Playstation 20th Anniversary

[Havok83]

As of today, September 9, 2010, it will have been 15 years since Sony first launched their first Playstation in North America. To celebrate, they've set up a new site, highlighting the history of their brand

http://us.playstation.com/go/15thanniversary/

15th Anniversary​

On September 9, 1995 the original PlayStation® made its debut in North America, revolutionizing the gaming industry and forever altering consumer entertainment experiences. 15 years later, PlayStation is still bringing groundbreaking new innovations into the home and on the go, and is once again redefining entertainment for a new generation of consumers with the introduction of PlayStation® Move and stereoscopic 3D games. Let’s celebrate PlayStation's rich heritage and continued innovation for many years to come. ​

The 5 most popular Sony characters:

And the PS timeline:

 

[Solidus]

Jeeze it seems like yesterday when I got my PSX on 9-9-95. I'll always remember the Promotions, and the cards that simply had:

Are you E ?

I remember when we looked at it my cousin screams : "Are you red e....ready? Get it." ahhh the old days.

 

[Brother Jack]

Happy Birthday. They've been through their ups and downs, but the first Playstation (and for that matter the PS2) are still great systems.

I remember first starting up Final Fantasy VII like it was yesterday...

 

[Mister J]

Wow. It's been a whirlwind 15 years.

I still remember being ridiculously excited over finally getting my hands on this thing. Logging way too much time on Street Fighter: The Movie and that sampler disc. Good times.

 

[Solidus]

Oh yes the Sampler disk.

So many memories. I remember October 25th at night sitting out in the cold up here in Montana, with 600 dollars in my pocket, and I remember I was 10th in line. I remember later the Wal-Mart manager came out and gave us each laments that had the PS2 silver symbol with the awesome blue backdrop. I remember he said: "All we have is 35 units and you guys get one." I remember as 6:30 in the morning came, (they were not selling them till 7:00AM) there were over 300 people in line. They called the cops in case anything bad happened. And I remember running in there grabbing my console, TimeSplitters, SSX, and Teken Tag Tournament. A vertical stand, another controller, and the DVD remote.

I got my PSX in 95 at K-Mart, I remember there were no lines at the time for that.

Ahhh and Sony still rocks the house.

 

[Havok83]

Anniversary video:

From the PS Blog

As many of you are already aware, today marks a monumental milestone for gamers in North America. Fifteen years ago, the original PlayStation console was introduced, forever altering the entertainment experience for our loyal PlayStation fans and revolutionizing the video game industry. In order to celebrate our 15-year anniversary with you, we are launching a new category on the PlayStation Store (look under New Releases) that will hold classic content in PlayStation’s history.

Today, we’re kicking off the celebration with a sale on Super Rub ‘a’ Dub. How does this fit into PlayStation’s history? Well some of you may not know that the ducks in Super Rub ‘a’ Dub were used in a tech demo at E3 2005 to show the processing power of the PlayStation 3. Along with Super Rub ‘a’ Dub, we will also have a sale on Suikoden, an iconic RPG from Konami that launched within the first year of the PlayStation’s release. Finally, be sure to check out a free anniversary theme available for the PlayStation 3 and PSP.

The celebration doesn’t stop after today! We will continue to add content onto the anniversary section of the PlayStation Store. Thank you again for your continued support and we look forward to celebrating this milestone with you.

And check these pics out

 

[Mister J]

I could go for a couple of those cupcakes.

I believe I've sported the MGS 4 theme long enough. Might be going PS 15 Anniversary style.

 

[Havok83]

Wow, Ive owned every single one of Sony's 4 consoles. Ive been along for the ride, all 15 years. I turned 12 in Oct of 1995 and got my uncle to buy me the orignal PS1 as a bday gift. My first 3 games were Mortal Kombat 3, Battle Arena Toshinden and Street Fighter the Movie. I remember getting them about a week before my system and couldnt wait to finally play them. The launch lineup mustn't ahve been too good for me to have only gotten fighting games...lol

 

[Superhero 101]

Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday Dear Playstation, Happy Birthday To You!!!!
Love your Avvy Havoc

 

[Timstuff]

Happy birthday, Playstation. Here's hoping the next 15 years are awesome too.

 

[Casius--J]

Wow I can't believe its been 15 years already, i think I might have to go ahead and download that theme. I've had all four of their consoles and I hope they continue to do well.

 

[Havok83]

You think they'd surprise us all with continuing the celebration by adding PS2 games to the store? That would be crazy if they did that on the 10th anniversary of the day the system launched Oct. 26, 2010

 

[Electro UK]

I've had every PS console too, Hav. The franchise has given me Metal Gear, Crash Bandicoot, Shadow of the Colossus, Uncharted, Jak and Daxter, and so SO much more. I've really loved the last 15 years.

 

[Havok83]

I love the official graphic and how it has almost every Playstation system and main accesory. They even have the Pocketstation on there. The only significant thing I see missing is the PSX, which never made it outside of Japan

 

[ProjectPat2280]

So what are they giving us for supporting them over 15 years?

 

[Havok83]

So what are they giving us for supporting them over 15 years?

They added a new section to the PSN store. It looks like they will be adding new things to it every week

 

[Mister J]

A free theme on PSN, a few videos and some tasty-looking cupcakes that I'll apparently never get my hands on.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Hm, so this celebration more along the lines of 'hey, look at us, we've been here for 15 yrs, keep buying our s**t', rather than thanks for supporting us, heres a month of PSN+ for free or heres a code redeemable for a free PSN store item?

 

[Solidus]

Hm, so this celebration more along the lines of 'hey, look at us, we've been here for 15 yrs, keep buying our s**t', rather than thanks for supporting us, heres a month of PSN+ for free or heres a code redeemable for a free PSN store item?

