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is a
video gaming Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback m ...
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
that consists of five
home video game console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
s, two
handhelds A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...
, a media center, and a
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by
Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game industry, video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is ma ...
, a division of
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
; the first PlayStation console was released in Japan in December 1994, and worldwide the following year. The original console in the series was the first console of any type to ship over 100 million units, doing so in under a decade. Its successor, the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, was released in 2000. The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling home console to date, having reached over 155 million units sold by the end of 2012. Sony's next console, the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
, was released in 2006, selling over 87.4 million units by March 2017. Sony's next console, the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
, was released in 2013, selling a million units within a day, becoming the fastest selling console in history. The latest console in the series, the
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
, was released in 2020 and sold 10 million units in its first 249 days, unseating its predecessor as the fastest-selling PlayStation console to-date. The first handheld console in the series, the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
(PSP), sold a total of 80 million units worldwide by November 2013. Its successor, the
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
(PSVita), which launched in Japan in December 2011 and in most other major territories in February 2012, sold over four million units by January 2013.
PlayStation TV The PlayStation TV (abbreviated to PS TV), known in Japan and other parts of Asia as the PlayStation Vita TV or PS Vita TV, is a microconsole, and a non-handheld variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. It was released in Japan on ...
is a
microconsole A microconsole is a home video game console that is typically powered by low-cost computing hardware, making the console lower-priced compared to other home consoles on the market. The majority of microconsoles, with a few exceptions such as t ...
and a non-portable variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. Other hardware released as part of the PlayStation series includes the PSX, a
digital video recorder A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes with direct to d ...
which was integrated with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, though it was short-lived due to its high price and was never released outside Japan, as well as a
Bravia Bravia (stylized as BRAVIA) is a brand of Sony Visual Products Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, and used for its television products. Its backronym is "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture". All Sony high-defi ...
television set which has an integrated PlayStation 2. The main series of controllers utilized by the PlayStation series is the
DualShock The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...
, which is a line of vibration-feedback
gamepad A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles. Features Gamepads generally feature a set of ...
having sold 28 million controllers by June 2008. The
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
is an online service with about 110 million registered users (as of June 2013) and over 103 million active users monthly. (as of December 2019) It comprises an online virtual market, the
PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
, which allows the purchase and download of games and various forms of multimedia, a subscription-based online service known as
PlayStation Plus PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
and a social gaming networking service called
PlayStation Home PlayStation Home was a virtual 3D social networking, social gaming platform developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) on the PlayStation Network (PSN). It was accessible from the PS3's XrossMediaBar (XM ...
, which had over 41 million users worldwide at the time of its closure in March 2015.
PlayStation Mobile PlayStation Mobile (formerly PlayStation SuiteHinkle, David. (2012-06-04 HTC is first partner for 'PlayStation Mobile,' the new name for PlayStation Suite [Update: Press release added Joystiq. Retrieved on 2013-08-23.) was a software framework us ...
(formerly PlayStation Suite) is a software framework that provides PlayStation content on mobile devices. Version 1.xx supports both PlayStation Vita, PlayStation TV and certain devices that run the Android (operating system), Android operating system, whereas version 2.00 released in 2014 only targeted PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV.
Content Content or contents may refer to: Media * Content (media), information or experience provided to audience or end-users by publishers or media producers ** Content industry, an umbrella term that encompasses companies owning and providing mas ...
set to be released under the framework consist of only original PlayStation games currently. Seventh generation PlayStation products also use the
XrossMediaBar The XrossMediaBar (pronounced "cross-media bar" and officially abbreviated as XMB) is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The interface features icons that are spread horizontally across the screen. Navigation mov ...
, which is an
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Engineer ...
–winning
graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
. A touch screen-based user interface called
LiveArea The PlayStation Vita system software is the official firmware and operating system for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV video game consoles. It uses the LiveArea as its graphical shell. The system is built on a Unix-base which is derived ...
was launched for the PlayStation Vita, which integrates social networking elements into the interface. Additionally, the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 consoles also featured support for Linux-based operating systems;
Linux for PlayStation 2 Linux for PlayStation 2 (or PS2 Linux) is a kit released by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2002 that allows the PlayStation 2 console to be used as a personal computer. It included a Linux-based operating system, a USB keyboard and mouse, a VGA a ...
and
OtherOS OtherOS is a feature of early versions of the PlayStation 3 video game console, allowing user installed software, such as Linux or FreeBSD. The feature was removed since system firmware update 3.21, released on April 1, 2010. Software running in ...
respectively, though this has since been discontinued. The series has also been known for its numerous marketing campaigns, the latest of which being the "Greatness Awaits" and eventually, "Play Has No Limits" commercials in the United States. The series also has a strong line-up of first-party games due to
PlayStation Studios PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios) is a Division (business), division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was est ...
, a group of many studios owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment that exclusively developed them for PlayStation consoles. In addition, the series features various budget re-releases of games by Sony with different names for each region; these include the
Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
,
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
, Essentials, and
The Best Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...
selection of games.


