Following the news that Sony is to cut the price of PS2 in both Europe and North America, the firm has spoken of the new family market it hopes to connect with.

“This new price means that more people than ever will be able to join in on the fun that so many of you PS2 owners have been enjoying for years, which means new families will become part of the platform’s record-breaking install base,” SCEA’s hardware marketing director John Koller stated on the PlayStation blog.

“With this new price, we intend to introduce a new generation of consumers – some of whom weren’t even alive when the system was first introduced in 2000 – to the immense entertainment value offered by PS2.

“In the gaming industry, the typical lifecycle for a console is around five years, but because we build each of our platforms for a large and diverse consumer base, we design our platforms differently. With the original PlayStation and now PS2, we’ve proven that consumers can rely on our platforms for their gaming and entertainment needs for at least a decade. This speaks to the technology and features that were packed into PS2 from the beginning, as well as to the ongoing support the platform enjoys from the publishing and retail communities and, well, all of you fans.

“PS2’s unmatched gaming library will grow to nearly 1,900 titles from both our first-party studios and publishing partners this year, with a particular focus on the social and sports genres that are so popular with the emerging family demographic. With all of that content, PS2 is a great option for families looking for ways to share their entertainment experiences together; they can rock out to Rock Band, test their trivia knowledge with Buzz!, or simply use the PlayStation 2 as their DVD or CD player.”