You're evidently not reading what I have written. And have tried to put words in my mouth multiple times here. I haven't 'defined' any audience. I didn't say anything about 'the same people who bought' (it's over ten years later, they are not the same people). I didn't 'lump anything together'. I have not made a prediction about what the PS4 would sell. I even said 'maybe it will due to other reasons' ('Anything can happen').
All I have done is just tear apart PS2 comparisons. The economy is diferrent, the generational transition will be different, the market is smaller, not growing as fast and is vastly different, and PS5/Xbox4/Switch will likely be vastly diferrent to the PS3/360/Wii/DS era. And if you didn't notice, PS4 is declining YoY already.
And while PS4's RRP is US$300 but that's a borderline fictitious price to quote at this point, with $199 bundles with the biggest games having happened multiple times. It was $199 in 2017! And the USA is not the world, it's much cheaper in other places in the world, in Australia it's been as low as AU$250, IIRC the lowest the PS2 ever got was $200, with inflation taken into account PS4 is as cheap as PS2 ever was.
I read what you wrote, I don't think you understand the actual argument. Nobody is putting words in your mouth, you're misunderstanding your own implications. When I said "define" I mean you're talking about this casual audience that are buying consoles and what they are buying, their purchasing habits are what this entire conversation is about. I'm saying how you're describing their habits and what they are based on is flawed and doesn't make sense.
"On top of this, one of the reasons PS2 kept selling (1/3 of its total AFTER PS3 was out) was due to the PS3 being such a massive failure out of the gate. PS3 and 360 were too expensive and needed a new TV to be played. So a lot of people went 'guess I'll get a PS2 for a couple of years'."
The PS3 was too expensive, therefore they weren't in the market for one. These aren't initial buyers, these are price conscious buyers that bought a Wii or waited until the price dropped, that is entirely my point. Any body who was in the market for an HD console bought a PS3 or 360. You weren't in the market for an HD console (meaning what you actually bought) and then purchased a PS2.
And then you start making all these assumptions about the effect the economy and generational transition has had on console sales. To the effect of the Switch and PS4 being a roaring success. If the effect is to be felt, it was hasn't happened with these particular platforms yet. These sound like arguments people used to make when they were saying console were dying (all the casuals have left and are never coming back etc.). The PS4 was $200 for how many days in 2017? How many days in 2018? How many consoles were sold when it was those prices? How much stock was left? Yes the PS4 is down this year, compared to last, yet it is still above Sony's expectations. It is also STILL $300. A cheaper console lowers the barrier to entry....that is all this is about. The PS3 being dropped early does not define the PS4's potential, because it has been a far more successful console. That is it. That is this whole thing lol.