On December 3, 1994, the first Sony PlayStation was made available to Japanese consumers. Australians would have to wait nearly a year for local release.
Thirty years on and PlayStation is celebrating the milestone by letting users take a wander down memory lane with old PS designs. Nostalgic juices will be flowing.
“Notice anything different?” PlayStation asks in a new video. “To celebrate the 30th anniversary of PlayStation, for a limited time, we’ve added a few touches to take you on a journey through PlayStation’s history
“Choose your favourite generation. Celebrate with us by selecting a design from one of the previous generations of PlayStation. You can also change it back to the standard PS5 design.”
You can select a design to apply to your home screen and other areas, Sony said.
PlayStation loyalists were quick to respond to the opportunity in the comments section.
“I remember when me and my brothers went into the store, we wanted a Sega Saturn, my dad said what about this, Tekken was playing, we played, my dad played and we took PS1 home,” said one. “What a journey & here I am, my two young boys playing PS5.”
“30 years, Sony — what a ride it’s been,” wrote another. “From clunky CRTs and memory cards to sleek consoles and cloud gaming, we’ve been through it all.
“You’ve provided countless hours of entertainment, frustration, and triumph. Here’s to the original PlayStation for kicking it all off and setting the bar for gaming. Thanks for being a constant in an ever-changing world. Here’s to 30 more years of late nights, epic adventures, and just one more level before bed.”
A third wrote: “I remember I was 11 when my grandpa surprised us with the original Playstation. We weren’t even familiar but he always read up on tech and was a huge fan of Sony, and when he gave us the Playstation, he said ‘This is going to be the biggest thing in video games, just watch’.” Gramps knew best.
“I’ll never forget the day my mom and pops randomly walk into my room one day, told me to close my eyes and dropped a ps1 box with Spyro in my lap. I didn’t even know what a PS1 was at the time, I’ve been hooked since.”
While Japanese gamers had first crack at the new system, PlayStation made its way to the US and Europe around September 1995, and Australia in December 1995. It retailed here for $699.
