Born from betrayal and revenge, the PSX became something far more important than a Nintendo rival
As the world awaits the announcement of the PlayStation 4, CVG is running a special three-part article that looks through the defining moments of in PlayStation history.
- Monday - The PlayStation One Revolution
- Tuesday - The Towering Triumph of PlayStation 2
- Wednesday - PlayStation 3 versus the world
Then, today at 6pm Eastern Time (11pm UK) we will stream live video of the PlayStation Meeting right here.
Timeline: Revolution PS1
June 1991: Nintendo's Betrayal
At the Consumer Electronics Show in June 1991, Sony businessman Ken Kutaragi revealed a new kind of games console that his team had built in partnership with Nintendo. Conceptually, it was a SNES with a CD drive - a simple idea with staggering potential. But the business agreement itself was far more complex, as both companies were divided on how they would split the revenue.
Just one day after Sony's announcement, Nintendo publicly declared that it was building its SNES-CD console exclusively with electronics firm Philips. This was the first time Sony heard it was no longer in business with Nintendo.
Humiliated and outraged, the corporation's executives decided to not back out of games, and immediately it refocused efforts on building its own console - a 32bit system that would read not cartridges, but Compact Discs.
1991-92: Kutaragi's Struggle
To his surprise, Kutaragi faced immediate internal resistance. Many Sony execs, grounded as they were in the corporation's traditions, did not endorse investment in the interactive entertainment sector. Video games were, certainly at that time, perceived by many as a toy business - faddish in concept and only appropriate for children and teens.
Four years later, Kutaragi would have proved these naysayers wrong in the most perfect way imaginable. But in January '92, there was no such means to convince the business. At an investor meeting that month, Kutaragi publicly confessed: "There is no consensus within Sony about why we are engaged in this business".
And it was perhaps Ohga's brooding anger over Nintendo's betrayal that saved the project. According to an account of the meeting by Edge, Kutaragi asked Ohga:
"Are you going to sit back and accept what Nintendo did to us?"
The chairman replied. "There's no hope of making further progress with a Nintendo-compatible 16bit machine. Let's chart our own course."
[Further reading: The making of PlayStation - EDGE]
1993: Revolution From Within
It's important to understand how this happened when looking back at why, in 1993, Sony was already gaining serious support from the development industry without even a console to show off.
Nintendo, the biggest player in town, charged infamously high royalty rates, had a certification process that lasted two months, and enjoyed a huge slice of software sales with its own must-have SNES games that drowned out the competition.
Among the growing number of PlayStation partners was Namco, a company that had left Harrison dumbfounded during his tour of the studio in 1994. Presenting its demo of Ridge Racer, it was clear that Namco had very quickly got to grips with the PlayStation hardware.
"I remember realising that was going to be pivotal piece of software for the west in particular," Harrison told Edge years later.
But there was something else that was shown, Harrison explained: "It was almost an afterthought. One of the men demonstrating Ridge Racer asked, since I was there, would I like them to show me another game they're working on? 'Yeah sure', I said. 'What's it called?' 'It's called Tekken'."
Comments
32 comments so far...
toaplan on 18 Feb '13 said:
For all of Sony's innovativeness, as a newcomer, they took a lot of cues from Sega and Nintendo. The design of the PS1 console is insipired by the Super Famicom, especially the joypad... even the A/V output jack is the same. They studied Sega's marketing, who were the pioneers of "edgy" and cool video game advertising, although Sony's marketing was more sophisticated and aimed at a broader audience. Sega of America's boss Tom Kalinske was also an advocate of the "razor and blades" business model and price cuts were an important part of the marketing of the Genesis / Mega Drive. The arcadey early lineup of the PS1 (Ridge Racer, TohShinDen, Tekken, WipeOut etc.) also seemed somewhat Sega-esque. As for Crash Bandicoot...
Osiris25 on 18 Feb '13 said:
Its always funny that crucial parts of the story are missed out when discussing the Nintendo Sony saga. Nintendo did indeed back stab Sony but they also had reasons too. The truth was Sony were concerned about Nintendo's raising status and financial boom and wanted to cash in on this to stop their rise (it should be noted that companies pecking order has a major part to play in Japanese business at that time). The deal they wanted to push through with Nintendo was to mean they got all the profit from the CD based game sales and a share of the Cartridge sales as well, and they could license the Snes/CD combo to whoever they wanted (which understandable Nintendo would not have wanted) Hence Nintendo quickly backed out and teamed up with Philips. Finally Nintendo Sony and Philips agreed to work together on the format but it didn't take long for that to fail and they all went there separate ways. There is some video game history that sadly often gets missed and shows why both Nintendo and Sony had cause to battle each other in the future console wars. It was documented in a book released just after the incident called "Game Over". A damn could read.
El Mag on 18 Feb '13 said:
One of my lasting impressions of the original PlayStation, and one a few here have no doubt witnessed, was having to do this when you wanted to play a game....
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QztadwQ4Z4E/R11ZrVexojI/AAAAAAAAADg/UzfEkOhigHM/s320/DSC00848.JPG
Apart from that it was all good. Even that weird Jumping Flash game.
sammikid on 18 Feb '13 said:
I'm a Sony fan and this article clearly demonstrates why.
