We got DRE (Disc Read Errors) on our old PS2 three times. We eventually got it fixed for free...but it broke again. So we had to buy the new slimmer version. Nowadays, I hardly play the PS2.
(glances at the Xbox 360) Say what you will about Microsoft...they made a tough console. I've had no problems with it (or the older Xbox for that matter). Their addition of the hard drive to a console was a stroke of genius. And Xbox Live is STILL better than anything Sony has to offer.
They say the slimmer version develops disk read errors even faster. Yeah, my xbox has never given me a problem and it's had three kids, four if you count me, drop it and spill things on it.
You got that right. There's nothing even remotely close to what Xbox Live has to offer at this moment. Thus, Sony is at a huge disadvantage here in the United States. However, Sony makes many rpg games that Asians love so that means Microsoft will probably never be able to gain a foothold in Asia.
But this round, it's likely that Microsoft may get up to 50% of the US Market.