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PlayStation Hits 100 Millionth Shipped

Posted by simoniker on from the quite-a-few dept.

Thanks to Yahoo/AFP for its story noting global shipments of Sony's original PlayStation console have exceeded 100 million, explaining that "overseas sales of PlayStations jumped after the company launched its lightweight 'PSOne' model in 2000." Although sales are slowing (though not by as much as GamePro is claiming), since: "In the year to March 2004, the company produced and shipped 3.31 million PSOne units", the PlayStation 2 may be on course to beat its predecessor, as it "has shipped 70 million units... since March 2000."

38 comments

  1. How many dupes? by wheresdrew · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Too bad they can't factor in multiple sales to the same household. I know both the early PS1 and PS2 models had reliability problems, forcing some people to replace their systems if they wanted to keep playing.

    I still remember having a model 1000 series PS1 that had to be turned upside down to get games to play, since the plastic rails supporting the CD drive would warp if the system go too hot.

    1. Re:How many dupes? by Trejkaz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Good to see it lives up to Sony's quality standard.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    2. Re:How many dupes? by linzeal · · Score: 1

      We solved our problem with those by drilling holes into it and putting it downwind a cyclone fan. Last winter my friend was still using it to play FF7 which he has never beat, heh. 3 years plus to play a game is there a world record out there or is some dork going to say they have an apple II with zork on it that has been on the opening screen since 1989?

      --
      An Education is the Font of All Liberty
    3. Re:How many dupes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now all we need is some idiot making up a statistic like "On average, every household had to buy 3 PS1's, which means the X-Box really has the market share right now because every X-Box sold is really 17 X-Boxes in one and when purchased each one moves to a different household in the person's neighborhood."

      I seriously doubt the number of households is that much less than the number of units sold. The Playstation's failure rate is NOT as high as many people believe (people tend to think it's anywhere from 10-50%), because if it were Sony would not still be on top of the entertainment electronics business. In general the failure rate of the absolute worst hardware is 5%. Assuming the PSX has that high of a failure rate and everyone who bought a faulty PSX bought a new one, then that's only 5 million extra sales because Sony sold them a defective unit.

      Now, don't tell me that "5% is too low! They have at least 40% because I looked on some forum and everyone there was having problems with their PSX!" Remember, happy people don't bitch, and problems have a tendancy to look much worse on the internet because unhappy people like to group together and make claims that happy people generally don't care about.

    4. Re:How many dupes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "The Playstation's failure rate is NOT as high as many people believe (people tend to think it's anywhere from 10-50%), because if it were Sony would not still be on top of the entertainment electronics business."

      That's illogical. Being #1 in sales is no guarantee of quality. For the sake of the Microsoft Windows fanboys, I'll spare them from the obvious comparison. Instead, I will happily point out that McDonald's sells more hamburgers than anyone else in the world.

      Disclaimer: I deal in used games hardware, from handhelds and consoles to (soon, hopefully in the next year) arcade cabs, joysticks, monitors, etc. It's a small side business so far, and I only run it out of the house right now. :/

      Playstation hardware has *always* been of inferior build in comparison to pretty much any other console hardware imaginable. It's not provable except with anecdotes, so I'll simply say that this is the conclusion I've come to after seeing a WHOLE lot of faulty Playstations and Playstation 2s with the same (laser/PUH/motor/chassis) problems. OTOH, I've never seen a single broken N64 (a system which sold ~35 million units). Not a single one - and that thing tended to run pretty hot. And of course, among other popular systems like the Saturn, the Dreamcast, the PC Engine Duo, I see broken units, but not at the same high broken:functional ratio that I do with Sony goods.

      If Sony's on top, fine, but it's not because of build quality. Be assured of that.

    5. Re:How many dupes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Note I never said they had a higher build quality than the competition, but that it wasn't as bad as many people make it out to be. A failure rate of 30-40% (the most common numbers I've seen people make up) is too high for a consumer product, and actions would have been taken if that were the case.

    6. Re:How many dupes? by Frizzle+Fry · · Score: 2
      In general the failure rate of the absolute worst hardware is 5%.

      Actually, the failure rate of the absolute worst hardware is 100%. As is the failure rate of the best. It's just a question of time.
      --
      I'd rather be lucky than good.
    7. Re:How many dupes? by MBCook · · Score: 1
      For reference, I had an identicle system and never had a problem with it at all, even with heavy/long playsessions. I'd still have it but I sold it to a neighbor about 6 months after I got a PS2.

      It worked great for them untill a large book fell of a shelf and crushed the poor thing.

