- The birth of PlayStation
(upbeat ambient music) did not go according to plan. Nintendo's betrayal and Sony's revenge led to the original PlayStation winning the console wars of the 1990s, selling 100 million consoles. That's more than double the
units of all of its competitors, like the N64, Saturn and Jaguar combined. But with such massive shoes to fill, Sony had an impossible choice
when it came to the sequel, the PlayStation 2. By the end of the
PlayStation 1 lifecycle, no game console manufacturer had been able to dominate
two generations back to back. Sure, the Super Nintendo was certainly a successful
follow-up to the NES, but it fought a long hard
battle against the Sega Genesis that it only barely came out on top of. That's nearly 30 years of rivals constantly
one upping each other. So while the PlayStation
won the 90s console war, there was no guarantee that someone else wouldn't
snatch the gaming crown right back around this time. In a way, Sony was kind of lucky, Ken Kutaragi, the father
of the PlayStation, had so much passion that he basically forced Sony
into the gaming industry. There was an enormous amount
of skepticism inside Sony about the gaming project, but with year after year of climing sales, no one could deny their success. So with cautious optimism, Sony committed to a
second generation console. This time though, there
was a lot more to lose. When Sony launched the PS1, they didn't know it would be a big hit, but good old Ken Kutaragi
had complete confidence, so naturally he had already
started working on the PS2 immediately after the
original PlayStation launched, and before importantly, Sony had even greenlit
the second generation. I swear this guy was
just trying to get fired. The development timeline in the early days is a little shaky. Multiple companies reported working on a potential
graphics chip for the PS2 as early as 1997. It quickly became clear though that those were either
to confuse competitors or likely as backup options because Sony was working on
something revolutionary in-house. With the help of Toshiba, Sony developed the now
legendary Emotion Engine CPU. Unlike traditional CPUs of the era, the Emotion Engine integrated
several specialized units to maximize performance for the demands that are more specific to gaming. This included a streamlined MIPS CPU core to handle general processing,
two vector processing units for complex graphics calculations, a dedicated image
processing unit and more. This hybrid approach in a lot of ways actually foreshadowed the trends that we see today in processor design, where when you buy a CPU, what you're actually getting is something which is made up of a bunch of specialized components that work together on a single
chip to maximize efficiency. Compare this to the Sega
Dreamcast's more traditional CPU, simpler, less potential raw power, but easier to get good results quickly. The PS2 might not have been as
straightforward to work with as something like the Nintendo GameCube or have the brute force of the Xbox with its PC based processor. But for a developer who
knew how to optimize around the Emotion Engine, the PS2 had a ton of potential. The PlayStation 2's Graphic Synthesizer was also a huge step forward
for console graphics. In particular, the leap from the PS1's
graphics was astronomical. The original PlayStation could only manage a theoretical
360,000 polygons per second, while the PS2 pushed a
staggering 75 million. Just pause for a second and take that in. These days, if you get two, maybe three times more
performance across the generation, it's considered a solid upgrade. The PS2 could handle
207 times more polygons. - [Animated Voice] Wow! - This translated to far
more complex environments, smoother character models and intricate details that
really brought games to life. In my opinion, it is the
biggest leap in graphics for a single generation of all time, and it almost certainly
will never be matched again. But perhaps the biggest
galaxy brained move Sony made was including a DVD-ROM drive. Remember, Sony was, and still kind of is a consumer tech company
first and foremost, as a company making cameras,
TVs, and physical media, they knew that consumers
were right at the start of a major shift from
analog media like VHS tapes to digital DVDs. With PS2 games living on DVD, there was suddenly way
more space than CDs, between 6 and 12 times as much, no more 3 disc Final Fantasy games. Now, this might sound silly today when physical media is
kind of on its deathbed, but I know a ton of people who sold their parents on the PS2, not just as a game console, but as a media center
for the whole family. Now to really drive sales, Sony priced the PS2 at $299 at
launch, the exact same price as the original PlayStation back in 1995, but importantly,
significantly less expensive than most standalone
DVD players at the time. So if your family wanted
to start watching some high quality DVD movies,
it really was an easy sell. Speaking of launch, the PS2 finally was
released in the year 2000. - PlayStation 2.
