The JH Movie Collection's Official Wiki
The JH Movie Collection's Official Wiki
The JH Movie Collection's Official Wiki
35,233
pages
in: Pages with script errors, Pages with reference errors, Pages containing cite templates with deprecated parameters,
and 18 more

PlayStation (console)

Sign in to edit
For the Play Station, a cancelled game console prototype designed by Sony and Nintendo in the early 1990s, which later became this console, see Super NES CD-ROM. For other uses, see PlayStation (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with PSX


The PlayStation[lower-alpha 1] (PS, commonly known as the PS1 or its codename PSX) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released on 3 December 1994 in Japan, 9 September 1995 in North America, 29 September 1995 in Europe, and 15 November 1995 in Australia, and was the first of the PlayStation lineup of video game consoles. As a fifth generation console, the PlayStation primarily competed with the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn.

Development of the console began after a failed venture with Nintendo to create a CD-ROM for their Super Famicom in the early 1990s. Game production for the console was designed to be streamlined and inclusive, inticing the support of many third-party developers. In July 2000, a redesigned, slim version called the PS one was released, replacing the original grey console and named appropriately to avoid confusion with its successor, the PlayStation 2.

The PlayStation signalled Sony's rise to power in the video game industry. Its release elicited both critical acclaim and impressive sales: it eventually became the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship over 100 million units, doing so in under a decade.[6] The PlayStation's use of compact discs (CDs) heralded the game industry's transition from cartridges. Games for the PlayStation continued to sell until Sony ceased production of both the PlayStation and PlayStation games on 23 March 2006 – over eleven years after it had been released, and less than a year before the debut of the PlayStation 3.[2] Over 7,918 games were released for the console over its lifespan, with cumulative sales of 962 million units.

History[]

Background[]

File:Sony-playstation prototype.jpg

A photo of the only known SNES-based PlayStation prototype

The PlayStation was the brainchild of Ken Kutaragi, a Sony executive who managed one of the company's hardware engineering divisions and was later dubbed "The Father of the PlayStation".[7][8][9] Kutaragi's interest in working with video games stemmed from seeing his daughter play games on Nintendo's Famicom video game console.[10] The inception of what became the released PlayStation dates back to 1988 with a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony.Template:Sfn Nintendo had already produced floppy disk technology to complement cartridges, in the form of the Family Computer Disk System, and wanted to continue this complementary storage strategy for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).[10][11]

Kutaragi convinced Nintendo on using his SPC-700 sound processor for use in the SNES console through an impressive demonstration of the processor's capabilities.Template:Sfn Although Kutaragi was nearly sacked by Sony because he was originally working with Nintendo on the side without Sony's knowledge,[12] Sony president Norio Ohga recognised the potential in Kutaragi's chip and decided to keep him as a protégé.[10] Since Sony was already being contracted to produce the SPC-700 sound processor for the SNES,Template:Sfn Nintendo approached Sony to develop a CD-ROM add-on, tentatively titled the "Play Station" or "SNES-CD".[13][14] A contract was signed, and work began.[10]

Sony was keen to obtain a foothold in the rapidly expanding video game market. Having been the primary manufacturer of the ill-fated MSX home computer format, Sony had wanted to use its experience in consumer electronics to produce its own video game hardware.Template:Sfn[15] Although the initial agreement between Nintendo and Sony was for producing a CD-ROM add-on, Sony had also planned to develop a SNES-compatible, Sony-branded console, but one which would be more of a home entertainment system playing both SNES cartridges and a new CD format named the "Super Disc", which Sony would design.Template:Sfn Under the agreement, Sony would retain sole international rights to every Super Disc title sold, giving the company a large degree of control despite Nintendo's leading position in the video gaming market.Template:Sfn[16][15] Furthermore, Sony would also be the sole benefactor of licensing related to music and film software that it had been aggressively pursuing as a secondary application.[17]

The product, under the name "Play Station", was to be announced at the 1991 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.[18] Already wary of Sony's increasing leverage at this point, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi deemed the original 1988 contract unacceptable as he realised the earlier agreement essentially handed Sony complete control over any and all titles written on the SNES CD-ROM format. Wanting to protect Nintendo's existing licensing structure, Yamauchi secretly cancelled all plans for the joint Nintendo–Sony SNES CD attachment.Template:Sfn[19][18] Also unbeknownst to Sony, Yamauchi sent Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa (his son-in-law) and chairman Howard Lincoln to Amsterdam to form a more favourable contract with Dutch conglomerate Philips, Sony's rival. This contract would give Nintendo total control over its licenses on all Philips-produced machines.Template:Sfn[15] As described by David Sheff in his book Game Over, "[The Philips deal] was meant to do two things at once: give Nintendo back its stranglehold on software and gracefully fuck Sony."[17]

At 9 am on the day of the CES, instead of announcing a partnership between Sony and Nintendo, Howard Lincoln stepped onto the stage and publicly revealed that Nintendo was now allied with Philips, and Nintendo was planning on abandoning all the previous work they and Sony had accomplished.[10][20]Template:Sfn

Inception[]

Incensed by Nintendo's renouncement, Ohga and Kutaragi decided that Sony foray into the market by developing its own console.[21] Sony briefly considered allying itself with Sega to produce a stand-alone console. Sega's CEO at the time, Tom Kalinske, took the proposal to Sega's Board of Directors in Tokyo, who promptly vetoed the idea. Kalinske, in a 2013 interview recalled them saying "that's a stupid idea, Sony doesn't know how to make hardware. They don't know how to make software either. Why would we want to do this?".[22] This prompted Sony into halting their research, but ultimately the company decided to use what it had developed so far with both Nintendo and Sega to make it into a complete console based upon the SNES.[22]

Despite the tumultuous events at the 1991 CES, negotiations between Nintendo and Sony were still ongoing, culminating in another deal whereby the "Play Station" would still have a port for SNES games, on the condition that Nintendo would own the rights and receive the bulk of the profits from the games, and the machine in question would continue to use the audio chip Kutaragi designed. It is theorised that only two hundred of these prototype machines were created, and software for the system was being developed.[15][23] By May 1992 however, Kutaragi was adamant that such a deal would never work and decided to cut all ties with Nintendo.[10]Template:Sfn According to a Sony engineer, all work on the console from the time of the partnership with Nintendo was eventually scrapped, and the PlayStation design was restarted from scratch.Template:Sfn

File:Ken Kutaragi.jpg

Ken Kutaragi, the "Father of the PlayStation", pictured in 1998

To determine the fate of the PlayStation project, Ohga chaired a meeting the following month, consisting of Kutaragi and several senior members of Sony's board. At the meeting, Kutaragi unveiled a proprietary CD-ROM-based system he had been working on which involved playing video games with immersive 3D graphics. Ohga decided to retain the project after being reminded by Kutaragi of the humiliation he suffered from Nintendo.[14] Nevertheless, due to strong opposition from a majority present at the meeting as well as widespread internal opposition to the project by the older generation of Sony executives whom saw Nintendo and Sega as "toy" manufacturers, Ohga shifted Kutaragi and his team from Sony's main headquarters to Sony Music, a completely separate financial entity, so as to retain the project and maintain relationships with Philips for the MMCD development project (which helped lead to the creation of the DVD).[24]

