That was the norm at the time. The PS2 could run rings around high end PCs at launch in regards to post processing effects and character models etc
Not an apples to apples comparison. The PS2 could not do justice to the kinds of games that were becoming popular at the time on PC. That was also a period where PC developers were still primarily making PC exclusives (and console games were obviously tailored and a different experience on their respective systems) and we did not have the "console first" side of the business that it became around 2008 or so. Honestly, the only console that really blew me away compared to what a PC was doing at the time of release was the Dreamcast.
Oblivion was the first, and only game that I can remember that was on both platforms where the console version
clearly won. But then six months later the PC was on top again, and the gap only kept growing. Happens every gen though. The consoles start out strong, even if they aren't normally quite up to PC levels overall, usually push graphics, but then are
much weaker in performance and until this most recent gen, never had a chance in catching up. They still did not really catch up the current gen, but it was a good step in the right direction and made a big difference for those that had 4K TVs or monitors.
It wasn't until this generation that consoles became essentially budget PCs in terms of hardware and power. This is the new thing.
It's only new in the sense that it's using an architecture that is closer to a PC than not. The overall paradigm hasn't really changed though. Especially not when it comes to what is marketed the hardest either; graphics over performance. If the new consoles could push 60fps (which is where I am going to remain for a few more years anyway) as their targeted standard, I'd be more than happy with that, but the reality is likely going to be 30fps like it always has been. So unless Nvidia shits the bed yet again with their next new lineup of cards, I'll continue doing what I've been doing. Buying a console for the exclusives, and everything else gets played on PC.
Only as a gimmick. "Look at what our console
can support" despite the fact that people that actually can tell the difference between a 4K and 8K TV (on a 30fps console and on a 55'' to 77'' TV), let alone even own an 8K TV will be a niche among a niche.