I remember talk before the Japanese launch that it\'d be 3 to 4 years before we\'d see what PS2 was really capable of. I also recall a number of slated US launch titles that came out no where near the expected date. As ddaryl says, it has been a mixed bag so far. For GT3 it seemed to be a case of not so much running into trouble as finding ways to improve the overall game within the framework of the original engine design. The Bouncer I suspect was to be a graphics show piece that did run into trouble, the shortfall of very limited interactive backgrounds, originally promised, is a prime example. Not that it couldn\'t be done, it just took more time than anticipated and it needed to be out ASAP.
The concept for the architecture of the emotion engine wasn\'t brand new but the use of it by programers on a large scale was/is. Consider programing for the PS2 as learning the ropes, a stepping stone, for going on to handle the PS3 and you\'ll begin to realize just how farsighted Sony is being about the gaming and computer industry. A mistake? No way. Even if everything hasn\'t gone exactly according to schedule.