Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: 20 years of PlayStation
It’s 20 years since the original PlayStation console was
released in Japan, as GameCentral readers recall their history with
Sony’s hardware.
Although the first console wasn’t released in the UK until 1995 the PlayStation brand is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, and so this weekend’s Inbox asked readers to share their memories of the various consoles, from the first one they ever played to the current situation with the PlayStation 4.
We wanted to know what the PlayStation name means to you and whether you regard yourself as being loyal to the brand. Some did and didn’t, but almost everyone saw Sony as a positive influence in gaming, and were happy to congratulate them on 20 memorable years.
Alternate reality
Although there had been consoles in the house before, the PlayStation was the first one I could call my own. I had to combine my 11th birthday and Christmas present that year to get it, with Micro Machines V3 and a fighting game that I can’t remember the name of. But it was absolutely worth it!
Playing Micro Machines with four players on two controllers is still one of my favourite gaming memories, but the first game I really fell in love with and associate most with the PlayStation name was Resident Evil.
I had been reading about it in game magazines for ages and when I finally talked my dad into buying it for me I played it for 15 minutes and ‘hated’ it (I was rubbish at it). He refused to take it back though so I stuck with it and eventually I had seen everything the game had to offer countless times over. My parents were going through a divorce at the time and I used to hide away in my room a lot and the PlayStation became my escape from reality, and I think that time is why I still love games today.
I don’t feel any loyalty to the brand though, but do have loyalty to my favourite developers and will go where they release their games. Because of this I’ll be getting a PlayStation 4 next year, purely because of Bloodborne. I can’t wait!
Ad Mitchell
The cool kids
The main thing I remember about the PlayStation more than anything else was thinking how cool it was. I will always love my N46 and the classic Nintendo titles, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was in an un-cool minority. We were playing ‘kiddy’ games like Mario, Zelda, and Diddy Kong Racing, whilst everyone was playing more adult games like Tomb Raider, Gran Turismo, WipEout, Metal Gear Solid, and GTA. This notion was further enforced by the PlayStation advertising campaign being, what appeared to be at the time, cutting edge.
I was planning on being loyal to Nintendo until I saw a GTA III trailer for the first time. I knew it would never get a GameCube release and I wanted to be cool and have the opportunity to buy annualised games. I got my only PlayStation console that year and it served me well.
Chaos JC (gamertag)
Currently playing: Far Cry 4
J’Adore
Sony’s original PlayStation is the first proper console I had owned. Bar the Spectrum, but I was too young to even know the name. I remember I played Doom in my friend’s house when I was about seven, from that moment I knew it would be first on my Christmas list that year. The next 18 years I have stuck to Sony’s PlayStation 1, 2, 3, and 4!
I haven’t regretted one, except perhaps the first few years of the PlayStation 3, but we know how that turned out. I owe Sony a lot for the joys in my life. Nintendo are praised for their philosophy. The PlayStation hardly ever gets the same praise for their vision and philosophy on gaming the same as Nintendo. I think it’s unfair because you can only play certain magic games on the PlayStation consoles. Am I a fanboy? No. Do I adore Sony’s machines? Yes.
danpez890 (PSN ID)
Good ratio
To me the PlayStation brand means gaming for everyone. I’ve owned Sony’s first three home consoles and they’ve all had one asset in common, a wide range of software. From commercial blockbusters to obscure indie titles the various PlayStations have offered access to a vast array of entertainment.
My favourite Sony console was easily the PlayStation 2, more specifically the later slimline version. Such a beautiful unassuming design. Almost as small as a paperback book, a good DVD player but primarily it was a machine with a huge software library.
What sets Sony apart from their two main rivals is that they seem to understand what makes a console great. A broad range of software is vital, so is building and maintaining good relationships with the people who make the games.
I’m not a complete fan of all Sony does, I thought the fat PlayStation 3 looked like a bread bin, the rumble-less Sixaxis was a bit of a joke, and my launch console needed a new laser after just over a year.
It has to be said no company’s output is perfect, but console-wise in my opinion Sony have scored two hits out of three.
msv858 (Twitter)
The classics
I wasn’t able to get the first PlayStation. It was something I could only gaze longingly at through the shop window – my tiny, 14-year-old face pressed up against the glass, each day cold and heavy with the falling snow. Yes, it snowed every day back in 1996. Some may be too remember it – but I do!
