[mikkupikku]

True. I remember there was a window of time in which the PS2 was the cheapest DVD player you could get, or at least the cheapest in most stores. That was about the time when most consumers were feeling pressure to drop VHS. It was also pretty common for people to have CD binders full of pirated movies on DVD, very popular in colleges then, and kids bringing home those huge stashes of movies also motivated a lot of people to replace their VCRs. The PS2 with it's DVD playing functionality was well timed and well priced.

[BHSPitMonkey]

I can't recall if the PS2 was cheaper than available DVD players when it launched, but I do distinctly remember it being true of the PS3 and Blu-ray for some time given how new it was then

[to11mtm]

PS2 was cheaper at announce time, but by launch there were units priced 'competitively' (not always with PS2's capabilities such as ability to do component out, but almost always with a better UX).

I should note the 'other' option that came up back then at college was just tossing a DVD Drive in a computer that they had or had purchased; by that point a majority/plurality of new/recent desktops had enough horsepower to do it, though drives were still fairly expensive...