Another thing to consider is how the market has changed since 2001 until today.

I love linking to graphs and such, since between numbers and graphs any point can be "proven". So here goes:

PS2 vs PS3 vs GameCube in Japan sales from launch set to 58 weeks.
Numbers:
         PS2: 4.25 million
         PS3: 1.58 million
         GameCube: 1.65 million

Conclusion: PS3 is only selling as well as the GameCube, though, after this point GC fell off, while PS3 is still selling strong, though not as strong as the PS2.

PS2 vs PS3 vs GameCube in America sales from launch set to 58 weeks.
Numbers:
       PS2: 6.29 million
       PS3: 3.35 million
       GameCube: 3.61 million

Conclusion: PS3 is only selling as well as the GameCube, and if you increase the number of weeks (to say, 70), the GameCube increases at a steady rate, and the PS3 looks to follow that steady increase. Still not as strong as the PS2.

PS2 vs PS3 vs GameCube in Others sales from launch set to 58 weeks.
Numbers:
       PS2: 6.43 million
       PS3: 3.39 million
       GameCube: 1.77 million

Conclusion: Much better sales than the GameCube! And the GameCube is dieing fast at this point, and the PS3 is really just starting. Not as good as the PS2 though. NOTE: Since the Hong Kong release of the PS3 is included in "OThers" data, but it was release with Japan, that's why the PS3 only sells 13,000 the first 18 weeks. If you move the PS3 line to start at the release it in Europe, it's always above the sales of the GC.

For comparison sake: Wii Sales in Japan, America, and Others, sales from launch set to 58 weeks.
Numbers:
       Japan: 4.86 million
       America: 8.45 million
       Others: 6.28 million

Conclusion: Wii barely beats PS2 sales in Japan, beats PS2 sales in America, and nearly beats PS2 in Others. Whether it continues this trend remains to be seen. And please don't say "PS2 was supply constrained" because the Wii is too, and it sold 2 million more in America.

We could look at trends and argue about it forever.... AAA games, etc, but I think in the end, it's not much use. I, for one, have looked at sales of past consoles and current ones plenty, including first year sales, LTD sales, price points, etc, and it's simply not as easy as saying "Wii is selling as well as the PS2, so it should sell as much as the PS2 sold" and "PS3 is selling similarly to the GC, so it will be lucky to pass 25 million." It just doesn't work like that. Either way, it's all we have. I've laid out the "data" so read how you will.

Well... The PS2 came out in Japan in March 2000, so 2001 would be it's second year there, but the PS2 didn't arrive in NA and Europe until Oct/Nov. So there, it's more of a first year. Also, PS3 launched in NA and Japan in Nov, so 2006 is hardly it's "first year", so 2008 is more of it's second year. Finally, PS3 was launched in Europe in March 2007, so we're not even into PS3 second year WW.

Aligning launches works best per region since it usually removes differences in a consoles release dates per region, see PS2 figures here. Looking at it this way, you see when you have "All" selected, it starts with the numbers in Japan only (the green line is the blue line), though America sold so many during it's first year. When the PS2 was launched in America relative to Japan's release date, the lines split. This is why you simply cannot compare first years sales "All" in those charts. You have to break it down into regions.

See my comparisons above for more details.

At least he's trying this time, this thread is not the worst I've seen by far. But most will debunk anything he says, because;
A: He's Crazzyman (and often acts according to name)
B: He likes Sony. A lot.
Try to help the guy instead of shooting him down, which is the reason the arguments in here get so warm at times.
I agree he makes a lot of flamebait (this is not, it has nothing to do with Wii or 360, those comparisons were ushered in by others), but making someone a laughing stock no matter what he/she says or does is borderline trolling in my book.
Like he said himself; If you're not interested or you're a Sony hater, don't post, just leave.
I've seen plenty of threads where I could lunge at someone and bash (so to speak) unabashedly on some crooked comment or chart/graph, but I mostly choose not too.

@Crazzyman: You're improving, that much is clear, but there's still a ways to go. Just put a little more effort into these threads. and they'll get better as you go.

@Propaganda comment: We have another man on Vgchartz who is by far the biggest propagandist I've ever seen, but no one shoots him down thrice a day. Learn to respect differences and pick your fights, or else all you'll do in here is argue fiercely all the time. (I know I'm not perfect, but some of you are really childish with your hate at times).

Or CNN. Or MSNBC. I could go on ..... what was the point of that?

Yeah, MGS2 and GTAIII really drove the Playstation 2's mainstream success at the end of '01. The 3 has had some OK games, but nothing to really blow the socks off people and make them change the way they see gaming like those two did.

MGS4 maybe could, but the mainstream gamer has changed since 1998, when MGS1 came out. And MGS2 really put Joe Donuts Playstation off with its weird story, and not nearly as many played MGS3 even with a huge userbase. FF is much more important for Sony, but who knows when that'll be out. The other big games are multiplatform.

You can compare the two systems' starts with numbers, but I think the reality is a lot different than just looking at a stats sheet (considering competition, public perception, DVD vs. BR, etc.)

 Fox is the undisputed champion though...

 The sales of MGS have indeed dropped, but I think MGS4 could be the series' revival in terms of sales and sheer impressiveness. (is that even a word?!) It does appear to have awfully deep gameplay and a more digestable story set in a very well timed location (people are mad about warring in the desert now, it seems).

Anyway; we'll see. I personally have very high expectations for it! 

Propaganda is presenting a certain slant on news - presenting it from one viewpoint. That's not news - and FOX does an excellent job on that. News is  presenting all the facts, whether they're nice or horrible. And why do the rest of the networks and most media consider FOX a joke? It's so far to the right it's going left ... 

If this site has taught me anything its that the next generation of a console has next to nothing to do with sales from the previous generation.  I think it would be better to look at PS3's rescent history, potential price drops, and upcoming games solely when predicting Sony sales.