Sony will be launching their 4th verson of PS2.  Is this a good idea for them?

I know PS2 is still selling very well, but I would think that it cuts into PS3 sales.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Media__Entertainment_/Entertainment/Sony_to_launch_fourth_version_of_PS-2_by_Diwali/rssarticleshow/3190167.cms

Asked if this would affect the market for PS-3, Mr Bose said that would not be the case. “We do not market it as a PS-2 or PS-3. It is the experience of the PS that we market. PS-3 is for the next generation. People who are first timers in the gaming market want to pick up PS-2 and experience that, before upgrading to PS-3,” he said.

I personally think this is a great idea for Sony.  I might buy it for my kids' room.

Sorry if this has been posted before.  i've been reposting things a lot lately.

IMO Sony should do like Microsoft and kill the PS2 in favor of the PS3. Market segmentation makes no sense two years after the PS3 launch.

not a good idea. why create their own competition? no one will buy both.

@Sony: ever heard of cannibalization?

I don't think it's a bad idea to sell new PS2's, only until they get their PS2 BC running on all PS3 SKU's.
I would just wish that they would actually make the PS2 cheaper, but I'll just hold up for full BC on the PS3, or at least PS2 titles getting ported, since there are only a handful of PS2 games I have an interest in.

I actually think it's a good idea. The PS3 simply doesn't seem to have the same wide appeal as the PS2 did, so why leave that much money on the table when you're already billions in the hole?

Which was the 3rd version?

Or are they counting the PSX (PSX is a weird PS2 that has something extra I can't remember)

Killing the PS2 would be a horrible business decision.

1.  It still makes them good money and they've had several quarters with severe losses so any help they can get is welcome.  It's all well and good for people to sit here and say "well who cares if the PS3 loses money?  BR royalties will be massive!"  But investors will get impatient and instead of hearing about future BR royalties will just focus on massive losses in the gaming division.  By keeping the PS2 alive the gaming division has a better shot of turning a profit and pleasing investors.

2.  With the Wii being weaker spec-wise than the PS3/360 devs who don't want to make a different SKU just for the Wii can throw together a version for the PS2 quickly and Sony gets some money off of SW sales.  Some people used to argue that the PS2 was helping Wii SW support since ports could be made but at this point killing off the PS2 wouldn't nullify Wii multiplat titles.  The Wii has too big a HW advantage for companies like Activision and EA to ignore so if a Wii SKU is inevitable anyway Sony can at least try to benefit by keeping the PS2 alive and having a port on there.

3.  At the current price for PS3 if the PS2 were killed off those people who would buy one would either not buy a video game system at all or buy a Wii.  People who are waiting to buy $129 PS2s will not pay $400 for a PS3!   It is in Sony's best interest to keep the PS2 afloat till the PS3 is at a far more affordable mass market price.

^^I agree with you but
PS2 is cutting into PS3 sales in NA - I would much rather buy PS2 than PS3 as of now.
Also, by the time PS2 players are ready to jump into PS3, XBOX 360 will be cheaper and XBOX720 will be out.

Cheap low specced consoles are still in huge demand judging from recent stock levels at local stores around here.

I don't think most potential new PS2 users would buy a PS3 instead, most buy it for being cheap with lots of cheap games available.

IMO the more solid options available to consumers the better, the PS2 is still a very interesting product to many.

Its called "we are selling to a market that don't think video games are important enough to spend more than a hundred dollars on"

Believe it or not kids, video games has still a long ways to go before it becomes mainstream enough for people thinking it as another VCR or DVD player. And price will always be a barrier to overcome stereotype of it being some kind of kid toy or lazy people thing. The PS2 and Wii has made big strides into breaking down that barrier with its low cost of entry but simply game play.