Time To Put The PS2 DVD Myth To Rest

[d21lewis]

thismeintiel said:

NightDragon83 said:

There's no myth... DVD Playback was arguably the biggest selling point for the PS2 for its first year on the market. While it's true that some bargain DVD players could be had around the 2000 holiday season for $100 or less, most brand-name DVD players retailed for $150-$250 and up for most of the year.. our Toshiba DVD player which we had gotten in the spring that year retailed for $249.99 for example after it had just recently gotten a $50 price drop from original $299 MSRP.

The fact that you were getting a top notch DVD player included with your brand new state of the art game console in the fall of 2000 was HUGE for consumers, and movies like The Matrix, Star Wars Episode I, X-Men, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and re-releases of classics like Terminator 2 and Independence Day helped push PS2 sales even further as the DVD format became mainstream.

The PS2 launch lineup wasn't exactly stellar, with the biggest seller being the yearly installment of Madden NFL. The first batch of true killer apps for the PS2 didn't arrive until the 2nd half of 2001 like GT3 A-Spec, Final Fantasy X, MGS2 and the biggest hit of the year GTA III.  So yes, the PS2 owes a great deal of its early success to DVD.

$150 was still half the price of a PS2. And that kept growing in DVD players favor as the prices dropped quicker than the PS2.

And top notch is definitely a stretch.  The PS2's DVD player at the start of the gen was adequate at best.  It didn't even support progressive scan and some video formats. 

The PS2 had a great launch lineup.  Probably one of the better ones to date.  Here's a list:

U.S. launch: October 26, 2000

• Armored Core 2
• DOA2: Hardcore
• Dynasty Warriors 2
• ESPN International Track & Field
• ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding
• Eternal Ring
• Evergrace
• FantaVision
• Gungriffon Blaze
• Madden NFL 2001
• Midnight Club: Street Racing
• NHL 2001
• Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
• Q-Ball: Billiards Master
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
• Ridge Racer V
• Silent Scope
• Smuggler's Run
• SSX
• Street Fighter EX3
• Summoner
• Swing Away Golf
• Tekken Tag Tournament
• TimeSplitters
• Unreal Tournament
• Wild Wild Racing
• X-Squad

There's something there for everyone.  Plus, after the success that was the PS1, gamers knew what to expect from the PS brand.  Great 1st party and 3rd party support was going to be a continuing thing.

I just have to say that I really enjoyed this thread. I love gaming history. I haven't really seen anyone say that DVD was the reason that people bought a PS2. I've seen people say the lack of DVD hurt the GameCube, though.

 

Also, as a guy who tried and failed to get a PS2 at launch (I couldn't get one until Zone of the Enders and The Bouncer launched! The console was super scarce) I think the general consensus of the day was that the launch was littered with mediocre and bad games. The only two bright spots were the modestly reviewed Tekken Tag and the awesome SSX.

 

I'm just one guy speaking from personal experience but, up until Holiday 2001, I kept waking into GameStop and walking out with nothing. That first year was spent playing NBA Street and Red Faction--despite my hating both sports games and FPS titles. There was just nothing else that I thought was quality. I think I spent more time on PS1 games!

 

(I had a Dreamcast, too--but only because I got tired if trying to buy a PS2 and coming home with nothing).