The PS3 right now is hitting its stride, having sold somewhere in the range of 41 million consoles. There’s still a long way to go before the PS3 reaches the PS2 levels of nearly 150 million worldwide, but former Sony executive and founding president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Chris Deering thinks the mark can be reached.

“I think it can sell as many as PS2, maybe more,” revealed Deering. “In the case of both PS1 and PS2, we sold more Slim units than original models. The PS3 Slim has only been out a couple of years. If you could get a PS3 for a hundred pounds . . . Can you imagine It could go much higher and last longer.”

Phil Harrison, former head of Sony Worldwide Studios, is much more reserved about the PS3’s chances to equal the PS2. “I hope PS3 can match PS2, but I think the market dynamics are slightly different,” he said. “It’s much more competitive. For a large chunk of its lifecycle PS2 didn’t really have any competition anywhere in the world, so Sony was able to sell a huge number of units. If PS3 does reach the same level it will take longer and it will be a more difficult challenge.”

Source: Eurogamer