"It seems that it's true that once the juggernaut begins moving, it is impossible to stop."

The past twenty-four months have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Sony and their fans alike. It seems like the company has been walking on and around broken glass for almost two years now, since the infamous E3 of 2006.

Adding to this air of unpredictability is the one factor no one expected, but everyone should have: the PlayStation 2. Target recently gave the system an unofficial price drop to $99, a small but subtle sweet spot that sold large caches of the system to the American populace. This stimulation was reflected in the National Purchase Diary for February, where the PlayStation 2 was one of the best selling consoles of the month, outselling both the PlayStation 3 and the PSP. On the surface, having a last-generation system outsell both of Sony's currently supported systems might seem like a bad thing, but one could argue it's the best possible thing that could happen to the company.

The PlayStation 2 blitzed the industry in a way that we will probably never see repeated. Sony capitalized on the success of the PlayStation 1, the downturn of Nintendo, the maturation of the industry and the individual gamer, and the fall and subsequent death of Sega. The PlayStation 2 was as much the perfect alignment and exploitation of opportunities as it was ridiculous luck -- $300 economic stimulus rebates were being given away to taxpayers right around the PlayStation 2's launch, supplying people with the means to get the admittedly impressive value of a competent DVD player and the one and only successor to the PlayStation. Sony told us things we wanted to hear -- millions of ducks, they'd say, as we'd nod appreciatively. You know how many ducks that is? That's way more ducks than the Dreamcast can do. Realtime Toy Story, they'd tell us, as we'd pucker our lips in a sycophantic manner, willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

That benefit of the doubt flew out the window with the PlayStation 3, but never really left the PS2. There's no reason it should have, really -- while the system never did deliver on a lot of its technical promises, it proved to be the host of the most diverse library of quality video games our industry had ever seen. Everyone who was anyone was making a PlayStation 2 game. And why not? With one hundred million potential customers, it would be downright irresponsible not to develop for the system. Thus, the benefit of the doubt it got was not just from the media and gamers, but from developers, as well. This is exemplified by Atlus' near-steadfast refusal to choose a side in the next-gen console war, which has resulted in bringing the highly-anticipated Persona 4, a game that was literally just announced, to the PlayStation 2. The PS2 treated a lot of developers well by virtue of what it became and no one wants to move away from that industry-growing comfort zone.

One might think this would be a bad thing for Sony. Sure, the PS2 is selling well, but if it's selling better than both the PSP and the PlayStation 3, then that presents a problem, right? The problem with this thinking is that it ultimately falls on the idea that Sony no longer wants the PS2 in the picture. This idea has precedence -- we saw how fast Nintendo was forced to phase out the phenomenally selling Game Boy Advance to give the DS room to stretch its legs. It's not necessarily wrong to think that Sony wants to give the PS3 room, as well, but do they need to? The PS2, especially at a low price-point, provides the one thing Sony does not have with the PS3, and never will despite all their advancements: competition with the Wii. Persona 4, as mentioned, is not going to the Wii; it is going to the PlayStation 2. For Nintendo, which is struggling to cobble together some sort of Japanese RPG base on its console, it stings in a way it might not for Microsoft. It also forces Nintendo into a rough position. As long as the PlayStation 2 is there, publishers see "Fast-selling system" right next to "System with similar graphic capabilities with an exponentially larger install base". Those that support the Wii might also be inclined to do PS2 ports or port from the PS2 to Wii, limiting what the smaller white console can really do. Developing first on the PS2 can lower costs of production, as well, for teams that are already intimately familiar with that console. It also goes without saying, but the PlayStation 2 is a casual system the likes of which even the Wii can not overcome. You do not sell one hundred million systems to the hardcore. Those that are bored with Wii Tennis or kids that don't like carnival games still find things they like on the PS2. With the PlayStation 2, Sony has tied an anchor around Nintendo's foot. It might not be enough to stop them, but it could be enough to prevent them from gaining too much ground and giving the PS3 the real breathing room it needs.

Keeping the PlayStation 2 around also helps the PSP. We all winced and groaned knowingly when Rockstar and Take-Two swore up and down that Vice City Stories, the second Grand Theft Auto title for the PSP, would not be getting a PS2 port, and collectively smirked in an "I told you so" manner when it eventually did. Sony essentially has dual-platforms providing the same type of games, but they can be sold twice. A PS2 game could be ported to the PSP. A developer, fearing low PSP game sales, could port the game to the still-breathing PlayStation 2 to recoup their costs, giving them a safety net for PSP development. The hardcore gamers will purchase the game soon after its release on the PSP and the casuals who own PlayStation 2s will buy it for that platform later.

In essence, Sony has created the third tier that Nintendo has always talked about, possibly entirely by accident, but it is one that will work for them as long as the gamers and the developers are still there. Neither group shows any signs of giving up on the system, so companies like Nintendo and Microsoft that are wishing to merely ignore the PlayStation 2 until the market quits on it are in for a rude awakening. It seems that it's true that once the juggernaut begins moving, it is impossible to stop.