      --
      Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
    8. Re:How many dupes? by TechniMyoko · · Score: 1

      For the sake of the Microsoft Windows fanboys, I'm happy with XP and it runs stable and perfectly for me. Maybe you should stop trolling

  2. I like video games because of the replay value by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If every movie I went to gave me the movie on DVD or gave me a key to download it at my leisure when I left the theater I would feel satisifed but they don't and I can get a 5-10 dollar playstation game off ebay and be content with my purchase for years. 10 bucks is not chump change to me.

    1. Re:I like video games because of the replay value by DiscoOnTheSide · · Score: 1

      and how much do you get for each sucker that clicks that link?

      --
      Viva La Revolucion! Buy a Mac!
  3. 70 million PS2s by alphaseven · · Score: 1
    Well I guess if they've shipped 70 million PS2s they are no longer selling them at a loss.

    I've always been skeptical of that rumour.

    1. Re:70 million PS2s by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "I've always been skeptical of that rumour."

      Heh. Yeah somebody's been reading the "Facts of Gord" or whatever it's called. The big difference is in how you do the math. Sony spent like $2 billion dollars researching that system. Even if on a per-component level they made money, it still took them a while to break even. There was still the "we need to sell 4 games per system" quota initially.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:70 million PS2s by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Did you know that the xbox is selling on a 12-18 games per system quota just to break even?

    3. Re:70 million PS2s by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's even worse for Xbox and Microsoft than you say. Did you know that they aren't breaking even, because the average tie-in rate for any given system (including xbox) is a small fraction of the number you've quoted?

      When Microsoft's home entertainment division is in the red, they AREN'T breaking even.

    4. Re:70 million PS2s by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pah, try factoring in XBox Live!

  4. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  5. Is this why... by SuperMo0 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...there's still a slow trickle of game software being made for the PS1? The PS1 is probably the longest lasting piece of video game hardware in terms of how long games have been made for it officially after its successor came to market. Games are being made specifically for it, and games are also being made jointly for PS2 and PS1 (mostly sports games are what I've seen).

    1. Re:Is this why... by shadowcabbit · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, the reason XS Games and other companies are still cranking out PS1 software is the combination of Sony no longer requiring licensing fees for the software (IIRC), and because there's a cheap buck to be made in porting games which four years ago would never have passed Sony inspection, but squeak through now because Sony feels, "hey, who's really going to buy it now? Everyone who matters already has a PS2 and it's not like we'll be losing money or anything."

      Sadly, I was one of those people... picked up a copy of "High School League Dodge Ball" or something (not the good one from about a year ago), was pleasantly surprised to see it was an anime-styled game, and then got disgusted with the awful play control and sold it back two weeks later for $7.

      --
      "Why Subscribe?" Good question...
    2. Re:Is this why... by Frizzle+Fry · · Score: 2, Interesting
      The PS1 is probably the longest lasting piece of video game hardware in terms of how long games have been made for it officially after its successor came to market.

      I'd be surprised if it has beat the original gameboy. It was ages after it came out until the gameboy color was released, and I think a while after that until there stopped being new non-color games. Anyone have numbers/ years available on this?
      --
      I'd rather be lucky than good.
    3. Re:Is this why... by 1arkhaine · · Score: 1

      Weren't NES games being made up until 2000? I think they were still churning out dodgy sports games and whatnot in Japan...

    4. Re:Is this why... by Tezkah · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, the Neo-Geo is the longest lasting game console, it was released in 1990, and just this year the last game for the system was released.

      Of course, you had to pay lots of money (hundreds of dollers per game), but they had a decent following, although it never had the success of the PSOne. They're still quite expensive. Gabe from Penny-Arcade is a collector.

    5. Re:Is this why... by SuperMo0 · · Score: 1

      I wasn't referring to pure life of a console, I was referring to life after a successor has hit the market. How long did N64 have games made for it after GCN hit shelves? Or SNES/N64? Or SMS/Genesis? Most consoles die quick deaths once their successor comes to market, but the PSOne seems to have achieved a sort of slow trickle of activity, which is unusual this late in its lifespan.

    6. Re:Is this why... by be951 · · Score: 1

      I think a big factor is compatability with PS2. I never had a PS1, but I've bought numerous PS1 games to play on the PS2. Even if a title is offered for both PS1 and PS2, they may be completely different games. For example, Monsters, Inc. for PS2 was completely different from the game for PS1.

  6. Its a vicious cycle... by Tezkah · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... where units sold brings more developers to your system, and then those new developers bring games to your system, which sells more units.

    Hopefully Sony realizes this and get as many PSPs out the door as possible (with a low price point), which is really the key to success for any console. The GBA ("classic") is really a horrible system (the screen...), but theres so many out there, it makes developers bring more good games to it, making it an awesome handheld (especially now that the screen is fixed).

