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Today marks an extraordinary milestone for gaming enthusiasts worldwide: It is PlayStation’s 30th anniversary. First launched in 1994, this console has created one of the most successful and influential video game brands seen as a potentially experimental endeavor.
PlayStation developed from a venture of Nintendo and Sony to produce a CD-ROM peripheral for the Super Nintendo game. Nevertheless, a one-night standover forced Sony to undertake this endeavor alone; PlayStation happened with Ken Kutaragi in tow. PlayStation benefited from creative developers with Sony Music having an unorthodox strategy of treating PlayStation as a record for the music.
Having quality 3D graphics, CD quality sound and brilliant titled screens, the PS1 was not only a games machine but the start of the gaming revolution. While competitors such as Nintendo set their focus on the family, PlayStation embraced counter-culture attracting older gamers with mature, edgy themes.
Starting from the techno futuristic music of WipEout and finishing with the great adventures of Tomb Raider, many console games have become remarkable. The tags continued to reinforce its identity from other great marketing post-modernist campaigns like the surreal one from the UK known as “Mental Wealth”.
PlayStation also brought in some of the greatest characters and games we have ever seen. Lara Croft emerged in front of the viewers, the favourite of tabloids, changing the course of the cooperation between games and mass media. At the same time, the famous games are Tekken, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Crash Bandicoot, etc. Every game offered theatrical moments, which meant millions of people left the games with their memories.
The PS1 was not just a gaming platform. No, it was more like a statement of the lifestyle. Seen in nightclubs and appreciated for its advanced technology it symbolized the modern way of entertainment in the 90s. It surpassed rivals and placed Sony on the firm ground of the gaming market.
When it began 30 years ago, we could not have imagined how much PlayStation would change and grow alongside all of us. The journey of the PlayStation spanning from its first generation model the PS1 to the records breaking PS5 is one of the classic cases that show how the brand has had to evolve into equipping gamers with a product with a gaming experience that sustains the generational divide among the gamers. Cheers to 30 years of gaming history and the countless adventures still to come.