History


Origins

PlayStation was the brainchild of
Ken Kutaragi is a Japanese engineering technologist and businessman. He is the former chairman and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the video game division of Sony Corporation, and current president and CEO of Cyber AI Entertainment. He is known ...
, a
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
executive who managed one of the company's hardware engineering divisions and was later dubbed "The Father of the PlayStation". Until 1991, Sony had little direct involvement with the video game industry. The company supplied components for other consoles, such as the sound chip for the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
from
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
, and operated a video game studio,
Sony Imagesoft Sony Imagesoft Inc. was an American video game publisher that operated from 1989 to 1995 and was located in California. It was established in January 1989 in Los Angeles, California, as a subsidiary of the Japan-based CBS/Sony Group (CSG) and in ...
. As part of a joint project between Nintendo and Sony that began as early as 1988, the two companies worked to create a
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
version of the Super Famicom, though Nintendo denied the existence of the Sony deal as late as March 1991. At the
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
in June 1991, Sony revealed a Super Famicom with a built-in CD-ROM drive that incorporated Green Book technology or CD-i, called "Play Station" (also known as
SNES-CD The Super NES CD-ROM System (commonly shortened as the SNES-CD), known as Super Famicom CD-ROM Adapter in Japan, is an unreleased video game peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The add-on built upon the functionality ...
). However, a day after the announcement at CES, Nintendo announced that it would be breaking its partnership with Sony, opting to go with
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
instead but using the same technology. The deal was broken by Nintendo after they were unable to come to an agreement on how revenue would be split between the two companies. The breaking of the partnership infuriated Sony President
Norio Ohga , otherwise spelled ''Norio Oga'' (January 29, 1930 – April 23, 2011), was the former president and chairman of Sony Corporation, credited with spurring the development of the compact disc as a commercially viable audio format. Biography Early ...
, who responded by appointing Kutaragi with the responsibility of developing the PlayStation project to rival Nintendo. At that time, negotiations were still on-going between Nintendo and Sony, with Nintendo offering Sony a "non-gaming role" regarding their new partnership with Philips. This proposal was swiftly rejected by Kutaragi who was facing increasing criticism over his work with regard to entering the video game industry from within Sony. Negotiations officially ended in May 1992 and in order to decide the fate of the PlayStation project, a meeting was held in June 1992, consisting of Sony President Ohga, PlayStation Head Kutaragi and several senior members of Sony's board. At the meeting, Kutaragi unveiled a proprietary CD-ROM-based system he had been working on which involved playing video games with 3D graphics to the board. Eventually, Sony President Ohga decided to retain the project after being reminded by Kutaragi of the humiliation he suffered from Nintendo. Nevertheless, due to strong opposition from a majority present at the meeting as well as widespread internal opposition to the project by the older generation of Sony executives, Kutaragi and his team had to be shifted from Sony's headquarters to
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
, a completely separate financial entity owned by Sony, so as to retain the project and maintain relationships with Philips for the MMCD development project (which helped lead to the creation of the
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
). According to SCE's producer Ryoji Akagawa and chairman
Shigeo Maruyama (born 1941 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese businessman. He is best known for being the founder of Epic/Sony Records, former chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment and former CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. He is known for discovering artists su ...
, there was uncertainty over whether the console should primarily focus on 2D sprite graphics or 3D polygon graphics. Eventually, after witnessing the success of
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
's ''
Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original ''Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' game ...
'' in Japanese arcades, that Sony realized "the direction of the PlayStation became instantly clear" and 3D polygon graphics became the console's primary focus. The PlayStation logo was designed by Manabu Sakamoto. He wanted the logo to capture the 3D support of the console, but instead of just adding apparent depth to the letters "P" and "S", he created an
optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...
that suggested the letters in depth of space. Sakamoto also stuck with four bright principal colors, red, yellow, green, and blue, only having to tune the green color for better harmony across the logo. Sakamoto also designed the black and white logo based on the same design, reserved for times where colors could not be used.


