PlayStation (brand)

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The PlayStation brand is a line of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, occupying the fifth, sixth, and seventh generations. The consoles have shipped a total of over 310 million units.

Contents 1 Distinguishing features 2 Consoles 2.1 PlayStation 2.2 PlayStation 2 2.3 PlayStation 3 2.4 Comparison 3 Handheld systems 3.1 PlayStation Portable 3.1.1 PSP Go 4 Media Centers 5 References

[edit] Distinguishing features

Unlike its competitors, the DualShock features 4 buttons on the top [L1, L2, R1, R2] (named by the side [L=Left, R=Right] and 1 or 2 [top or bottom] and commonly referred to as shoulder buttons). Beginning with the DualShock, the left and right analog sticks could also be depressed as buttons. These buttons are referred to as L3 and R3, respectively.

Beginning with the PlayStation 3, a 'PlayStation button' (which featured the incorporated PS logo and was similar in function to the Xbox 360 "X" logo button) was included on the controller. The PSP had the "home" feature before the Xbox but was later changed to the PlayStation button with the PSP 3000 as seen on the PS3 controller. At E3 2005, the PS3 was shown with the "home" button added to the controller in place of the 'Analog' button.

The Analog button activated the analog sticks on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 Dual Analog, DualShock and DualShock 2 controllers. On the PlayStation 3 Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers, the analog sticks are enabled by default.

The PS button on the PS3 brings up the PlayStation 3 home screen (similar to a PC "desktop" screen) while holding it down brings up system options (such as quit the game, change controller settings, turn off the system, and turn off the controller).

[edit] Consoles

[edit] PlayStation

The original PlayStation, released in December 1994, was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation series of console and hand-held game devices, which has included successor consoles and upgrades including the Net Yaroze (a special black PlayStation with tools and instructions to program PlayStation games and applications), "PSone" (a smaller version of the original) and the PocketStation (a handheld which enhances PlayStation games and also acts as a memory card). It was part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, competing against the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64. By March 31, 2005, the PlayStation and PSone had shipped a combined total of 102.49 million units,^[1] becoming the first video game console to reach the 100 million mark.^[2]

[edit] PlayStation 2

Released in 2000, 15 months after the Dreamcast and a year before its other competitors, the Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube, the PlayStation 2 is part of the sixth generation of video game consoles, and is backwards-compatible with most, if not all, original PlayStation games. It has also been released as a media center configuration and also, like its predecessor, a slimmer redesign. It is the most successful console in the world,^[3][4] having reached over 140 million units in sales as of July 20, 2008.^[5] On November 29, 2005, the PS2 became the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, accomplishing the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch. This achievement occurred faster than its predecessor, the PlayStation, which took "9 years and 6 months since launch" to reach the same benchmark.^[2] It is the most popular console in the series.

[edit] PlayStation 3

Released on November 11, 2006, the PlayStation 3 is the third and current iteration in the series. It competes with the Xbox 360 and the Wii in the seventh generation of video game consoles. It introduces the use of the SIXAXIS Wireless Controller along with other features, such as Blu-ray Disc and Full High-definition resolution graphics capability. The PlayStation 3 comes in 20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB, 160 GB, 120 GB, and 250GB, with the last two being the current models. It features a Slim model similar to its predecessors. As of September 30, 2009, the PlayStation 3 has sold 33.5 million units worldwide, according to Sony Computer Entertainment.^[6]

