Four things have contributed to the PS2's incredible sales. 1. Built in DVD player. (This really helped in Japan) 2. 1 Year Headstart. The GC and X-box released a full year after the PS2. This allowed Sony to recover from the system's pathetic launch. A build a library of games people wanted to play. 3. Broad 3rd party support. The year head start allowed Sony to build a substantial userbase which garnered them continued third party support and a bevy of exclusives. 4. Shoddy product quality. I have never seen a system as fragile as the PS2. It amazes me that my Sega Saturn is still functional. Yet my PS2 bit the big one after a year and a half. I figured I had a lemon, until I went to Sony's offical site and saw endless threads about DRE. That combined with the class action lawsuit they settled over DRE leads me to believe that a significant portion of the PS2 userbase is made up of consoles that no longer function.
