how near. After all, we've seen this movie before with countless Nintendo products, including the Gamecube and 64, Microsoft's Xbox, and even Sony's Playstation. It's all a part of the electronics business. But what makes this such a big deal is that, as I have mentioned several times, the PS2 is the best-selling video game unit of all time.
Personally, the PS2 holds, and will always hold, a special place in my heart. The first gaming console I ever owned was a PS2. I remember the excitement I felt when I brought it home. It was, in fact, my only gaming console until I got a 360 for Christmas a few years ago. And to demonstrate just how reliable the PS2s are, I still own and play on mine when my 360 doesn't work.
Assuming they last as long as all of the obsolete giants before it, such as the Gamecube and 64, old-school gamers(and I use that term lightly out of respect to you Pac-Man and Galaga fans) will be enjoying PS2s for a very long time. Hopefully they do last a long time, because this gaming giant could be living its final days on store shelves.
Playstation 2, if you are indeed leaving us, you will be dearly missed.
Tags:
Leave a comment
Not So Fast! To publish your comment, you have to login
Not Registered? Register now as it only take 20 seconds!
Click here to browse
0 comments