September 9, 2010- Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) today celebrates the 15 year anniversary of PlayStation® in North America, marking its success as a premier video game and interactive entertainment console. Since 1995, PlayStation’s loyal fans, retailers and partners have helped the company to revolutionize the video game industry, moving the industry from traditional cartridge-based gaming to disc-based solutions, introducing gamers to in-depth, high-resolution and real time 3D computer graphics, and in later years to technical innovations like Blu-ray and stereoscopic 3D entertainment for the home. In celebration of this milestone, PlayStation looks back at the company’s rich heritage, the developments in video gaming, portable and home entertainment and the consumer experience ahead.
“When you look in the rearview mirror at what was happening in 1995 you see that the video game industry was an entirely different animal. Cartridges were still the preferred medium, and the market was a modest $2.6 billion in sales revenue annually. Many critics thought that a disc-based console with a lot of horse power would shoot over the heads of consumers, but our users proved them wrong,” said Jack Tretton, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. “Now, we are seeing a convergence of video games and home entertainment, and a market that is a robust $20 billion in revenue. In the next 15 years and beyond PlayStation will continue to bring new and more immersive experiences, like stereoscopic 3D, augmented reality as well as genre-defying gameplay into consumer living rooms.”
Since the beginning, PlayStation has propelled new levels of gaming experiences with its trend setting hardware and its diversified and critically acclaimed software. Classic franchises like Gran Turismo® pushed the boundaries of game graphics and quickly became best-sellers on the PlayStation console, the PlayStation®2 system (PS2™ system), and the PSP®(PlayStation®Portable) system and today remains one of the most demanded sequels for the PlayStation®3 system. In addition to building on these legacies, PlayStation has also created entirely new genres with games like Heavy Rain®, LittleBigPlanet™, and ModNation™ Racers. With new technologies like stereoscopic 3D games and the PlayStation®Move motion controller’s impending launch, the company remains poised to forge new territories in consumer entertainment.
In honor of the 15 year anniversary and over the next several months, fans of PlayStation will be able to join the celebrations with:
– Free downloadable PS3 & PSP static themes available for download on the PlayStation®Store starting today **
– Weekly discounts on select PS One® titles within the PlayStation®15th anniversary collection page, available in all SCEA territories on PS3, PSP & Media Go Storefronts. In addition to a 50 percent sale on Super Rub A Dub (Super Rub A Dub offer good from Thursday, September 9, 2010 – through Monday, September 20, 2010).
– A PlayStation®Home commemorative Original PlayStation® (PS One®) ornament for personal spaces available starting today.
PlayStation has sold over 377 million hardware consoles across its product portfolio since 1995 and more than 2 billion software units around the world. In the U.S. alone the company has generated over $63 billion in revenue—the equivalent to 40% of the overall video game market share in the U.S to date.
The entry of the original PlayStation console in North America has forever altered consumer entertainment experiences today and 15 years later, PlayStation continues to redefine the marketplace for a whole new generation of consumers.