The Playstation, Sonys first video game console, was released in the US on September 9 1995. I bought mine that very day and it quickly became my favourite console. While it wasn’t the first CD based console, and was even arguably weaker than the Sega Saturn released a few months earlier, the Playstation (PS1) was an immediate success, and in the months and years ahead would change the video game industry from a hobby aimed at children to a hobby for all ages.
That’s the third Playstation I owned, the ‘PSOne’ model that was released late in it’s lifestyle (in 2000). My first two Playstations had died in the intervening years, both due to laser failure which was a common problem for the system. The above photo shows a portable screen attached to the unit itself, but it also obviously can be used with a TV.
I bought about 150 games for the system during it’s active years, but I traded in more PS1 games than for any other system and only own about 75 today. It was a fantastic system for role-playing games, and most of what I keep to this day is in that genre. It was also the console that helped ‘3D’ games (polygon based) mature, although this was in part coupled with a detrimental effect on 2D games that took years to subside.
That said, the graphics are very crude by todays standards, and as a result many PS1 games have dated poorer than the bitmap-graphics games from the previous generations:
The console had a long lifespan though – about 6 years – and developers learned it inside out by the end. Comparing a late-generation game to a launch game is like comparing two different consoles, and some of the late 90s releases still impress today.
The system used black discs more for marketing than effect (piracy was still rampant) and while in those days we were astonished by the larger amount of content (and voice, sound and video) games could contain the drive speed was slow and this was a very common part of the PS1 experience:
It makes playing games from disc a somewhat tedious process these days, at least on original hardware. But while fun to poke fun at, it wasn’t so bad 20+ years ago assuming the game itself was good, and thankfully many of them were.
The above are three of my favourite games of all time: complex, lengthy and rewarding dungeon crawls each with a different style. Symphony Of The Night and Valkyrie Profile has since been released (in fact I purchased the PS4 port of Symphony Of The Night just two weeks ago!) but Vagrant Story remains a system exclusive. This game is notable for many ways, not the least of which is it was set in the world of ‘Ivalice’ which would eventually become the setting for FF12 many years later. It’s a true masterpiece, and I wish Square would have decided to remake it instead of FF7.
Speaking of Final Fantasy the system was also home to three main-series games (FF7 through 9), an incredibly good spin-off (FF Tactics) and a multitude of rereleases of the earlier games in the series. I bought, played and still own them all.
Few people remember that the PS1 is where the ‘Souls’ series began. The above are the first three games in the series, and while of a different genre (1st person dungeon crawls) are every bit as bleak and punishing as the Dark/Demons Souls series. King’s Field is the earliest PS1 purchase I still own, being bought a few months after the system was released.
I was writing for Working Designs during the PS1 era, and they were a somewhat prolific company known for the lavish packaging of their games. This was the early glory days of the translated RPG in America, and they rode the wave to great success.
Many of the games I own – including most I have shown – are worth a pretty penny these days. Some of the ones in my collection are valued in the hundreds of dollars and every time I do a post like this I briefly consider selling my collection. But as usual I won’t, and they’ll go back into the box for another indeterminate amount of years.
The PS1 sold over 100 million units, was successful all over the world, and spawned a legacy that has continued through 3 other consoles (PS2, PS3, PS4) and two portables (PSP, PSV). Over the years I have bought over 700 games for Sony systems, and while they’ve moved away from the portable console market now, I don’t see the Playstation brand ending any time soon.
Original PS1 hardward these days is arguably useless. The followup console – the PS2 – was fully reverse compatible and provides a much better way to play PS1 games than on original hardware. Furthermore the hardware problems (mostly, as mentioned, the laser) and issues connecting old models to new TVs mean it’s not in particular demand. However many of the games still are worth playing, and in a couple of weeks Sony is released a ‘Playstation Portable’ plug-and-play device similar to those Nintendo has had such success with recently. I personally think the game list and choice to forsake analogue controllers leaves a lot to be desired and have little interest in this new device, but I hope that it succeeds and is for many a reminder of the history of one of gamings most important ever releases.
For me, I’ve still got my 2000-model PSOne and screen, as well as a big box of amazing games. I reckon I’ve got at least another playthrough of Vagrant Story awaiting me some time in my future…
