Over 25 years of PlayStation: The consoles and accessories that changed gaming forever

(Pocket-lint) - Sony's PlayStation console enactment is implicit 25 years old. Insane however clip flies isn't it?

The archetypal PlayStation was released successful Japan connected 3 December 1994 and beauteous overmuch changed the games manufacture for good. In the interim years, it has seen disconnected Sega, the console shaper battling Nintendo astatine the time, and adjacent returned to its presumption of fig 1 successful the games manufacture erstwhile the PS4 broke income records a fewer years back.

But the travel is arsenic arsenic absorbing arsenic the games we each play connected our shiny PlayStation console these days. Indeed, the PlayStation released implicit 25 years agone wasn't adjacent going to beryllium the company's bow into the games console market. It had unveiled a Play Station instrumentality 3 years earlier - 1 that played some Super Nintendo cartridge games and SNES-CD titles it had planned successful relation with present rival Nintendo.

That narration fell foul astatine the archetypal hurdle and the gaming satellite is each the amended for it. Sony's PlayStation console was a changeable successful the limb of a niche games market. When it was released much universally, successful 1995, it brought with it a caller cognition for gaming. It was nary longer perceived arsenic conscionable for kids. Games specified arsenic Wipeout employed creation euphony acts for a people that matched the caller people audience. Consoles were installed successful clubs for a caller procreation of ravers. And arsenic the archetypal instrumentality played CDs too, it became a euphony hub for many.

The Play Station (1991)

Sony's archetypal effort astatine a PlayStation console appeared successful 1991 and featured a CD thrust but played SNES games.

It primitively started beingness as a associated task betwixt Nintendo and Sony that came astir successful bid to make a CD-ROM for the Super NES.

Before thing could deed the marketplace though, Nintendo broke the woody and opted to spell with Philips exertion instead. It is thought that this enraged the Sony President who past acceptable astir instructing his squad to make the PlayStation to rival Nintendo and that's however the PlayStation console was born. 

The archetypal PlayStation (1994)

The existent archetypal PlayStation was released successful Japan connected 3 December 1994.

It was portion of the fifth procreation of video crippled consoles successful the heyday of console gaming and the caller era.

The archetypal PlayStation reached the marketplace successful clip to vie with the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64. It would rapidly spell connected to beryllium the champion selling console of that clip too, going connected to beryllium the first video crippled console to merchantability 120 cardinal units.

The Sony PlayStation would surely alteration gaming everlastingly if thing else. 

The PlayStation rodent (1994)

In presumption of accessories, the PlayStation Mouse - released successful Japan successful 1994 - became the 1 astir apt to extremity up astatine the backmost of a drawer.

The PS One (2000)

The PS One came successful 2000 arsenic a cheaper alternate to the just-released PlayStation 2. It was fundamentally a smaller, redesigned mentation of the archetypal console that included some plan tweaks and a caller menu.

The updated PS One really performed amazingly good and adjacent went connected to not lone outsell the archetypal console but besides the PlayStation 2 arsenic well. 

PlayStation 2 (2000)

The archetypal PlayStation 2 was released successful Japan successful March 2000. It was a large aged beast but efficaciously killed Sega's console ambitions, forcing the rival to marque its Dreamcast its past machine.

The 2nd due PlayStation proved adjacent much fashionable than the last, possibly partially aided by the backwards compatibility with archetypal PlayStation games. 

The PS2 was besides a record-breaker. It was the fastest console to merchantability 100 cardinal units and reached that rubric wrong a small implicit 5 years from archetypal launching. By the extremity of 2012, it had sold implicit 155 cardinal worldwide. 

PlayStation 2 (2000)

As good arsenic being 1 of the champion selling consoles of each time, the PS2 was the archetypal console to clasp aggregate colour options.

It was besides credited arsenic being a large driving unit down the instrumentality up of DVD arsenic a movie medium. 

PlayStation 2 Hard Disk Drive (2001)

Remarkably, the PS2 had its ain hard thrust arsenic an optional accessory.

The 40GB thrust plugged into the enlargement bay of the archetypal instrumentality and could beryllium utilized to instal games onto to velocity up loading times.

• Best outer SSD for PS5: Store your crippled postulation connected these drives

PlayStation X (2003)

The PSX - oregon PlayStation X - was lone ever released successful Japan. It featured a PS2 wrong but was besides a integer video recorder, capable to pain video onto DVD-RW and DVD-RAM discs. It was designed by Sony to beryllium a general-purpose video instrumentality - an all-singing, all-dancing machine, but precocious costs of the PlayStation X made it undesirable and mediocre income rapidly turned the PSX into a failure. 

Interestingly, the PlayStation X was the archetypal instrumentality to usage Sony's XrossMediaBar (XMB) graphical idiosyncratic interface, thing that would aboriginal look successful the PlayStation 3 and Bravia televisions a fewer years later. 

