Sony may be a console giant today, but back in 2000 the company was still figuring out how to take over the world. A major step on that ruthless march to dominance was the release of the PS One.
Ah, the PS1 – I loved that thing. The moment when gaming finally became cool!
We’re not talking about the original PlayStation, which wasn’t even called the PS1 back then (well, that would have been wildly presumptuous). This is the PS One – and it was no mere name change. Sony’s sleeker, curvier console – half the footprint, a third of the weight – was aimed at a younger, wider audience less obsessed with mean, angular hardware. And you could buy a screw-on 5in screen that arguably made it Sony’s first portable console.
A portable PlayStation? Were they expecting you to play serious games on the bus?
Sort of. Slap on that screen and, boom, instant self-contained portable gaming. Now, obviously you couldn’t play it anywhere – unless you had the world’s longest extension lead. But it freed the console from the family telly and gave us our first hint of AAA gaming on the go, years before the Steam Deck was a glint in Valve’s eye. Plus the car adapter could keep kids quiet in the back, blazing around virtual race circuits while parents – ironically – sat there grumbling in a traffic jam.
So did anyone really buy this thing, or was it just for weird 2000s retro heads?
People loved it. The PS One crushed the competition in 2000, outselling everything from Sony’s own supply-constrained PS2 to Sega’s beleaguered Dreamcast. Even with the screen it was a bargain, giving budget-conscious gamers access to a quality machine with a huge library of titles – enough to keep it going until 2006, just before the PS3 arrived. It wasn’t flash. It wasn’t ‘next gen’. But smart decisions ensured it was a stellar success. There’s a moral for the games industry in there…
Sony PlayStation side quests (hardware edition)
The PS One wasn’t the only time Sony decided to remix a hit console. Here are four other efforts that found the company wandering off the main PlayStation path.
PS2 Slim (2004): Realising not everyone wanted a console the size of a fridge, Sony slimmed down the PS2, even improving a few bits (beyond reduced heft) while doing so. It was a hit to the degree Sony repeated the trick for subsequent generations. The PS3 even got a ‘Super Slim’ edition.
PlayStation TV (2013): Handheld console games on the big screen? That’ll never catch on. Cough. But it was Sony that got there first, with a Vita minus a screen that lived under your telly. Alas, early compatibility issues and general bafflement made this one a rare misfire. Shame.
PS4 Pro (2016): If the very thought of 1080p disgusted you after upgrading to a 4K TV, Sony was ready to dangle a PS4 Pro in front of your face. Updated games shone. Older ones pretended to shine due to upscaling. And 4K Blu-rays… weren’t supported. Erm. Well, you can’t have everything.
PlayStation Classic (2018): This dinky plug-and-play retro box went right back to the start, cramming in 20 PS1 classics – but not the ones you wanted, obvs. Sony also cunningly made the controller cables approx. 1cm long. Still, the gamepads could be swapped for something better – as could the games if you risked Sony’s ire and modded the unit.
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