Thirty years ago today, Sony launched the first PlayStation – and changed things in the world of gaming forever.
Spawned from the ill-fated SNES Play Station project, the 32-bit console hit Japanese stores on December 3rd, 1994 – hot on the heels of its closest rival, the Sega Saturn. While Sega's console benefitted from hosting Virtua Fighter, the hottest arcade machine of the era, Sony had Namco's Ridge Racer in its arsenal, a game that, for many, best illustrated the amazing technological leap over the incumbent 16-bit systems.
It's important to remember that Sony was by no means a sure thing back in 1994; the company's attempts to gain a foothold in the world of gaming had resulted in some so-so titles (released via its Sony ImageSoft label) and the aforementioned failed hook-up with Nintendo. However, Nintendo's decision to abandon the CD-ROM-based SNES console following concerns that Sony would take a cut of every game sold would awaken a slumbering giant.
Led by Ken Kutaragi, the PlayStation project met with considerable resistance from within Sony itself; however, company president Norio Ohga became its biggest supporter and gave Kutaragi the resources he needed to create the console.
Due to a lack of seasoned internal development teams, Sony was quick to gain the support of notable third parties, including Konami, Capcom, Enix and Squaresoft. The latter was convinced to bring its Final Fantasy series over from Nintendo, a shift which would cause shockwaves in the industry.
PlayStation also revolutionised the way game machines are designed and packaged; it felt like a more mature piece of consumer electronics rather than a child's plaything. As you might have expected from a company famed for its TVs, portable music players and Hi-Fis, Sony's designers produced a system that was sexier than the competition by some margin.
Sega's Saturn couldn't replicate its solid performance in Japan elsewhere in the world, and even the arrival of the powerful N64 in 1996 wasn't enough to slow PlayStation's sales. In total, Sony's console sold a staggering 102.49 million consoles worldwide, comfortably winning the console war and establishing a brand which remains synonymous with gaming, even today.
I was 15 when PlayStation arrived in 1994. I'd had my fill of the Mega Drive and SNES and was eagerly awaiting the "next big thing" after seeing screenshots of 32-bit games in magazines like CVG and EDGE. I can't recall another time in the games industry when such a massive technological leap was made in a single generational change; we went from 2D being the norm to dazzling 3D.
Ironically, my first taste of this new generation wasn't PlayStation, but Saturn. Sega's console launched on July 8th, 1995, in Europe, and PlayStation wouldn't see release until September. As a seasoned Sega fanboy, I took to Saturn like a duck to water, and my love for the console endured over the years. However, even as a sceptic, it was hard not to be overawed when Sony's machine arrived alongside titles such as Ridge Racer, WipEout and Jumping Flash. The platform's 3D power was plain to see, and would only become more obvious as the years passed by and we were blessed with titles like Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer Type 4 and Metal Gear Solid.
Sony would follow up PlayStation with PS2, a machine that was even more commercially successful – but it was the 32-bit platform which laid the foundations for a video game dynasty.