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Jim Ryan: PS2 sold 160 million units

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Huh? Nintendo isn't immune from long development cycles either. That's why Switch had to rely so heavily on Wii U ports initially and for several years after too.
This had a lot more to do with them suddenly shifting their priorities than the games having long dev cycles. A lot of them were planned for the Wii U but just redone for the Switch.

Nintendo has a few games with long dev times such as BOTW, but the majority of their catalog doesn’t have budgets in excess of $200M with the development time to match.
 
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Killjoy-NL

Member
At this point I wonder if Nintendo couldn’t just do a traditional home console and outsell its competitors.

Microsoft is irrelevant, and Sony have painted themselves into a corner with their enormous budgets and development times.

Nintendo could release a decently powerful home console for $400 and full support for third-party titles and keep releasing the games they’re known for that don’t cost $250M+ and take 5 years to make. However, this would also diminish their appeal so perhaps what they’re doing is for the best.
Like N64, Gamecube and Wii U?

They have a winning formula with a hybrid, the dumbest thing to do is go back to compete with Playstation as a traditional homeconsole.
 
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clarky

Gold Member
stolen gif
PS2_anim-ventes.gif
Loved my Dreamcast. Fucking tragedy.
 

Azelover

Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
It sold considerably less than that. Sony used a very bad accounting system for hardware, and it changed in the second half of the generation, overlapping the data. PS2 sales were over counted. Don't ask me to explain it, because I don't have time.

We will never know the real number. We only know that it's lower than what has been registered. Millions less.
 
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Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Like N64, Gamecube and Wii U?

They have a winning formula with a hybrid, the dumbest thing to do is go back to compete with Playstation as a traditional homeconsole.
Those consoles utterly lacked 3rd-party support. The N64 especially lost pretty much all major third-party devs and was solely carried by Nintendo studios.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
Those consoles utterly lacked 3rd-party support. The N64 especially lost pretty much all major third-party devs and was solely carried by Nintendo studios.
Switch is successfull because it's a hybrid-handheld.
Going back to a traditional console instantly takes way it's main selling-point.

Nintendo needs the handheld-demographic.
 
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Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Switch is successfull because it's a hybrid-handheld.
Going back to a traditional console instantly takes way it's main selling-point.

Nintendo needs the handheld-demographic.
It being a handheld is certainly part of the appeal but Nintendo is also on their A-game with the Switch.

I’m just wondering how they’d do now since the market has shifted quite a lot since the Wii U days and major Nintendo franchises such as Zelda are at their all-time peak in terms of popularity.

Microsoft used to be a legitimate competitor and the market didn’t seem as friendly towards Nintendo games.
 
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Woopah

Member
Switch still needs another 20 million or so, I don't think there's any guarantee it passes the PS2.

At this point I wonder if Nintendo couldn’t just do a traditional home console and outsell its competitors.

Microsoft is irrelevant, and Sony have painted themselves into a corner with their enormous budgets and development times.

Nintendo could release a decently powerful home console for $400 and full support for third-party titles and keep releasing the games they’re known for that don’t cost $250M+ and take 5 years to make. However, this would also diminish their appeal so perhaps what they’re doing is for the best.
It's no longer possible for Nintendo to support two seperate ecosystems, but they don't want to abandon either the home console or handheld markets. So the hybrid approach makes sense.
Huh? Nintendo isn't immune from long development cycles either. That's why Switch had to rely so heavily on Wii U ports initially and for several years after too.
It relied on Wii U ports for the first 18 months or so, not so much after that.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
In quality, never, from anyone.
Yep. A perfect console has both an amazing first and THIRD party. Nintendo hasn't done good on the latter front since the SNES

PS2 meanwhile was divine on all fronts. A real champion system. It'll be disappointing to see it dethroned especially since I didn't anticipate the Switch getting this far
 
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Sleepwalker

Member
It sold considerably less than that. Sony used a very bad accounting system for hardware, and it changed in the second half of the generation, overlapping the data. PS2 sales were over counted. Don't ask me to explain it, because I don't have time.

We will never know the real number. We only know that it's lower than what has been registered. Millions less.

Makes wild claim
Refuses to elaborate
Leaves
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
It sold considerably less than that. Sony used a very bad accounting system for hardware, and it changed in the second half of the generation, overlapping the data. PS2 sales were over counted. Don't ask me to explain it, because I don't have time.

We will never know the real number. We only know that it's lower than what has been registered. Millions less.
Please explain. Take as long as needed. I’m interested.

Very curious for them to move the goalposts at this moment, and via Jim too.

