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curl-6 on 11 May 2026
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Chrkeller said:
curl-6 said:

I'm not trying to change your mind or argue the PS2 didn't dominate.

Market circumstances were just different; take the PS4 for example, it had pretty much everything going for it, and both its main competitors shot themselves in the foot before the race even started, but it wasn't able to dominate to the extent that the PS2 did.

Between mobile gaming, the growing popularity of PC, people being increasingly tied to their chosen ecosystem, and later the economic turmoil of the 2020s, modern systems just generally have more to contend with older consoles did.

Fair points, though I would argue the ps2 popularized gaming, which is how the market got to where it is today.  I am not a historian, but I recall many people, who weren't traditional gamers, grabbing a ps2.  It really turned gaming from niche to actual legit mass market.

During the ps2 eras there were a lot of questions about if Nintendo was sustainable as first party in the home market.  The trend from SNES, N64 to GC was not good.  Nintendo deserves credit for turning the ship around.  But the main point, the ps2 was so dominant people were wondering if the competition would survive long term.  This didn't happen with the S1, the competition is doing incredibly well.  

Yeah systems like the Atari 2600, NES, PS1, PS2, Wii, DS, etc were able to grow the gaming market by bringing in those who hadn't gamed before; most of that growth now I would expect is coming from PC and mobile, as consoles get more expensive and economic pressures drive people to cheaper options like just playing free to play stuff on the phone/laptop they already own.