Long Live Play!
a_adji on 18 Feb '13 said:
I use to love the Sony brand but I have moved away and yet stories like this and their new phone are making re-think yet again.
CVG, I always clown you guys for your trolling of Nintendo stories etc but although I and many people know the story, this was a bloody good read that makes me appreciate what they did.
ghuk on 18 Feb '13 said:
Still to this day I remember parting with my hard earned cash for one of the first Jap imported PS1's with a step down power convertor, RGB lead + copies of Toshinden & Ridge Racer. It was probably the first time that you could have 3D style arcade games in your house and it literally blew me away.
jaycee900 on 18 Feb '13 said:
Btw Tomb Raider was a Sega Saturn game before being ported to Playstation.
DoomGuy84 on 18 Feb '13 said:
I was a Mega Drive/SNES owner when the PS1 was released but when my mate (the spoilt kid of the class) got a PS1 not long after it came out and invited me around to play on it i never looked back. Just the games being on CD was amazing to me and Playstation was just very cool at that time. It sort of defined the 90's for me - videogames and music (Wipeout soundtrack anyone?
)
DoomGuy84 on 18 Feb '13 said:
Having Ridge Racer and Sega Rally was like having your own arcade in your house! Amazing times.
djreplay on 18 Feb '13 said:
I think they should bring back the line "Do not underestimate the power of PlayStation"
toaplan on 18 Feb '13 said:
I also imported both the PS1, with Ridge Racer - and the Saturn, with Virtua Fighter - in December 1994. I got the Saturn first, as it was released about 2 weeks earlier (late November) in Japan. At the time, I had already been playing next gen games like Need for Speed and Road Rash on the 3DO and Doom on a 486 PC, so it wasn't like going suddenly from SNES / MD games to cutting-edge PSX / Saturn games. But I was nevertheless also blown away by Virtua Fighter and the even more stunning Ridge Racer. Both were near-perfect conversions of high-end 3D coin-ops and the visual crispness and fluidity of motion of the games was clearly a step above anything on the 3DO or PC. Definitely one of the best gaming Xmases ever.
Buying a console at launch has its disadvantages, costs and risks - but a big console launch is always a special occasion and being an early adopter makes it all the more memorable.
Stan_Goodspeed on 18 Feb '13 said:
That PSone boot up sound... Man, that really defines late 90's gaming to me. Memories...
Funkymonk on 18 Feb '13 said:
Metal Gear Solid, FF7, Resident Evil, Soul Reaver, Wipeout, Tomb Raider. Great console.
dwhlufc on 18 Feb '13 said:
That was a fantastic read, nice one, Rob.
Out of all the systems I've owned I think I have the fondest memories of gaming with my PS1. There's way to many games to list but ill never forget the first time I played Wipeout 2097 and thinking how is this even possible outside of an arcade! It just blew me away and totally changed the way I viewed games as just something to do to burn time and into something I wanted to make time for.
Bambis Dad on 18 Feb '13 said:
Am I going to have to be the fly in the ointment again? Normally I'd take it like fly to the proverbial ointment but I still can't stand the PS1. It might have been a massive success but to me it took gaming too mainstream. Many of the complaints levelled at Nintendo during the Wii's life are the same that were brought up first during the PS1's life. It might have been better for third parties but I never got all the fuss.
richomack360 on 18 Feb '13 said:
Freeze Time !!!!!
Great article - Nintendo making dodgy decisions is nothing new people...
thelazyone on 19 Feb '13 said:
+1
Well done dude, good post and ive read that book tooo
Dalaeck on 19 Feb '13 said:
Nice article, I have to agree with Bambis Dad, I rapidly found the games on the PS1 to be veering away from the types of games I enjoyed. Gaming really appealed to intellectuals in the SNES/Genesis era and while there always were "dumb" games the PS1 really took this to a new level and hit the mass market in force. I drifted away from consoles and onto the PC with the new breed of "real time strategy" and "diablo" just dawning. I hardly see the PS1 as a golden age, if anything it was a prelude to the PS2 which further marginalized what I enjoyed (and I subsequently essentially stopped playing consoles all together). The irony is the wii brought me back into the console fold, largely due to its rejection of graphics and focus on gameplay.
liveswired on 19 Feb '13 said:
Who here said Sony took all their marketing from Sega? lol.
I didn't see any 'Sony do what Nintendon't' ads.
Sega's advertising was certainly not edgy and cool - it was immature and childish aimed at young boys and primarily focussed on taking the p**s out of Nintendo - this probably looked mature to children. Sega changed this after Sony showed them how to do it with the Playstation brand.
Funny how all the Sega fanboys try to claim all ideas were Sega's first. Perhaps this train of thought stems from those early 90s Sega Ads.
EvilWaterman on 19 Feb '13 said:
Compelling reading! God i'm pumped for tomorrow!
Trouble is, after the hype, we have the long old wait for release!
richomack360 on 19 Feb '13 said:
You telling me the Cyber Razor Cut is childish ?