Formation of Sony Computer Entertainment

At
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
, Kutaragi worked closely with
Shigeo Maruyama (born 1941 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese businessman. He is best known for being the founder of Epic/Sony Records, former chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment and former CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. He is known for discovering artists su ...
, the CEO of Sony Music, and with Akira Sato to form Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) on November 16, 1993. A building block of SCEI was its initial partnership with Sony Music which helped SCEI attract creative talent to the company as well as assist SCEI in manufacturing, marketing and producing discs, something that Sony Music had been doing with Music Discs. The final two key members of SCEI were Terry Tokunaka, the President of SCEI from Sony's headquarters, and
Olaf Olafsson Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...
. Olafsson was CEO and president of New York-based Sony Interactive Entertainment which was the parent company for the 1994-founded Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA). The PlayStation project, SCEI's first official project, was finally given the green light by Sony executives in 1993 after a few years of development. Also in 1993,
Phil Harrison Phil Harrison is a vice president and general manager for Google, and the former corporate vice president of Microsoft. Previously, Phil was the British corporate executive and a representative director of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. (SC ...
, who later became President of
SCE Worldwide Studios PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios) is a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was established as SCE Wo ...
, was recruited into SCEI to attract developers and publishers to produce games for their new PlayStation platform. ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' in March 1994 reported a rumor that the "Sony PS-X" would be released in Japan "before the end of this year and will retail for less than $400". After a demonstration of Sony's distribution plan as well as tech demos of its new console to game publishers and developers in a hotel in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
in 1994, numerous developers began to approach PlayStation. Two of whom later became major partners were
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
in the West and
Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
in Japan. One of the factors which attracted developers to the platform was the use of a 3D-capable, CD-ROM-based console which was much cheaper and easier to manufacture for in comparison to Nintendo's rival console, which used cartridge systems. The project eventually hit Japanese stores in December 1994 and gained massive sales due to its lower price point than its competitor, the
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
. The popularity of the console spread after its release worldwide in North America and Europe.


Home consoles


PlayStation

The original PlayStation, released in Japan on December 3,
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation series of console and hand-held game devices. It has included successor consoles and upgrades including the
Net Yaroze The is a development kit for the PlayStation video game console. It was a promotion by Sony Computer Entertainment to computer programming hobbyists which launched in June 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in other countries. It was originally called " ...
(a special black PlayStation with tools and instructions to program PlayStation games and applications), "PS one" (a smaller version of the original) and the
PocketStation The PocketStation is a memory card peripheral by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation home video game console. Categorized by Sony as a combination of a Memory Card and a miniature personal digital assistant, the device features a monoc ...
(a handheld which enhances PlayStation games and also acts as a memory card). It was part of the
fifth generation of video game consoles The fifth-generation era (also known as the 32-bit era, the 64-bit era, or the 3D era) refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming consoles dating from approximately October 4, 1993 to March 23, 2006. For home ...
competing against the
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
and the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
. By December 2003, the PlayStation and PS one had shipped a combined total of 102.49 million units, eventually becoming the first video game console to sell 120 million units.


