The botched deal that gave the world the Sony PlayStation

“What matters most to us is that we continue to bring a healthy mix of the single-player games our studios are known for, like the upcoming Ghost of Yotei, and live services titles like Helldivers 2,” Hulst said. “Fun and unique experiences like Astro Bot or Lego Horizon help fill out our portfolio, so there is something for everyone.”

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It’s not always smooth sailing. Sony has faced scrutiny after identifying online or “live service” games as an industry trend to pursue and shifting a large portion of its resources to develop them. It has since acquired Bungie, creator of Halo and Destiny, but laid off or transferred many of its staff. It cancelled a multiplayer take on The Last of Us. And it shut down Concord, an online shooter from a studio it acquired in 2023, just two weeks after launch. That studio was closed.

But then, pivoting or fighting back against the odds is also part of the brand’s DNA.

The first PlayStation

Sony’s ambition to own a globally significant games platform famously began with a false start. It had secured a deal to create a machine compatible with Super Nintendo cartridges that would also play new CD-based games, and announced its so-called PlayStation (as well as a CD add-on for Super Nintendo) at the CES expo in 1991. The next day, Nintendo announced it was tearing up its contracts with Sony, and the machines were never released.

By 1994 Sony had built a device entirely its own, with the same name. Released as a direct competitor to Sega’s Saturn and more than a year before the Nintendo 64, the PlayStation would end up selling more than double the unit sales of its two competitors combined.

Thanks to its low-cost discs, accessible development gear, edgy advertising and open attitude to business (whereas Sega and Nintendo heavily favoured their in-house developers), huge names such as Square and Namco largely abandoned the other platforms to move to PlayStation. While Sony began its journey with no wholly owned developers to speak of, its system is remembered as home to most of the biggest games of the era, including Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil.

In 1995, the PlayStation arrived in Australia at a price of $700. This was less expensive than the local price of the Saturn but still represented a big investment; adjusted for inflation, it’s the equivalent of more than $1400 today. But with lower-priced games and marketing that aimed for a much broader demographic than young boys, it became the go-to ’90s console.

Sony’s dominance continued into the 2000s as its PlayStation 2 became, and remains, the best-selling console of all time. (Importantly, it included the ability to play DVD movies, despite being cheaper than many DVD players of the time.) Over the past three decades, PlayStation grew its roster of in-house studios to more than a dozen, bolstering its line-up of owned properties to become the industry giant it is today.

Hideaki Nishino, also joint chief executive of Sony’s PlayStation business, said one thing that had remained constant was a desire to push boundaries and deliver new technology to enhance immersion.

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“Our products leverage technology such as haptic feedback and 3D spatial audio to increase the feeling of being in the game, enhanced ray tracing that makes games more realistic, and faster processing that gives creators the ability to make their games even more entertaining,” he said.

“Our goal is to offer players the best gaming experience, and that starts with creating the best platform for developers.”

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