The involvement of Sony Music proved crucial to the PlayStation's early development as the process of manufacturing games on CD-ROM format was similar to that used for audio CDs, to which Sony's music division had considerable experience with. While at Sony Music, Kutaragi worked with CEO Shigeo Maruyama and Akira Sato, both of whom would later become vice presidents of the division that ran the PlayStation business.[16] Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) was then jointly established by Sony and its subsidiary Sony Music Entertainment Japan to handle the company's ventures into the video game industry.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn By the beginning of 1994, Sony had publicly announced that it was entering the game console market with the PlayStation.Template:Sfn According to Maruyama, there was uncertainty over whether the console should primarily focus on 2D sprite graphics or 3D polygon graphics. It was only after witnessing the success of Sega's Virtua Fighter in Japanese arcades that the direction of the PlayStation became "instantly clear" and 3D polygon graphics became the console's primary focus.Template:Sfn

Wishing to distance the project from the failed enterprise with Nintendo, Sony initially branded the PlayStation as the "PlayStation X" (PSX).Template:Sfn Sony's North American division, known as Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), originally planned to market the new console under the alternative branding "PSX" following the negative feedback regarding "PlayStation" in focus group studies. Early advertising prior to the console's launch in North America referenced PSX, but the term was scrapped before launch.[25] The console was not marketed with Sony's name in contrast to Nintendo's consoles; according to Phil Harrison, much of Sony's upper management feared that the "Sony" brand would be tarnished by connecting it with the console which they considered to be a "toy".[26][16]

Development[]

File:Ian Hetherington.jpg

Ian Hetherington, co-founder of Psygnosis, pictured in 1990. Psygnosis and SN Systems proved integral in creating the PlayStation's development kits

Since Sony had no experience in game development, the company turned to third-party game developers. Recently released consoles like the Atari Jaguar and 3DO suffered underwhelming sales due to a lack of developer support, prompting Sony to redouble their efforts in gaining the endorsement of arcade-savvy developers.[15] With initial support from Namco, Konami, and Williams Entertainment,Template:Sfn as well as 250 other development teams in Japan alone, the company secured the launch of influential new games such as Ridge Racer and Mortal Kombat 3.[15]Template:Sfn

Despite securing the support of various Japanese studios, Sony had no developers working directly for them by the time they were developing the PlayStation. This changed in 1993 when Sony bought the Liverpudlian company Psygnosis (later renamed SCE Liverpool) for Template:USD million, therefore securing their first in-house development team. While the purchase was controversial at the time, the acquisition meant that Sony could boost its launch title repertoire in time for the PlayStation's release in Europe and North America.[15]Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Ian Hetherington, Psygnosis' co-founder, said that at the time of the console's first Christmas season Psygnosis had produced around 70% of its launch catalogue.[27] In the months leading up to the PlayStation's launch, Psygnosis had around 500 full-time staff working on various games as well as assisting with software development.Template:Sfn

The purchase of Psygnosis also marked another turning point for the PlayStation as they played a vital role in creating the console's development kits. While Sony had provided MIPS R4000-based Sony NEWS workstations for PlayStation development, Psygnosis employees disliked the thought of developing on these expensive workstations and asked Bristol-based SN Systems to create an alternative PC-based development system.[16] Andy Beveridge and Martin Day, owners of SN Systems, had previous experience with supplying development hardware for other consoles such as the Mega Drive, Atari ST and the SNES.Template:Sfn When Psygnosis arranged an audience for SN Systems with Sony's Japanese executives at the January 1994 CES in Las Vegas, Beveridge and Day presented their prototype of the condensed development kit, which could run on an ordinary personal computer with two extension boards. Impressed, Sony decided to abandon their plans for a workstation-based development system in favour of SN Systems', thus securing a cheaper and more efficient method for designing software.[15] An order of over 600 systems followed, and the company supplied Sony with additional software such as an assembler, linker, and a debugger.Template:Sfn

Sony strived to make game production as streamlined and inclusive as possible – an ethos which contrasted with the relatively isolated approach of rivals Sega and Nintendo. Phil Harrison, the then-representative director of Sony Computer Entertainment in Europe, believed that Sony's emphasis on developer assistance reduced most time-consuming aspects of development. As well as providing programming libraries, SCE headquarters in London, California and Tokyo housed technical support teams that could work closely with third-party developers if needed.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Peter Molyneux, who owned Bullfrog Productions at the time, admired Sony's open-handed approach to software developers and lauded their decision to use PCs as a development platform, remarking that "[it was] like being released from jail in terms of the freedom you have".Template:Sfn

The PlayStation's architecture and interconnectability with PCs gave a boon to many software developers. The use of the programming language C proved useful during the early stages of development as it safeguarded future compatibility of the machine should developers decide to make further hardware revisions. Sony used the free software GNU C compiler, also known as GCC, to guarantee short debugging times as it was already familiar to many programmers.Template:Sfn Despite the inherent flexibility, some developers found themselves restricted due to the console's lack of RAM. While working on beta builds of the PlayStation, Molyneux observed that its MIPS processor was not "quite as bullish" compared to that of a fast PC and said that it took his team two weeks to port their PC code to the PlayStation development kits and another fortnight to achieve a four-fold speed increase.Template:Sfn An engineer from Ocean Software, one of Europe's largest game developers at the time, thought that organising RAM was a challenging aspect given the 3.5 megabyte restriction.Template:Sfn Kutaragi said that while it would have been easy to double the amount of RAM for the PlayStation, the development team refrained from doing so to keep the retail cost down.Template:Sfn

Kutaragi saw the biggest challenge in developing the system to be balancing the conflicting goals of high performance, low cost, and being easy to program for, and felt he and his team were successful in this regard.Template:Sfn

Launch[]

Sony released the PlayStation in Japan on 3 December 1994, a week after the release of its rival Sega Saturn, at a price of Template:¥.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Sales in Japan began with a "stunning"[10] success with long queues in shops.[15] It sold 100,000 units on the first dayTemplate:Sfn and then two million units after six months on the market.Template:Sfn Mostly fueled by the success of Virtua Fighter, the Saturn had initially outsold the PlayStation in the first few weeks of launch.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn By the end of 1994, 300,000 PlayStation units were sold in Japan compared to 500,000 Saturn units.Template:Sfn After a while, a grey market emerged for PlayStations, which were shipped from Japan to North America and Europe, with some buyers of such consoles paying large amounts of money in the range of £700.Template:Sfn

Template:Quote box

Before the release in North America, Sega and Sony presented their consoles at the first Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on 11 May 1995. At their keynote presentation, Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske revealed that its Saturn console would be released at a price of $399. Immediately afterwards came Sony's turn: Olaf Olafsson, the head of the Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), summoned Steve Race, the head of development, to the conference stage, who said "$299" and left the audience with a round of applause.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn[28][29] The attention to the Sony conference was further bolstered by the surprise appearance of Michael Jackson and the showcase of highly anticipated games for the console: Wipeout, Ridge Racer and Tekken.[30][31][32] In addition, Sony announced that there would be no bundled games with the console as previously expected.[15]Template:Sfn

Although the Saturn had released early in the United States to gain an advantage over the PlayStation,Template:Sfn the surprise launch upset many retailers who were not informed in time, harming sales.Template:Sfn Some retailers such as KB Toys responded by dropping the Saturn entirely.Template:Sfn The PlayStation went on sale in North America on 9 September 1995 at the undercutting price of $299. Within two days of its release the PlayStation sold more units than the Saturn had in the first five months following its surprise launch, with almost all of the initial shipment of 100,000 units being sold in advance, and shops across the country reporedly running out of consoles and accessories.[15] The well-received Ridge Racer contributed to the PlayStation's early success,Template:Sfn[33] with some critics considering it superior to Sega's arcade counterpart Daytona USA.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn There were over 100,000 pre-orders placed and 17 games available on the market by the time of its American launch,[15] in comparison to the Saturn's six launch titles.[34]

