49 Fun Facts About PlayStation

Which Sony executive, later dubbed 'The Father of the PlayStation', conceived the console?

Ken Kutaragi, the engineer behind the Super Famicom's sound chip, led the console project and was moved out of Sony headquarters so that internal opposition could not kill it.

The PlayStation project grew out of a broken partnership with which company to build a CD-ROM add-on?

A day after Sony showed the 'Play Station' SNES-CD at CES 1991, Nintendo announced it was going with Philips instead.

Which Sega arcade hit convinced Sony to focus the PlayStation on 3D polygons rather than 2D sprites?

Virtua Fighter, Sega's 1993 polygonal fighting game, made the case: SCE's Ryoji Akagawa said that after seeing it in Japanese arcades 'the direction of the PlayStation became instantly clear'.

In which year was the original PlayStation released in Japan?

The PlayStation reached Japanese shops on December 3, 1994, eleven days after the Sega Saturn, and arrived in North America and Europe the next year.

Which two consoles were the original PlayStation's main fifth-generation rivals?

The Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64 were the rivals; the Saturn actually outsold the PlayStation in their home market's first weeks on the strength of Sega's flagship arcade fighting game.

What two words did Sony's Steve Race say on stage at E3 1995 to reveal the PlayStation's US price?

Race simply said 'two ninety-nine' and left the stage, undercutting the Saturn that Sega had just priced at $399 with a surprise immediate launch; Michael Jackson also appeared at the event.

The PlayStation went on sale in North America on which date?

On September 9, 1995 the PlayStation sold more units in two days than the Saturn had in five months, with 17 games available at launch versus the Saturn's six.

Which Namco arcade game was confirmed as the PlayStation's first game and became a launch title?

Ridge Racer, Namco's 1993 arcade racer, was the first game confirmed for the console and a Japanese launch title; Namco's System 11 arcade board was built on PlayStation hardware.

Which racing game, at 10.85 million copies, was the original PlayStation's best seller?

Gran Turismo, released in 1997, sold 10.85 million copies on the PlayStation, ahead of every other title on the system including its own 1999 sequel.

Which 1997 PlayStation RPG is credited with making the genre mass-market outside Japan?

Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997, sold close to ten million copies on the PlayStation and brought Japanese RPGs to a mass Western audience; a multi-part remake began in 2020.

Who designed the PlayStation logo, with its optical-illusion 'P' standing over the 'S'?

Manabu Sakamoto of Sony's design centre created the logo for the console's launch, while Teiyu Goto designed the hardware and its controller, including the four face-button symbols.

The PlayStation company, SCEI, was formed in 1993 in close partnership with which division of its parent?

Kutaragi's team had been shifted there after most senior Sony executives opposed the project; the music arm knew how to make and market discs.

What was the Net Yaroze?

A black PlayStation sold with tools for hobbyists to write games, the Net Yaroze took its name from Japanese for roughly 'let's do it together'; creators shared programs on a Sony-run forum.

The PocketStation, a memory card that doubled as a mini handheld, was sold only in which country?

Japan was the only market: a US release was planned but scrapped amid supply shortages at home, where over 80 games supported it, including Final Fantasy VIII.

The smaller redesigned original console, launched concurrently with the PS2, was called what?

The PS one, about a third smaller than the original, outsold every other console, including its own successor, for the rest of its launch year and got an optional 5-inch LCD screen.

Which of these was the FIRST PlayStation controller to include a pair of thumbsticks?

The Dual Analog Controller arrived in April 1997 and was soon superseded by the DualShock, which added vibration and became the longest-running controller line.

In what year did the DualShock controller first go on sale?

The DualShock first went on sale in November 1997 in its home market and reached North America the following May; its analog sticks could also be pressed in as the L3 and R3 buttons.

Which of the four PlayStation face-button symbols is pink on the original control pad?

Square was pink, with Triangle green, Circle red and Cross blue; designer Teiyu Goto meant the square to suggest a sheet of paper for menus and documents.

The PlayStation 2 launched in Japan on March 4 of which year?

March 4, 2000 was the Japanese launch; the PS2 reached North America that October, about a year after the Dreamcast and a year before the Xbox and GameCube.

The PlayStation 2's custom central processor, co-developed with Toshiba, was called what?

The Emotion Engine, a 128-bit MIPS-based chip co-designed with Toshiba, got its name from Sony's promise of games that would convey 'unprecedented emotions'.

What non-game was the PlayStation 2's best-selling launch-period title in Japan?

A DVD of The Matrix outsold every game in the launch period because the console's built-in DVD drive was cheaper than most standalone players, and many early buyers used it mainly for films.

Roughly how many units did the PlayStation 2 sell over its lifetime?

About 160 million PlayStation 2 units were sold, nearly triple the combined sales of its sixth-generation rivals, the Xbox, GameCube and Dreamcast.

The best-selling PlayStation 2 game was which 2004 title?

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar's October 2004 release, sold about 17.3 million copies on the PS2, the most of any game on the console.

How long did the PS2 take to ship its 100-millionth unit, a record at the time?

Sony announced the milestone in November 2005, 5 years and 9 months after launch; the original PlayStation had needed 9 years and 6 months to hit the same mark.

The PlayStation 2 Slimline of 2004 launched in the US at what price?