    An awesome looking handheld, the only real problem I see is that theres only one analog nub, so we might not see any Ape Escape games on the PSP :(

  7. Environmental Concern by superpulpsicle · · Score: 3, Funny

    I am glad the PSone is still selling like hot cakes. If it was Xbox controllers selling 70 million units, the earth would have ran out of materials.

  8. Sony Playstation was a Milestone Technology by Mr+Very+Angry · · Score: 1

    I'll always remember the cold winter night (in 1994?) that I went round to a friend's house and was introduced to the PlayStation. 6 hours later at 4am I went home amazed. I could not believe that graphics could be so good. Graphics that worked for-you. I hope they put the playstation in a Museum one day and discuss life before PS and how mechanical it was. I'd love to know how Sony manage their RnD and QA departments so well. (I never did actually BUY one though! I'm not into games generally.)

    1. Re:Sony Playstation was a Milestone Technology by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You never played a Sega Saturn have you? While the PS1 was truely revolutionary in terms of graphics, it wasn't for a nearly a year did it make some advances in gameplay. Who here still plays PS1 launch games like Battle Arena Tosheden(sp) or Loaded? No, they play games like Mega Man 8 which used the old tried-and-true gameplay and FFVII which is a mixed bag depending on how you looked at it.

    2. Re:Sony Playstation was a Milestone Technology by Mr+Very+Angry · · Score: 1

      You are quite right... I never played a Sega Saturn. What do you think is the best games console these days?

    3. Re:Sony Playstation was a Milestone Technology by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      Depends on what you mean by 'games.'

      If you're looking for Japanese RPGs, PS2, no contest. If you're looking for platformers, PS2 or Xbox. If you're looking for Zelda, Mario or Metroid, GC. If you're looking for new or inventive gameplay, DreamCast or Xbox. If you're looking for sports, I believe it's PS2, at this point. If you're looking for online, Xbox.

      I've had an xbox for years, now, but I finally got around to picking up a PS2 for the .hack series, Final Fantasy X and X-2, and I plan to get Lifeline. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot of stuff on the PS2 that interests me personally.

      The Playstation was a milestone because it brought 3d home to the masses, cheap. The N64 was crap because it was a PS with better lighting and no CD. Ooops. The Saturn was an improved Genesis with a CD player built in, and with 3d tacked on. The Dreamcast was a milestone because it brought *good* 3d to the masses, as well as being the first one with a modem built in. The PS2 was actually just a rehashed Saturn. The Dreamcast had launch title that look better than current PS2 games (so did the Xbox for that matter.) The Xbox was a milestone because it included broadband and a hard drive, standard. Also for the 'high end' home theater options; 5.1 digital surround, in game, by default. HDTV capability, by default (which the DC also had, to a lesser extent.)

      So, what needs to be done for the next generation? I don't know; you'd need to guess the next emergent technology. At this point, we're probably in the 'Super Nintendo' phase; an improved Xbox is probably just right; keep the mass-storage, keep the broadband, keep the four controllers, make it so that 720P is the default resolution, but it can downconvert, increase the number of polys, and you're off to the races.

      I wonder if there might not be a method to use multiple GPUs to render multiple parts of a scene; have one GPU rendering the 'set,' one rendering the crazy-high-poly model for the hero, one rendering other models in the foreground, and one rendering everything else. Rather than four processing one whole scene in parallel.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    4. Re:Sony Playstation was a Milestone Technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "If you're looking for Japanese RPGs, PS2, no contest."

      Oh, clearly. A GBA for portable RPGs rounds out this category, thanks to SquareEnix, Sega, Atlus, and Nintendo themselves.

      "If you're looking for platformers, PS2 or Xbox."

      I totally disagee, unless your definition of "platformer" is completely different from the traditional definition. PS2 wins again by strength of numbers and the apparent quality of Sony's in-house Western platformers, but Nintendo's platformers are the best and are also quite numerous. Xbox's only relative strength here is its graphics ability, but that doesn't help when their competition gets all the good exclusives.

      GBA has all the old-school platformers, of course.

      "If you're looking for Zelda, Mario or Metroid, GC."

      Sure, but you're only shortchanging the GameCube if you reduce it to the value of its first-party games. There are enough good first-party AND third-party exclusives and ports to warrant purchasing a GameCube, even if you already have another console, for fans of most genres other than American sports games.

      "If you're looking for new or inventive gameplay, DreamCast or Xbox."

      The problem with holding up the Dreamcast as an example of new or inventive gameplay is that there have been no inventive games for the Dreamcast since 2001, and almost all of those once-unique experiences have been effectively reproduced on current consoles. Today, gamers simply can't point at any Dreamcast game, post-2001, and say, "That's something I've never seen before." Dreamcast has many loyal followers, including myself, but we don't look to Dreamcast for innovation any more.