Uhhhhh yea, why the hell should they give us anything? They have given me thousands of hours of entertainment, games, variety, and just pure fun for 15 years. And they are celebrating that.....I don't see why they need a reason to give you something to ..."keep you around". Most are celebrating because they have been enjoying their product for 15 years.

 

[Havok83]

Hm, so this celebration more along the lines of 'hey, look at us, we've been here for 15 yrs, keep buying our s**t', rather than thanks for supporting us, heres a month of PSN+ for free or heres a code redeemable for a free PSN store item?

The site JUST went up. This isnt a one week thing. They will be adding to and updating as the weeks go on with discounts and free content. They really dont have to do anything but its a nice gesture that they are

 

[Karelia]

The original Playstation console was the first console I ever owned. I LOVED IT. Crash Bandicoot/NFL Blitz were the first games I played on it. Then I got Spyro and after awhile Final Fantasy VII. Many good memories from it. When the PS2 came out I got it as well. And now my bro has a PS3 and I love it.

Can't believe how much time has flown by already.

 

[Havok83]

Here are some failed PS logo designs

http://playstationlifestyle.net/2010/09/09/what-the-playstation-logo-could-have-been/

And Origins Behind the Original PS Controller design

The original PlayStation, which launched in the U.S. in 1995, changed the gaming business forever. The console's designer recently offered the story behind the device--and its controller.

Teiyu Goto told Japan's Famitsu magazine that he started working on the PlayStation in 1993. (The article was translated into English by game site 1up.com.)

Goto said that Sony was looking for a simple look for its console, which caused the design team to build the "basic box with a circle on top for the CD-ROM." All in all, he said, the console's design was "a relatively easy design process."
The controller was a different issue.

According to Goto, Sony was concerned that its controller not "be a radical departure" from the controller available on the SNES, the popular console at the time. But Goto didn't see it that way. He delivered a concept with grips and a control stick that, at first glance, Sony execs didn't like.

"They told me that the grip design was simply no good, that gamers wouldn't like it," Goto said. But after further inspection, then-Sony-President Norio Ohga decided he liked the design and chose to go with it.​

Once the familiar controller's design was ready, Goto had to determine what to put on the familiar diamond-arranged buttons. His decision to pick the triangle, circle, X, and square was well thought out.

"The triangle refers to viewpoint; I had it represent one's head or direction and made it green," Goto said. "Square refers to a piece of paper; I had it represent menus or documents and made it pink. The circle and X represent 'yes' or 'no' decision-making and I made them red and blue respectively."​

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20014786-17.html#ixzz0zEmiX3iu​

​

 

[TimBisley]

The logo they ultimately went with is much better than any of those other concepts.

 

[Havok83]

According to VGchartz, here are the 15 best selling PS games of all time

http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/81962/the-15-best-selling-playstation-games-of-all-time/

September 9 represents the 15 year anniversary of the original PlayStation released in North America. Included below are the top 15 games sold for any PlayStation system in ascending order from least successful worldwide to most successful. Units in millions sold worldwide.

15.Crash Bandicoot (PS) 6.80
In last place, Crash Bandicoot. The first installment of the Crash Bandicoot series.


14. Tekken 3 (PS) 6.91
Next to last, Tekken 3. This installment changed the movement for each character from Tekken 2, reducing the jump height and adding focus to the third axis.


13. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS) 7.12
A direct sequel from Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. Featuring Crash and Coco as they travel back in time.


12. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS) 7.57
The third Naughty Dog presentation on our list. Crash is again abducted by Dr. Neo Cortex and crash must keep the planet from being destroyed.


11. Final Fantasy VIII: (PS) 7.86
The first Final Fantasy title to consistently use realistically proportioned characters.

10. Final Fantasy X: (PS2) 7.95
This installment of Final Fantasy featured for the first time fully 3-D areas, voice acting, a new Conditional Turn Based Battle system, and a new Sphere Grid leveling system.

9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: (PS3) 8.52
A direct sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, following the same storyline.

8. Gran Turismo 2: (PS) 9.37
The least popular Gran Turismo title on our list, this sequel offered more cars (650) than any other game at the time.

7. Final Fantasy VII: (PS) 9.72
This was the first Final Fantasy in the series to use fully 3-D modeled characters against pre-rendered backgrounds. Originally developed for the SNES, Final Fantasy in later developments of the game required more storage capacity, which was available on the PlayStation.

6. Gran Turismo 4: (PS2) 10.56
One of only two titles on the PlayStation 2 to offer 1080i output. The other is Tourist Trophy, also by Polyphony. The game features 700 cars ranging from the 1886 Daimler Motor Carriage to concept cars slated for 2022 development.

5. Gran Turismo: (PS) 10.85
This Racing Sim spawned over 10 spin-offs and sequels and took over 5 years to develop.

4. Grand Theft Auto III: 11.60
The first 3-D title in the Grand Theft Auto series.

3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: (PS2) 14.20
A sandbox style game which borrows from many different styles of game to create a large world in which the user has a lot of control over their experience.

2. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec: (PS2) 14.89
Released early in the PlayStation 2's lifetime, the number of cars were limited from the game to make room for graphics and audio improvements. New to the game, unlicensed versions of Formula One cars were available to unlock.

1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: (PS2) 18.43
Our winner! No doubt owing much of the game's commercial success to the outcry over the "Hot Coffee" sex minigame, causing the game briefly to be rated for Adults Only and pulled from U.S. shelves only to be re-issued a 'Mature' rating.

 

[StrainedEyes]

I'm using the free Anniversary theme on my PS3.