There were a few titles I coveted, naturally. WipEout, Tekken, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and Final Fantasy VII spring to mind. Tekken I thought very primitive when I eventually got around to playing it – which was well into the PlayStation 2 era. And Final Fantasy VII was the victim of those who hype it up far too much than can be healthy. I also wanted to play Parappa The Rappa. But I suck at rhythm action games. Not only can this geeky, white man not dance fair ladies – he can’t punch or kick either. Perhaps it’s all in the mind.
So my first game on Sony hardware did turn out to be an exclusive. The mighty Devil May Cry. And it wasn’t the difficult gameplay that made me weep, but some of the god-awful dialogue. Dante says of Trish that ‘He should have been the one to fill your dark soul with light!’ Well, quite. I’m sure we’ve all felt that way about someone or other.
The PlayStation 2 is one of the front runners in that most classic of pub arguments: ‘Greatest console ever.’ And while it could never replace the Dreamcast in my affections, you would have to be a total fool to disrespect that most astonishingly vast and diverse of software libraries. The first Disgaea, for me, is the quintessential PlayStation 2 game. Weird, wacky, couldn’t have been made on any other console let alone prospered to the point it has today. The home of the weird and the wonderful, carrying on the golden age of Japanese development from the likes of Gregory Horror Show and Katamari Damacy to Shadow Hearts and the Dark Cloud games.
Thanks to the PlayStation 2, Dragon Quest came to European shores for the first time ever – and thanks to the greatest localisation effort ever, we got the definitive version! Square green-lit something as left field as Kingdom Hearts! Would they be so daring today?
From the outside looking in, PlayStation 3 eventually carried on that tradition. Eventually. If weren’t so expensive and my economic status so tragic, I would have probably picked one up. As it is, I can only press my (much older) face to the glass as I gaze jealously upon a PlayStation 4 which should also get some good exclusives for it. One of these years. Oh look, is that snow…?
DMR
PS: Never did buy a WipEout game. Perhaps I should.
Good effort
I wouldn’t consider myself to be a PlayStation fanboy, although I always find myself reverting back to the PlayStation. I’ve owned all the PlayStation consoles with my favourite being the PlayStation 3. I was a bit too young to really appreciate any of the games on PS one so PlayStation 2 was the first console that really grabbed me. There are certain series which although are multiformat now I always associate with PlayStation, namely Crash Bandicoot and Grand Theft Auto.
For me Sony have always tried to be more innovative in terms of the games they make compared to Microsoft and Nintendo. Microsoft have seen success with certain franchises and stuck with them which is fair enough, Nintendo show innovative gameplay but rarely come up with totally new games and characters, but Sony have always been willing to try new franchises and have generated a supportive environment for indie developers.
Some of the franchises pay off like Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet, whereas others have failed miserably like Haze and Lair (and judging by some previews The Order: 1886) but at least it shows they are trying.
Kurt Lewin
Then and now
My earliest memory of PlayStation was when my two younger brothers got one for Christmas, the year after launch if I remember correctly, and I was a tad jealous because I was still in the Mega Drive!
The early games I remember are vague, but I recall us all playing Tekken for a while. They also had Metal Gear Solid a bit later into its life, and I recall getting stuck right at the beginning and giving up. Glad I went back to that one eventually. The strange thing is, I have more memories of us playing the ‘Demo One’ disk that came with it. There was a demo of Gran Turismo on there that I couldn’t get enough of, and we all had a laugh with Kula World. I eventually bought my own a year later.
I have had all versions of the PlayStation (including handhelds) that have been released on these shores, and am currently enjoying my PlayStation 4 despite the barren release schedule and Sony’s seeming complacency. I wouldn’t say I’m solely dedicated to Sony’s consoles – I have owned consoles from Nintendo and Microsoft in the past too, but for some reason something about a new PlayStation gets me excited. Two of my favourite game series are on there (Gran Turismo and Metal Gear Solid) and I really enjoy some of the other exclusives Sony offer.
I just hope they don’t continue this blasé attitude they seem to have adopted lately, and really show us what they can do, as they have in the past with the PlayStation 2.