- Let's just say, it wasn't the smoothest launch. It was a rollercoaster of equal
parts hype and frustration with massive console shortages
pretty much everywhere. Now, at the time, Sony was
selling each PS2 at a loss, a gamble that they make
money on game sales later on down the line. Now, this strategy is really the norm now, but back in 2000, it's easy to forget that Sony was a relative
newcomer in the console wars and honestly had no idea how many people were really ready to upgrade their PS1s. Sony just weren't prepared
for the demand they created, and it got so bad that you
could get a PS2 on eBay for more than double retail price. Some of them were priced
as high as a $1000, and this is in 2000. The launch games were
also pretty disappointing. Now leading up to launch, Sony teased a lot of highly
anticipated titles, like "Metal Gear Solid 2", "Gran Turismo 2000" and a beautifully remastered
"Final Fantasy 7". What gamers got instead were 29 fine, but not exciting games
like "Madden NFL 2001" and "Dynasty Warriors 2". It didn't really matter though. The PS2 sold like absolute hotcakes. Sony sold all one million
manufactured units in the launch weekend alone. A lot of this was thanks to another smart decision by
Sony, backwards compatibility. Again, this is something we pretty much take for granted today, and we all get super up in arms when a new console
doesn't have a generation or even several generations
of perfect back compat. With the PS2, though, Sony cleverly reused the original PS1 CPU to handle I/O tasks such as the USB ports in normal PS2 mode, but as soon as you dropped
an OG PlayStation disc in, the hardware sprang into action. Now it did need a little bit of emulation for some certain features of the PS1, such as the audio chip, but thanks to the massive
leap in power on tap, PlayStation 1 games pretty
much universally just worked. After the PS2's global launch,
it only gained more steam. Sony quickly ramped up production to try and meet the massive demand, but shortages continued
throughout the first year. This is coupled with a
big marketing campaign that did a lot to cement the PS2 as the must have gaming device. Ads highlighted it's graphics power, PS1 game library, the added bonus of being a DVD player. Boy, there was some, I don't
know if I wanna call it gems, but some, some, this is a commercial. (intense ambient music) - Welcome to the third place. - This combination of hype, features and slowly
increasing availability fueled a frenzy that propelled the PS2 to console market dominance
by the end of its first year. But the first big test came in 2001 when the real competition arrived. Now before we get to the console war, we've gotta press F
to pay respects for Sega. As much as I love the Dreamcast, it just couldn't keep
up with the competition. Not only did Sony thoroughly
have the momentum over Sega, but even though the Dreamcast
had a one year headstart, the PS2's spectacular launch paired with EAs decision to
not develop for the Dreamcast, basically forced it into early retirement, and it was discontinued in 2001. Rest in peace little guy. Enjoy your VMUs in the cold, watery grave of wherever that dolphin
lives, or the fish guy. What was the fish guy named? Y'all know what I'm talking about? Y'all have never seen that? (upbeat ambient music) - I may not look so hot to you, but you should see
yourselves through my eyes. You don't know me, but you will. - With one competitor down, Sony didn't have the luxury of relaxing, 2001 was when Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox launched, marking one of the biggest
generational rivalries in gaming history. On paper, it seems like
Sony was in trouble. Remember, this was Nintendo's
big chance to get back at Sony for crushing the N64
in the last generation, and they went hard. In some ways, the
GameCube was more powerful and easy to work with than the PS2, and importantly, it cost $100 less.
(audience applauding) Then you had the Xbox built
from straight up PC parts like an Intel Pentium CPU, and Nvidia GeForce Graphics,
making it on paper by far the most powerful gaming
console on this generation. I mean, just look at this comparison. It took a few years for developers to really get the most
out of the Emotion Engine and Graphic Synthesizer
where Nintendo and Microsoft offered consoles that devs were able to get solid performance out of pretty much on day one. And so there was a fierce
battle, just not with Sony. Throughout the PS2's production run, Sony consistently had more
than 50% of the market share. The Xbox and GameCube would
fight and often trade blows, but ultimately they were fighting for a distant second place. So where did they go wrong? Well, Nintendo hit multiple roadblocks. A lot of popular third party games like the "Grand Theft Auto" series simply skipped development
for the GameCube. This might not sound all
that strange these days, but this was back when Nintendo absolutely wanted cross-platform titles, just like the other consoles. The failure to attract a lot
of them directly led Nintendo to pretty much give up
fighting the console war on even footing, and
started making weird stuff like the Wii and the Wii U. But that's a story for later. Probably the biggest reason the GameCube fell behind was
the lack of DVD functionality. After the failure of the Sony
partnership with Nintendo to develop a CD based add-on
for the Super Nintendo, they spent the entire N64
generation backing cartridges, which left them with essentially
no experience with discs. When Nintendo finally decided
to switch to the disc format, they opted for the tiny mini optical discs that you see with the GameCube. The public reason why Nintendo did this was because these smaller discs could load data faster
than traditional DVDs, which in some cases it did, but the real reason was almost
certainly because they were and still are terrified of piracy. It's pretty well documented
that Nintendo hates piracy, (Austin coughs)
emulators and other legal things. Sorry, something's in my throat. But it's clear that Nintendo
have done a lot of things to prevent piracy, even if it makes the
gaming experience worse, for those of you who
buy the games legally. Aside from Nintendo, the big new rival that no one saw coming
