by Key Takeaways
- Sony executives doubted the success of the original PlayStation, despite it becoming a huge hit, as other companies had failed to release their own successful consoles.
- Ken Kuturagi faced skepticism from industry veterans over the release of the PS1, including representatives within Sony.
- However, the console proved to be a huge success, with the dominance of the PlayStation brand continuing today as the PS5 significantly outsells the Xbox Series X/S.
Former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Ken Kuturagi recently revealed that many people at Sony believed in the original PlayStation would fail. Considering how successful the PlayStation brand has become over the years, that’s a pretty surprising statement.
The PlayStation 1 was released in 1994 in Japan and 1995 in North America. The fifth-generation console competed directly with the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn, far outselling both platforms. The PlayStation sold more than 102 million units, surpassed only by the PS2, PS4, Game Boy, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo DS. The debut also marks the beginning of Sony’s dominance of the console market, which Nintendo held in the two previous generations. However, this very successful project was not really believed for a while, even by Sony executives.
Earlier this week, Ken Kuturagi spoke at the Tokyo Game Show, when he talked about the main difficulties of entering the console market with the first PlayStation. In 1993, Kuturagi led the PS1 development team and they wanted to ‘share their passion for the project’ before launch by talking to many people in the industry from multiple countries. However, the team at SIE was met with negativity, with many executives telling them not to release the console because “several companies” were doing the same thing and were not successful. Kuturagi even revealed that “even within Sony, no one believed we would be successful.”
Ken Kutaragi claims that many people didn’t think the PlayStation would be a success
Even within Sony, no one believed we would be successful.
Ironically, the PS1 was a huge hit and the PlayStation 1 not only had many exclusive games, but also won the console war two generations in a row. Kuturagi remained with the company until 2007, overseeing the successful launch of the PS2 and leaving after the PS3 failed to gain the same popularity.
Even today, gamers still fondly remember some classic PS1 games, such as the original Final fantasy 7, Metal gear solid, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Gran Turismoand others. The same can be said for the PlayStation 2, which eventually became the best-selling console of all time.
Three decades after the launch of the PS1, the PlayStation brand remains strong. The PS5 is estimated to far outsell the Xbox Series A world where Ken Kuturagi and his team had abandoned the release of the PS1 due to executives’ opinions would likely be a completely different gaming market than what exists today. Luckily for all PlayStation fans, that wasn’t the case.
PlayStation (original)
The PlayStation, also known as the PS1 or PS One, was Sony’s first formal foray into the console wars with Nintendo. It belonged to the fifth generation of video game consoles and joined the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn.
- Brand
- Sony
- Original release date
- September 9, 1995
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $299, £299
- Weight
- 3.2 pounds