PlayStation 2 Slimline (2004)

The archetypal slimline revision of the PlayStation 2 arrived towards the extremity of 2004. As the sanction suggested, the PS2 Slimline was smaller, thinner and quieter than the archetypal version. It was besides improved with the summation of an ethernet port. 

SingStar (2004)

Singstar was a competitory euphony crippled for PlayStation consoles that besides came with accessories for the PS2 - 2 wired microphones. They besides went wireless for the PS3 mentation and each tin inactive beryllium utilized connected the PS4 today. 

PlayStation Portable (2004)

At the aforesaid clip that Sony was slimlining its PS2, the institution revealed the archetypal handheld console, the PlayStation Portable. It received rave reviews but galore wondered astir the reliance connected a proprietary disc format, UMD.

The PSP was the company's archetypal handheld games console and its effort to vie with the Nintendo DS. It was instantly acquainted to Sony fans and had a akin power layout to the modular PlayStation controller successful presumption of fastener layout. 

Buzz! (2005)

One of our favourite PS2 games was Buzz, which came with its ain buzzer controllers for 4 people. There were wireless versions excessively for the PS3.

PlayStation 3 conception (2006)

The archetypal clip anybody saw the PlayStation 3 it was successful authoritative conception creation released by Sony. A question of daze descended upon the manufacture arsenic the accepted DualShock controller was seemingly replaced by a boomerang.

PlayStation 3 (2006)

Sony ditched the controller plan that had been heavy criticised, but stuck with the "pregnant" plan of the console itself connected its Japanese unveiling.

The archetypal PlayStation 3s were released with backwards compatibility and 20GB and 60GB hard drives successful 2006. However, Sony soon saw the request to ditch the hardware and bundle emulation for PS2 titles. However, if it wasn't for the PS3, HD-DVD alternatively than Blu-ray mightiness person go the much fashionable HD disc standard.

The PS3 was a deed close from the start, with an estimated 81,639 units selling successful the archetypal 24 hours of the console being released successful Japan. It past went connected to merchantability 600,000 units successful conscionable 2 days of going connected merchantability successful the remainder of the world. All this contempt being compared to a George Foreman grill. 

PSP 2000 (2007)

A slimmer PSP - the PSP 2000 - was released successful 2007. The PSP 2000 was a large upgrade to this handheld console and similar the different slim devices successful Sony's console line-up, the slimmer exemplary was lighter, thinner and faster. It besides had the quality to output to televisions and had a USB charging mode too. 

PlayStation Eye (2007)

The PlayStation Eye was a camera, that was fundamentally a webcam and worked to way players and let gamers to play games that utilized question power and colour detection too. We conscionable recovered it fell implicit a lot. 

PlayStation 2 Slimline v2 (2008)

A fewer years later, Sony released different mentation of the Slimline that was adjacent lighter. This slimmer mentation of the PS2 was released earlier the console was officially discontinued. However, that was remarkably not until January 2013.

PSP 3000 (2008)

Another PSP - the PSP 3000 - followed successful 2008. The PSP 3000 had a fewer much upgrades that included an improved screen, a built-in microphone and the quality to output to different televisions that the erstwhile models could not. 

PlayStation 3 Slim (2009)

Sony kept up the inclination of releasing slimmed-down models of its console by releasing the PS3 slim successful 2009.

This trimmed down mentation was smaller, lighter, quieter, cooler and utilized little powerfulness too. The archetypal slim models besides greatly expanded the magnitude of abstraction disposable to store downloaded games. At maximum it had 320GB. It went connected merchantability successful September 2009 and sold implicit a cardinal units earlier the archetypal period had adjacent passed. 

PSP Go (2009)

Strangely, the adjacent PSP console ditched the UMD thrust to play games connected disc and prompted gamers to download titles instead.

As standard, it had 16GB of interior retention for games, videos and different files. You could besides usage an M2 flash thrust to adhd an other 32GB of abstraction if you needed it. The PSP Go was sold alongside the PSP 3000 and not intended to regenerate it. 

PlayStation Move (2010)

The PlayStation Move controller was Sony's reply to the Xbox Kinect but ne'er truly took off. It was primitively released for the PS3 but aboriginal besides utilized successful the PS4 and adjacent for PlayStation VR.

The strategy used PlayStation Eye oregon PlayStation Camera to way the wand's question successful your country arsenic you gamed. 

PSP E1000 (2011)

A past PSP - the E1000 - brought backmost the UMD format successful 2011. It was inexpensive and cheerful, chiefly due to the fact that it didn't person Wi-Fi connectivity and had lone 1 talker alternatively of 2 stereo speakers. 

PlayStation 3 Super Slim (2012)

Not contented with the Slim, Sony besides released a "Super Slim" mentation successful 2012, an unthinkable six years aft the archetypal console launched. The retention size expanded adjacent further with the 2nd PS3 slim exemplary and it besides adopted a top-loading Blu-ray deck. 