PS One

Released on July 7,
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, concurrently with its successor the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, the PS One (stylized as PS one) was a considerably smaller, redesigned version of the original PlayStation video game console. The PS one went on to outsell all other consoles, including its successor, throughout the remainder of the year. It featured two main changes from its predecessor, the first being a cosmetic change to the console and the second being the home menu's
Graphical User Interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
; a variation of the GUI previously used only on PAL consoles up to that point.


PlayStation 2

Released in
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, 15 months after the
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
and a year before its other competitors, the
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
and the
Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
, the PlayStation 2 is part of the
sixth generation of video game consoles In the history of video games The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. '' Spacewar!'' was developed by MIT student hobbyis ...
, and is
backwards-compatible Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially i ...
with most original PlayStation games. Like its predecessor, it has received a slimmer redesign. It is the most successful console in the world, having sold over 155 million units as of December 28, 2012. On November 29, 2005, the PS2 became the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, accomplishing the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch. This achievement occurred faster than its predecessor, the PlayStation, which took "9 years and 6 months since launch" to reach the same figure. PlayStation 2 shipments in Japan ended on December 28, 2012. ''The Guardian'' reported on January 4, 2013 that PS2 production had ended worldwide, but studies showed that many people all around the world still own one even if it is no longer in use. PlayStation 2 has been ranked as the best selling console of all time as of 2015.


Slimline model

Released in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, four years after the launch of the original PlayStation 2, the PlayStation 2 Slimline was the first major redesign of the PlayStation 2. Compared to its predecessor, the Slimline was smaller, thinner, quieter and also included a built-in
Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
port (in some markets it also has an integrated
modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
). In
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, Sony began shipping a revision of the Slimline which was lighter than the original Slimline together with a lighter
AC adapter An AC adapter or AC/DC adapter is a type of external power supply, often enclosed in a case similar to an AC plug. Other common names include wall wart, power brick, wall charger, and power adapter. Adapters for battery-powered equipment may ...
. In
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, Sony released yet another revision of the Slimline which had an overhauled internal design incorporating the power supply into the console itself like the original PlayStation 2 resulting in a further reduced total weight of the console.


PlayStation 3

Released on November 11, 2006 in Japan, the PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a seventh generation game console from Sony. It competes with the
Microsoft Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nin ...
and the
Nintendo Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
. The PS3 is the first console in the series to introduce the use of motion-sensing technology through its
Sixaxis The Sixaxis (trademarked SIXAXIS) is a wireless gamepad produced by Sony for their PlayStation 3 video game console. It was introduced alongside the PlayStation 3 in 2006 and remained the console's official controller until 2008. The Sixaxis was s ...
wireless controller. The console also incorporates a
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
player and features high-definition resolution. The PS3 was originally offered with either a 20 GB or 60 GB hard drive, but over the years its capacity increased in increments available up to 500 GB. The PlayStation 3 has sold over 80 million consoles worldwide as of November 2013.


Slim model

Like its predecessors, the PlayStation 3 was re-released in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
as a "slim" model. The redesigned model is 33% smaller, 36% lighter, and consumes 34% to 45% less power than previous models. In addition, it features a redesigned cooling system and a smaller
Cell processor Cell is a Multi-core processor, multi-core microprocessor microarchitecture that combines a general-purpose PowerPC Central processing unit, core of modest performance with streamlined coprocessor, coprocessing elements which greatly accelerate m ...
which was moved to a
45nm Per the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, the 45 nm process is a MOSFET technology semiconductor node, node referring to the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2007–2008 time frame. Panasonic, Mat ...
manufacturing process. It sold in excess of a million units within its first 3 weeks on sale. The redesign also features support for CEC (more commonly referred to by its manufacturer brandings of BraviaSync, VIERA Link, EasyLink and others) which allows control of the console over HDMI by using the remote control as the controller. The PS3 slim also runs quieter and is cooler than previous models due to its 45 nm Cell. The PS3 Slim no longer has the "main power" switch (similar to PlayStation 2 slim), like the previous PS3 models, which was located at the back of the console. It was officially released on September 1, 2009 in North America and Europe and on September 3, 2009 in Japan, Australia and New Zealand.


