PlayStation 25th Anniversary: The Development of the PlayStation - “The old guard was scared it was going to destroy the brand”
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Sony’s Answer to Nintendo
December 3 marked the 25th anniversary of the PlayStation. Sony has released four home video game consoles and two handhelds. Each of these consoles have featured iconic franchises and characters known around the world. Sony initially entered the video game industry as a partner with Nintendo to develop a CD-ROM drive for the Super Nintendo. A dispute over royalties caused Nintendo to call off their deal on the same day Sony announced the project. Nintendo instead chose to partner with Phillips. The project leader, Ken Kutaragi continued work on the project despite the broken deal and internal opposition to entering the video game industry.
The PlayStation
Kutaragi developed the CD-ROM drive into a standalone proprietary system to render 3D graphics. Sony’s CEO, Norio Ohga, saw the potential in Kutaragi’s project but the majority of executives opposed it. Sony’s older executives weren’t keen on entering a business they saw as a toy business. Ogha moved Kutaragi and a team to Sony’s music division to allow them to continue working on the project without resistance. Here, the project was reworked into the PlayStation and benefited from Sony’s music division. The PlayStation used CD-ROMs over cartridges. CD-ROMs offered higher storage needed for 3D graphics and had a lower manufacturing cost. Sony had the experience of manufacturing and marketing music discs, but they had no experience in developing video games.
Developers were impressed by the PlayStation but weren’t convinced about the jump to 3D. Developers worried production would be too costly and risky. Sony persuaded Japanese developers as western developers were already moving toward 3D graphics. Developers were used to long, costly lead times on cartridges. A lower production cost with the CD format allowed developers to invest more money into their games. Sony also had the advantage of its music division to help developers market and distribute games.
playstation
December 3, 1994 — Sony launched the PlayStation in Japan for $390. A price that went against corporate tradition of selling products at a loss. Kutaragi argued that the PlayStaton would recover its profit loss from software sales. Namco’s Ridge Racer, a port of their arcade game, stood out among the launch line-up and helped sell the PlayStation. All 100,000 units Sony made for launch day sold out and a total of about 300,000 sold within the first month. With a successful launch, Sony moved ahead to release the PlayStation in North America. September 9th, 1995 — Sony launched the PlayStation in the Unites States for $299, one hundred dollars less than Sega’s Saturn console. Once again, all 100,000 units sold out and American consumers were introduced to a new generation of video games.
The PlayStation offered consumers games like they’ve never seen before — this was next-gen. The success of the PlayStation established CD-ROMs as the standard format for video games. The PlayStation took full advantage of this and even played music CDs. An impressive console like this wouldn’t be complete without the games that made the system. Games like Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot were Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s Mario. Hideo Kojima’s acclaimed Metal Gear Solid series began on the PlayStation. Even developers that previously worked with Nintendo jumped ship to Sony, such as Square with their Final Fantasy series.
Given it’s the PlayStaton’s 25th anniversary, I wanted to briefly cover the North American launch and milestones of Sony’s succeeding consoles leading up to the next generation. Also, be sure to check out a visual history of the PlayStation by The Verge.
The PlayStation 2
Sony launched the PlayStation 2 (PS2) for $299 on October 26 in 2000 following the success of the PlayStation with over 102 million units sold in its lifetime. The PS2 would go on to outsell the PlayStation and become the highest selling console with about 157 million units sold. Part of the PS2’s success is attributed to the addition of a DVD drive. Consumers looking for a video game console got the added bonus of a DVD player and vice versa. It also helped that the PS2 could still play PlayStation games. By then, Sony had its own studios that developed iconic games such as Jak and Daxter, God of War, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper. Games like Grand Theft Auto III showed the system’s capabilities but drew the attention of angry parents and senators over video game violence.
The PlayStation 3
Sony infamously announced the PlayStation 3 (PS3) in two models. A 20GB model for $499 and a 60GB model for $599 released on November 17, 2006. For comparison, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 launched a year prior for $299 and $399. Backward compatibility with PlayStation and PS2 games, along with a Blu-ray drive increased the price of the PS3. Sony eventually turned things around in 2009 with a redesigned slim model at a new price of $299. A new marketing campaign, “It only does everything,” also reinvigorated the PS3. This time around, new games series included LittleBigPlanet, Infamous, Uncharted, and The Last of Us. The PS3 managed to sell about 87 million units. It’s not PS2 numbers, but they still delivered great games with Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and The Last of Us.
The PlayStation 4
Sony practically won the moment they announced the PlayStation 4’s (PS4) price at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2013. Microsoft announced the price for the Xbox One at $499. Sony then announced their price of $399 for a November 15, 2013 release, and the audience erupted. Microsoft initially tried to push Digital Rights Management to combat game sharing and said the Xbox One wouldn’t play used games. Sony mocked this in a video showing how simple it is to share games on the PS4. Sony won the show that year as well as consumers. The PS4 became the fastest selling console to hit 100 million units.
As always, it’s the games that sell the console. We got amazing new games with Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, Uncharted 4, and a God of War reboot. All series that we’ll most likely see on the PlayStation 5 (PS5).
Closing Thoughts
Major video game releases have slowed down as Sony and Microsoft are both gearing up for the ninth console generation. We know that the next-gen consoles are in development. We know Sony already has games planned for the PS5, including Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part II. We’ll most likely see a few major games on both PS4 and PS5 as consumers begin to transition. Sony had a great run this generation with the PS4 and I can’t wait to see the other games planned for the PS5.
See you in 2020 — “Greatness Awaits”