Well, it could be some time. I think that production will stop around 2011.

They'll stop making PS2 when manufacturing + shipping cost more than the profit they can make.
I'm guessing it when the PS2 sales drop bellow 1000 units per month every month for 6 months or something.

when it stops selling

It's quite possible that it'll last a lot longer than that, if Sony tries to use it as their main console in developing markets and such. I heard that the PS2 is the only viable console in Brasil, for instance, because of that country's insane 150% tax on foreign electronics, making a PS2 $250, in an already much poorer country.

I can't imagine a $1000 PS3 will be taking off in Brasil any time soon. :-/

Weren't NESs being made as late as 2002 or something crazy? I know games were being released as late as 1995 for that. Looks like the PS2 is going to end up breaking the NES's cockroach-like longevity.

It's like the Titanic. The builders were overconfident and thought it was unsinkable. Then it lost a floating match to an iceberg.

I suppose the tragedy isn't so much the downfall of the PS3 but the sorry state of affairs of a once proud gaming empire like Sony. They're the GM of video games.

It's no where near selling as well as those two now.

Weren't you bannd a couple of days ago, will at least this is not ur main account XD

you know what? i dont want them to discontinue , the PS2 is my favourite console.

The console just began manufacturing in Brazil. Where there is a huge potential market without ps2.
And since here the console still 200usd I can still see they making lots of profit here.
If india, Afrika, other south America countries are similar... sales will continue stable.
I believe they might discontinue in America and Japan when the Ps3 ps2 emulator comes, and shift manufacturing focus to other countries they neglected in the ps2 launch.

By early to mid 2011.