OldMiley (PSN ID)
Happy ending
Sadly I missed out on the PS one. I had previously been a Mega Drive gamer but was secretly jealous of the SNES. So went for the N64 during the PS one days. I did however play rather a lot of Tony Hawk’s at university and also remember playing a few other games like Driver and Soul Blade around friends’ houses. I did borrow one over a summer holiday to play Final Fantasy VII and IX which were both great. (I had already played VIII on PC).
I did own a PlayStation 2 but it was bought as a third console and came with Final Fantasy X, which I hated. The console then languished unused as I played Halo on the Xbox and Zelda on the GameCube. This was until a seven month business trip to China where I decided to give the PlayStation 2 another chance. (I also bought an LCD screen for it to use as a portable DVD player). These seven months were some of the best of my gaming life with the God Of Wars, Final Fantasy XII, Canis Canem Edit (Bully), and Devil May Cry 3 being highlights.
The PlayStation 3’s history is similar to that of the PlayStation 2. Again, bought as a third console, again with a game I ended up not liking (Metal Gear Solid 4), and again woefully underused up until its final year. Although again it was an epic final year with The Last Of Us and PS Plus firing on all cylinders.
I bought a PlayStation 4 on launch day with Assassin’s Creed IV and Killzone. Both were sequels in series I had grown bored of and had skipped their immediate prequels, so it was not looking like a good start. Fortunately I really enjoyed Assassin’s Creed IV and thought Killzone was OK. Although the current crop of games is disappointing I have enjoyed the experience so far. (Unlike GC I do like the Destiny grind, yet I agree with all the criticisms regarding the lack of content. Particularly regarding the DLC which so far has been embarrassingly stingy. I am playing the new Raid tonight though, so fingers crossed).
At the time of writing the PlayStation 4 is my only current generation home console but there is a Wii U in the post to me…
I have also dabbled with the portables. The PSP was bought in China during the same business trip mentioned above and as it was Chinese came modified out of the box (which I did not realise until I got it back to the hotel). As a purest this meant I never actually used it once I returned to the UK.
The Vita however has fared much better and has surpassed the DS as my favourite console of all time. (This is a bit odd given the relative game portfolios but then I have also used it to play a lot of good PSP games I had missed and benefited from Sony’s PS Plus push leading up to the PlayStation 4’s release. Also Danganronpa).
PazJohnMitch
Although the first console wasn’t released in the UK until 1995 the PlayStation brand is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, and so this weekend’s Inbox asked readers to share their memories of the various consoles, from the first one they ever played to the current situation with the PlayStation 4.
We wanted to know what the PlayStation name means to you and whether you regard yourself as being loyal to the brand. Some did and didn’t, but almost everyone saw Sony as a positive influence in gaming, and were happy to congratulate them on 20 memorable years.
Alternate reality
Although there had been consoles in the house before, the PlayStation was the first one I could call my own. I had to combine my 11th birthday and Christmas present that year to get it, with Micro Machines V3 and a fighting game that I can’t remember the name of. But it was absolutely worth it!
Playing Micro Machines with four players on two controllers is still one of my favourite gaming memories, but the first game I really fell in love with and associate most with the PlayStation name was Resident Evil.
I had been reading about it in game magazines for ages and when I finally talked my dad into buying it for me I played it for 15 minutes and ‘hated’ it (I was rubbish at it). He refused to take it back though so I stuck with it and eventually I had seen everything the game had to offer countless times over. My parents were going through a divorce at the time and I used to hide away in my room a lot and the PlayStation became my escape from reality, and I think that time is why I still love games today.
I don’t feel any loyalty to the brand though, but do have loyalty to my favourite developers and will go where they release their games. Because of this I’ll be getting a PlayStation 4 next year, purely because of Bloodborne. I can’t wait!
Ad Mitchell
The cool kids
The main thing I remember about the PlayStation more than anything else was thinking how cool it was. I will always love my N46 and the classic Nintendo titles, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was in an un-cool minority. We were playing ‘kiddy’ games like Mario, Zelda, and Diddy Kong Racing, whilst everyone was playing more adult games like Tomb Raider, Gran Turismo, WipEout, Metal Gear Solid, and GTA. This notion was further enforced by the PlayStation advertising campaign being, what appeared to be at the time, cutting edge.
I was planning on being loyal to Nintendo until I saw a GTA III trailer for the first time. I knew it would never get a GameCube release and I wanted to be cool and have the opportunity to buy annualised games. I got my only PlayStation console that year and it served me well.
