Sony: Wii Didn’t Bring Gaming Into the Mainstream, PS2 Did

Sony’s Kaz Hirai refuted the popular claim that Nintendo’s Wii broke gaming into the mainstream marketplace, claiming that the PS2 was the first console to really take off in the mass market.

It’s common enough wisdom nowadays to say that Nintendo was the first company to achieve crossover success with the Wii and DS and their extreme popularity beyond typical gamer crowds and mainstream love. But Sony’s Kaz Hirai doesn’t agree with that sentiment. For him, Nintendo might have big success today, but Sony were the original pioneers.

“It’s a very astute observation, but it doesn’t take in history,” said Hirai of the idea that the Wii broke the mainstream barrier. “The most successful console is still the PS2 and it’s still going strong.”

“I think that’s the console that really broke the barrier from video games being just for video gamers into more of a mass market on a global basis,” Hirai said. “Nintendo’s obviously done a great job in following that mass acceptance.”

So Nintendo’s just following along in the PS2’s footsteps. Okay, well you can read history however you want. I mean, you can ignore the other systems that had mainstream success in the decades before either the PS2 or Wii as well. It’s all really subjective, and the numbers don’t lie for either the PS2 or the Wii. So it just depends on who you ask.