You sir are a cad and a bounder and most unwelcome at the Country Club for that remark. Shame on you and you can collect your own gloves and hat from reception.
Reegeee on 19 Feb '13 said:
I loved the PS1. Thing I remember most about it was that tech demo it had in it that reacted to music cds you put in. It was like a fish that would swim around and change colour.
Then you have Destruction Derby, Wipeout and the best version of Doom ever released. ISS on the PS1 was just superb aswell.
toaplan on 19 Feb '13 said:
Who said their marketing and ads were meant to appear "mature" (i.e. boring). No, Sega's image was the opposite... youthful, playful and audacious with as much energy and attitude as Sonic himself. It was perfect for the early '90s, an era of change, and was quite a departure from the boring old safe "family entertainment" of Nintendo and Atari in the '80s.
Here's a good article detailing the key role of marketing in Sega's success with the Genesis / Mega Drive:
http://www.sega-16.com/2006/08/marketin ... 1989-1996/
"If we can attribute the incredible growth Sega experienced during the early 1990s to a single factor, it would definitely have to be advertising."...
"Welcome to the next level TV ad":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnR1PUoa14
Cool "Moonwalker" Genesis TV ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NejE43dchj8
Joe Montana (NFL) Sega TV ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuf-1GRhKsc
Sega 32X TV ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbYkgDWAYAE
Sony similarly positioned the PS1 as the "cool" console - WipeOut and the use of trendy music being a good example. What they added was a heavy dose of the David Lynch-esque "absurd" and "weird", eventually leading to some pretty incomprehensible ads.
Osiris25 on 19 Feb '13 said:
Destruction Derby and Intelligent gaming cannot be used in the same sentence, that game was mindless and boring after 20 minutes. And the Best versions of Doom were Ultimate Doom on the PC and Doom 64. The problem is while the PlayStation is a great format but it is tarnished by the PlayStation blindness that so many of its fan suffer. It means that they don't acknowledge other great formats and their games and often claim to have the "superior" version of games when it just isn't the case.
cult on 19 Feb '13 said:
I was a dos gamer back then.
But I do remember playing friends PS1's, suddenly gaming was acceptable and not just for nerds.
Electronic gaming was back on the High St, passing the pad in front of the telly became social.
Cardboard boxes containing multiple floppy discs was going the way of betamax and little silver discs were the future.
Who knew?
Reegeee on 19 Feb '13 said:
I wouldn't be looking at games for intellectual stimulation mate. I'd look more to the arts and books for that kind of thing. Definitely not games.
Doom from the PS1 was basically Ultimate Doom from the PC but with better lighting and music. The only thing that knackers it up is playing it with a joypad. And Doom 64 was awful!
Osiris25 on 19 Feb '13 said:
Of course gaming can provide intellectual stimulation! Games with great stories and tricky puzzles provide as much if not more than books (a lot of art is paraded as intellectual but is junk and carries the intellectual banner just because its art!). Many medical professionals use games to improvement hand eye coordination and improve focus. If you play pap like Destruction Derby then there is your problem. Ultimate and Final Doom are just far better on PC than the ps1 version no matter how hard you push it. And Doom 64 was great it had some superb level design and its new twist on the visuals and sounds gave it a fresh feel. As I say "PlayStation Blindness" is at work here.
Reegeee on 19 Feb '13 said:
In my house I have a Spectrum 128k, an Atari 2600, a Megadrive, a Dreamcast, an N64, a PS3, A Wii, 360, and a half decent PC. There's no 'Sony Blindness'
, but I can see that the actual version of Doom they made for the PS1 was fantastic and had many new effects that weren't present in the PC version which made it feel more atmospheric. It just was a really good version there's no debating it. As I say, the only thing that lets it down is that you controlled it with a D Pad and strafed with the l1 r1 buttons which was horrific. I was gutted when they released the PC version of Final Doom on PSN and not the PS1 version.
And come on now! Hand eye co ordination has nothing to do with intellect! I think the most intellectual game I have played is probably Civ 2 and that is basically just a board game really. It's hardly shakespeare.
hi0marc on 19 Feb '13 said:
Autoplaying the PS1 opening bit just send shivers down my spine. As my first console, the PS1 was huge personally and I don't think my family had seen anything like it before either.
But that little tune always seemed quite eerie and spacey to my young mind.
Osiris25 on 19 Feb '13 said:
We can all list various consoles and computers it's easy to do but proves little.
Just looking at art and reading Shakespeare doesn't automatically make you intelligent by the way. Its a sad notion that people believe that you have to read and listen to classical music and enjoy art to be intelligent. Fact is is doesn't and is a sad form of elitism that many people have. Games can be intellectual and can require intelligence, you sadly have a narrow minded view about this and what equates to intellectual and intelligence.
riskyfrisky on 19 Feb '13 said:
Same here, just read the article and it auto-played as i hit page 2. Instant memories.
Bambis Dad on 19 Feb '13 said:
I never claim to be intelligent, I like gravy with me cod and chips, but PS1 was littered with lack of quality. Even MGS1, Tekken and GT did little for me as a gamer.