History of PlayStation

This article is about the PlayStation brand. For the 1994 console, see PlayStation (console). For other uses, see PlayStation (disambiguation). PlayStation (Japanese: プレイステーション, Hepburn: Pureisutēshon, officially abbreviated as PS) is a Japanese video game brand that consists of five home video game consoles, as well as a media center, an online service, a line of controllers, two handhelds and a phone, as well as multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a division of Sony; the first PlayStation console was released in Japan in December 1994, and worldwide the following year.

The original console in the series was the first console of any type to ship over 100 million units, doing so in under a decade. Its successor, the PlayStation 2, was released in 2000. The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling home console to date, having reached over 155 million units sold by the end of 2012. Sony's next console, the PlayStation 3, was released in 2006, selling over 87.4 million units by March 2017. Sony's latest console, the PlayStation 4, was released in 2013, selling a million units within a day, becoming the fastest selling console in history. The next console in the series, the PlayStation 5, was released in 2020.

The first handheld game console in the series, the PlayStation Portable or PSP, sold a total of 80 million units worldwide by November 2013. Its successor, the PlayStation Vita, which launched in Japan in December 2011 and in most other major territories in February 2012, selling over four million units by January 2013. PlayStation TV is a microconsole and a non-portable variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. Other hardware released as part of the PlayStation series includes the PSX, a digital video recorder which was integrated with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, though it was short lived due to its high price and was never released outside Japan, as well as a Sony Bravia television set which has an integrated PlayStation 2. The main series of controllers utilized by the PlayStation series is the DualShock, which is a line of vibration-feedback gamepad having sold 28 million controllers by June 2008.

PlayStation 2
"PS2" redirects here. For the lineup of IBM computers, see IBM Personal System/2. For the port, see PS/2 port. For other uses, see PS2 (disambiguation). The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000, in North America on October 26, 2000, in Europe on November 24, 2000, and Australia on November 24, 2000. It is the successor to the original PlayStation, as well as the second installment in the PlayStation console line-up. A sixth-generation console, it competed with Sega's Dreamcast, Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft's original Xbox.

Announced in 1999, the PS2 offered backward-compatibility for its predecessor's DualShock controller, as well as its games. The PS2 is the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold over 155 million units worldwide. Over 3,800 game titles have been released for the PS2, with over 1.5 billion copies sold. Sony later manufactured several smaller, lighter revisions of the console known as Slimline models in 2004.

Even with the release of its successor, the PlayStation 3, the PS2 remained popular well into the seventh generation, and continued to be produced until 2013, when Sony finally announced it had been discontinued after over twelve years of production—one of the longest lifespans of a video game console. Despite the announcement, new games for the console continued to be produced until the end of 2013, including Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin for Japan, FIFA 13 for North America, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 for Europe. Repair services for the system in Japan ended on September 7, 2018.

PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3 Original PlayStation 3 logo

New PlayStation 3 logo

Original model

Slim model

Super Slim model

Top: Original PlayStation 3 (2006)

Center: PlayStation 3 Slim (2009)

Bottom: PlayStation 3 Super Slim (2012)

Also known as	PS3 (abbreviation)

Developer	Sony Computer Entertainment

Manufacturer	Sony, Foxconn, Asus[1]

Product family	PlayStation

Type	Home video game console

Generation	Seventh generation

Release date

JP: November 11, 2006; 14 years ago

NA: November 17, 2006; 13 years ago

PAL: March 23, 2007; 13 years ago

Lifespan	2006–2017

Introductory price	US$499.99 (20 GB model)

US$599.99 (60 GB model)

Discontinued

NZ: September 29, 2015

EU: March 2016

AU: March 2016

NA: October 2016

JP: May 29, 2017

Units shipped	87.4 million

(as of March 31, 2017)[2]

Media

Blu-ray Disc (PlayStation 3 game disc & movie disc)

DVD

Compact Disc

PlayStation game disc

PlayStation 2 game disc (1st and 2nd generations only)

Super Audio CD (1st and 2nd generations only)[3]

Video CD & Super Video CD (PS3 Slim & Super Slim variant only)

Digital distribution

Operating system	PlayStation 3 system software[4][5]

CPU	3.2 GHz Cell Broadband Engine with 1 PPE and 8 SPEs

Memory	256 MB XDR DRAM system and 256 MB GDDR3 video

Storage

Removable 2.5-inch SATA hard drive (20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB, 120 GB, 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB or 500 GB included) (user upgradable to a 1 TB readable partition)

Non-removable 12 GB NAND flash memory (Super Slim only, can be replaced with a hard drive)

Display

Video output formats[show]

Graphics	550 MHz Nvidia/SCEI RSX Reality Synthesizer

Sound

Audio output formats[show]

Controller input	Sixaxis, DualShock 3, DualShock 4, Logitech Driving Force GT, Logitech Cordless Precision Controller, standard USB controllers, GT Force, rhythm game controllers, PlayStation Move, PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Remote Control, GunCon 3, PlayStation Portable, Wonderbook, PlayStation Vita, keyboard and mouse

Connectivity

(details)[show]

Online services	PlayStation Network

Backward

compatibility

PlayStation (all models)

PlayStation 2 (20 GB, 60 GB and some (CECHCxx) 60 GB and (CECHExx) 80 GB models)

Predecessor	PlayStation 2

Successor	PlayStation 4

Website	playstation.com/explore/ps3

The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006 in Japan,[7] November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 23, 2007 in Europe and Australia.[8][9][10] The PlayStation 3 competed primarily against Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.

