On December 3, 1994, the first PlayStation was released in Japan, and video games havenât been the same since.
Itâs hard to underscore the PlayStationâs impact. The graphics and sound were all cutting edge for their time. Compared to the cartridge-based games of Sonyâs competitors, the PlayStation looked like the future.
But it might never have happened. Things almost turned out very differently for the PlayStation. Sony had originally joined forces with Nintendo for a console that never was. The partnership was a failure, and Sony moved forward with plans to make its own CD-based game console to stick it to the SNES. The Tokyo-based electronics giant continued with prototypes, including several uncomfortable-looking controllers, before settling on the now iconic controller design.
At release, the console was a smash hit in Japan. There were long lines at launch and buzz among Japanese players. Sony marketed its game machines as high-end electronics, aiming at older gamers who perhaps had grown up on the Nintendo Famicom. The PlayStation was cool. Itâs 32-bit graphics wowed players used to 16-bit. The console was so impressive that it lured Squareâs Final Fantasy series away from Nintendo. Fans were more than happy to follow, too. The console would become home to a slew of classic games, including the aforementioned Final Fantasy VII, as well as Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night, Resident Evil 2, PaRappa The Rapper, Tomb Raider, and Metal Gear Solid, among numerous others.
By 2005, Sony had shipped over 100 million PlayStation 1s, making it the first console to reach such a milestone. âPlayStationâ wasnât only the consoleâs name, but a brand. The PS1 paved the way for the PlayStation 2, the best-selling console of all time. But without the PS1, it never wouldâve happened. And it all began 27 years ago today.