Chaos JC (gamertag)
Currently playing: Far Cry 4
J’Adore
Sony’s original PlayStation is the first proper console I had owned. Bar the Spectrum, but I was too young to even know the name. I remember I played Doom in my friend’s house when I was about seven, from that moment I knew it would be first on my Christmas list that year. The next 18 years I have stuck to Sony’s PlayStation 1, 2, 3, and 4!
I haven’t regretted one, except perhaps the first few years of the PlayStation 3, but we know how that turned out. I owe Sony a lot for the joys in my life. Nintendo are praised for their philosophy. The PlayStation hardly ever gets the same praise for their vision and philosophy on gaming the same as Nintendo. I think it’s unfair because you can only play certain magic games on the PlayStation consoles. Am I a fanboy? No. Do I adore Sony’s machines? Yes.
danpez890 (PSN ID)
Good ratio
To me the PlayStation brand means gaming for everyone. I’ve owned Sony’s first three home consoles and they’ve all had one asset in common, a wide range of software. From commercial blockbusters to obscure indie titles the various PlayStations have offered access to a vast array of entertainment.
My favourite Sony console was easily the PlayStation 2, more specifically the later slimline version. Such a beautiful unassuming design. Almost as small as a paperback book, a good DVD player but primarily it was a machine with a huge software library.
What sets Sony apart from their two main rivals is that they seem to understand what makes a console great. A broad range of software is vital, so is building and maintaining good relationships with the people who make the games.
I’m not a complete fan of all Sony does, I thought the fat PlayStation 3 looked like a bread bin, the rumble-less Sixaxis was a bit of a joke, and my launch console needed a new laser after just over a year.
It has to be said no company’s output is perfect, but console-wise in my opinion Sony have scored two hits out of three.
msv858 (Twitter)
The classics
I wasn’t able to get the first PlayStation. It was something I could only gaze longingly at through the shop window – my tiny, 14-year-old face pressed up against the glass, each day cold and heavy with the falling snow. Yes, it snowed every day back in 1996. Some may be too remember it – but I do!
There were a few titles I coveted, naturally. WipEout, Tekken, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and Final Fantasy VII spring to mind. Tekken I thought very primitive when I eventually got around to playing it – which was well into the PlayStation 2 era. And Final Fantasy VII was the victim of those who hype it up far too much than can be healthy. I also wanted to play Parappa The Rappa. But I suck at rhythm action games. Not only can this geeky, white man not dance fair ladies – he can’t punch or kick either. Perhaps it’s all in the mind.
So my first game on Sony hardware did turn out to be an exclusive. The mighty Devil May Cry. And it wasn’t the difficult gameplay that made me weep, but some of the god-awful dialogue. Dante says of Trish that ‘He should have been the one to fill your dark soul with light!’ Well, quite. I’m sure we’ve all felt that way about someone or other.
The PlayStation 2 is one of the front runners in that most classic of pub arguments: ‘Greatest console ever.’ And while it could never replace the Dreamcast in my affections, you would have to be a total fool to disrespect that most astonishingly vast and diverse of software libraries. The first Disgaea, for me, is the quintessential PlayStation 2 game. Weird, wacky, couldn’t have been made on any other console let alone prospered to the point it has today. The home of the weird and the wonderful, carrying on the golden age of Japanese development from the likes of Gregory Horror Show and Katamari Damacy to Shadow Hearts and the Dark Cloud games.
Thanks to the PlayStation 2, Dragon Quest came to European shores for the first time ever – and thanks to the greatest localisation effort ever, we got the definitive version! Square green-lit something as left field as Kingdom Hearts! Would they be so daring today?
From the outside looking in, PlayStation 3 eventually carried on that tradition. Eventually. If weren’t so expensive and my economic status so tragic, I would have probably picked one up. As it is, I can only press my (much older) face to the glass as I gaze jealously upon a PlayStation 4 which should also get some good exclusives for it. One of these years. Oh look, is that snow…?
DMR
PS: Never did buy a WipEout game. Perhaps I should.