At $149 the Slimline was half the PS2's original US launch price; it was smaller, quieter and added a built-in Ethernet port.

What was the EyeToy, released for the PlayStation 2 in 2003?

The EyeToy was a USB camera for motion-controlled games, developed with Logitech and launched in 2003 alongside EyeToy: Play; the camera went on to sell more than ten million units.

The PlayStation 3's Cell processor was co-developed by Sony, Toshiba and which third company?

IBM joined Sony and Toshiba in the STI alliance announced in March 2001, with its Austin, Texas design centre leading much of the work on the chip.

The PS3 was the first console to use which disc format as its primary storage medium?

It was also the first with an HDMI port and 1080p output, and it helped Blu-ray beat HD DVD in the format war.

The 60 GB PlayStation 3 launched in the US at what infamous price?

At $599 Sony lost money on every 60 GB unit; iSuppli estimated the GPU alone cost $129 and the disc drive $125, for a build cost near $840.

The PS3's first official controller, which had motion sensing but no rumble, was called what?

The Sixaxis, named for its six-axis motion sensing, dropped rumble during a patent dispute with Immersion; the DualShock 3 restored vibration in 2007 after a settlement.

Life with PlayStation let PS3 owners donate processing power to whose Folding@home project?

Stanford University's Folding@home used idle PS3 Cell processors to simulate protein folding; the Life with PlayStation app was removed with firmware 4.30 in October 2012.

Which lead system architect designed both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5?

Mark Cerny, a veteran of Marble Madness and Crash Bandicoot, said PS4 development began in 2008 and revealed the PS5 in a Wired interview in April 2019.

The PlayStation 4 introduced which processor architecture to the PlayStation line?

x86 arrived with the PS4's AMD Jaguar CPU, replacing the PS3's Cell and making the console far easier to develop for; it launched in November 2013.

What is the name of the DualShock 4's front LED strip that changes colour?

The light bar was designed so the PlayStation Camera could track the controller, and games also use it as a signal, turning red when a player is low on health.

The PlayStation 4 Pro was originally announced under which codename?

Neo was the working name until the September 2016 reveal; the PS4 Pro's 4.2-teraflop GPU targeted 4K gaming, though the console could not play Ultra HD discs.

The PlayStation 5 was released worldwide on which date?

It arrived the same month as the Xbox Series X and S, and supply stayed short through a global chip shortage until 2023.

What is the name of the PS5 controller with adaptive triggers and haptic feedback?

The DualSense's adaptive triggers change resistance mid-action, such as drawing a bow, and its haptic motors replaced rumble; the Share button was renamed Create.

Which game comes preinstalled on every PS5 to show off its controller?

Astro's Playroom, built by Team Asobi as a showcase for the new controller, ships on every PS5's storage; its hero went on to star in the full 2024 release Astro Bot.

The PS5's hardware-accelerated 3D audio system is known as what?

The Tempest Engine, a repurposed GPU compute unit, handles hundreds of simultaneous sounds, compared with about 50 on the PS4.

Before it was named, the PlayStation Vita was known by which codename?

Next Generation Portable, or NGP, was the name used at the January 2011 reveal; the Vita launched that December with a 5-inch OLED touchscreen and a rear touchpad.

The Japan-only PSX of 2003 combined a PlayStation 2 with what?

A DVR with a 160 or 250 GB hard disk and a DVD burner was built in, and the machine was the first PlayStation product sold without a controller in the box.

The PlayStation Classic mini console launched on December 3, 2018, with how many preloaded games?

20 games were preloaded, among them Tekken 3, Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil Director's Cut; the console shipped with two original-style controllers but no power adapter.

The PlayStation Portal was announced as 'Project' plus which single letter?

Project Q was the name at the May 2023 showcase; the Portal name came in August and the handheld streaming device shipped that November for $199.99.

PlayStation Now, Sony's game-streaming service, was built on technology from which company?

Gaikai, the cloud-gaming firm Sony bought for $380 million in 2012, provided the streaming technology; PlayStation Now was announced at CES 2014 and folded into PlayStation Plus in 2022.

What was the name of the fictional PlayStation vice president in the 'It Only Does Everything' ads?

Kevin Butler, played by actor Jerry Lambert, fronted the campaign from 2009; the debut spot drew a complaint from the Nigerian government over a 419-scam joke, which Sony re-cut.

In the 1995 US slogan 'eNoS Lives', what did the letters of ENOS stand for?

Ready, Ninth of September was the decoded message: the red 'E' stood for 'ready', as in the companion slogan 'U R Not E', and NOS for the launch date.

The horizontal-icon XrossMediaBar interface of the PS3 and PSP was originally used on which Sony device?

The PSX, a 2003 home-media variant of the PlayStation 2, was the first device to carry the XrossMediaBar, which then spread to the PSP, PS3, Bravia TVs and Walkman players.

Which 2009 handheld dropped the UMD drive in favour of 16 GB of internal flash memory?

The PSP Go, launched in October 2009, slid open like Sony's mylo device and took games only as downloads from the PlayStation Store.

Between 2016 and 2022, PlayStation sponsored which college football postseason game?

The brand also sponsored French clubs AJ Auxerre and Lyon, and several WWE pay-per-views.