PlayStation is 15 years old today

By Robert Purchese Published 3 December, 2009

Celebrating with Hooch and Cat Deeley.

Sony's iconic PlayStation brand is 15 years old today, having first been unleashed in Japan on 3rd December 1994.

That grey machine changed the industry forever, although we Europeans waited until 29th September 1995 to join the revolution.

To date, the console these days referred to as PSone has shifted a colossal 125 million units around the world, a figure topped in console land only by PlayStation 2, which has sold a whopping 138m units globally.

According to Sony's corporate site, the PS3 had sold 27m units worldwide as of September 2009.

Elsewhere, Microsoft's Xbox brand has been around for eight years, whereas Nintendo has been making games since 1974 - although the launch of the NES in 1983 probably ought to be considered its true beginning.

To mark PlayStation's 15th birthday, Sony Japan has drawn a pretty picture on its website.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (43) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Stegofreak #1 2 years ago

    My girlfriend though the the PS2 was "not a big deal" and doesn't know what it looks like. Looking forward to another 15 years of Sony fueled gaming.

    EDIT: Time to start picking a favourite game from the past 15 years?
    Edited by 1 at 03/12/09 @ 16:03

  • 52pickup #2 2 years ago

    I can remember the day i got my Playstation with Tomb Raider and Pandemonium, those were the days.

  • Malek86 #3 2 years ago

    Good for you, Sony. How about we celebrate with some sweet PSN deals today?

  • NotSoSlim #4 2 years ago

    Happy b-day playstation!!

    Happy memories and many more to come!! Thanks for great and varied software over the years from 3rd party but mainly 1st party.

    1st party software is something certain companies seem to have forgotten :o)

  • gjgjg #5 2 years ago

    god i feel old now

  • Spooke #6 2 years ago

    surely the start of Nintendo was the Game & Watch series?

  • Psiloc #7 2 years ago

    Wow, the marketing colours and the logo from the original PlayStation caused some definite flashbacks here.

    Vividly remember the Christmas I got a PS.

  • drewman5150 #8 2 years ago

    Donni...oops, I mean "Messiah999" regardless of how well or not the PS3 is perceived to be doing in relation to the PS1/PS2, there is no such thing as a "paltry 27m" - if 27m people gave you a quid, you wouldn't be sitting back in your Ikea garden chair thinking "dammit, I've only got a paltry 27m quid"

    Unless you are completely hatstand that is...

    More on topic though, I remember signing the credit agreement with Toys R Us (blimey!!!) for something like £299 I think? And then playing Demolition Derby on Xmas day...rock and roll!
    Edited by 1 at 03/12/09 @ 16:56

  • feistycheese #9 2 years ago

    Cat Deeley is only 15 years old! Shit, I'm a paedo . . . .

  • knocker #10 2 years ago

    I got my first playstation in exchange for an 8mb simm. Bargain !

  • drewman5150 #11 2 years ago

    Ah, back in the day when a 4Mb SIMM was something like 200 quid...I remember buying one for my Amiga (I was going to go for 8Mb, but the wife wouldn't sell a kidney)

  • drewman5150 #12 2 years ago

    It's fair to say we got divorced soon after...

  • El-Dev #13 2 years ago

    PS was a great machine. At the end of my PS's life it had to be turned upside down and made a terrible noise but what a great machine. Only ever had one in 5/6 years of serious playtime which was impressive. They sure don't make them like they used to.

    Good to see Donnie is changing his party line for a change. Though he has updated his sales figures it appears, 2 days ago he had the PS3 @ 24m units, now he has it at 27m. Good two days for Sony then in sales terms. Also, the 360 is not this gens PS2, the closest console this gen will have to a PS2 is the Wii.
    Edited by 1 at 03/12/09 @ 17:08

  • drewman5150 #14 2 years ago

    "He's not the Messiah, he's Donnie! And he's very naughty boy!"

  • elephant_stone #15 2 years ago

    Hazza Bazza Plezza Stezza

    I remember trading in my SNES to get my PSX with Tomb Raider, Demo One & Zero Devide (couldn't afford Resi Evil) at Electronics Boutique (Game)

    Remember getting my PS2 too...with Timesplitters and Dynasty Warriors (which I actually bought a week before launch day! lol)

    Got a PSP from Japan with Riiiiiidge Racer

    Also remember PS3 launch day, getting Resistance & Motorstorm

    Happy memories (Note: I DO own other consoles!)