[edit] Comparison

Name	PlayStation 1	PlayStation 2	PlayStation 3
Console Launch price	¥39,800[7] US$299[8] £299[9]	¥39,800[7] US$299[8] £299[9]	¥49,980 (20 GB)[7] US$499 (20 GB), US$599 (60 GB)[8] £425 (60GB)[10][11] €599 (60 GB)[9]
Release date	JP December 4, 1994[7] NA September 9, 1995[8] EU September 29, 1995[9] AUS November 1995[12]	JP March 4, 2000[7] NA October 26, 2000[8][13] EU November 24, 2000[9] AUS November 30, 2000	JP November 11, 2006[7] NA November 17, 2006[8] EU March 23, 2007[9] More... Slim Model JP August 27, 2009[7] NA September 1, 2009[8] EU September 1, 2009[9]
Units sold	102.49 million shipped, including 28.15 million PS one units (as of March 31, 2007)[1]	148 million (as of December 2009)[5]	33.5 million (as of December 31, 2009)[6]
Best-selling game	Gran Turismo, 10.85 million shipped (as of April 30, 2008)[14][15]	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, 17.33 million shipped (as of March 26, 2008)[14]	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, 5 million shipped (as of December 31, 2009)[16]
Media	CD-ROM-based media	DVD-ROM/CD-ROM	BD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, SACD
Included accessories and extras	RFU Adapter Controller	DualShock 2 Controller Composite AV cable	Internal hard drive (20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80GB, 120GB, 160GB or 250GB depending on model) Wireless DualShock 3 / Sixaxis Controller Composite AV cable Ethernet cable USB cable
Accessories (retail)	Multitap (up to 8 players) Fishing reel controllers (Bass Landing and Reel Fishing) Dual Analog Controller DualShock GunCon Jogcon Konami Justifier NeGcon PocketStation Flightstick Memory Card S-Video cable Euro-AV Cable (RGB-SCART)	DualShock 2 PlayStation 2 HDD Internal hard drive supported by PlayStation 2 Expansion Bay (model 30000 and 50000 only) PlayStation 2 Headset EyeToy Driving Force Steering Wheels with Force Feedback Onimusha 3 Katana controller Resident Evil 4 chainsaw controller PlayStation 2 DVD remote control Network adapter Built-in for slim case model (PSTwo, model 70000) Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation2) Guitar Hero SG Controller 'Buzz' Controllers (with all versions of Buzz) Light gun (GunCon 2) Multitap (multi-controller adaptor) Component AV cable S-Video cable Euro-AV Cable (RGB-SCART) Microphones (with Karaoke Revolution and SingStar games) USB Mouse & Keyboard	PlayStation Eye SIXAXIS Wireless Controller DualShock 3 Wireless Controller Blu-ray Remote Control S-Video Cable Component AV Cable HDMI Cable PlayTV Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Gibson Les Paul Controller RockBand 1&2 Fender Stratocaster Controller RockBand Drums RockBand Mic Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Controller Guitar Hero World Tour Gibson Les Paul Bass Guitar Controller Guitar Hero World Tour Drums Controller Guitar Hero World Tour Mic Light Gun (GunCon 3)
CPU	MIPS R3000A-compatible (R3051) 32bit RISC chip running at 33.8688 MHz	300 MHz MIPS "Emotion Engine"	Cell Broadband Engine (3.2 GHz Power Architecture-based PPE with eight 3.2 GHz SPE)
GPU	Unknown	147 MHz "Graphics Synthesizer"; fill rate 2.352 gigapixel/sec; 1.1 gigapixel w. 1 texture(defuse); 588 megapixel/sec w. 2 textures (2 defuses or 1 defuse map and other(0 around 74 mill, 1 around 40 mill, 2 around 20 mill); 2 textures per pass Capable of multi-pass rendering; Connected to VU1 on cpu (a vector only for visual style coding things with 3.2Gflops) to deliver enhanced shader graphics and other enhanced graphics	550 MHz RSX (based on Nvidia G70 architecture)
Online service	N/A	Non-unified service	PlayStation Network PlayStation Store Internet browser A/V chat via PlayStation Eye or PS2 EyeToy, voice chat via headset PlayStation Home
Backward compatibility	N/A	PlayStation	20 GB, 60GB: All PlayStation and PlayStation 2 titles Original 80GB: Al PS1 titles, most PS2 titles.[17] 40GB: Support for PS1 titles only. 80 GB models sold after August 2008: Support for PS1 titles only 160GB & 250GB: Support for PS1 titles only.
System software	N/A	proprietary OS, Linux DVD Playback Kit	XrossMediaBar (XMB)
System software features	N/A	N/A	Operating Systems can be installed and run via a hypervisor (feature unavailable with Slim Model[18]) Audio file playback (ATRAC3, AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA) Video file playback (MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264-AVC, DivX ) Image editing and slideshows (JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP) Mouse and keyboard support Folding@Home client with visualizations from the RSX
Consumer programmability	Requires the Net Yaroze kit	Yabasic software, Linux for PlayStation 2	Development on console via free Linux platform or PC.

[edit] Handheld systems

[edit] PlayStation Portable

Released in March 2005, the PlayStation Portable (PSP) was Sony's first handheld console. The console utilizes an new proprietary optical storage medium known as Universal Media Disc (UMD), which can store both games and movies. It contains 32MB of internal flash memory storage, expandable via Memory Stick PRO Duo cards. It has a similar control layout to the PS3 with its PlayStation logo button and its ('Triangle'), ('Circle/O'), ('Cross/X') and ('Square')buttons. It is the only handheld system with analog controls.

The first major hardware revision, the PSP Slim and Lite was released in September 2007, with a further revision adding additional features (such as a microphone and upgraded screen) being released in October 2008..^[19] As of 2009, 50 million PSP units have been sold.

[edit] PSP Go

The PSP Go was released in October 2009. It differs from the original PlayStation Portable in several ways, most notably the absence of a UMD drive, with all content having to be purchased and downloaded from the Playstation Store. The PSP also adds Bluetooth functionality, and uses smaller Memory Stick Micro cards rather than the PRO Duo. It has a smaller screen and is 43% lighter and 56% smaller than the original PSP.^[20]

[edit] Media Centers

The PSX was all-in-one digital video recorder with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 integrated. It was released in Japan only.

[edit] References

v • d • e PlayStation Home consoles PlayStation · PlayStation 2 (PSX) · PlayStation 3 Handhelds PocketStation · PlayStation Portable (Slim and Lite · 3000 · Go) Games PlayStation games (PSOne Classics) · PlayStation 2 games · PlayStation 3 games · PSP games · PlayStation Network games (PS3 games, PSP games, TurboGrafx-16 games) Greatest Hits · Platinum · The Best PlayStation Network PlayStation Store · PlayStation Home · Qore · VidZone · Adhoc Party for PlayStation Portable · Room for PlayStation Portable Controllers PlayStation control pad · Analog Joystick · Dual Analog · DualShock · Sixaxis · PlayStation Motion Controller Third-party controllers neGcon · Jogcon · Guncon Cameras EyeToy · PlayStation Eye · Go!Cam Kits Net Yaroze · Linux for PS2 · Linux for PS3 · PlayTV System software PS3 · PSP · XrossMediaBar Media Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (US PS1 & PS2) · PlayStation: The Official Magazine (US PS3) · Official UK PlayStation Magazine (UK PS1) · Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine (UK PS2) · PlayStation Official Magazine (UK PS3) · Kevin Butler (US Commercials)