The PlayStation released in Europe on 29 September 1995[3] and in Australia on 15 November 1995.[35] By November it had already outsold the Saturn by a factor of three in the United Kingdom, where Sony had allocated a £20 million marketing budget during the Christmas season compared to Sega's £4 million.[36][37] Within its first year, the PlayStation secured over 20% of the entire American video game market.Template:Sfn From September to the end of 1995 – sales of the console in the United States amounted to 800,000 units, giving the PlayStation a commanding lead over the other fifth generation consoles,[lower-alpha 2][39] though the SNES and Mega Drive from the fourth generation outsold it that year.[40] At the same time, according to the president of SCEA, the attach rate of sold games and consoles was four to one.[41] At the close of 1996, sales in Europe totalled 2.2 million, of which 700,000 was represented in the UK market.Template:Sfn Approximately 400 games were being developed for the PlayStation, compared to approximately 200 and 60 games being developed for the Saturn and the Nintendo 64 respectively.[42]

Market success[]

Lee Hutchinson of Ars Technica attributed PlayStation's success to third party developers:[43]

"The launch games had a lot to do with this, and the Playstation's extra time in the oven meant that it began life with more North American-friendly titles than Sega had managed. Battle Arena Toshindin was a huge seller, as was NBA Jam Tournament Edition; I also remember selling tons of copies of Ridge Racer."

While the Sega Saturn was marketed towards 18- to 34-year-olds, the PlayStation was marketed roughly, but not exclusively, towards 12- to 24-year-olds.[44] Both Sony and Sega reasoned that because younger players typically look up to older, more experienced players, advertising targeted at teens and adults would draw them in too. Additionally, Sony found that adults react best to advertising geared towards teenagers; according to Lee Clow, "One of the first things we resolved early on was that everyone is 17 when they play video games. The young people look up to the best gamer who is usually a little older and more practiced and talented. Then there are people who start working and grow up, but when they go into their room and sit down with their video games, they're regressing and becoming 17 again."[45] Initially, PlayStation demographics were skewed towards adults, but the audience broadened after the first price drop.[46]

The console was marketed with advertising slogans such as, "Live in your world. Play in ours", stylised as "LIVE IN YOUR WORLD. PLAY IN OURS". The slogan "You Are Not Ready" was also used briefly, stylised as "U R NOT Template:Font color" (red E).[47][15] Regarding the second one, Sony's CCO Lee Clow explained that "it's the ultimate challenge. Gamers love to respond to that tag line and say 'Bullshit. Let me show you how ready I am.'"[48]

In 1996, Sony expanded their CD production facilities due to the high demand for PlayStation games. This increased their monthly output from 4 million discs to 6.5 million discs.[49] This was necessary because PlayStation sales were running at twice the rate of Saturn sales, and dramatically increased their lead when both the PlayStation and Saturn dropped in price to $199 in May; this was largely because some retailers (such as KB Toys) did not stock the Saturn.[50] The PlayStation also outsold the Saturn at a similar ratio in Europe during 1996,[51] with an accumulated 2.2 million consoles sold in the region by the end of the year.[52] Sales figures for PlayStation hardware and software only increased following the launch of the Nintendo 64.[53] Sony Computer Entertainment president Teruhisa Tokunaka speculated that the Nintendo 64 launch had actually helped PlayStation sales by raising public awareness of the gaming market through Nintendo's added marketing efforts.[46]

However, the PlayStation took longer to achieve dominance in Japan. Tokunaka stated that, even after the PlayStation and Saturn had been on the market for nearly two years, the competition between them was still "very close", and that neither console had led in sales for any meaningful length of time.[46]

Software library[]

See also: List of PlayStation games (A–L) and List of PlayStation games (M–Z)
File:Crash Bandicoot 1 gameplay.jpg

A typical in-game screenshot taken from Crash Bandicoot, one the PlayStation's best-selling titles.

A total of 7,918 software titles had been released worldwide for the PlayStation; 4,944 in Japan, 1,335 in North America and 1,639 in Europe.[54] As of 31 March 2007, the cumulative software shipment was at 962 million units.[55] FIFA Football 2005 was the last game released for the system in the United States. However, several reprinted and remastered editions were released in later years. On 26 July 2007, Konami released Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection, which contained Metal Gear Solid in the original PlayStation format. In 2011, Capcom released the Resident Evil 15th Anniversary Collection, and in 2012, Square Enix released the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box in Japan containing all of the Final Fantasy titles, a majority of which were in the original PlayStation format.[56]

Initially, in the United States, PlayStation games were packaged in long cardboard boxes, similar to non-Japanese 3DO and Saturn games. Sony later switched to the jewel case format typically used for audio CDs and Japanese video games, as this format took up less retailer shelf space (which was at a premium due to the large number of PlayStation games being released), and focus testing showed that most consumers preferred this format.[57]

The PlayStation's premier games included critically acclaimed titles such as Final Fantasy 7, Crash Bandicoot, and Tekken, all of which spawned numerous sequels.

Hardware[]

Technical specifications[]

Main article(s): PlayStation technical specifications
GPU
GPU
PlayStation sound processor
PlayStation sound processor
R3000 CPU
R3000 CPU
The GPU (SCPH-9000 version)
PlayStation Custom Sound Processor
R3000 CPU
digital signal processor
digital signal processor
SCPH-100 motherboard
SCPH-100 motherboard
PS One motherboard
PS One motherboard
Digital Signal Processor
An early SCPH-1000 motherboard
A PS One motherboard

The main microprocessor is a 32-bit LSI R3000 CPU with a clock rate of 33.86MHz and 30 MIPS.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The CPU relies heavily on the VLSI chip to provide the necessary speed to render complex 3D graphics.[15] Sony's custom 16-bit sound chip supports ADPCM sources with up to 24 sound channels and offers a sampling rate of up to 44.1 kHz and MIDI sequencing. The system features 2 MB of main RAM, with an additional 1 MB being allocated to video memory.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The PlayStation has a maximum colour depth of 16.7 million true colours[58] with 32 levels of transparency and unlimited colour look-up tables. Its video output, initially provided by a parallel I/O cable (and later a serial I/O used for the PlayStation Link Cable) displays resolutions from 256×224 to 640×480 pixels.Template:Sfn

The PlayStation utilises a proprietary video compression unit called MDEC, which is integrated into the CPU, allowing for the presentation of full motion video at a higher quality than other consoles of its generation.Template:Sfn Unusual for the time, the PlayStation lacks a dedicated 2D graphics processor; 2D elements are instead calculated as polygons by the Geometry Transfer Engine (GTE) so that they can be processed and displayed on screen by the GPU.Template:Sfn

  • CPU: 32-bit RISC MIPS R3000A-compatible MIPS R3051 (33.8688 MHz)Template:Sfn
  • MDEC (motion decoder) for FMV playback[59]
  • RAM: 2 MB main, 1 MB videoTemplate:Sfn
  • Graphics: GPU and Geometry Transformation Engine (GTE),[60][61] with 2D rotation, scaling (2.5D), transparency and fading, and 3D affine texture mapping and shadingTemplate:Sfn
  • Colors: 16.7 million (True Color)[58]
  • Sprites: 4,000Template:Sfn
  • Polygons: 180,000 per second (textured), 360,000 per second (flat-shaded)
  • Resolution: 256×224 to 640×480 pixels (480i)Template:Sfn
  • Sound: 16-bit, 24 channel ADPCM

