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The PlayStation Turns 20

Posted by Soulskill on from the and-now-you-feel-old dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The 3rd of December marks an auspicious date in gaming history: 20 years ago today, the very first PlayStation went on sale in Japan. In that time, Sony has successfully muscled its way into the gaming scene, and seen off a few rivals as well. In a new retrospective, a writer looks back at how Sony's console series has changed gaming, from introducing the DVD and the Blu-ray disc to innovations like the second screen PocketStation and the still untapped power of Remote Play and Gaikai game streaming.

7 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. "second screen" innovation by GerbilSoft · · Score: 5, Insightful

    innovations like the second screen PocketStation

    Not only was PocketStation released after Sega's VMU, it doesn't even function as a second screen. Both devices plug into the memory card slot, but while the Dreamcast's memory card slot is in the controller (which makes the screen usable while playing games), the PlayStation's memory card slot is in the console.

    Nice try attempting to rewrite history in Sony's favor.

    1. Re:"second screen" innovation by GerbilSoft · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Added bonus from the actual article:

      18) Introduced touch controls on a console controller Mobile gaming has clearly had some form of influence over the latest generation of consoles, and it’s most evident with the PS4’s DualShock 4, which includes a touchpad on the face for swiping and pointing with your fingers, and who knows what else in the future.

      Yes, PS4 was the first console with touch controls on the controller. There definitely wasn't a system released a year before with a controller based around a 6" touchscreen. Definitely not.

    2. Re:"second screen" innovation by GerbilSoft · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is more a criticism of the terrible article, not Sony themselves. There's all sorts of other errors in the article, e.g. assertions that HDMI is required for HD (it isn't) and that Bluray holds 33 GB (dual-layer discs hold 50), plus mentioning that PS3 online play is free while conveniently leaving out the fact that PS4 online play isn't.

      ...and now I look at who wrote the article: Red Bull. Definitely a reliable go-to source for video game news.

    3. Re:"second screen" innovation by GerbilSoft · · Score: 4, Informative

      I was actually referring to component video (YPbPr) and VGA, the former of which was supported by all 7th generation consoles, and the latter supported by Xbox 360, some older consoles (Dreamcast), and pretty much all PCs manufactured since the late 1980s. Believe it or not, it *is* possible to get HD using analog video connections.

      The fact that PS4 only has HDMI doesn't mean it's not possible to get HD using other video interfaces.

    4. Re:"second screen" innovation by GerbilSoft · · Score: 3, Informative

      Clarification: The fact that PS4 only has HDMI doesn't mean it's not possible to get HD using other video interfaces on *other* devices, e.g. the PS3.

  2. Holy fandom, Batman! by damn_registrars · · Score: 3, Insightful

    innovations like the second screen PocketStation and the still untapped power of Remote Play and Gaikai game streaming.

    The PocketStation was never released outside Japan and most playstation owners have likely never even heard of it, let alone have made use of it. And when you go in to "still untapped power", you venture deep into slashvertisement territory.

    I know there are tons of Sony fanboys here on slashdot, but this is a bit absurd.

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  3. Re:It increased gamers' average age by Dogtanian · · Score: 3, Funny

    We played our video games with ONE JOYSTICK and ONE RED BUTTON!

    You had a joystick *and* a button? Luxury! I used to *dream* of having a joystick. I only had a disconnected joystick cable and I'd control it by making the connections with my tongue.

    And the button wire was missing. And I didn't have any games. Or a computer.

    But you know, I were happy in those days, even though I was poor.

    (FWIW, I was still using that type of one-button Atari-format joystick on my Amiga until the mid-90s when the Amiga died altogether as a mainstream format and I was losing interest in games anyway. That was probably the point at which the "classic" one-button 9-pin Atari stick died(?); I don't count the Mega Drive/Genesis controller, as that had three buttons even though it used the 9-pin Atari connector and was sort-of-compatible).

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