  • Rodriguez #16 2 years ago

    Ah the original Playstation, what a brilliant console that was!! I think some of my fondest memories of 20ish years of gaming were for that console! I remember firing it up for the first time and hearing that synth startup screen before it loaded my first PS1 game, Tekken 2. I don't think I've ever been quite so blown away, before or since, as when I first saw the opening Tekken 2 FMV sequence, it was magical and for me marked the beginning of a shift in gaming from 2D to 3D! Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy VIII were some of the best games I've ever played!

  • callum9999 #17 2 years ago

    I agree the PS3 didn't seem as good as the previous consoles, but that was because Playstation was ahead of the others. This generation, it was last to release a console which although I prefer, does pretty much the same thing as the Xbox.

    As to saying its 27m sales supports the view they lost their way, I remember seeing a comparison chart showing how the PS3 outsold the PS2 during its launch period. The PS2 has only sold so much as its been out for ages, very cheaply for most of that time period.

  • r_simsini #18 2 years ago

    The PlayStation was a poor machine that had great games. The build quality was pretty shoddy, and just like the Xbox 360 and PS3 today, there were regular common issues and faults with the hardware.

  • davisorle #19 2 years ago

    "That grey machine changed the industry forever"

    I beg to differ cause Dreamcast was not only a better machine but also gaming looked better "consolewise" ( I categorise it cause gaming was always great no matter any console. Ever since The Dig, Monkey Island etc were coming out on PC ) ever since I got to finish the first ShenMue. THAt was a step farward for the format. Ive al;ways felt sorry for the fact noone really supported Sega back then and I surely hope so that they will soon jump nack in again if possible.. Bigger chance to also make a more decent Sonic again on their own platform for apparent reasons.

    But yeah ive had so many good memmories on PS. Specially the way we wasted SO many fn hours on ISSpro back then.. and to think I never play racing nor sports more than a couple of times total cause i get lamed out easily. hell I can only TRY to remember the times my buddy would score from the middle of the stadium ( a very nasty ass bug/exploit )to catch up on score and piss me the fuck off..

  • makeamazing #20 2 years ago

    @MESSIAH999 wow Donnie in sheeps clothing.... seriously get a new record...

    Shame Sony didnt release a free PS1 game or something on the Free PSN (thats right Donnie no cost ;)... I didnt really get into Sony that much in PS1 and PS2 days, only have/had a few games, like Croc, Die Hard, Crash Bandicoot... prior to that my friends had the good old Sega systems and I had the Amiga, so i guess i didnt really catch up with games/consoles until the PS3

  • bad09 #21 2 years ago

    I got Battle Arena Toshinden and SF: The Movie with my PS1. Just a amazing machine at the time, so new, fresh, exciting. I miss the old Sony :(

    I'll never forget buzzing out my face playing WipEout and Ridge Racer at Ministry of Sound in the Playstation room. FINALLY gaming was cool! :)

    A good era for gaming and so many good games Tekken 1-3, REAL Resident Evil, Silent Hill, MGS, Syphon Filter, G-Police, Colony Wars, Oddworld, Die Hard Trilogy, Ridge Racer, Soul Edge, FFVII, an awesome port of Doom, Medal Of Honor, Jet Moto...Christ I could be here all night.

    / hugs SNES disc add on...er sorry PS1

    I don't care about machines shifted, for me Sony never bettered PS1 you just could not fault that little darling, even when you put it upside down just to load!

  • barnettbeans #22 2 years ago

    Really? I remember opening my PSone Box in August 1996. Did anyone ever take thier memory cards round a friends house? Cause I never and I had one for 5 years.

  • Razz #23 2 years ago

    "surely the start of Nintendo was the Game & Watch series?"

    Nope. They've been around since 1889.

  • chasejamie #24 2 years ago

    HaHa! Celebrate with Hooch! Classic.

  • electrolite #25 2 years ago

    Is it wrong that I love the PS2? Love it so much?

  • electrolite #26 2 years ago

    I love the PSX but only in a nostalgic, in-my-1st-year-at-uni- thing. DOOM was amazing on the PSX, after that I preferred my N64 for many years and looking back now that seems very accurate

  • madjim #27 2 years ago

    During the 80s I was a hardcore Amiga gamer, but after the fall of Commodore, I decided to take a break from gaming for some time. Then, a friend came to my house together with a bag containing Playstation and a copy of Tombraider. Next thing I did, was to go out, find a store and buy the console.

    It was a short break from gaming, but thanks to Playstation, I returned to one of humanity's most interesting hobbies!

  • neosalad #28 2 years ago

    ah. i remember getting my PSone around the launch time... getting my 10% student discount at Our Price... making it about £270 instead of £300.....and only playing the stuff on the demo disc for the first week....
    then a week later bought Wip3out.... for about £45

    ahh... the memories.