PlayStation Vita (2011/2012)

The first, beefier PS Vita was released successful Japan successful clip for Christmas 2011 and its beforehand and rear interaction panels excited astatine the time.

It past released a fewer months aboriginal successful the US successful 2012. The archetypal PS Vita had a 5-inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and adjacent a 3G option. It was designed to capitalise connected the rising involvement successful mobile gaming though it is thought to person struggled to vie good during that time. 

PlayStation 3 distant (2012)

The PlayStation 3 was much than conscionable a games machine, it was besides seen arsenic a media hub, what with the built-in Blu-ray subordinate and entree to the web.

The merchandise of a distant power to spell on with that functionality made a batch of sense. The institution besides went connected to merchandise a distant for the PS4 a fewer years later. 

PlayStation 4 (2013)

Unbelievably, the PlayStation 4 was released mode backmost successful 2013. It was seen arsenic portion of the eighth-generation of games consoles and a rival of Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii U. The caller console bought respective plan enhancements including not lone much processing power, but besides things similar enactment for HDR10 video and 4K solution playback. 

The PS4 was highly thought of (and inactive is) and included galore enhancements that gamers loved, including the quality to bash things like play games off-console connected PlayStation Vita. It's nary astonishment that the PS4 managed to merchantability 100 cardinal units since its launch. 

White PlayStation 4 (2013)

Shortly aft the PS4 was released, a achromatic mentation became disposable too. It was included successful a bundle with Destiny primitively and a large alternate option. 

DualShock 4 controllers (2013)

The DualShock 4 was the archetypal large leap for Sony's gamepad since adjacent the beginning, with its interaction sheet and LED lighting. Shame astir the artillery life. 

PlayStation camera (2013)

The PS4 camera is simply a smarter matter than the archetypal for the PS3. Perhaps smarter inactive was Sony's determination not to bundle it with the console and truthful complaint less. The PlayStation Camera has two 1280×800 pixel cameras with a 30 cm focusing distance, and an 85-degree tract of view. This strategy was utilized for a fig of games and required for usage with the PlayStation VR headset. 

Sony claimed that 900,000 PlayStation Camera were sold alongside the PS4 successful 2014. 

PS Vita (PCH-2000) (2013)

The PS Vita didn't truly instrumentality disconnected until the PS4 and Remote Play entered the scene. The redesigned, slimmer and lighter PS Vita besides had amended artillery life, 1GB of interior retention and a assortment of colours to take from. 

PlayStation TV (2013)

The astir caller summation to the PlayStation household is the PS TV (PS Vita TV successful Japan). It is fundamentally a Vita that you plug into your telly.  It was a tiny set-top-box based connected Sony's portable gaming instrumentality that gave users access to compatible Vita, PSOne and PSP games done the PlayStation Store oregon an included crippled paper slot. The PlayStation TV is besides susceptible of remotely streaming PlayStation 4 contented too, which is nifty. 

Sony PlayStation VR (2016)

PlayStation VR was released successful 2016 and was possibly 1 of the astir affordable and accessible VR headsets disposable astatine the time. It features a 5.7-inch 1920x1080 solution OLED show susceptible of 120 Hz refresh complaint and tin adjacent duplicate its show to the TV. 

We recovered the PSVR was acold from perfect, but inactive a amusive spot of kit and the lone existent VR instrumentality for console users astatine the time.  

PlayStation 5 (2020)

The extremity of 2020 sees the motorboat of the PlayStation 5.

The PS5 appears successful 2 variants, the modular exemplary and PS5 Digital Edition that doesn't person a disc drive. 

The PS5 features a bold caller design, on with drastically rethought DualSense controllers. 

Under the hood is AMD CPU and GPU exertion which promises a gaming instrumentality offering 4K gaming astatine 60FPS and adjacent up to 120FPS with the close support. 

The PS5 besides boasts SSD retention and expandable NVMe abstraction too. Meaning faster load speeds cutting down load times and making games commencement successful the blink of an eye. 

PS5 DualSense controller

The PS5 DualSense controller is worthy a notation connected its own. So drastic is the departure from the erstwhile controller design, the DualSense looks similar thing from the future. 

The attraction to item connected these controllers is truthful infinitesimal that adjacent the grips are covered successful tiny triangle, square, ellipse and transverse patterns. 

DualSense boasts a haptic feedback strategy that's said to adhd "a assortment of almighty sensations" to your gaming experiences. These controllers besides see built-in microphones, meaning nary much requirements for headsets for the societal gamer. 

The item for galore though is the improved artillery beingness implicit the erstwhile controllers. One commercialized disconnected for a larger controller plan nary doubt. 

Writing by Rik Henderson and Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 2 December 2014.