Sony PlayStation

The Look

The PlayStation itself is a horizontally-oriented rectangular unit with a top-loading CD-ROM. The round "Power" and "Open" buttons were found on top, with all the necessary A/V connections found in the rear. There are two controller ports, above each of which is a slot for a memory card.

In the Beginning

With the emergence of CD-ROM technology, which provided for much higher storage capacity than the cartridges available at the time, Nintendo looked to Sony to develop an add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that could make use of this storage media. In the end, Nintendo felt that Sony wanted too much--they asked for a 25% cut of the total profits--and dropped the deal. Sony, having invested significant manpower and resources in the project, decided to take what they had so far and create a full blown console of their own. And thus, the PlayStation (also known as PSX) was born.

For the American launch, Sony implemented an interesting advertising campaign utilizing the slogan "URNOTE", with the final "E" in red. Thus, it was meant to be read as "You are not ready." The world of video gaming took a giant leap forward with the release of the PlayStation.

Hot Games

The biggest selling points of the PlayStation were its ability to have long cinematic sequences, deep soundtracks, and most of all, innovative games that revolutionized the industry. Not only that, but the PlayStation also offered far more titles -- totalling over 7400, in fact -- than its closest competitor, the Nintendo 64.

Among the most popular games and franchises found on the PSX are:

• Chrono Cross
• Crash Bandicoot
• Final Fantasy
• Gran Turismo
• Metal Gear Solid
• Puzzle Fighter
• Ridge Racer
• Resident Evil
• Tekken
• Tomb Raider

The Emergence of Piracy

Although the Super Nintendo -- or the Super Famicom, as it was called in Japan -- had the floppy-drive based Game Doctor, the Sony PlayStation was the first home gaming console to have a widespread piracy problem. The CD-ROM format used by the system gave players the opportunity to burn games using their computer's CD-RW drive. This issue of piracy remains a prominent problem today, particularly with the modern day PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox. Of course, these practices were and are illegal.

The Birth of a Legacy

In September 2000, Sony released the PSone, which was essentially the exact same system in regards to technical specifications, but the design was more efficient and it was substantially smaller.

The PlayStation was Sony's first foray into home gaming and it clearly was a very successful one. This paved the way to its modern success with the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, as well as the high anticipated launch of the next-generation PlayStation 3.