Good effort
I wouldn’t consider myself to be a PlayStation fanboy, although I always find myself reverting back to the PlayStation. I’ve owned all the PlayStation consoles with my favourite being the PlayStation 3. I was a bit too young to really appreciate any of the games on PS one so PlayStation 2 was the first console that really grabbed me. There are certain series which although are multiformat now I always associate with PlayStation, namely Crash Bandicoot and Grand Theft Auto.
For me Sony have always tried to be more innovative in terms of the games they make compared to Microsoft and Nintendo. Microsoft have seen success with certain franchises and stuck with them which is fair enough, Nintendo show innovative gameplay but rarely come up with totally new games and characters, but Sony have always been willing to try new franchises and have generated a supportive environment for indie developers.
Some of the franchises pay off like Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet, whereas others have failed miserably like Haze and Lair (and judging by some previews The Order: 1886) but at least it shows they are trying.
Kurt Lewin
Then and now
My earliest memory of PlayStation was when my two younger brothers got one for Christmas, the year after launch if I remember correctly, and I was a tad jealous because I was still in the Mega Drive!
The early games I remember are vague, but I recall us all playing Tekken for a while. They also had Metal Gear Solid a bit later into its life, and I recall getting stuck right at the beginning and giving up. Glad I went back to that one eventually. The strange thing is, I have more memories of us playing the ‘Demo One’ disk that came with it. There was a demo of Gran Turismo on there that I couldn’t get enough of, and we all had a laugh with Kula World. I eventually bought my own a year later.
I have had all versions of the PlayStation (including handhelds) that have been released on these shores, and am currently enjoying my PlayStation 4 despite the barren release schedule and Sony’s seeming complacency. I wouldn’t say I’m solely dedicated to Sony’s consoles – I have owned consoles from Nintendo and Microsoft in the past too, but for some reason something about a new PlayStation gets me excited. Two of my favourite game series are on there (Gran Turismo and Metal Gear Solid) and I really enjoy some of the other exclusives Sony offer.
I just hope they don’t continue this blasé attitude they seem to have adopted lately, and really show us what they can do, as they have in the past with the PlayStation 2.
OldMiley (PSN ID)
Happy ending
Sadly I missed out on the PS one. I had previously been a Mega Drive gamer but was secretly jealous of the SNES. So went for the N64 during the PS one days. I did however play rather a lot of Tony Hawk’s at university and also remember playing a few other games like Driver and Soul Blade around friends’ houses. I did borrow one over a summer holiday to play Final Fantasy VII and IX which were both great. (I had already played VIII on PC).
I did own a PlayStation 2 but it was bought as a third console and came with Final Fantasy X, which I hated. The console then languished unused as I played Halo on the Xbox and Zelda on the GameCube. This was until a seven month business trip to China where I decided to give the PlayStation 2 another chance. (I also bought an LCD screen for it to use as a portable DVD player). These seven months were some of the best of my gaming life with the God Of Wars, Final Fantasy XII, Canis Canem Edit (Bully), and Devil May Cry 3 being highlights.
The PlayStation 3’s history is similar to that of the PlayStation 2. Again, bought as a third console, again with a game I ended up not liking (Metal Gear Solid 4), and again woefully underused up until its final year. Although again it was an epic final year with The Last Of Us and PS Plus firing on all cylinders.
I bought a PlayStation 4 on launch day with Assassin’s Creed IV and Killzone. Both were sequels in series I had grown bored of and had skipped their immediate prequels, so it was not looking like a good start. Fortunately I really enjoyed Assassin’s Creed IV and thought Killzone was OK. Although the current crop of games is disappointing I have enjoyed the experience so far. (Unlike GC I do like the Destiny grind, yet I agree with all the criticisms regarding the lack of content. Particularly regarding the DLC which so far has been embarrassingly stingy. I am playing the new Raid tonight though, so fingers crossed).
At the time of writing the PlayStation 4 is my only current generation home console but there is a Wii U in the post to me…
I have also dabbled with the portables. The PSP was bought in China during the same business trip mentioned above and as it was Chinese came modified out of the box (which I did not realise until I got it back to the hotel). As a purest this meant I never actually used it once I returned to the UK.
The Vita however has fared much better and has surpassed the DS as my favourite console of all time. (This is a bit odd given the relative game portfolios but then I have also used it to play a lot of good PSP games I had missed and benefited from Sony’s PS Plus push leading up to the PlayStation 4’s release. Also Danganronpa).
PazJohnMitch
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