Super Slim model

In 2012, Sony revealed a new "Super Slim" PlayStation 3. The new console, with a completely redesigned case that has a sliding door covering the disc drive (which has been moved to the top of the console), is 4.3 pounds, almost three pounds lighter than the previous "slim" model. The console comes with either 12GB flash memory or a 250GB, 500GB hard drive. Several bundles which include a Super Slim PS3 and a selection of games are available.


PlayStation 4

The
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
(PS4) was announced by
Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
at a press conference on February 20, 2013. In the meeting, Sony revealed some hardware specifications of the new console. The eighth-generation system, launched in the fourth quarter of 2013, introduced the
x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...
architecture to the PlayStation series. According to lead system architect, Mark Cerny, development on the PlayStation 4 began as early as 2008. PlayStation Europe CEO Jim Ryan emphasized in 2011 that Sony wanted to avoid launching the next-generation console behind the competition. Among the new applications and services, Sony introduced the PlayStation App, allowing PS4 owners to turn smartphones and tablets into a
second screen A second screen involves the use of a computing device (commonly a mobile device, such as a smartphone or Tablet computer, tablet) to provide an enhanced viewing experience for content on another device, such as a television. In particular, the te ...
to enhance gameplay. The company also planned to debut
PlayStation Now PlayStation Now (PS Now) was a standalone video game subscription service the first on consoles developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The service offered cloud gaming for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable a ...
game streaming service, powered by technology from
Gaikai is an American company which provides technology for the streaming of high-end video games. Its technology has multiple applications, including in-home streaming over a local wired or wireless network (as in Remote Play between the PlayStation ...
. By incorporating a share button on the new controller and making it possible to view in-game content being streamed live from friends, Sony planned to place more focus on social gameplay as well. The PlayStation 4 was first released in North America on November 15, 2013.


Slim model

PlayStation 4 Slim (officially marketed simply as PlayStation 4 or PS4) was unveiled on September 7, 2016. It is a revision of the original PS4 hardware with a streamlined form factor. The new casing is 40% smaller and carries a rounded body with a matte finish on the top of the console rather than a two-tone finish. The two USB ports on the front have a larger gap between them, and the optical audio port was also removed. 68/sup> It ships with a minor update to the DualShock 4 controller, with the light bar visible through the top of the touchpad and dark matte grey coloured exterior instead of a partially shiny black. The PS4 Slim was released on September 15, 2016, with a 500 GB model at the same price point as the original PS4 model. 69/sup> Its model number is CUH-2000. 70/sup>


Pro model

PlayStation 4 Pro or PS4 Pro for short (originally announced under the codename Neo) 5/sup> was unveiled on September 7, 2016. Its model number is CUH-7000. 70/sup> It is an updated version of the PlayStation 4 with improved hardware, including an upgraded GPU with 4.2 teraflops of processing power, and higher CPU clock. It is designed primarily to enable selected games to be playable at
4K resolution 4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K Ultra-high-definitio ...
, and improved quality for
PlayStation VR The PlayStation VR (PS VR, known by its code name Project Morpheus during development) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016. It is fully functional with the PlayStation 4 an ...
. All games are backwards and forward compatible between PS4 and PS4 Pro, but games with optimizations will have improved graphics performance on PS4 Pro. Although capable of streaming 4K video from online sources, PS4 Pro does not support
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
. 71 72 73/sup> Additionally the PS4 Pro is the only PS4 model which can remote play at 1080p. The other models are limited to 720p. 74/sup>


