Let us take a trip back to the mid-'90s, an era entertained ꦉby grunge music and cinematic wizardry caused by the technical wonder known as . Reeling from the non-stop mayhem caused by the , the gaming world prepared itself fo🏅r another generation defined by Sega failing to match Nintendo's success — however, unbeknownst to the public, a new contender was about to entire the fold!
Nowadays, Sony Interactive Entertainment is synonymous with video games, but the subsidiary was nothing more than a toddler when the PlayStation arrived on the scene. Founded in 1993, the Japanese corporation only waited a year before making its first conso𓃲le available to the local market. Less than 24 months after Sony Computer Entertainment become a thing, the PlayStation shipped across the world and established the brand's logo as one of the industry's most identifiable markers.
As the years drifted by, Sony transformed from an unknown quantity to gaming's top-dog and the dominant force of the current generation. While the company's later devices hold a special place in the hearts of many gamers, everyone remembers their first and the PlayStation introduced many people to the art of moving fictional entities by mashing buttons on a controller. Besides being home to countless iconic and timeless titles, Sony's gaming debut coincided with an industry-wide shift from 2D to 3D gaming. Even though was the first to truly take advantage of the latter's potential, history should still be divided into pre and pos✅t-Sony.
A nostalgic trip worth taking b👍y any '90s kid — here are 25 cr♋azy facts about the PlayStation 1 that fill a memory card!
25 🔯 Destroying The Competitiꦕon
Fueled by the Mega Drive's critical and commercial success, the fifth generation should have elevated Sega to Nintendo's heights. However, this dream came to an abrupt end at . After announcing plans to release the Sega Saturn for a retail price of $399, Sony's Olaf Olafsson destroyed the competition by uttering a single wꦗord: . Sony had already amassed a fair amount of hype for its upcoming console, but this mom💞ent cemented the PlayStation as a bonafide contender capable of challenging the big boys.
24 PlayStation Boy ꦗ
and the Super Game🐲 Boy are third-party accessories that enable Game Boy games to be played on the Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo respectively. In terms of performance, these devices left something to be desired, but the option of gaming on the big screen was too enticing. Another version existed that swapped Nintendo's home consoles for Sony's , effectively allowing Game Boy exclusives to run on its rival's primary system. The advent of emulators rendered s🉐uch add-ons as obsolete, but they were fun for a while!
23 🀅 The Forgotten Mascot ꦰ
Predating the likes of Crash Bandicoot and Parappa the Rapper, was Sony's first attempt at marketing a mascot capable of rivaling Sonic and Mario. Alas, the flat shaded floating head barely survived until the launch of the console before the company quietly pretended that he did not exist. As a nice Easter Egg for PlayStation fans, Polygon Man served as the final boss for 2012's PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Similarly to the mascot, Sony's Super Smash Bros. clone failed to eclipse Nintendo's original.
22 Symbolic Controller ꧋ 𓆉
Aiming to differentiate itself from Nintendo or Sega, the PlayStation controller traded the alphabetical buttons for geometric symbols. Designed by Teiyu Goto, these signs are synonymous with Sony's brand, but they were not chosen simply because they seemed cool. In an interview with , Goto explained the hidden meaning behind these iconic symbols. Bearing in mind that they tend to be reversed in the West, the circle and fork - yes, that is - represent "yes" and "no" in Japan. The triangle refers to perspective, whil𒀰e the square is a sheet of paper use🍃d to access the menu.
21 PSNintendo ꩲ
Myths frequently hold some basis in reality, but the notion that Sony and Nintendo nearly went into business seems too absurd to be anything but a legend. Prior to the launch of the Pla🦩yStation, approache✤d Sony to manufacture a CD-Rom console, but Mario's publisher pulled out and struck a deal with Philips. Fuming over the betrayal, Sony did its best interpretation of a disgruntled '80s fictional detective and announced the PlayStation as revenge. Okay, that was probably not the only reason...
20 💦 Bigger And Better꧅
With installs being a common occurrence, it is hard to believe the PlayStation One made due with and the Nintendo 64's cartridges could only dream of approaching the . 3D graphics brought new technical and financial challenges for developers, but Nintendo's decision to postpone trading expensive cartridges for CDs meant Sony was the only viable option for studios seeking to expand their scope. Prior to , Square and Nintendo had a positive relationship, but the limitations imposed by the latter's hardw💃are prompted the former to seek greener pastures.
19 ⛄ Black Disc Of ജPointlessness
Standing out like a sore thumb amidst a sea of silver discs, PlayStation games shipped in black storage devices. What was the reason behind this aesthetic choice? As the console's heyday coincided with the rad '90s, black was simply too cool for school. As these discs were extremely hard to print outside of a factory, Sony's aesthetic preference allowed pirated games to be instantly identifiable, but this decision har🐷dly deterred the illegal manufacturing and distribution of copied games. While the look was undeniably fashionable, Sony opted to go with normaꦅl CDs for the system's successors.
18 The PlayStation's Adorable Mini-Me 𓂃
Dressed like a Tamagotchi but closer to a memory card, the Sony Pocketstation could be purchased by J🍰apanese customers in 1999. Due to the impending arrival of the PlayStation 2, the peripheral failed to enter the Western market before delving into a life of obscurity. Putting aside its appearance, the Pocketstation substituted as a typical storage dev🃏ice for the console. As selling a glorified memory card would be pretty pointless, the handheld peripheral supported a string of mini-games that could be accessed after linking the to one of the compatible titles.
17 🔯 PS1 HD (Sort Of)
During the '90s, high-definition televisions were nothing but a pipe dream. HD games would not become a thing until the seventh console generation, so a grainy standard image had to suffice for the PlayStation 3's predecessors. Designed in 2002, HDMI cables replaced VGA connectors as the standard interface for transmitting video and audio data — as a consequence, modern televisions tend to lack the necessary ports for the original PlayStation. Due to specific adapters designed to amend this , it is possible to play Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy VII on an HD screen. Just to be crystal clear, the games are not impr🅷oved in any shape or form.
16 Apple's PlayStatioꦬn Emulator
Returning in 1997 to the company he once co-founded, Steve Jobs dragged 🔴Apple from the brink of irrelevance. Over the span of the next couple of years, Jobs streamlined Apple's and established the brand as a leader in the industry. During conference, Steve Jobs took the stage and announced Connectix's , which was nothing more than an emulator that allowed PlayStation games to be run on Apple computers. Shockingly, Sony a lawsuit against Connectix, but the Japanese company decided to simply purchase and discontinue the VGS.