was the Microsoft Xbox. The first American game console since all the way back in
1993 with the Atari Jaguar, Xbox's launch was
actually quite successful all things considered. Selling 1.5 million
units in its first year. The Xbox was born as a
way to leverage Windows, build an ecosystem, and to prevent Sony from
decimating the gaming PC market. When you think of it that way, it makes a lot of sense that
Microsoft made a console that was actually quite PC like. The Xbox could even play
DVDs, kind of like the PS2, although you did need
a remote and a dongle just to enable playback. Like a PC, the Xbox offered features that were a major step forward
compared to console rivals. Forget having to
fumble with tiny memory cards, the Xbox boasted a built in hard drive, which offered tons of storage
for not only saving games, but even downloading content. But the Xbox had two major issues. Firstly, it was a financial black hole. Even with strong game sales, Microsoft was losing a significant amount of
money on each console sold. Estimate suggests that they
may have been losing at least a $100 dollars per unit. To make matters worse,
just to stay competitive with the PS2 and GameCube, they were forced to slash the Xbox's price just six months after launch. Secondly, the console
never gained traction in crucial markets like Japan, where Xbox sold less than
half a million consoles throughout its entire lifespan. Yikes. The controller was also a problem, but that's for another video. Now, I wanna make it clear,
these were not bad consoles. Both the GameCube and Xbox are looked back on fondly by most gamers, but the thing is, the biggest problem with both the GameCube and
Xbox was a really simple one, they just weren't PS2s. (intense ambient music) Wait. Now the game is supposed, (Austin clears throat)
the game's supposed to launch. Sorry, one second, lemme just, is my disc drive not working on my PS2? This would be a great time to remind you that game preservation's important 'cause hardware fails, emulators don't. (Austin gasps) Oh, what an interesting idea. If only backwards compatibility
could save the day. Perfect. All right, look at our PS2. It's all good to go. (upbeat ambient music) Anyway, this is "Gran Turismo 4", my favorite Gran
Turismo game of all time. Oh, no, I see artifacts already. You look at the top left corner. I'm really surprised I have
not played Gran Turismo 4 in probably 15 years. And how similar it feels to even newer games like
Gran Turismo 7. Like it really is a testament to how much Polyphony put into this game and how hard they tried to make it the ultimate driving simulator, and it even all this time later still feels surprisingly good. I'm going so fast,
that's 150 miles an hour! That felt surprisingly like home, and I think that just as a testament to not only the performance and sort of how far ahead of
its time the PS2 really was. It wasn't the most powerful console when it came to raw specs,
but it had a clever design, there was a lot of headroom for developers to really optimize over the lifecycle, and importantly, they sold over a 100
million of these things, which meant that developers
had tons of incentive to get every ounce of
performance out of the PS2. It took a while for them to
really get that most out of it, but with gains towards
the end of the generation, like "Gran Turismo 4",
like some of the GTA titles, you could really see what
this hardware is capable of. You know what? PS2,
(soft thumping) you got a healthy future ahead of you. (upbeat ambient music)
(snapping fingers) In 2005, Sony announced the PS2
sold 100 million consoles, the first game console to ever sell that many units that quickly. Even more impressive, they
did it in only five years. Sony wasn't just twiddling their thumbs as the sales shot to the moon, they had a number of hardware revisions, very similar to how PlayStation still does it today for modern consoles. Over time, the PS2 lost
the PCMCIA card slot, but gained a hard drive expansion bay, better networking and power efficiency, redesigned motherboard, along with more reliable disc readers, which we'll talk about a little later. They also got much better at
manufacturing, cutting costs and eventually dropping the
price from 299 down to 199. But probably the biggest hardware
revision was the slim PS2. Sony crammed the main bits
of the PS2 fat into the slim, which is about a third of the size and less than half the weight. Now I'm not gonna say
that it was revolutionary, but it really was one of the
smallest gaming consoles ever. It did drop the motorized
disc tray and hard drive, and you needed to now use
an external power supply, but they kept the networking, and over the years, even the
slim had a few revisions, mostly with the internals, like merging the Emotion
Engine with the GPU, and ditching the PS1 CPU, so a more efficient chip could
emulate PS1 games instead. I'll say my personal favorite
hardware revision though is pretty much the exact
opposite of the PS2 slim, the PSX. While you might not be familiar with it, since it was mostly a Japanese
exclusive release in 2003, the PSX was a unique addition
to the PlayStation family. It's more than just a bigger PS2, the PSX also introduced the XMB interface that would go on to live in
both the PS3 as well as the PSP. Personally, I think it's
the best looking PS2 model, and it still looks modern even today. This bad boy was a digital video
recorder, just like a TiVo. It came with a remote, had S
video, composite, RF inputs. You could also do analog
VHF and TV tuning. I mean, the icing on the cake
was even the USB link to a PSP where you can transfer your
photos, music and videos. Like, look, there was so
much this thing could do, I cannot stress enough how much of a multimedia monster it was. With all of these features
came a premium price to match, the PSX launched at 79,800 yen, which is about 740 US
dollars back in 2003. Adjusted for inflation for 2024, this would've been almost
a $1,200 PlayStation. Yeah, a huge jump, even with
all those cool features. If you want to know more about the PSX, Ken did a terrific video all about it on Denki, which you should actually go check out. Even though spoiler alert, he broke a PSX. - It was already broken.