PlayStation 5

The PlayStation 5 (PS5) was released worldwide on November 12, 2020, and, alongside the
Xbox Series X and Series S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
released the same month, is part of the
ninth generation of video game consoles The ninth generation of video game consoles began in November 2020 with the releases of Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S console family and Sony's PlayStation 5. The consoles represent significant performance upgrades from the prior Xbox ...
. The first news of the PS5 came from
Mark Cerny Mark Evan Cerny (born August 24, 1964) is an American video game designer, programmer, producer and media proprietor. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cerny attended UC Berkeley before dropping out to pursue a career in video games. In hi ...
in an interview with ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'' in April 2019. Sony intends for the PlayStation 5 to be its next-generation console and to ship worldwide by the end of 2020. In early 2019, Sony's financial report for the quarter ending March 31, 2019, affirmed that new next-generation hardware was in development but would ship no earlier than April 2020. The current specifications were released in October 2019. The console is slated to use an 8-core, 16-thread CPU based on AMD's
Zen 2 Zen 2 is a computer processor microarchitecture by AMD. It is the successor of AMD's Zen and Zen+ microarchitectures, and is fabricated on the 7 nanometer MOSFET node from TSMC. The microarchitecture powers the third generation of Ryzen proces ...
microarchitecture, manufactured on the
7 nanometer In semiconductor manufacturing, the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors defines the 7  nm process as the MOSFET technology node following the 10 nm node. It is based on FinFET (fin field-effect transistor) technology, ...
process node. The graphics processor is a custom variant of AMD's Navi family using the RDNA microarchitecture, which includes support for
hardware acceleration Hardware acceleration is the use of computer hardware designed to perform specific functions more efficiently when compared to software running on a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU). Any transformation of data that can be calcula ...
of ray-tracing rendering, enabling real-time ray-traced graphics. The new console ships with a custom
SSD A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. It is ...
storage, as Cerny emphasized the need for fast loading times and larger bandwidth to make games more immersive, as well as to support the required content streaming from disc for
8K resolution 8K resolution refers to an image or display resolution with a width of approximately 8,000 pixels. 8K UHD () is the highest resolution defined in the Rec. 2020 (UHDTV) standard. 8K display resolution is the successor to 4K resolution. TV manuf ...
. In a second interview with Wired in October 2019, further details of the new hardware were revealed: the console's integrated
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
drive would support 100GB Blu-ray discs and
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
; while a game installation from a disc is mandatory as to take advantage of the SSD, the user will have some fine-grain control of how much they want to have installed, such as only installing the multiplayer components of a game. Sony is developing an improved suspended gameplay state for the PlayStation 5 to consume less energy than the PlayStation 4. The system's new controller, the
DualSense The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with Haptic technology, vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Enterta ...
has adaptive triggers that can change the resistance to the player as necessary, such as changing the resistance during the action of pulling an arrow back in a bow in-game. The controller also has strong haptic feedback through
voice coil A voice coil (consisting of a former, collar, and winding) is the coil of wire attached to the apex of a loudspeaker cone. It provides the motive force to the cone by the reaction of a magnetic field to the current passing through it. The term ...
actuators, which together with an improved controller speaker is intended to give better in-game feedback.
USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conne ...
connectivity, together with a higher rated battery are other improvements to the new controller. The PlayStation 5 features a completely revamped
user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
. The PlayStation 5 is backwards-compatible with most PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR games, with Cerny stating that the transition to the new console is meant to be a soft one. In a later interview, Jim Ryan talked of the PlayStation 5 being able to play "99%" of PlayStation 4 games, an estimate derived from a sample size of "thousands". At
CES 2020 CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
, Sony unveiled the official logo for the platform.


Comparison


Handheld systems


PlayStation Portable

The
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
(PSP) was Sony's first handheld console to compete with Nintendo's DS console. The original model (PSP-1000) was released in December
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
and March
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, The console is the first to utilize a new
proprietary {{Short pages monitor