Sony’s big announcement: PS2 pricecut, PS3 will secure Blu-ray format

There we have it. Sony‘s big March 31 announcement: the PS2 is getting a pricecut. Starting April 1 (and no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke), the PlayStation 2 will be going for US$ 99.99. Now while this milestone marks the PS2’s 10th year in the market, Jack Tretton is optimistic that the same success will happen for the PS3, thus securing the Blu-ray format (as the PS2 did for the DVD) for another ten years.

Thanks to tipsters Justin.H, Nall256, bitwreck, ace241280, gtxboyracer, and dragonracer900!

There we have it. Sony‘s big March 31 announcement: the standard rate for the PS2 is now getting a pricecut. Starting April 1 (and no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke), the PlayStation 2 will be going for US$ 99.99. Hah, I called it!

This announcement is ten years in the making. Yes, right about this time, the PS2 has been in the market for a decade now, and Sony’s proud that their baby could have a lifespan so long. As John Koller says (via the PS Blog):

In the gaming industry, the typical lifecycle for a console is around five years, but because we build each of our platforms for a large and diverse consumer base, we design our platforms differently. With the original PlayStation and now PlayStation 2, weÂ’ve proven that consumers can rely on our platforms for their gaming and entertainment needs for at least a decade.

This statement is echoed by Jack Tretton of SCEA. He attributes this successful ten year lifespan to the PlayStation brand, and is optimistic that it will also happen for the PS3. Says Tretton (via Edge):

Just as PlayStation 2 is delivering on a 10-year lifecycle and helped expand and solidify the DVD format for home entertainment along the way. We believe Playstation 3 offers the same promise by helping secure the Blu-ray format.

And it’s true. They started pretty rough, with the competition against HD-DVD, but now that Toshiba’s withdrawn, the whole world is Sony’s oyster now.

Thanks to tipsters Justin.H, Nall256, bitwreck, ace241280, gtxboyracer, and dragonracer900!

• Sony’s big March 31 announcement: not a PS3 pricecut