  • Scimarad #29 2 years ago

    I remember that first demo disk with Wipeout, Destruction Derby and that top down 'gauntlety' shooter with the really repetitive music which I can still remember though I can't remember the name of the game *breath*

    So many good memories of that console, not least of all those associated with FF7 & 8. Then there was FFT, Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross & Xenogears. And I still wish they do a new version of that plane-racing game NGEN!

  • JunglistVIP #30 2 years ago

    I thought that said Babestation :(

  • Xerx3s #31 2 years ago

    "Elsewhere, Microsoft's Xbox brand has been around for eight years, whereas Nintendo has been making games since 1974 - although the launch of the NES in 1983 probably ought to be considered its true beginning."

    Surely, if you go by the description of nintendo, then ms has been in the business since 1982/83 as well? They have been making games from around then and what about the msx?

  • Bagpuss #32 2 years ago

    wow...and to think 15yrs later a console that cost me £299 at launch, I can now run playstation games on my Pc desktop using barely more than 10% of my CPU power...at 4x the resolution and lots of spangly filter effects...

    Tekken 3 is still the best.....

  • freakzilla #33 2 years ago

    Someone in the comments once said that EG always fit in Microsoft in every Sony story. And he's not wrong.

  • Xephon1970 #34 2 years ago

    Wipeout series is still one of my favourites, and I have many happy memories completing 2097 and 3. The first, not so much!

    Apart from that, it was Silent Hill, Vagrant Story, many FF's, Vib Ribbon, Fear Effect, Breath of Fire IV, MGS, One Piece Mansion, Tekken 2 & 3 and lots of others I can't remember that did it for me. It realy kick started my love affair with games that hasn't gone away.

    15 years though...my reactions aren't what they used to be but I hope I'm still playing in another15 years!

  • makeamazing #35 2 years ago

    Donnie shut up with your crap, all i am interested in is good games and having fun, i dont give two hoots about what Sony done last gen, all i care about is they sell enough this gen to make a PS4 and continue to make exclusives.
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/09 @ 13:08

  • kangarootoo #36 2 years ago

    Can people please stop harping on about donnie and just press the ignore button.

    He obviously likes the attention so all this talkback is probably getting him off. Christ, why don't you gibe him a kiss whilst you are at it.

  • drewman5150 #37 2 years ago

    He is funny though, you've got to admit...

    /oh, maybe not
    /grabs coat
    /closes door

  • No1_Dave #38 2 years ago

    I think EG should permanently ban donnie/MESSIAH999 or what ever other usernames he uses because of deliberate trolling, windup fanboy comments, repeating the same old same old crap.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #39 2 years ago

    Edge magazine made the Playstation in the early days. Based on previews then reviews in Edge, 1000's of hardcore gamers imported it from the mail order import scene. Edge looked like it was owned by Sony.
    Arcade perfect Ridge Racer was a system seller in those days. The average price of games was £45, the Jap PS1 being equiped with direct SVHS connectivity, Scart RGB was to die for with cables costing £20-£30.

    Incredibly the UK didn't get the machine until 9 months later IIRC and it was still considered cutting edge, it was probably a full year after release that video gaming started to be something you could admit to your mates down the pub, just.

    Also, the 'PSX' was actually a Sony code name that became a PS2 based media center years later.
    Edited by 1 at 05/12/09 @ 11:13

  • Quixz #40 2 years ago

    How the mighty have fallen.. :D

  • electrolite #41 2 years ago

    Got mine in Jan 96, with the Demo Disc and the phenomenal PS version of DOOM, which me and the other lads in my halls got months out of. Ridge Racer, Wipeout, Tekken, the under-rated (IMHO) Jumping Flash, heck of a launch line-up

  • man.the.king #42 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    "He obviously likes the attention so all this talkback is probably getting him off"

    Actually that's what I was thinking too. The impression I got was of a loner with some delusions of grandeur, who is trying to garner some attention any way he/she can (after all, he/she has never specified their gender).

    Or (putting on tinfoil hat now) maybe he/she is just an EG decoy, placed to get comments and hits out of people. From what I've seen, sometimes EG goes out of its way with its articles just to incite a flame war.
    Edited by 3 at 07/12/09 @ 19:25

  • tdaonp #43 1 year ago

    The Playstation has turned 15. Congrats! A tribute:
    [link url=http://thesecondopiniontribune.b logspot.com/2010/09/15-years-of-playstation.html
    ]http://thesecondopiniontribune.blogspot....[/link]

    - Henk