Copy protection[]

Prior to the PlayStation, reproducing copyrighted material for game consoles was restricted to either enthusiasts with exceptional technical ability, or people who had access to CD manufacturers. However, due to the increased availability of cheap CD burners, Sony modified the shape of the first portion of the data track on PlayStation formatted discs: A normal data track follows a smooth spiral path around a disc, whereas the modified portion follows a wavy spiral path.[62] As a result, any discs that did not contain this modification, such as CD-R copies or standard pirated discs, would not boot on the console.Template:Sfn This modified portion of the data path is also used to encode the disc "region"; for example, a disc distributed in the NTSC-U/C region encoded the letters "SCEA", a disc in Europe encoded "SCEE", and a disc in Japan "SCEI". This served as copy protection as well as region-locking.

The installation of an unofficial modchip allowed the PlayStation to play CD-R copies of games. It also allowed the console to play games from any region, as the modchip could inject the data for any region into the system. Since there was a multitude of electronic parts on the market, by the end of the system's life cycle, anyone with minimal soldering experience could perform these modifications. This created a wave of games developed without official approval using free, official tools, such as the Net Yaroze, as well as unofficial tools, and the reproduction of original discs. With the introduction of such devices the console became very attractive to programmers and illegal copiers alike, as well as those who wished to protect the lifespan of their lawful, original discs. In 1996 Sony filed lawsuits against many companies which advertised such modchips and pirated games, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.[63]

Some companies (notably Datel) eventually produced discs that booted on unmodified retail units while using special equipment.[64]

Controllers[]

Main article(s): PlayStation controller and DualShock

<div class="thumb tleft" style="width: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[".px; background-color: #FFFFFF">

Clockwise from top left: an original PlayStation controller, PlayStation Analog Joystick, Dual Analog, and the DualShock.

The PlayStation's controller was released in three different iterations over the console's lifespan. The first controller, named the PlayStation controller, was released alongside the PlayStation in December 1994. It features four individual directional buttons (as opposed to a conventional D-pad), a pair of shoulder buttons on both sides, Start and Select buttons in the centre, and four face buttons consisting of simple geometric shapes: a green triangle, red circle, blue cross, and a pink square (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square).[65] Rather than depicting traditionally used letters or numbers onto its buttons, the PlayStation controller established a trademark which would be incorporated heavily into the PlayStation brand. Teiyu Goto, the designer of the original PlayStation controller, said that the circle and cross represent "yes" and "no", respectively (though this layout is reversed in Western versions); the triangle symbolises a point of view and the square is equated to a sheet of paper to be used to access menus.[66]Template:Sfn The European and North American models of the original PlayStation controller is roughly 10% larger than its Japanese variant, to account for the fact the average person in those regions have larger hands than the average Japanese person.Template:Sfn

Sony's first analogue gamepad, the PlayStation Analog Joystick (often erroneously referred to as the "Sony Flightstick"), was first released in Japan in April 1996. Featuring two parallel joysticks, it uses potentiometer technology previously used on consoles such as the Vectrex; instead of relying on binary eight-way switches, the controller detects minute angular changes through the entire range of motion. The stick also features a thumb-operated digital hat switch on the right joystick, corresponding to the traditional D-pad, and used for instances when simple digital movements were necessary. The Analog Joystick sold poorly in Japan, reportedly due to its high cost and cumbersome size.Template:Sfn

The increasing popularity of 3D games prompted Sony to add analogue sticks in their controller design to give users more freedom over their movements in virtual 3D environments.[67] The first official analogue controller, the Dual Analog Controller, was revealed to the public in a small glass booth at the 1996 PlayStation Expo in Japan,Template:Sfn and eventually released in April 1997, coincident with the Japanese releases of analogue-capable titles Tobal 2 and Bushido Blade.[68] In addition to the two new analogue sticks, the Dual Analog controller features an "Analog" button and LED beneath the "Start" and "Select" buttons which toggles analogue functionality on or off.[67] The controller also features rumble support, however before its release in the United States Sony decided that haptic feedback would be removed from all overseas iterations. A Sony spokesman stated that the feature was removed for "manufacturing reasons", although rumours circulated that Nintendo had attempted to legally block the release of the controller outside Japan due to similarites with the Nintendo 64 controller's Rumble Pak. However, a Nintendo spokesman firmly denied that legal action was being taken and rather it was suggested that vibration feedback was dropped due to Sony wanting to keep the price of the controller down.Template:Sfn

In late 1997 Sony introduced the DualShock controller. Its name derives from its use of two (dual) vibration motors (shock).[69] Unlike its predecessor, its analogue sticks feature textured rubber grips, longer handles and slightly different shoulder buttons. It additionally introduces two new buttons mapped to clicking in the analogue sticks and has rumble feedback included as standard on all versions.Template:Sfn The DualShock later replaced its predecessors as the default controller, also being forward compatible with the PlayStation 2, as they use the same connector and protocol.

Peripherals[]

PlayStation Memory Card
PlayStation Memory Card
PocketStation
PocketStation
Multiplayer Adaptor
Multiplayer Adaptor
PlayStation Memory Card
PocketStation
Multiplayer Adaptor
2x Memory Card
2x Memory Card
Link Cables
Link Cables
GunCon
GunCon
2x Memory Card
PlayStation Link Cable
Black GunCon

Sony released a series of peripherals to add extra layers of functionality to the PlayStation. Such peripherals include memory cards,[70] the PlayStation Mouse,[71] the PlayStation Analog Joystick,[72] the PlayStation Link Cable,[70] the Multiplayer Adapter (a four-player multitap),[70] the Memory Drive (a disk drive for 3.5-inch floppy disks),[73] the GunCon (a light gun), and the Glasstron (a monoscopic head-mounted display).[74]

Released late into the console's lifespan exclusively in Japan, the PocketStation is a memory card peripheral which acts as a miniature personal digital assistant. The device features a monochrome liquid crystal display (LCD), infrared communication capability, a real-time clock, built-in flash memory, and sound capability.[75] Sharing similarities with the Dreamcast's VMU peripheral, the PocketStation was typically distributed with certain PlayStation games, enhancing them with added features.Template:Sfn The PocketStation proved popular in Japan, immeadiatelly selling out all over the country. Sony planned to release the peripheral outside Japan but the release was cancelled despite engaging in promotional activity in Europe and North America.Template:Sfn

Functionality[]

In addition to playing games, select PlayStation models are equipped to play audio CDs; further, Asian model SCPH-5903 can also play Video CDs. Like most CD players, the PlayStation can play songs in a programmed order, shuffle the playback order of the disc and repeat one song or the entire disc. Later PlayStation models utilise a music visualisation function called SoundScope. This function, as well as a memory card manager, is accessed by starting the console without either inserting a game or closing the CD tray, thereby accessing a GUI for the PlayStation BIOS.[16]

The GUI for the PS one and PlayStation differ depending on the firmware version: the original PlayStation GUI had a dark blue background with rainbow graffiti used as buttons, while the early PAL PlayStation and PS one GUI had a grey blocked background with 2 icons in the middle (these were different on each version).[76]

