The botched deal that gave the world the Sony PlayStation

PlayStation today is synonymous with video games, but on this day 30 years ago, it was an underdog first console from a Japanese electronics giant preparing for an uphill battle against a compatriot duopoly with decades in the industry.

Unlikely though it may have seemed, Sony was hugely successful against Sega and Nintendo, arguably owing to a lack of complacency. It figured out a way to better serve developers’ needs, appeal to a broader playing audience, package new technology for the mainstream and pioneer a form of narrative-focused blockbuster game. And those elements remain central to why Sony’s brand is strong today.

The original Sony PlayStation, released in Japan on December 3, 1994.Credit: Tim Biggs

Its PlayStation 5 is in demand as the most popular of the current 4K-capable game consoles, while it also recently launched the PS5 Pro, promising the best versions of recent blockbusters even if Sony itself has no new software to push for Christmas.

And its major franchises, such as God of War, The Last of Us and Horizon, loom large over the industry. Not just because of sequels, spin-offs and remasters, but because the properties are increasingly extending beyond consoles to PCs and even to other forms of media. The HBO show based on The Last of Us, produced by PlayStation, was nominated for 24 Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes.

This expansion, after three decades of being known purely for games, is perhaps the biggest shift for PlayStation since the original console’s release in 1994. But Hermen Hulst, joint chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said it was a natural evolution.

“Developing rich narrative-driven stories is in our DNA, and I think we have set a high bar for storytelling, not just within gaming but within the larger entertainment industry,” he said.

“When teams create incredible stories like The Last of Us, they want the world they created to be experienced by as many people as possible.”

Sony released limited edition versions of its controllers, PS5 consoles and Portal remote player to celebrate the 30th anniversary.

But that doesn’t mean a focus on games is going away. Hulst said the company encouraged its studios to explore passion projects, citing Ghost of Tsushima and this year’s Astro Bot. To create a roster of games to represent the PlayStation brand, the company looks at these projects that harness their studios’ strengths, as well as industry trends.

“What matters most to us is that we continue to bring a healthy mix of the single-player games our studios are known for, like the upcoming Ghost of Yotei, and live services titles like Helldivers 2,” Hulst said. “Fun and unique experiences like Astro Bot or Lego Horizon help fill out our portfolio, so there is something for everyone.”

It’s not always smooth sailing. Sony has faced scrutiny after identifying online or “live service” games as an industry trend to pursue and shifting a large portion of its resources to develop them. It has since acquired Bungie, creator of Halo and Destiny, but laid off or transferred many of its staff. It cancelled a multiplayer take on The Last of Us. And it shut down Concord, an online shooter from a studio it acquired in 2023, just two weeks after launch. That studio was closed.

But then, pivoting or fighting back against the odds is also part of the brand’s DNA.

The first PlayStation

Sony’s ambition to own a globally significant games platform famously began with a false start. It had secured a deal to create a machine compatible with Super Nintendo cartridges that would also play new CD-based games, and announced its so-called PlayStation (as well as a CD add-on for Super Nintendo) at the CES expo in 1991. The next day, Nintendo announced it was tearing up its contracts with Sony, and the machines were never released.

By 1994 Sony had built a device entirely its own, with the same name. Released as a direct competitor to Sega’s Saturn and more than a year before the Nintendo 64, the PlayStation would end up selling more than double the unit sales of its two competitors combined.

An ad placed in The Age newspaper in 1995, spruiking the PlayStation as the world’s greatest console.

Thanks to its low-cost discs, accessible development gear, edgy advertising and open attitude to business (whereas Sega and Nintendo heavily favoured their in-house developers), huge names such as Square and Namco largely abandoned the other platforms to move to PlayStation. While Sony began its journey with no wholly owned developers to speak of, its system is remembered as home to most of the biggest games of the era, including Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil.

In 1995, the PlayStation arrived in Australia at a price of $700. This was less expensive than the local price of the Saturn but still represented a big investment; adjusted for inflation, it’s the equivalent of more than $1400 today. But with lower-priced games and marketing that aimed for a much broader demographic than young boys, it became the go-to ’90s console.

Sony’s dominance continued into the 2000s as its PlayStation 2 became, and remains, the best-selling console of all time. (Importantly, it included the ability to play DVD movies, despite being cheaper than many DVD players of the time.) Over the past three decades, PlayStation grew its roster of in-house studios to more than a dozen, bolstering its line-up of owned properties to become the industry giant it is today.

Hideaki Nishino, also joint chief executive of Sony’s PlayStation business, said one thing that had remained constant was a desire to push boundaries and deliver new technology to enhance immersion.

“Our products leverage technology such as haptic feedback and 3D spatial audio to increase the feeling of being in the game, enhanced ray tracing that makes games more realistic, and faster processing that gives creators the ability to make their games even more entertaining,” he said.

“Our goal is to offer players the best gaming experience, and that starts with creating the best platform for developers.”

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