PlayStation 2 history
Riding high on the success of the first PlayStation, Sony introduced its successor. The PS2 was a huge step forward over the original PlayStation, and gamers bought them up as fast as they came off the assembly line. Sales were aided substantially by the huge head start Sony had with the PS2. The PlayStation 2 came out in the U.S. a full year ahead of the XBox and GameCube.
Game developers took a slightly dimmer view of the console due to the difficulty of writing software to run on it. However, developers ultimately go where the money is, and the huge installed base of the PlayStation 2 makes it all worthwhile.
.PlayStation 2 hardware
The PlayStation 2 was a big step up from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. However, the PS2 hardware is very weak when compared to the GameCube, and even weaker compared to the XBox. Some of the games released for the XBox (particularly those ported from the PC) simply aren't feasible on the PlayStation 2. This created an opening for Sony's competitors, and many PS2 owners also buy an XBox, a GameCube, or both in order to play games with larger levels, better graphics, etc.
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 is based on the Sony/Toshiba/IBM Cell processor. It's an interesting design based on highly parallel execution engines. Unfortunately, this will likely make development for the system more difficult than for the XBox 360 and Revolution. Combined with the XBox 360's early arrival in the marketplace and cheaper hardware, this may mean that the PlayStation 3 is in trouble. At this point, it's simply too early to tell what the future holds for the PS3.
Buying a PlayStation 2
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More PlayStation 2 information
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