i dont think the video game industry(not so much the gamers) want that kind of domination again

I think the PS2's library was so large, diverse and good that a case could be made for it being for everyone. The one caveat being online play. In the 6th gen if you wanted to play online then PC and Xbox were your best options. The PS2 appealed to more people than the Xbox however, this was a case of Microsoft covering a niche and doing a dang fine job of it to. The PS2 combined a great and diverse game library with DVD functionality making it I think for everyone who likes to have fun.

The Wii did steal the casuals from PS2. But, on top of that, it built an audience of its own.

The Xbox360 also did steal some core gamers from PS2, but it also built its own audience (PC gamers and core newcomers).

The PS3 got most core gamers from PS2 WW (perhaps not in NA), I'd say, but was left without the casuals and an important chunk of its core base.

Overall, this gen has grown a lot compared to last because of the newfound audiences though.

Yes, it was.

Sony was doing what the consumers wanted by making themselves available to third parties and funding second party games alike. During their time they built first party around that interest in relationships with quality third party and also in the same vein kept their consoles affordable and entertainment heavy. Microsoft smartened up to what made people like Sony and thats how they cut their marketshare even more than they already have. That didnt last very long though.

This, exactly. Nintendo took the casuals, Microsoft took the core plain and simple from Sonys marketshare.

huh? didn't several big publishers say they want the console makers to make a combined console (i.e. complete domination by one platform)? I know EA and Ubi said so at one point during the current gen.

I don't like Sony very much (Nintendo 4 Lyfe!) but I have to say, during the PS1/PS2 years, that's where the bulk of my gaming experiences took place. More than any console before, and any console since (IMHO), the PS2 was THE console for everybody. It had games for the hardcore, the casual, the JRPG fan, the person that wanted to try something totally off the wall (Gitaroo Man, Mr. Mosquito) --The PS2 just had everything covered.

I don't think we'll see anything like it, ever again. The PS2 was the first console that was almost required. If you had a TV, you had a PS2.

It's a close to any console is probably ever going to get in terms of appealing to 'everyone'

While I agree Wii brought in non-gamers and lapsed gamers (like myself) PS2 unquestionable was the casual console of the last gen. It may not have had a mass seller like Wii Sports or Wii Fit but DDR, Madden, GH, FIFA, Burnout, Crash Bandicoot, Sly Cooper, JaK & Daxter, Sing, Buzz, and even GTA were all popular with casual gamers. Burnout and GTA SA were the only games I played on PS2.