Sony Playstation: the 30th Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on June 28, 2024, 4:01 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year is the 30th anniversary of the PlayStation, Sony’s signature video game console and one of the most successful console lines ever to exist.
Not everyone may be aware that the PlayStation was originally conceived as a collaboration between Nintendo and Sony, but Nintendo withdrew from the project because Sony wished for the system to use optical discs as its storage medium, while Nintendo preferred to remain with ROM cartridges, so Sony decided to produce the console on their own, resulting in Nintendo unintentionally creating one of their greatest rivals, by doing so.
The transition from ROM cartridges to optical discs was a major shift in the video game industry; although ROM cartridges could load their data nearly instantly, they were expensive and had limited storage capacity, whereas optical discs were far less expensive and had much greater storage capacity, albeit at the cost of taking far longer to load their data, but, apparently, the average players cared more for the higher capacity of optical discs, which allowed for impressive graphics, amazing audio, and expansive levels, since the PlayStation was perhaps the most popular console of its generation, outselling even Nintendo's own N64, challenging Nintendo's previously unrivaled dominance of the video game industry, which was a seismic shift, upsetting the previous champion's position and making it clear that they had become complacent after two massively successful consoles, and one of the most significant indications of that shift was how numerous franchises that had previously been on Nintendo systems, such as Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Megaman, Castlevania, Devil May Cry, and Metal Gear, changed sides and began appearing on the PlayStation. Additionally, numerous game franchises originated on the PlayStation, as well, including Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, Gex, and so forth, allowing Sony to present itself as a cool and edgy alternative to the mainstream and family-friendly Nintendo (despite the fact that Sega had already done so, several years earlier).
I have never played any games on the PlayStation, apart from Final Fantasy VII, as the systems that defined my younger years were Nintendo and DOS (mainly DOS), but I feel that this anniversary deserves to be commemorated, since the PlayStation is one of the best-selling video game consoles of all time and certainly revolutionized the industry, and I imagine that Sony shall wish to celebrate this anniversary, as well.
How does everyone else feel about this subject? Are you excited that this year is the 30th anniversary of the PlayStation?
ClockworkSwordfish says... #3
I was beginning to wonder if the sentence in that third paragraph would ever end.
June 29, 2024 3:58 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #4
“Loaded” also had music that wasn’t made just for the game, which was a first for me. Not that “Pop Will Eat Itself” was on the same level as an AC/DC or Def Leppard or whatever... but it was still pretty cool.
June 29, 2024 8:12 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #5
ClockworkSwordfish, I promise you that that was not intentional, but it certainly was very humorous!
shadow63 says... #2
When was devil may cry ever on a nintendo system?
June 29, 2024 8:42 a.m.