Hardware problems[]

With the early PlayStation units, particularly early 1000 models, many gamers experience skipping full-motion video or physical "ticking" noises coming from their units. The problem seemingly comes from poorly placed vents leading to overheating in some environments. This causes the plastic mouldings inside the console to warp slightly and create knock-on effects with the laser assembly. The solution is to sit the console on a surface which dissipates heat efficiently in a well vented area or raise the unit up slightly from its resting surface.[77] Sony representatives also recommended unplugging the PlayStation when it is not in use, as the system draws in a small amount of power (and therefore heat) even when turned off.[78]

File:PlayStation Pickup.jpg

Comparison of old and new pick-ups

The first batch of PlayStations use a KSM-440AAM laser unit, whose case and movable parts are all built out of plastic. Over time, the plastic lens sled rail wears out—usually unevenly—due to friction. The placement of the laser unit close to the power supply accelerates wear, due to the additional heat, which makes the plastic more vulnerable to friction. Eventually, one side of the lens sled will become so worn that the laser can tilt, no longer pointing directly at the CD; after this, games will no longer load, due to data read errors. One common fix is turning the PlayStation upside down, which makes the lens sled rest on the unworn top rails. Sony eventually fixed the problem by making the sled out of die-cast metal and placing the laser unit further away from the power supply on later PlayStation models.[77]

The PlayStation does not produce a proper signal on several older models of televisions (due to an engineering oversight) causing the display to flicker or bounce around the screen. Sony decided not to change the console design, since only a small percentage of PlayStation owners used such televisions, and instead gave consumers the option of sending their PlayStation unit to a Sony service centre to have an official modchip installed, allowing it to play on older televisions.[79]

Models[]

Main article(s): PlayStation models
File:PlayStation-Model-Backs.jpg

A comparison of the SCPH-1001 (bottom), SCPH-5001 (middle) and SCPH-9001 (top) models. The SCPH-900x revision saw the removal of the Parallel I/O port while the RCA jacks were removed in the SCPH-500x revision.

The PlayStation went through a number of variants during its production run. From an external perspective, the most notable change between variants was the reduction in the number of connectors. The RCA jacks were removed in the first revision, and the Parallel I/O port was removed in the final revision.[80]

Sony marketed a development kit for hobbyists and developers also known as the Net Yaroze, which launched in June 1996 in Japan[81] and in 1997 in other countries. Sold only through an ordering service, the development console came with the necessary documentation and software to program PlayStation games and applications.[82]

PS One[]

Main article(s): PlayStation models#PS One

On 7 July 2000, Sony released the PS One (stylised as PS one),[83] a smaller, redesigned version of the original PlayStation.[83][84] It was the highest-selling console through the end of the year, outselling all other consoles – including Sony's own PlayStation 2.[84] A total of 28.15 million PS one units had been sold by the time it was discontinued in March 2006.[1][2] A version of the PS one included a Script error: No such module "convert". LCD screen, referred to as the "Combo pack".[85]

PlayStation Classic[]

Main article(s): PlayStation Classic

On 19 September 2018, Sony announced the PlayStation Classic. As a dedicated console, it features 20 pre-installed games that run off the open source emulator PCSX.[86] Such games include fan favourites like Tekken 3, Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, and Syhphon Filter. It also features two replicas of the wired PlayStation controllers without analogue sticks, a dedicated HDMI output, and a USC-Type A cable.[87] Internally, the console utilises a MediaTek MT8167a Quad A35 system on a chip with four central processing cores clocked at @ 1.5 GHz and a Power VR GE8300 graphics processing unit. It includes 16 GB of eMMC flash storage and 1 GB of DDR3 memory.[88] The PlayStation Classic is 45% smaller than the original console.[89]

It was released worldwide on 3 December 2018, the 24th anniversary of the original. The console received mostly negative reviews from critics, with criticism directed at its weak game library, cumbersome user interface, and high price tag; though the console's design did attract some praise.[90]

Critical reception[]

The PlayStation was well received at the time of its release. In a 1997 year-end review, a team of five Electronic Gaming Monthly editors gave the PlayStation scores of 9.5, 8.5, 9.0, 9.0, and 9.5 - for all five editors, the highest score they gave to any of the five consoles reviewed in the issue. They lauded the breadth and quality of the games library, saying it had vastly improved over previous years due to Sony dropping its ban on 2D games and RPGs and developers mastering the system's capabilities. They also complimented the low price point of the games, especially as compared to Nintendo 64 releases, and noted that it was the only console on the market that could be relied upon to deliver a solid stream of games for the coming year, primarily due to third party developers almost unanimously favoring it over its competitors.Template:Sfn

Critics generally welcomed the new console. The staff of Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation a few weeks after its North American launch, where they commented that, while the CPU is "fairly average", the supplementary custom hardware, such as the GPU and sound processor, is stunningly powerful. They praised the PlayStation's focus on 3D, and complemented on the comfort of its controller and the convenience of its memory cards. Giving the system 4Template:1/2 out of 5 stars, they concluded, "To succeed in this extremely cut-throat market, you need a combination of great hardware, great games, and great marketing. Whether by skill, luck, or just deep pockets, Sony has scored three out of three in the first salvo of this war."[38] In a special Game Machine Cross Review in May 1995, Famicom Tsūshin scored the PlayStation console a 19 out of 40.[91]

Legacy[]

Sony Computer Entertainment was an upstart in the video game industry in late 1994, as the early 1990s were dominated by Nintendo and Sega. Nintendo had been the clear leader in the video game industry since the introduction of the NES in 1985 and the Nintendo 64 was initially expected to maintain this position for Nintendo. The PlayStation's target audience included 15- to 17-year-olds who were not the primary focus of Nintendo, and 18- to 29-year-olds,[92] who represented the first generation to grow up playing video games. By the late 1990s, Sony became a highly regarded console brand due to the PlayStation, with a significant lead over second-place Nintendo, while Sega was relegated to a distant third.[93]

The PlayStation was the first console to sell over 100 million units worldwide,Template:Sfn[94] with Gran Turismo being the system's best-selling title with 10.85 million copies sold.[4] Around 7,900 individual games were publsished for the console during its 11-year life span, the second-most amount of games ever produced for a console.Template:Sfn

The next-generation PlayStation 2, which is backwards compatible with the PlayStation's DualShock controller and games, was announced in 1999 and launched in 2000. The PlayStation's lead in installed base and developer support paved the way for the success of the PlayStation 2,[93] which overcame the earlier launch of the Sega Dreamcast and then fended off competition from Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube.[95][96][97]

Hundreds of PlayStation titles were re-released as PS one classics for purchase and download on PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation Vita.[98] The PS3 also maintained backwards compatibility with PlayStation discs.