      As for Xbox, please explain. Outside of Blinx (creative use of hard drive, although the game wasn't very fun), Tekki/Steel Battalion (complex controller), and live chat in XBL, I've seen nothing like that. What new, inventive gaming styles are there on Xbox?

      However, on the PS2, GameCube, and GameBoy Advance there are any number of examples, including Eyetoy, GCN/GBA connectivity, E-Reader, Eternal Darkness (insanity effects), Boktai (solar sensor), Mad in Wario/WarioWare (super-fast cuts), etc.

      And Nintendo DS doesn't count in this category yet, so maybe it's not worth mentioning, but it will before the end of the year. Its feature list clearly illustrates that it was made specifically for new game experiences.

      "If you're looking for sports, I believe it's PS2, at this point."

      True, but only in terms of sales, and therefore, only because EA supports it better than the other platforms. EA publishes for every system, and they use the PS2's capabilities as the lowest common denominator in terms of what they implement on other platforms. For example, they've only recently announced Xbox Live support after supporting online gaming on the PS2 for years, and they still haven't touched the GCN's GBA connectivity for Madden (something that you'd think they'd be jumping to implement, given its obvious potential).

      "If you're looking for online, Xbox."

      Currently, yes, Xbox or PC. Sony's network model is cheaper for the end user, but it isn't as pervasive and therefore isn't as widely used except by Sony and their strongest third-parties. With the GameCube, Nintendo leaves everything to the third-party developers, and they haven't done much at all with the GameCube's networking abilities.

      But expect Nintendo DS and PSP to drive wireless network gaming in the near future. Wi-Fi will be a definite killer app for both platforms, and I wouldn't be surprised if they both help to disseminate the technology to society as a whole. How nice. :)

      "The N64 was crap because it was a PS with better lighting and no CD. Ooops."

      Except it was the only home console on which you could play Nintendo games, and on that strength alone, it outsold Sega Saturn (my favorite CD-based system) worldwide throughout both of their lifetimes, despite the N64 being launched much later. And still,

    5. Re:Sony Playstation was a Milestone Technology by Mr+Very+Angry · · Score: 1

      Amazing encyclopedic knowledge from both of you!

      Have either of you or anyone else actually put together a history of gaming for the last 25 years?

      One of the first computer games I ever played I wrote from a magazine - it was written in Basic on a Sorceror PC, in around 1980. There were no graphics of course.

      Are there any good books on the history of gaming?

    6. Re:Sony Playstation was a Milestone Technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would love to undertake such an endeavor! But my knowledge is based purely on experience, having been a gamer when events in the game industry took place over the past 20-25 years. Being judicious when it comes to the information sources you trust is a must, and I've tried to keep a running tab on rumors vs. reality since the 80s, especially regarding the Japanese game companies of the 80s to current.

      Because of that, I'd say the best way to research the history of the games industry is to do research on the game systems themselves. Every console and handheld seems to have at least a few very dedicated fan websites, particularly the older and more obscure systems. And if you can find a legal means of emulating old games, that's always a great way to experience what people were playing years in ages past. As for books, I haven't taken the time to read through any books about the game industry, but it sounds like something I might enjoy doing in the future, assuming I can identify what books to read myself! :)

      BTW, I used to type out games, utilities, and synthesized song player programs from magazines as well. Compute and Family Computing were two magazines that I recall buying; I think I still have all those old issues. Have to rummage through storage to find them, though.

  9. Sadly... by ffsnjb · · Score: 2, Funny
    I have neither the PS1 or PS2. I'm still using a p2-400 to play Counter-Strike. Why, oh why, did I spend $100,000 on college to get a shit job when I could have bought thousands of Playstations and still have the same job?


    Come on Sony, sell them for $10 so I can not eat for a day, and then pick one up. :)

    --
    "Why do you consent to live in ignorance and fear?" - Bad Religion
    1. Re:Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good lord, what college major did you have???

  10. And I've "chipped" at least four of them! by Picass0 · · Score: 1


    Or, um, perhaps I should just say I've ensured fair use rights for my friends and their game collections.

  11. it's insane... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...how much i still play ps one games. i got the small ps one as a gift (i remember audibly groaning) but after a road trip or two the thing is as invaluable as my ipod.

    i can stop at any gamestop on the road and get a game i'll play for a month for 10 bucks used.

    FF7 and Metal Gear have great replay value, great vs. stuff with Tekken, SoulBlade and EA sports, the thing is still fun as hell.

    Does anyone think that as game consoles get more sophisticated, the need to upgrade will be less and less (if you are satisfied with the library)? Or am i just talking silly?

    1. Re:it's insane... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can easily share your perspective on being satisfied with a particular system / library and just no longer upgrading systems, but there will always be younger generations, and they will always be drawn (through brainwashing marketting) to the newer, shiner things.

      Otherwise we should all just stick with our SNES's and PS1's. ;)