The Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony, has been in the electronics industry since 1946. The company has always been known for its innovation in electronics and technology. Sony’s first gaming system was ‘PlayStation 1’ which was released on December 3rd, 1994 in Japan and September 9th, 1995 in North America. With this system came a new way to play games with three-dimensional graphics that were designed to resemble human motion captured by cameras. The PlayStation 1 became Sony’s best-selling console with over 100 million units sold throughout its life span from 1994 – 2006 and still remains the best-selling home video game console of all time
In which year was the original Playstation released in Europe
The original PlayStation was released in Europe in the year 1995, on September 29th, 20 days after it was released in North America. By November it had landed Downunder as well. By the end of the year, sales would surpass 2 million units sold!
The competition
The PlayStation 1 was not the only system that was competing for attention in the late 1990s. Sega released their competitor to the PlayStation 1, the Sega Saturn in 1994. The Sega Saturn was much more powerful than the PlayStation 1 but it could not sell as well due to a lack of focus on third-party support and fewer games being released for the console.
The Nintendo 64 was also launched in 1996 in Japan and later in North America after Sony’s releases of PlayStations 2 and 3. The Nintendo 64 is known for being one of the first systems to use 3D graphics with their popular game “Super Mario 64”. The Nintendo 64 was only released in limited areas compared to the PlayStation 1 and Sega Saturn.
Why this console was so revolutionary for its time
PlayStation 1 was a revolutionary system for its time because it brought new 3D graphics and transitioned gaming from 2D to 3D. Compared to the television shows of the 1990s where cartoons were still in two dimensions, PlayStation 1 offered three-dimensional animation that looked like motion captured by cameras. PlayStation 1 still remains the best-selling home video game console of all time.
What about the games?
The release of this console gave way to many iconic games which have stood the test of time. While there were many games released for this console, out of all these games there are 10 that stand out as being iconic and have made an impact on people as follows: “Final Fantasy VII”, “Jumping Flash”, “Metal Gear Solid”, “Crash Bandicoot”, “Resident Evil”, “Tekken 3”, “Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back”, “Gran Turismo 2”, “Spyro the Dragon”, and “PaRappa The Rapper 2”.
What lead to the PlayStation 1 being discontinued
Sony discontinued PlayStation 1 due to new technology, namely from its successor the PS2, making it obsolete and competition from other companies. PlayStation 1 games can still be played on a PlayStation 2, as well as the PlayStation classic that comes ready to go with built-in games.
What did Sony learn from making this console that was later implemented into subsequent consoles?
Sony learned from releasing the PlayStation 1 that third-party support was important. The company then increased their efforts to acquire third-party support and began working with more gaming companies for future consoles.
What was the legacy of the PlayStation 1?
The legacy of PlayStation 1 is that it transitioned gaming from two-dimensional to three-dimensional graphics and brought new technology to gamers around the world. Many games for this console are still regarded as some of the best to this day.
Some people would go as far as to say that the PlayStation 1 is responsible for the shift from arcades to home consoles. And while the market was already shifting in this way, it’s impossible to deny that the PS1 was a major factor in this shift. From this point on video games were not something that only kids grew up playing on their parents’ TV or at their friends’ houses; they were something everyone could play at home and take with them on the go.
Tech runs the world - one of his driving quotes. Investing in blogging since 2015. When not surrounded by technology, enjoys rock climbing with his highschool friends.