Anyone who plays video games will have heard of Sony’s Playstation game console, and for good reason. In the last few decades, the Playstation has established itself as one of the “Big Three” consoles that dominate the modern video game industry, along with its rivals Nintendo and Xbox. Like Nintendo, whose history we explored in a previous article, Playstation has its roots in Japan, but has since spread to become an internationally known brand. Today, I’d like to share some of the background of the Playstation, and examine its place in modern gaming.
First, it is important to note that the Playstation is produced by the entertainment division of Sony, a huge Japanese tech company that is well known outside of the game industry for its cameras, phones, TVs and other electronics. Their history and range of influence is so vast that it probably warrants its own article. Suffice it to say, Sony was already a big player in the world of electronic entertainment before it started making game consoles.
Strangely enough, Sony would initially become involved with video games as part of an attempted partnership with their future rival, Nintendo. By the mid 80s, Nintendo had single-handedly revitalized a struggling video game industry, largely thanks to the success of their home console known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES. This affordable machine allowed people to easily play a wide variety of games from the comfort of their homes, which was a drastic departure from the public arcades that had defined popular gaming until then. Sony, like many other tech companies at the time, was eager to explore the opportunities that this new trend could provide.
To that end, Sony made a deal with Nintendo to develop a CD-ROM for Nintendo’s upcoming game console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The idea was that a disc based system would be superior to the cartridge based system that was currently in use, and would allow for bigger and more complex games. However, at some point during the development of this technology, Nintendo pulled out of the deal over a disagreement related to revenue. Sony’s leadership was apparently angered by this turn of events, and decided to put the technology they had developed to use by making their own home game console.
This new effort, led by Ken Kutaragi, would eventually culminate in the creation of the Playstation, Sony’s first home console. Released in 1994, it used the disc system that was originally designed for Nintendo’s system. Ironically, this would prove to be one of the Playstation’s biggest advantages over the competition. Nintendo’s most recent console at the time, the Nintendo 64, still stored games on cartridges, an outdated technology that did not allow for games as large or complex as those stored on discs. As a result, the Playstation was more technologically advanced than most of its contemporaries, a claim that it would continue to hold going forward.
The success of the first Playstation allowed Sony to divert more of their attention to video games, both in manufacturing consoles and publishing games. The Playstation’s successor, dubbed the Playstation 2, was an ever bigger success, outperforming Nintendo’s Gamecube and Microsoft’s Xbox in both sales and popularity. To this day, the Playstation 2 is the best selling game console of all time, with over 155 million units sold. The brand continued to see strong sales throughout the years, with both the Playstation 3 and 4 following the same pattern of boasting the best hardware and most technically impressive games. Another big selling point, starting with the Playstation 3, was the console’s ability to function as a multimedia device, able to play DVDs, Blu Rays, and eventually even host streaming services like Netflix. This versatility made the Playstation an appealing product for the average household, boosting the console's popularity.
Playstation has the reputation for being a cutting edge game console, but it has also made other important contributions to the history of video games. The first Playstation introduced the Dual Shock controller, named for its two analog control sticks. This design was the first of its kind, allowing players to intuitively control characters in 3D environments, and served as a blueprint that has been imitated by almost every controller that followed. Sony’s role as a publisher has also spawned memorable game franchises such as Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted, and God of War. Even today, the Playstation boasts some impressive exclusive titles, such as Bloodborne and Spider-Man.
With the recent announcement of the Playstation 5, Sony seems to be continuing their practice of delivering a powerful home console with wide appeal. Over the years, the Playstation brand has demonstrated an ability to adapt to changing technology. They remain the most widely sold console brand worldwide, and if their next console is anything like their last, this is not likely to change any time soon.
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