PlayStation Day
OtherWhat Is PlayStation Day?
December 3rd is "PlayStation Day" in Japan. It marks December 3, 1994, when Sony Computer Entertainment -- today Sony Interactive Entertainment -- released the original PlayStation home console. Official campaigns have been held to commemorate the release date.
The Day Home Consoles Moved to 3D and CD-ROM
The first PlayStation changed what a home console was expected to do. It brought full textured 3D graphics into the living room, and it adopted CD-ROM as the medium for its software.
- Release date: December 3, 1994
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment (now Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Technical hallmark: textured 3D graphics rendering
- Software medium: CD-ROM rather than ROM cartridges
A Generational Shift You Can Date
CD-ROM offered large capacity at lower manufacturing cost, which laid the groundwork for games making heavy use of video and voice. PlayStation went on to become a long-running series of console generations. December 3rd marks that first step -- and anyone who played it at launch may be startled to count the years since.
Tips for Marking This Day
- Recall the games you played on the original PlayStation
- Look up the console's 1994 specifications and compare them with today's
- Ask someone of a different generation about their first console
- Plan to finally clear that backlog over the year-end break
One Console That Changed the Shape of Play
The combination of 3D rendering and CD-ROM set the direction of home gaming for years afterward. December 3rd is a day to trace the line from 1994 to now.