The console was first officially announced at E3 2005, and was released at the end of 2006. It was the first console to use Blu-ray Disc as its primary storage medium.[11] The console was the first PlayStation to integrate social gaming services, including the PlayStation Network, as well as the first to be controllable from a handheld console, through its remote connectivity with PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita.[12][13][14] In September 2009, the Slim model of the PlayStation 3 was released. It no longer provided the hardware ability to run PS2 games. It was lighter and thinner than the original version, and featured a redesigned logo and marketing design, as well as a minor start-up change in software. A Super Slim variation was then released in late 2012, further refining and redesigning the console.

During its early years, the system was negatively received, due to its high price ($599 for a 60-gigabyte model, $499 for a 20 GB model), a complex processor architecture, and lack of quality games but was praised for its Blu-ray capabilities and "untapped potential". The reception would get more positive over time. The system had a slow start in the market[15] but managed to recover, particularly after the introduction of the Slim model. Its successor, the PlayStation 4, was released later in November 2013. On September 29, 2015, Sony confirmed that sales of the PlayStation 3 were to be discontinued in New Zealand, but the system remained in production in other markets.[16] Shipments of new units to Europe and Australia ended in March 2016, followed by North America which ended in October 2016.[17][18] Heading into 2017, Japan was the last territory where new units were still being produced until May 29, 2017, when Sony confirmed the PlayStation 3 was discontinued in Japan.[17][18][19][20][21]

PlayStation 4
"PS4" redirects here. For other uses, see PS4 (disambiguation). The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013 in North America, November 29, 2013 in Europe, South America and Australia, and on February 22, 2014 in Japan. A console of the eighth generation, it competes with Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii U and Switch.

Moving away from the more complex Cell microarchitecture of its predecessor, the console features an AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) built upon the x86-64 architecture, which can theoretically peak at 1.84 teraflops; AMD stated that it was the "most powerful" APU it had developed to date. The PlayStation 4 places an increased emphasis on social interaction and integration with other devices and services, including the ability to play games off-console on PlayStation Vita and other supported devices ("Remote Play"), the ability to stream gameplay online or to friends, with them controlling gameplay remotely ("Share Play"). The console's controller was also redesigned and improved over the PlayStation 3, with improved buttons and analog sticks, and an integrated touchpad among other changes. The console also supports HDR10 High-dynamic-range video and playback of 4K resolution multimedia.

The PlayStation 4 was released to critical acclaim, with critics praising Sony for acknowledging its consumers' needs, embracing independent game development, and for not imposing the restrictive digital rights management schemes like those originally announced by Microsoft for the Xbox One. Critics and third-party studios, before its launch, also praised the capabilities of the PlayStation 4 in comparison to its competitors; developers described the performance difference between the console and Xbox One as "significant" and "obvious". Heightened demand also helped Sony top global console sales. By October 2019, PS4 became the second best-selling home game console of all time, behind the PlayStation 2.

PlayStation 5
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"PS5" redirects here. For other uses, see PS5 (disambiguation). The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced in 2019 as the successor to the PlayStation 4, the PS5 was released on November 12, 2020 in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, and is set to launch on November 19, 2020 for the rest of the world.

The platform launched in two varieties: a base model with an Ultra HD Blu-ray-compatible optical disc drive, and a Digital Edition lacking this drive, serving as a lower-cost variant for consumers who prefer to buy games through digital download.

The PlayStation 5 has a solid-state drive customized for high-speed data streaming to enable significant improvements in graphical performance. It has a custom AMD GPU capable of ray tracing, 4K resolution display at up to 120 frames per second, 3D audio effects, and backward compatibility with most PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR games.

PlayStation 6
Not to be confused with PS7 The PlayStation 6(PS, commonly known as the PS1 or its codename PSX) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released on November 3rd 2027 in Japan, 9 September 2028 in North America, October 30th 2028 in Europe, and 15 November 2028 in Australia, and was the first of the PlayStation6 lineup of video game consoles. As a fifth generation console, the PlayStation6 primarily competed with the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn.

Development of the console began after a failed venture with Nintendo to create a CD-ROM for their Super Famicom in the early 1990s. Game production for the console was designed to be streamlined and inclusive, enticing the support of many third-party developers. In July 2000, a redesigned, slim version called the PS6 was released, replacing the original grey console and named appropriately to avoid confusion with its successor, the PlayStation 7

The PlayStation6 signalled Sony's rise to power in the video game industry. Its release elicited both critical acclaim and impressive sales: it eventually became the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship over 100 million units, doing so in under a decade. The PlayStation's use of compact discs (s) heralded the game industry's transition from cartridges. Games for the PlayStation continued to sell until Sony ceased production of both the PlayStation and its games on 5th December 2038– over eleven years after it had been released, and less than a year before the debut of the PlayStation 7 Over 7,918 games were released for the console over its lifespan, with cumulative sales of 962 million units.