PlayStation
- Manufacturer
- Sony
- Production
- 1994–2006
- Generation
- Gen 5
- Type
- Home
- Launch price
- $299
- Media
- CD
- Units sold
- 102.5M
About PlayStation
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The brand is recognized primarily for its series of home video game consoles, though it also includes handheld devices, online services, and other media products.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lifetime sales
Official manufacturer-reported figures.
102.5Munits
Final reported lifetime (PlayStation + PSone).
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment, as of March 31, 2005.
Library & collector facts
4,105licensed games
- North America: 4,105
- Japan: 3,289
- PAL: 2,418
Release timeline
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- December 3, 1994
- 🇺🇸 North America
- December 19, 2007
- 🇪🇺 Europe / PAL
- November 15, 1995
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- February 27, 2012
- Lifespan
- 12 years on market
Pricing
Launch price (1994)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $299
- 🇬🇧 GBP
- £299
Controller
PlayStation controller / PlayStation Analog Joystick
Launch titles & exclusives
Battle Arena Toshinden · Ridge Racer · ESPN Extreme Games · Power Serve Tennis · Air Combat · Kileak: The DNA Imperative · NBA Jam Tournament Edition · Total Eclipse Turbo · Rayman · Warhawk
None (sold standalone); some bundles included a demo disc
Final Fantasy VII / VIII / IX · Metal Gear Solid · Resident Evil 1-3 · Silent Hill · Crash Bandicoot trilogy · Spyro the Dragon trilogy · Tekken series · Tomb Raider series · Gran Turismo 1 & 2 · Castlevania: Symphony of the Night · Vagrant Story · Chrono Cross · Xenogears · Suikoden I & II · Parasite Eve I & II · Tony Hawk's Pro Skater · Ape Escape · MediEvil
FIFA Football 2005 (2004) was the final licensed release; Sony stopped manufacturing the console in 2006
Suikoden II CIB (~$300–$800+); Misadventures of Tron Bonne CIB (~$300+); Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (Working Designs, ~$200+); demo disc rarities
Hardware specs
- Cpu
- R3000
- Ram
- 2 MB RAM, 1 MB Video RAM (2MB in SCPH-7501 and later)
- Sound
- RCA connector, Analog stereo, * PCM stereo (requires third-party Parallel I/O adapter) (SCPH-100x to 7000 only), * Dolby Pro Logic surround (select games)
- Weight
- ~1.5 kg
- Dimensions
- 270 × 60 × 188 mm
- Display Output
- 240p, 480i (NTSC), 288p, 576i (PAL)
- Storage Internal
- Memory card
Hardware revisions
- Original PlayStation SCPH-1000 (JP launch) / SCPH-1001 (NA launch)(1994)
original launch hardware
⚠ early SCPH-1001 units have the RCA audio output and parallel/serial ports (later removed); CD laser wear is the dominant aging issue (the 'flip the console upside down' trick is laser-aging compensation)
- Mid-life revisions SCPH-5500 through SCPH-7501(1997)
gradual cost reduction, parallel port removed in SCPH-7501 (eliminating GameShark-class boot exploits)
⚠ RCA outputs removed
- PSone SCPH-100(2000)
final smaller redesign, no parallel/serial ports, LCD attachment available
Launch colorways & special editions
- Net Yaroze (1996, black developer-edition for hobbyists)
- 10 Million Edition Blue (1995)
- Midnight Blue (JP/EU)
- Final Fantasy VIII Edition
- Various JP retail-exclusive bundles
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- hard-mod
- Custom firmware
- N/A; Action Replay / GameShark boot disc exploits; modchips (a thriving 90s industry)
Reception & legacy
Initially skeptical reception (Sony was new to console hardware) became massive success as the library exploded; Final Fantasy VII (1997) was a defining cultural moment
Sony lawsuits against Bleem and Connectix over PSX emulation (Connectix won on fair-use grounds); SCEA's strict 'no 2D games' policy in early NA market controversial; Ken Kutaragi reportedly nearly fired internally for proposing the project
Founded the modern Sony PlayStation business; killed the cartridge era and forced the industry to CD-ROM; brought JRPGs and survival horror to mainstream audiences; the system that ended Nintendo's two-decade home-console dominance
References
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PlayStation in the news
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