Part of me wants to believe this is part of a 4D chess game. Sony announces this so Nintendo wants to keep OG Switch on the market longer to try beating PS2 and failing anyway, delaying Switch 2 in the meantime and leaving Sony free reign now that MS is in full crisis . Then again, delaying Switch 2 may allow them to make it better hardware.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
It sold considerably less than that. Sony used a very bad accounting system for hardware, and it changed in the second half of the generation, overlapping the data. PS2 sales were over counted. Don't ask me to explain it, because I don't have time.

We will never know the real number. We only know that it's lower than what has been registered. Millions less.
lucious lyon wtf GIF
 

XXL

Member
It sold considerably less than that. Sony used a very bad accounting system for hardware, and it changed in the second half of the generation, overlapping the data. PS2 sales were over counted. Don't ask me to explain it, because I don't have time.

We will never know the real number. We only know that it's lower than what has been registered. Millions less.
Meme Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
 

hemo memo

Gold Member
There were a lot of shit games too. Don’t need to act like everything was great. But the PS2 did have a HUGE library with all kinds of games at all kinds of budgets.

More importantly, devs were able to crank titles out much faster. A game not selling 10M+ copies didn’t mean it bombed. Rockstar alone had like 7 unique titles that gen? Still zero new games for PS5/XSX 4 years in.
Remember the golden age of AAA games? Studios were scrappier and budgets were smaller and they took risks on innovative ideas. Today however AAA budgets have ballooned. Studios keep pouring more money into these massive games, even though completion rates are low. It's a cycle of diminishing returns.

Meanwhile, indie games are thriving with a different approach. They prioritize quality and focused experiences that most players can finish, and rely on word-of-mouth to find success. This indie success story highlights a potential solution for AAA: scaling back budgets and creating tighter experiences. Wasn’t Cerny promising faster development cycles?
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Remember the golden age of AAA games? Studios were scrappier and budgets were smaller and they took risks on innovative ideas. Today however AAA budgets have ballooned. Studios keep pouring more money into these massive games, even though completion rates are low. It's a cycle of diminishing returns.

Meanwhile, indie games are thriving with a different approach. They prioritize quality and focused experiences that most players can finish, and rely on word-of-mouth to find success. This indie success story highlights a potential solution for AAA: scaling back budgets and creating tighter experiences. Wasn’t Cerny promising faster development cycles?
Yeah the mentality I want is "AAA indie games."
 
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Emedan

Member
Would be interesting to know how much they sold until the generational switch to PS3 cause the PS2 sold great numbers in emerging markets long after the west switched to a new generation. Kinda seems like it's the only console to have ever done that at that scale.

Edit:
Oh, apparently by fiscal year end 2007 (post PS3 release) it had sold about 118 million units. About 7 years after PS2 release. PS2 sold beastly up until 2011 it seems, being on the market for 11 years. Technically time over time then the Switch is more successful I suppose.
 
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I would be surprised if any traditional home console gets that number again any time soon.
they will, eventually, its a number of sales in a growing industry, just give it time, PS2 sales aren't impressive because the number of consoles, they are impressive because they represent the level of dominance of the industry back then, in todays world the amount of gamers is immense compared to 20 years ago, 160 millions is a huge number of sales but doesnt represent the same percentage of gamers as 20 years ago, back then there wasnt smartphones, PC games market was very small among other things, selling 160 millions was monstrous back then, but today it doesnt have the same meaning, its a similar situation to the NES numbers (61 millions?) you can sell that same quantity and nobody cares as much, you can even sell double that but you cannot have the level of dominance NES had back then
 
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ReyBrujo

Member
That's how they sold so many consoles back then.
I would say, DVD player.

Please explain. Take as long as needed. I’m interested.
Shipped versus sold. Sony always stressed the "shipped" and suddenly they say "sold"? I would agree that they are pushing the goal but it has never bothered Nintendo, they were less than 3m DS away from taking the number one spot and didn't bother shipping them.
 
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PS2 is more impressive then switch, because PS2 did this while the internet was in its infancy, and world population was lower.

Even if Switch ends its life with more sales, it just won’t be as impressive. It would need to utterly crush the number, not just barely beat it.

But of course if it does beat PS2, Nintendo fanboys will never stop talking about it, and ignore all other relevant factors.
 

UltimaKilo

Gold Member
PS2 is more impressive then switch, because PS2 did this while the internet was in its infancy, and world population was lower.

Even if Switch ends its life with more sales, it just won’t be as impressive. It would need to utterly crush the number, not just barely beat it.

But of course if it does beat PS2, Nintendo fanboys will never stop talking about it, and ignore all other relevant factors.

You have this all backwards. For the reasons you listed, a dedicated video game console was much easier to push than today.
 
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