I remember that was my calculus in the PS2 era. At one point near launch, they weren't much more expensive than a dedicated DVD player.

They were the cheapest DVD player you could buy for a while, and they were also the most available DVD player. That changed fairly quick, but at launch they were your best value. (though dedicated DVD players generally had better controls)

It's good for emulation too and it'll run GTA6, so I'll get mine out of storage.