This week marked the 25th anniversary of the release of the original PlayStation console in Japan. In the two and half decades since, the PlayStation brand has become a gaming juggernaut, with the Sony system being the top-selling system in three out of the four console generations it’s been around.
For those who don’t know how it happened, the way Sony entered the video game industry is pretty entertaining and would make for a good movie or a mini-series on Netflix.
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Sony developed the sound chip that was used in the Super Nintendo consoles released in 1991. Having worked well together, Nintendo contracted with Sony to develop a CD-based add-on to the SNES. However, the higher-ups at Nintendo weren’t happy with the deal because they felt Sony would receive too much of the licensing fees.
At the 1991 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony announced the Super Nintendo Play Station (two words, not one). The very next day, Nintendo announced a new partnership with Sony’s biggest rival in the electronics business at the time, Phillips, which led to the release of the terrible CD-i console.
Sony’s leadership was so furious with Nintendo that they refocused their efforts in the video game industry and released the PlayStation as a standalone console, one that outsold the Nintendo 64 (Nintendo’s competing console at the time) by a 3 to 1 margin.
I bought a PlayStation soon after it launched in the U.S. in September 1995. My freshman year of college and my grades suffered for it. Titles like “Warhawk″ and ”Twisted_Metal″ were revolutionary for me. They were my first experience with true 3D graphics (and cheesy live-action cinematics).
The original PlayStation had some incredible games, like the first and second “Resident Evil,” “Tomb Raider” and “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.” My personal favorite game on the system was “Metal Gear Solid,” a stealth-action game with crazy, over-the-top villains to fight.
The PlayStation brand has given me some of my favorite gaming memories, from going treasure hunting with Nathan Drake to trekking cross country with Joel and Ellie.
Here’s to 25 more incredible years.
Dusty Ricketts is the editor of The Destin Log and The Walton Sun newspapers and can be reached at dricketts@thedestinlog.com.