On 19 September 2018, Sony unveiled the PlayStation Classic to mark the 24th anniversary of the original console. The new console is a miniature recreation of the original PlayStation, preloaded with 20 titles released for the original console, and was released on 3 December 2018, the exact date the console was released in Japan in 1994.[99]

CD format[]

The success of the PlayStation is widely believed to have influenced the demise of the cartridge-based home console. While not the first system to utilise an optical disc format, it is the first highly successful one, and ended up going head-to-head with the last major home console for over two decades to rely on proprietary cartridges—the Nintendo 64.[96] Sony Computer Entertainment president Teruhisa Tokunaka remarked in 1996:

"Choosing CD-ROM is one of the most important decisions that we made. As I'm sure you understand, PlayStation could just as easily have worked with masked ROM [cartridges]. The 3D engine and everything – the whole PlayStation format – is independent of the media. But for various reasons (including the economies for the consumer, the ease of the manufacturing, inventory control for the trade, and also the software publishers) we deduced that CD-ROM would be the best media for PlayStation.[46] "

Nintendo was very public about its scepticism toward using CDs and DVDs to store games, citing longer load times and durability problems.[100]Template:Failed verification It was widely speculated that the company was even more concerned with the proprietary cartridge format's ability to help enforce copy protection, given its substantial reliance on licensing and exclusive titles for its revenue.[101] Piracy was rampant on the PlayStation due to the relative ease of the installation of a modchip allowing the PlayStation to play games region free or recorded on a regular CD-R making the console very attractive to programmers and illegal copiers.

The increasing complexity of games (in content, graphics, and sound) pushed cartridges to their storage limits and this gradually turned off some third-party developers. Part of the CD format's appeal to publishers was that they could be produced at a significantly lower cost and offered more production flexibility to meet demand.[96] As a result, some third-party developers switched to the PlayStation, such as Squaresoft, whose Final Fantasy VII, and Enix (later merged with Squaresoft create Square Enix), whose Dragon Quest VII titles were initially pre-planned for the N64;[102] while some who remained released fewer games to the Nintendo 64 (Konami, releasing only thirteen N64 games but over fifty on the PlayStation). While new games were coming out rapidly for the PlayStation, new Nintendo 64 game releases were less frequent and that system's biggest successes were developed by either Nintendo itself or by second-parties, such as Rare.[101] The lower production costs also allowed publishers an additional source of profit: budget-priced reissues of titles which had already recouped their development costs.[46]

See also[]

  • List of PlayStation games
  • PlayStation Sound Format
  • PlayStation: The Official Magazine
  • Template:Commons category-inline

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "Nihongo".
  2. ↑ Technically there is one exception to this. The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, though consistently outsold by the PlayStation during this period, had more cumulative sales at the end of 1995, chiefly due to its having been on the market for nearly two years longer than the PlayStation.[38]

