The PlayStation has become one of the biggest brands in the world of video games. The beginnings of the game console date back to 1994.
The PlayStation: 27 years ago, the console took the world by storm – and numerous children’s hearts that grew up with the games. We have prepared a short journey through time for you with interesting facts about the revolutionary first PlayStation.
From the CD drive to the revolutionary mega success
On 3 December 1994, Sony turned the video game community on its head with the release of the first PlayStation. Under the leadership of Ken Kutaragi, Sony created the subsidiary Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. for development. Originally, the Japanese electronics company was only supposed to develop a CD drive for Nintendo’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), which was already running under the code name Nintendo PlayStation. At the last minute, however, the order went to Philips, which was later cancelled as well. With the knowledge it had gained about the console, however, Sony decided to develop its own device.
The PlayStation was obviously a great success. There were several reasons for this. Above all, the relatively low price attracted many fans of video games. When the console appeared on the international market in 1995, it was advertised for only 299 US dollars. The following year, the price dropped by another hundred dollars. In addition, it was attractive and inexpensive that the games were produced on CD-ROMs and not on the classic modules. This also allowed for technical advances such as more memory, which improved sound and graphics. The numbers reflect the success: according to Sony, over 102 million units have been sold over the years.
The top 3 best-selling PlayStation games
At the sales launch, the racing game Ridge Racer was released by Namco, which is considered to be the first game developed for the PlayStation. However, the trophy for the most successful title goes to another game that also belongs to the racing game genre. Gran Turismo, released in 1997, has sold over 10.8 million copies worldwide to date. This puts it well ahead of the second-placed Final Fantasy VII, which has sold 9.7 million copies. In third place is Gran Turismo 2 with 9.3 million sales – apparently the population was enthusiastic about fast cars in the 1990s. By the end of the console’s sales period in 2006, a total of over 1300 official games had been released for the PlayStation.
Circle, triangle, cross and square
Those who held a PlayStation controller in their hands for the first time may have been confused at first by the symbols on the buttons. In fact, however, all the characters have a background.
- O is a character for “yes” in Japanese, similar to the hook in our language.
- Δ represents the direction of sight.
- X stands for “no” in Japanese (as it also does in part in the West).
- □ is supposed to represent a piece of paper and thus the menu.
Another special feature was the PlayStation’s black CDs, instead of the usual mirrored models. However, the choice of colour did not have a really groundbreaking reason, the black simply looked “cooler”. Moreover, it was supposed to cause problems for pirates, since it was difficult to find black blank CDs. The illegal copies were therefore quickly noticed visually.
One last little fun fact: One PlayStation gamer was a lot more fascinated by the console than the average gamer: A man from the south of England apparently had himself officially renamed Mr. PlayStation 2 by Dan Holmes in 2002.
Sony, Playstation, Milestones in video game history
One last little fun fact: One PlayStation gamer was a lot more fascinated with the console than the average gamer: A man from the south of England apparently had himself officially renamed Mr. PlayStation 2 by Dan Holmes in 2002.
