PixlBit

So, apparently December 3 2014 marks the 20th birthday of the PlayStation.  It launched on this date way back in 1994 in Japan (we wouldn't get it in the US until September 9 1995).

I would have been a freshman in college when the PS one (or PSX as we abbreviated it back then, until an actual PSX came out and screwed that up) was released in 94.  Up until that point, I was a pretty big Nintendo fan and was looking forward to playing my favorite arcade game at the time, Killer Instinct, on what was then known as the Nintendo Ultra 64.  Well, since this is a PlayStation story, it's obvious fate would deal me a different hand.  I was saving up for my Ultra 64 when Nintendo decided to delay the system to the following year.  I was pretty upset and couldn't wait any longer to take the next gen leap.  I briefly considered a Saturn, but Sega actually launched it early, before I had saved enough money, and all the gaming magazines at the time were talking about how great this new PlayStation from Sony was.  Sony made pretty good TVs and Walkmans (lol), so I figured they would make a pretty good gaming system.  I made my choice and preordered the PlayStation.  I remember getting a weird demo disc which I couldn't actually use until I got the system, and even then, there were just tech demos on it, no actual game demos.  The best thing on there was a new song from a then-unknown band called Korn.  You may laugh, but it was enough to get me excited.  The CD format let me try games for free, something which had never really been done before on console.

On September 9th, I traded in my Super Nintendo (sniff) and picked up my shiny new PlayStation, along with launch titles Ridge Racer and Battle Arena Toshinden.  And it was glorious.  Back then, there were still arcades, and this machine could reproduce those graphics in my home (this is why there are no more arcades).  And the 3D was totally revolutionary.  I think this was the last generation of consoles which offered a genuinely new experience.  Everything since, with the possible exception of motion gaming, has been a refinement of what has come before.  Maybe VR will be the next major disruption, but we've been waiting for that since, well, probably before I was born.

The years and games that followed would be my favorite.  PlayStation one was blessed with so many great titles that are still considered classics:  Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasies, Metal Gear Solid, Tekken, Castlevania SotN, Gran Turismo, and countless others.  I never did get around to buying that Ultra Nintendo 64.  I just didn't see the need.  Most of the great franchises had come to PlayStation.  I was always a huge fighting game fanatic, and Nintendo didn't even get Street Fighter until years later, and it wasn't even a good port.  I guess I missed out on Mario and Zelda, but I had more than enough to keep me busy.

So happy birthday PlayStation.  I have so many stories and enjoyed so many games alone and with friends because of you.  Cheers.