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "PlayStation Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware". Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722094946/http://scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps_e.html. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sinclair, Brendan (24 March 2006). "Sony stops making original PS". http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-stops-making-original-ps/1100-6146549/. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named developmentEU
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Gran Turismo Series Shipment Exceeds 50 Million Units Worldwide" (Press release). Tokyo: Sony Computer Entertainment. 9 May 2008. Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080526121143/http://asia.playstation.com/eng_hk/index.php?q=node%2F1517. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  5. ↑ "'Gran Turismo' Series Software Title List". Polyphony Digital. March 2010. http://www.polyphony.co.jp/english/list.html. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  6. ↑ "PlayStation 2 Breaks Record as the Fastest Computer Entertainment Platform to Reach Cumulative Shipment of 100 Million Units" (Press release). Sony Computer Entertainment. 30 November 2005. http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/051130e.pdf. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  7. ↑ Snow, Blake (4 May 2007). "The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time". IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on 8 May 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070508035815/http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/111823.shtml. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  8. ↑ Ashcraft, Brian (19 February 2010). "What's The Father of the PlayStation Doing These Days?". Future plc. http://kotaku.com/5475462/whats-the-father-of-the-playstation-doing-these-days. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  9. ↑ Magrino, Tom (11 November 2009). "'Father of the PlayStation' adopts new start up". Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 3 March 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100303103306/http://www.gamespot.com/news/6239672.html. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Fahey, Rob (27 April 2007). "Farewell, Father". Bath: Future plc. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/farewell-father-article. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  11. ↑ Cowan, Danny (25 April 2006). "CDi: The Ugly Duckling". Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121104035709/http://www.1up.com/features/15-years-cd-i?pager.offset=1. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "Sony's Ken Kutaragi leaving". New York City: Verizon Media. https://www.engadget.com/2007/04/26/sonys-ken-kutaragi-leaving-sce-chairman-and-ceo-spots-in-june/. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Nutt, Christian. "Birthday Memories: Sony PlayStation Turns 15". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6122/birthday_memories_sony_.php?print=1. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Hester, Blake (6 December 2019). "The history of PlayStation was almost very different" (in en). Washington D.C.: Vox Media. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200420110919/https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/12/6/20999590/the-history-of-playstation-was-almost-very-different. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  15. ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 "History of the PlayStation". Chicago: Ziff Davis. https://ign.com/articles/1998/08/28/history-of-the-playstation. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Edge staff (24 April 2009). "The Making Of: PlayStation". Edge. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120516003333/http://www.edge-online.com/features/making-playstation. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Robinson, Andy (5 February 2020). "The Road To PS5: PSOne’s Betrayal And Revenge Story". Video Games Chronicle. Gamer Network. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/psones-betrayal-and-revenge-story/. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "The Nintendo PlayStation You Never Got To See". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5876374/the-playstation-you-never-got-to-play/. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  19. ↑ Rogers, Henk. "Remembering My Friend, Hiroshi Yamauchi", Wired, 1 October 2013. 
  20. ↑ Donovan, Tristan (23 June 2018). "The story behind Nintendo’s betrayal of Sony — and how it created its fiercest rival". Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200830165935/https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/23/the-story-behind-nintendos-betrayal-of-sony-and-how-it-created-its-fiercest-rival/. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  21. ↑ Swearingen, Jake (17 June 2008). "Great Intrapreneurs in Business History". CBS. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-51196888/great-intrapreneurs-in-business-history/. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Williams, Mike. "Sega and Sony Almost Teamed Up on a Console". US Gamer. http://www.usgamer.net/articles/sega-and-sony-almost-teamed-up-on-a-console. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  23. ↑ "Original Nintendo/Sony PlayStation Prototype". New York City: AOL. http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/07/original-nintendo-sony-playstation-prototype-found/. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  24. ↑ "The Making Of: PlayStation". Edge. Future plc. 24 April 2009. p. 5. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120516003333/http://www.edge-online.com/features/making-playstation. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  25. ↑ "The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: PS-X". Next Generation. No. 15. Imagine Media. March 1996. p. 39.
  26. ↑ Robinson, Andy (5 February 2020). "The Road To PS5: PSOne's Betrayal And Revenge Story". Video Games Chronicle. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/psones-betrayal-and-revenge-story/. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  27. ↑ Stafford, Patrick (12 July 2017). "From Lemmings to Wipeout: how Ian Hetherington incubated gaming success" (in en). Washington D.C.: Vox Media. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190316102427/https://www.polygon.com/features/2017/7/12/15924520/from-lemmings-to-wipeout-how-ian-hetherington-incubated-gaming-success. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  28. ↑ Patterson, Patrick (12 May 2015). "This Week in Gaming History: How E3 1995 changed gaming forever". Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151225204734/http://www.syfygames.com/news/article/this-week-in-gaming-history-how-e3-1995-changed-gaming-forever. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  29. ↑ Stuart, Keith (14 May 2015). "Sega Saturn: how one decision destroyed PlayStation's greatest rival" (in en). Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180330025923/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/14/sega-saturn-how-one-decision-destroyed-playstations-greatest-rival. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  30. ↑ Wilson, Jeffrey L. (7 June 2019). "E3: 8 Jaw-Dropping Moments From Years Past" (in en-gb). New York City: Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200502221425/https://uk.pcmag.com/features/32971/e3-8-jaw-dropping-moments-from-years-past. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  31. ↑ Campbell, Colin (7 June 2019). "The story of the first E3" (in en). Washington D.C.: Vox Media. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200727070309/https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/6/7/18653968/e3-history-1995-sega-saturn-nintendo-64-playstation-launch. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  32. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (26 June 2009). "Industry Figures Share Michael Jackson Memories, From E3 To Neverland" (in en-us). Los Angeles: Univision Communications. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190916090315/https://kotaku.com/industry-figures-share-michael-jackson-memories-from-e-5302983. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  33. ↑ Parkin, Simon (19 June 2014). "A History of Videogame Hardware: Sony PlayStation". Bath: Future plc. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141129042841/http://www.edge-online.com/features/a-history-of-videogame-hardware-sony-playstation/. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  34. ↑ Kato, Matthew (30 October 2013). "Which Game Console Had The Best Launch Lineup?". Game Informer. Grapevine: GameStop. p. 3. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/10/30/which-game-console-had-the-best-launch-lineup.aspx?PostPageIndex=3. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  35. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named aus
  36. ↑ Horsman, Mathew (11 November 1995). "Sega profits plunge as rivals turn up the heat". The Independent. London. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sega-profits-plunge-as-rivals-turn-up-the-heat-1581404.html. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  37. ↑ "Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Business Development/Europe". SCE. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140728173744/http://scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataeu_e.html. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "Which Game System is the Best!?". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (12): 36–85. December 1995.
  39. ↑ "Can PlayStation Compete with Ultra 64?". Next Generation. No. 15. Imagine Media. March 1996. pp. 6–10.
  40. ↑ "16-Bit Surge". GamePro. No. 91. International Data Group. April 1996. p. 16.
  41. ↑ "Trailing Sony, Sega Restructures". GamePro. No. 89. IDG. February 1996. p. 16. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  42. ↑ "Sony PlayStation Expo '96". GamePro. No. 101. IDG. February 1997. pp. 44–45.
  43. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hutchinson
  44. ↑ "Sega: Who Do they Think you Are?". Next Generation. No. 14. Imagine Media. February 1996. p. 71.
  45. ↑ "Sony: Who Do they Think you Are?". Next Generation. No. 14. Imagine Media. February 1996. p. 70.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 46.4 "Will the Real Boss of Sony Please Step Forward?". Next Generation. No. 23. Imagine Media. November 1996. pp. 6–10.
  47. ↑ "The Magazine Biz". GamePro. No. 77. IDG. December 1995. p. 17. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  48. ↑ "Sony TV: Turn On, Tune In, Buy Hardware". Next Generation. No. 14. Imagine Media. February 1996. pp. 72–73.
  49. ↑ "News Bits". GamePro. No. 95. IDG. August 1996. p. 17. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  50. ↑ "Dramatic Price Cuts Boost Sony and Sega Sales". GamePro. No. 96. IDG. September 1996. p. 20.
  51. ↑ Svenson, Christian (December 1996). "Stat Happy Sony". Next Generation. No. 24. Imagine Media. p. 28.
  52. ↑ "Data Stream". Next Generation. No. 29. Imagine Media. May 1997. p. 27.
  53. ↑ "Who Won the Videogame Wars of 1996?". Next Generation. No. 28. Imagine Media. April 1997. pp. 16–19.
  54. ↑ "Cumulative Software Titles". Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080921062349/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdatatitle_e.html. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  55. ↑ "Cumulative Production Shipments of Software Titles". Sony Computer Entertainment. 31 March 2007. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080923062826/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdatapssoft_e.html. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  56. ↑ Leo, John (31 August 2012). "Final Fantasy 25th anniversary Ultimate Box collection announced". GameSpot.com. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-25th-anniversary-ultimate-box-collection-announced/1100-6394062/. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  57. ↑ "Do Good Things Come in Small Packages?". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 92. Ziff Davis. March 1997. pp. 110–1.
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 "PlayStation Vs. Saturn: Battle of the Polygon Monsters". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (67): 94–95. February 1995.
  59. ↑ "Tech Specs: Sony PlayStation". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (12): 40. December 1995.
  60. ↑ "Nocash PSX Specifications". http://problemkaputt.de/psx-spx.htm. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  61. ↑ "Archived copy". http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/psx_adaptor/Playstation.txt.
  62. ↑ "Digital compact disc player security system reproducing method and apparatus" (in en). Google. 16 August 1999. https://patents.google.com/patent/US6304971. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  63. ↑ Svensson, Christian (January 1997). "Sony and the Bad Guys". Next Generation. No. 25. Imagine Media. p. 26.
  64. ↑ "datel Development". Datel UK. http://www.datel.co.uk/pages/Development.aspx. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  65. ↑ Tailby, Stephen (8 April 2020). "Feature: The Evolution of the PlayStation Controller". Gamer Network. https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/04/feature_the_evolution_of_the_playstation_controller. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  66. ↑ "All About the PlayStation 1's Design". Chicago: Ziff Davis. 2 May 2010. http://www.1up.com/news/playstation-1-design.
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 West, Josh (8 April 2020). "From Digital to DualSense - The history and evolution of the PlayStation controller ahead of PS5" (in en). Bath: Future plc. https://www.gamesradar.com/from-digital-to-dualsense-the-history-and-evolution-of-the-playstation-controller-ahead-of-ps5/. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  68. ↑ IGN staff. "Analog Joypad To Go On Sale In Japan" (in en). Chicago: Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200226053314/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/04/04/analog-joypad-to-go-on-sale-in-japan. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  69. ↑ Bankhurst, Adam. "The Evolution of the PlayStation Controller" (in en). Chicago: Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200411171354/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-evolution-of-the-playstation-controller. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  70. ↑ 70.0 70.1 70.2 "Sony's Stocking Stuffers". GamePro. No. 87. IDG. December 1995. p. 185.
  71. ↑ "Review Crew: Horned Owl". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (84): 28. July 1996.
  72. ↑ "Soar and Descend". GamePro (IDG) (91): 24. April 1996.
  73. ↑ "Datel Launches PlayStation Disk Drive". Next Generation. No. 20. Imagine Media. August 1996. p. 25.
  74. ↑ "Reality Check". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (85): 14–16. August 1996.
  75. ↑ "超小型ＰＤＡ「PocketStation」１月２３日に発売延期" (in Japanese) (PDF). Sony Computer Entertainment. 9 December 1998. pp. 3. Archived from the original on 13 September 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060913192656/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/981209.pdf. Retrieved 30 October 2007.
  76. ↑ "An interview with Ken Kutaragi", Next Generation (Burlingame, California: Imagine Publishing) 1 (6): 53, June 1995, ISSN 1078-9693
  77. ↑ 77.0 77.1 "Sony PlayStation 1st-gen specs difficulties". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/products/sony/playstation/1st-gen/specs/. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  78. ↑ "Buyers Beware". GamePro. No. 102. IDG. March 1997. p. 20.
  79. ↑ "Sony PS Handles TV Woes". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 79. Ziff Davis. February 1996. p. 20.
  80. ↑ "PlayStation 1: The audiophile's dream?". Audiophile. http://www.destructoid.com/playstation-1-the-audiophile-s-dream--32269.phtml. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  81. ↑ "Tidbits". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 88. Ziff Davis. November 1996. p. 22.
  82. ↑ "Net Yaroze". https://www.ign.com/games/net-yaroze/ps-896838. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  83. ↑ 83.0 83.1 "SCEE 2000—Key Facts and Figures". Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070919215408/http://www.scee.presscentre.com/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=98&NewsAreaID=22. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
  84. ↑ 84.0 84.1 Smith, Tony (6 June 2000). "Sony PS One sales rocket as PS Two famine continues". theregister.co.uk. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/06/sony_ps_one_sales_rocket/. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  85. ↑ "PsOne LCD Screen". Bit-Tech. http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2004/07/07/psone_lcd/1. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  86. ↑ Kohler, Chris. "PlayStation Classic Plays Fine, But It’s A Bare-Bones Experience" (in en-us). Miami: Univision Communications. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200111012108/https://kotaku.com/playstation-classic-plays-fine-but-it-s-a-bare-bones-e-1830294616. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  87. ↑ Dornbush, Jonathan (22 September 2018). "PlayStation Classic Will Support Smartphone AC USB Adaptors, Will Not Support Other PS Peripherals - IGN" (in en). Chicago: Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200227155324/https://ca.ign.com/articles/2018/09/22/playstation-classic-will-support-smartphone-ac-usb-adaptors-will-not-support-other-ps-peripherals. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  88. ↑ Leadbetter, Richard (28 November 2018). "PlayStation Classic teardown: what's inside Sony's new micro-console?" (in en). Bath: Future plc. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200806201924/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-playstation-mini-teardown. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  89. ↑ Lee, Jess (19 September 2018). "Sony unveils PlayStation Classic console with 20 games". Hearst Network. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200809152744/https://www.digitalspy.com/tech/a866526/sony-playstation-classic-announced-games-price-release-date/. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  90. ↑ Bouman, Amber (21 June 2019). "Why is the PlayStation Classic so unpopular?" (in en). New York City: Verizon Media. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200907002534/https://www.engadget.com/2019-06-21-playstation-classic-user-review-roundup.html.
  91. ↑ Game Machine Cross Review: プレイステーション. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.335. Pg.166. 12–19 May 1995.
  92. ↑ Goodfellow, Kris. "Sony Comes on Strong in Video-Game War", 25 May 1998. 
  93. ↑ 93.0 93.1 "Sony PlayStation vs Nintendo 64". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a443707/sony-playstation-vs-nintendo-64-gamings-greatest-rivalries.html. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  94. ↑ "PlayStation Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware". Tokyo: Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524023857/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps_e.html. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  95. ↑ "PlayStation is number 7". https://www.ign.com/top-25-consoles/7.html. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  96. ↑ 96.0 96.1 96.2 McKinley Noble, GamePro (31 August 2009). "5 Biggest Game Console Battles". PCWorld. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  97. ↑ "Sega vs. Sony: Pow! Biff! Whack!". Businessweek.com. 18 December 2000. http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_51/b3712200.htm. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  98. ↑ Grant, Christopher. "Joystiq Guide: PSone downloads hit the PSP (by way of the PS3)". Engadget. AOL. https://www.engadget.com/2006/12/06/joystiq-guide-psone-downloads-hit-the-psp-by-way-of-the-ps3/. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  99. ↑ "Sony announces PlayStation Classic mini console". https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/sep/19/sony-announces-playstation-classic-mini-console. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  100. ↑ Nintendo Power August, 1994 – Pak Watch. Nintendo. 1994. p. 108.
  101. ↑ 101.0 101.1 "The Game: PlayStation vs N64". https://www.forbes.com/1997/09/19/feat.html. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  102. ↑ "Elusions: Final Fantasy 64". http://www.lostlevels.org/200510/. Retrieved 19 January 2009.

