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History of the Sony PlayStation – Kick-Starting the Disc Revolution

By , About.com Guide

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When Sony released the PlayStation console they were beyond a newbie to the industry, having never previously developed a game, let alone a console system, but the PlayStation ended up a megahit that introduced 3D gaming to a mass audience and kick-started the video game CD-ROM revolution. Oddly, had it not been for a contract dispute, the “Play Station” would have been released by Nintendo as an add-on to their Super Nintendo console.

Basic Facts:

  • Title: Sony PlayStation (aka PlayStation One, PSOne)
  • Manufacture: Sony Computer Entertainment
  • Type: Disc-Based Video Game Console (5th Generation)
  • Release Date: 1994 (Japan), 1995 (North America and Europe)

History of the PlayStation:

During the first and second generations of video game consoles many electronic companies jumped on the console bandwagon. After all, they already built products using the same parts, so why not enter into the hot new gaming fad. Magnavox released the first video game console with the Magnavox Odyssey, which inspired Pong, then RCA released the RCA Studio II (a Pong clone), and even the Fairchild Semiconductor company made the Fairchild Channel F. Surprisingly Sony, which was founded in 1946, didn’t release their own video game system until the mid-90s, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

The Nintendo/Sony Marriage:

After the crash of the video game market in 1983, Nintendo rebuilt the industry with the Nintendo Entertainment System, quickly making them into the dominating force of the video game industry. When developing the Super Nintendo (SNES), their second cartridge-based console, they signed a deal with Sony to supply the systems audio processor (the Sony SPC700).
As Nintendo continued developing add-ons for the SNES, including a short lived modem (Japan only), Sony was focusing on its core business of technology and in 1986 they developed alongside Philips Electronics a new kind of CD-ROM (called the CD-ROM/XA). The new type of disc allowed compressed audio, video/graphics, and data to run simultaneously. The original CD-ROM could contain audio, graphical or data information, but could only run them independently. By combining these three elements together games could use larger, more advance graphics and audio that could be accessed by the data files all off a single disk.
On the news of this hot new technology and leveraging their existing relationship, Nintendo approached Sony to start development on a CD-ROM add-on to the Super Nintendo, with plans on making it Nintendo's first disc-based console. The deal was made in 1988 with Sony crafting the tech and Nintendo releasing the Play Station expansion.
Unfortunately all plans got derailed due to a contract issue that caused Nintendo to reconsider the relationship. Nintendo quietly made a side-deal with Philips Electronics to make a different disc-based SNES add-on and canceled their existing agreement with Sony. While this was a setback for the electronics giant, they decided to continue developing the technology to create their own console.
While the deal that Nintendo made with Philips ended up falling apart, it didn’t mean Sony had heard the end of the gaming giant. Once Nintendo got word that Sony was using the tech they developed under the partnership, Nintendo tried to cease the development of the system by suing Sony. The case was found in favor of Sony who was allowed to continue with development of the system.
Until the release of the PlayStation, console games were primarily cartridge based, and those cartridges were quite expensive to make, and had long manufacturing cycles. Also 3D and full motion video games required large files and technology that to put them in a cartridge would have cost so much it would have been impossible to make a profit.

Finally in 1994, Sony released the PlayStation (aka PSOne) in Japan and 11 months later launched the console in North America and Europe (S1995). The system was an instant hit, quickly eclipsing the Super Nintendo as well as Sega’s own disc system, the Sega Saturn.

A year after the PlayStation’s release Nintendo tried to take down the newcomer turned-gaming industry giant by releasing their own 3D gaming console, the Nintendo 64, but Nintendo stuck with the cartridge format, which inevitably led to its downfall for the very reasons developers were drawn to the PlayStation. Without third party support, the N64 had a smaller library, and while some of those titles are considered the best games of the time, including Goldeneye 007, there simply wasn't enough of them to keep up with the PlayStation.

The Computer Entertainment System

When the NES released in 1985 the term “Video Game” had a bad connotation after the market flood of poor quality games that lead to the industry crash, so Nintendo decided to refer to it as an “Entertainment System” and design it as a home entertainment system component, instead of touting it as a video game system. Sony took a page from the same book and referred to the PlayStation as a “computer entertainment system” instead of a console. Even today they require all references of their systems by third party publishers and developers as the PlayStation Computer Entertainment system, and technically they are right.

The PlayStation could not only play the system’s official game discs, but also Music CDs and later with an adapter, VCS (aka Video CDs) which were the predecessors to DVDs. This made it not only the most powerful, but also the most vestal system of its time.

Even after Sony released their second system, the PlayStation 2 in 2000, Sony continued to support the original PlayStation, encouraging third parties to continue publishing and developing for the system, and continued to do so 6 years into the PS2’s lifespan.

Finally, in 2006 Sony ceased manufacturing the original PlayStation, giving the system a 12 year lifetime and ending it as the first console to sell a hundred million units.

Today the term PSOne (or PlayStation One) has expanded and is now used not only for the revamped model, but the original PlayStation console as well. While games have visually advanced and controls better defined, the PSOne introduced gamers to the 3D world of games and kick started the CD-ROM revolution in the world of gaming.

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