PS3 will outpace PS2's lifecycle, says SCEE boss

Sony Europe chief Andrew House has said that the platform holder believes the PlayStation 3 will ‘significantly outpace’ its predecessor’s lifecycle at retail.

Speaking with EDGE magazine (via CVG), House asserted his belief that PS3’s vast array of functions will ensure the machine enjoys a healthy lifecycle on store shelves, while admitting the company is still unable to predict when PS2 will die out as it continues to shift units in its tenth year on the market.

“If you look at the PS2, still in some markets going very strong, especially in North America in its tenth year on the market, we still can't predict where that lifecycle will end," he said.

"I have a theory that with successive generations, and with more value added and built into the console in terms of experience - and let's not forget that the PS2 really didn't offer a tremendously robust network experience - that what you effectively do is potentially lengthen that lifecycle more and more as you get to the next iteration.”

Sony has previously said that it is committed to PS3 for the long term, believing the platform will remain in the shops for at least a decade.