Sony PlayStation – 15 years old
There has been a great deal of change in the videogame industry since 1994.
We’ve waved goodbye to Sega as a hardware manufacturer, welcomed Microsoft’s debut console and delved into a whole new world of online gaming.
But there’s one console that continues to dominate a now multi-billion dollar industry.
The Sony PlayStation celebrates its 15th birthday this month and the iconic games machine, now in its third generation, continues to go from strength-to-strength.
No one expected the Japanese electronics giant to compete with the existing videogame-specialist companies. Sony’s grey theme joined an industry which, for years, was dominated by red and blue.
Mario versus Sonic. Nintendo versus Sega.
Many had tried and failed. SNK’s Neo Geo was kept out of the mainstream market by its ludicrous retail price and Atari – top dogs throughout the eighties – bowed out when the Jaguar sold just 200,000 units worldwide.
And not only did Atari have to deal with the multi-million selling Sega and Nintendo consoles, there was now a new kid on the block. Sony’s debut console went on to become the first to sell 100 million units.
Its successor, the PlayStation2, is the biggest selling games console of all time, shifting an incredible 138 million units in the six years running up to the release of the PlayStation3.
While Nintendo were held back by their policy to avoid offending anyone, Sony’s initial success came from targeting gamers who had started on the NES and Master System and wanted games that had similarly grown up.
The gaming industry was changing in front of our very eyes. Fat Italian plumbers and ring-fuelled hedgehogs were out; Mudokon slaves and wet-dream inducing archaeologists were in.
The innovative Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey was critically acclaimed for its originality while teenage boys all over the world frantically tried to unlock the secret to getting Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series to take her clothes off.
The rumours, sadly, were false, but the game was still a global success and Sony was taking over the world. But just how close were we to a Nintendo Play Station?
After the release of the Sega-CD add-on for the MegaDrive, Nintendo approached Sony about developing something similar for their rival machine, the Super Nintendo.
Plans for an imaginatively titled SNES-CD were drawn up and set to be announced at the 1991 Consumer Electronics Show.
But Nintendo pulled the plug when president Hiroshi Yamauchi read the small print and realised the deal between the two essentially handed Sony complete control of all titles written on the new format.
The two companies managed to strike up a deal where the “Sony Play Station” would have a SNES port and Nintendo would take all the profits from game sales. Again it fell through and, not to be discouraged, Sony removed a space and set to work on the PlayStation.
So did Nintendo make one of the biggest business blunders in videogame history? Sales figures tell us the PlayStation trilogy has sold one-and-a-half times the amount of units the N64, GameCube and Wii have managed.
But Nintendo’s rejection of Sony hardware turned out to be one of the best things to happen to the games market.
Sony’s revolutionising of the industry forced Nintendo’s hand to create something completely different for a mainstream market. It was drastic action, but the Wii was born.
Nintendo are no longer losing sleep, but prior to the Wii launching things were a lot less certain.
Nobody could have predicted its success and rumours were escalating. Were Nintendo leaving the hardware business, or were they going to solely focus on portable gaming?
Nintendo’s decision to turn down the PlayStation may have been a bad one for their bank balance. But it was the best possible for gamers all over the world.
We’ve come a long, long way in the last 15 years. FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer battle it out to be top dog in the sports genre, while Rockstar and Infinity Ward use their respective titles to see who can generate the largest number of complaints. And if you’d told me a decade ago that Mario and Sonic were going to feature in games together, I’d have had you sectioned.
Sega and Nintendo’s rivalry has been eclipsed by an even bigger Sony and Microsoft enmity, with Nintendo now acting like the annoying little brother that won’t go away. But 265million people can’t be wrong and the Sony’s flagship console is here to stay.
So happy birthday to the PlayStation. Thanks for making me feel really, really old…