- No, it was fine, and you broke it. It was totally fine when I had it. Over the years, Sony came out with a few more interesting
iterations of the PS2, including the PS2 TV,
which is a PlayStation 2 directly integrated into
a Sony Bravia LCD TV. There's also a Linux kit for the PS2, so enthusiasts could turn
a PS2 basically into a PC complete with web browsing
and other computer-y things. Now to mention tons of
special edition consoles. Sony sold millions of PS2s and overwhelmingly dominated
the gaming market for a second generation in a row. So it must have been flawless, right? Not exactly. There were actually still
plenty of issues with the PS2. One of the biggest advantages of the Xbox over the PlayStation 2 was its excellent online functionality. Now, both the PS2 and Xbox
could connect to the internet to have multiplayer experiences, but it really seemed much
more like an afterthought on the PS2. Online services were free
for most games on the PS2, but Sony didn't have
any dedicated servers. They lifted it up to developers
to host servers to game on, which led to a spotty and
inconsistent online experience. Xbox on the other hand,
had dedicated servers, which made multiplayer so much better. They did charge for it
though through Xbox Live, but you got a lot for the
price, like personal gamertags, adding friends online, messaging, like it felt a lot more
like modern gaming. It was pretty night and day. Unfortunately, reliability was
also a concern for many PS2s. One common problem was the disc tray, which had a reputation for
breaking down over time. In fact, if something's
gonna break on a PS2, the disc tray is a likely culprit. It was such a big issue that there was even a class
action lawsuit against Sony. The lawsuit claimed the
PS2s regularly display the disc read error message
and would not play games. There were a lot of other issues like memory cards getting corrupted, being too
small capacity to start with, and being far too expensive. It's almost like Sony can't
resist charging a pile of money for a proprietary media format. Now, some PS2s also
had overheating issues, especially on the slim models, and of course, frustrating,
worn out power buttons that needed to be replaced. And yet, despite all of those issues, the PS2 is without exaggeration, the best selling gaming
console of all time. Yes, that's right, even in the year 2024, no other console has surpassed the godly 155 million sales record that the PS2 set. The PS1 made Sony into a
genuine gaming powerhouse, but the PS2 launched Sony
into the stratosphere. The PlayStation brand
solidified its status as a household name
synonymous with gaming, just like how all Pokemon
are just Pikachu to boomers, all video game consoles were just PlayStations. It's easy to see how PlayStation became the face of gaming at the time. They even kept making
them for 13 whole years, AKA, I can't believe this is true, they only stopped making PS2s months before the PS4 came out. You know, like they kept making PS2s pretty much the entire lifespan
of the PlayStation 3. I remember when the PS2
was the must have console, and let me tell you, if you were the one kid in your
town that didn't have a PS2, it was a miserable Christmas. Not that I was that kid or anything. I was perfectly happy with my PS1, mom. Actually, can I tell a story? My dad tried to get a PS2 for
me from a friend from work, and I was really excited about it. We went over to his house, and when we went to go pick it up, he thought it was a PS2,
and it was actually a PS1. I don't think I've ever
emotionally recovered from that. (Austin sniffs) But let me know what your fond memories of the PS2 are, and if you want us to dive deeper into the world of PlayStation
with the next generation. I have a feeling that PlayStation's rivals aren't going to stay
satisfied with second place.
