I recently purchase a PlayStation 2, something that many of my fellow gamers might criticize. With the XBOX 360 just released, and the PS3 and Revolution just around the corner, why would I plunk down $150 on a current-gen system that will be obsolete in a few months. I have my own reasons for this, mainly because there's an entire library of PS2 games that I'd love to play, and, as a video game veteran of 21 years, I've never seen a console as worth buying until it is in the second year of its life cycle. This is a personal choice, and I'm not knocking anyone who has bought a 360, PS3, or Wii.
However, with all of the recent news and talk on the next-gen consoles, along with my current devotion to the PS2, I've realized that Sony has really had a good thing going for the past decade. Ever since the PlayStation debuted in 1995, Sony has been the leader of the console market. They successfully killed off the Sega Saturn before it really got started, and were able to steal away much of the third party support that Nintendo had enjoyed for years. With the PlayStation 2, Sony was able to get the updated version of their console into homes nearly a year before the XBOX and Gamecube arrived, maintaining it's place as the number one selling console in the world.
Today, we are looking forward to the next-generation of consoles that will include the PlayStation 3, XBOX 360, and the Nintendo Wii. It remains to be seen who will sell the most consoles and receive the most support in this next console war, but I must say that I think that it's anyone's game. PS3 has its loyal fan base going for it, while 360 has the distinction of being out of the gate first. Wii, on the other hand, seems to be searching out a different demographic for its system, and has effectively removed itself from the traditional console wars that have characterized the industry in the past.
Historically, no video game company has been able to maintain dominance over the console market accross three generations. Atari had many iterations of its home console, but these consoles are considered to all be part of the same generation. Nintendo ruled the market with the NES and through the SNES, but eventually lost its footing with the N64. Today, we are at a unique point in video game history, where we will see if the PlayStation 3 can break the mold and continue to sell the most units of the next-generation.
With over 100 million consoles of the PlayStation sold in each of its two previous incarnations, there is no doubt that Sony has the biggest video game fan base of all time, and could easily win the next-generation console war by merely selling a unit to everyone that currently owns a PS2. It will be interesting to see how the PS3 fairs in the coming years, and to see whether or not it can break the curse that the third console has brought to the other industry leaders of the past.
