Playstation History

Playstation History

The story from the past into the future

From the beginning

The PlayStation was released in Japan in December 1994, and it made its American debut in September 1995; both releases elicited critical acclaim and impressive sales. Titles such as Twisted Metal and Ridge Racer were very popular. By 2005 the PlayStation had become the first console ever to ship 100 million units.

Playstation Logo

The original console in the series was the first console of any type to ship over 100 million units, doing so in under a decade. Its successor, the PlayStation 2, was released in 2000. The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling home console to date, having reached over 155 million units sold by the end of 2012. Sony's next console, the PlayStation 3, was released in 2006, selling over 87.4 million units by March 2017. Sony's next console, the PlayStation 4, was released in 2013, selling a million units within a day, becoming the fastest selling console in history. The latest console in the series, the PlayStation 5, was released in 2020 and sold 10 million units in its first 249 days, unseating its predecessor as the fastest-selling PlayStation console to-date.

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The history from past to present

1996 - PS1 playstation one logo


The PlayStation, one of a new generation of 32-bit consoles, signaled Sony's rise to power in the video game world. Also known as the PS One, the PlayStation used compact discs (CDs), heralding the video game industry's move away from cartridges.

2001 - PS2 playstation 2 Logo


The Second Generation video game console from Sony. DVD based and introduced in the U.S. in 2000 after great success in Japan, the first PS2 models came with a 128-bit, 300 MHz Emotion CPU. Also included was a MIPS R3000 chip for I/O handling and backward compatibility with the earlier PlayStation.

2006 - PS3 Playstation 3 Logo


A video game console from Sony that was introduced in late 2006. Containing a high-definition Blu-ray drive that also reads DVDs, CDs and SACD discs, the PS3 uses the Cell processor, which is considerably more powerful than the CPU in the PlayStation 2 (PS2).

2014 - PS4 playstation 4 Logo


The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in Europe, South America and Australia, and on February 22, 2014 in Japan. A console of the eighth generation, it competes with the Microsoft's Xbox One and the Nintendo's Wii U and Switch.

2020 - PS5 playstation 5 logo


The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced in 2019 as the successor to the PlayStation 4, the PS5 was released on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, and South Korea, with worldwide release following a week later. The PS5 is part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, along with Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, which were released in the same month.

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