Bibliography[]

Template:PlayStation

Sony Pictures Entertainment
Part of Sony

Film productions
Columbia Pictures (Others) | TriStar Pictures (Others | Trailer variants | Closing variants | Logo Variations) | Sony Pictures Animation (Others | Trailer variants) | Sony Pictures Classics | Screen Gems Pictures (Others | Trailer variants) | Embassy Pictures | LBS Entertainment | Destination Films (Others) | Affirm Films | Aniplex | Stage 6 Films (Others) | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Others) | Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Sony Pictures Imageworks (Others) | Sony Pictures Digital | Sony Pictures Releasing (International) | Sony Pictures Consumer Products | Provident Films | Eon Productions

Defunct/Acquired
The Burbank Studios | CBC Film Sales Corporation | Columbia Night at the Movies | Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International | Embassy Home Entertainment | First Release Home Entertainment | The Guber-Peters Entertainment Company | Jim Henson Pictures | Magic Window | Musicvision | Rastar Films | RCA-Columbia Pictures-Hoyts Video | Sony Wonder | SVS Triumph | Tri-Star Showcase | Triumph Films | Video Box Office

Sony Pictures Television (Others)
Embassy Row | 2waytraffic | Silver River Productions | Left Bank Pictures | AXN Original X Production | Lean-M | GSN Originals | TriStar Television | Funimation (95%) | Teleset (50%)

Defunct/Acquired
Screen Gems Television (Others) | Columbia Pictures Television (Others) | Columbia Pictures Television Distribution | Columbia TriStar Television | Columbia TriStar Domestic Television | Sony Pictures Television International | Sony Wonder Television | Screen Gems Network | Colex Enterprises | Spelling-Goldberg Productions | Tandem Productions | T.A.T. Communications Company (Others) | Embassy Communications | Embassy Pay Television | Merv Griffin Enterprises (Others) | Rastar Television | Coca-Cola Telecommunications | Barris Industries | Barris Program Sales | Four D Productions | The Mimus Corporation | Diplomatic Productions | Culver Entertainment | Victory Television | Columbia/Embassy Television

Sony Pictures Television Networks
AXN (HD):
Latin America | Hungary | Romania | AXN Black (HD) | AXN White (HD) | AXN Spin (HD) | AXN Sci Fi | AXN Mystery | AXN Movies

Sony Channel:
Canal Sony | UK & Ireland | Southeast Asia | South Africa | Turkey | Sony Sci-Fi | Sony Turbo | Sony Gem | Sony One | Sony Movie Channel | Sony Max (South Africa)

US Networks:
Sony Movie Channel | Cine Sony | GetTV

UK Networks:
True Entertainment | Sony Crime Channel | TruTV1 | Sony Movie Channel | Movies4Men | True Movies | Pop | Pop Max | Tiny Pop

Sony Pictures Television Central Europe (Hungary):
AXN | Sony Max | Sony Movie Channel | Viasat34 | Viasat64

Template:Sony Pictures Networks India

Other channels:
Animax | Game Show Network5(Other) | Star Channel (Japan) | Film1 | Lifetime (Latin America)6 | FMN7

Defunct/Acquired
Fearnet | AXN Crime | SET Portugal | SET Spain | Sony Spin | 3net | Sony BeTV |
India: Sony Le Plex HD | Sony Rox HD | Sony Ten Golf HD

Other Businesses
Sony Pictures Mobile | Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions | AXN Sync | AXN Now | AXN Player | Movies Anywhere | Sony Crackle | Sony Pictures Studios

1Under license from Turner Broadcasting System.
2Joint venture with BBC Worldwide.
3Joint venture with ESPN.
4Under license from Viasat.
5Joint venture with AT&T.
6Joint venture with A+E Networks.
7Joint venture with Dori Media Group.

Sony Pictures logo

Template:Fifth generation game consoles Template:Home video game consoles

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms