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
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...