The Evolution of Sony PlayStation

Filed in archive PS System on March 28, 2010

Since PlayStation's debut in 1994, Sony has been setting the trend for technical Darwinism for well over a decade.

The concept of the PlayStation started in 1986 with a contract between Sony and Nintendo to create a gaming console that ran off of the new CD-ROMs. The agreement was to create a system that would run off the CD-ROM and a SNES port. The partnership was not even close to friendly, however. Nintendo's President Hiroshi Yamauchi decided that the deal favored Sony too much, and renegotiated the contract to increase the profits gained by Nintendo when the console was to be introduced. Rather than giving up the proceeds, Sony's Ken Kutaragi, known as the "Father of PlayStation", dropped the SNES port off the console and therefore rid the association with Nintendo.

In 1994 the first PlayStation was introduced to Japan, and a few months later to the UK and the US. PlayStation completely dominated the competing consoles at the time with their hit Gran Turismo.

The PlayStation One was released in 2000. It was equipped with a small LED screen and a car charger adapter so it could be played "on the go". It outsold all other gaming consoles that year including the PlayStation 2.

Also launched in 2000, the PlayStation 2 introduced the ability to play CDs as well as DVDs, allowing for more complex game play and a movie option. The system was so popular that it was being sold on eBay for up to $1,000. The PS2 has about 1,900 games (not including games released for earlier systems which are also compatible) and more being released this year. The Playstation 2 was upgraded to the PS2 Slim in 2004, which was a smaller and quieter system with the same specs as the original PS2. The PS2 Slim can be purchased for about $99.99 from most gaming retailers.

The PlayStation 3 was launched in 2006, and is still among the elite systems today. It is equipped with an internet access, several hard drive options, and is Blu-ray compatible. It also offers an exclusive online database through the console that allows live game play and browser access. It can be purchased for $399.99 at most gaming retailers.

The latest installment of the PlayStation console is the PlayStation 3 Slim which was released in 2009 and is 32% smaller than the current console and comes equipped with a 120 GB hard drive and a 250 GB option. It starts at $299 from PlayStation, Best Buy, and Gamestop.