If we’re going by sales alone, then it’s safe to say that Sony’s series of PlayStations are the greatest video game consoles of all time, selling over a billion copies worldwide.  

The Best Gaming Company Ever?

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), or Sony for short, has reigned supreme in the gaming world with their Playstation products and award-winning games. 

Who knew the gaming industry was so competitive? 

Between powerhouses like Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony would have to fight tooth and nail for their right to call themselves the best video game company.  

And you can say that Sony is winning their war, as they continue to be the number one pioneer of network services and video game distributions.

The First PlayStation

After a year of becoming their own company, Sony officially launched the first PlayStation in Japan in 1994, followed by its release to American audiences in September of 1995.

Contrary to popular belief, Sony didn’t intend to be its own company. Shockingly, Sony intended to market the PlayStation for Nintendo in the early 1990s, before they decided to release the PlayStation under their own name instead. 

And what a great decision that turned out to be!

Releasing the PlayStation as a fifth-generation video game console, Sony would find themselves competing against the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn, before blowing both consoles off the board with their record sales.

Not only did the PlayStation sell well, it received critical acclaim. With the PlayStation’s immediate success, Sony reached new heights of power within the gaming industry. Even better, the PlayStation would eventually become the first console ever to ship 100 million units.

The PlayStation 2

From the success of the first PlayStation, of course, Sony had to make a sequel. And with that, the PlayStation 2 (PS2) was born. The PS2 was developed and released worldwide in the year 2000 with immense success. 

Also, the PS2 marked Sony’s debut in the sixth generation of gaming. As a result, the PlayStation 2 would compete and eventually outsell Nintendo’s Game Cube, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Sega’s Dreamcast,

Following the PS2’s release, Sony would debut the PlayStation Slim in 2004, which was a smaller and lighter version of the PS2. 

Emotion Engine Processor

Collaborating with the Toshiba Corporation, Sony created the Emotion Engine to improve the PS2’s central processing unit (CPU) for better graphics and simulating 3D worlds.

By providing backward compatibility with the PS2, gamers could play video games and use controllers from the first PlayStation on the new console with no problem.  

As a result of these upgrades, the PS2 received critical acclaim, eventually becoming the most successful video game console ever, outselling their competitors, including Sony’s future console releases.

Furthermore, the PS2 would continue to sell until Sony ended its production in 2013. By then, the PS2 had one of the longest lifespans of any gaming system with a longevity of twelve years.

The PlayStation 3

Sony would continue their success by releasing the follow-up PlayStation 3 (PS3) in 2006, marking Sony’s debut into the seventh generation of gaming consoles to compete with Microsoft’s X-Box and the Nintendo Wii.

The PS3 was the first console to utilize handheld controllers and incorporate Blue-Ray Disk technology, which allowed gamers to watch movies and listen to music through their PS3.

Additionally, the PS3 introduced the PlayStation network to lay the foundation for social gaming, so players worldwide could interact and play games against each other.

The PS3’s Lukewarm Reception

Unfortunately for Sony, the PS3 wasn’t a big hit straight out the gate like its predecessors. 

What caused the PS3’s lukewarm reception upon its release? Compound issues including its high price, complicated processors, and game quality affected the PS2’s marketing. 

Still, even with a slow start, the reception of the PS3 would change over time, mostly because of its Blu-Ray DVD capabilities and overall potential. 

Hard Work Paid Off 

Fortunately, Sony’s work to improve PS3 sales worked in their favor. The PS3 would eventually become the eighth most-sold gaming console ever, especially after the release of its slim model in 2009 and the super slim version in 2012.

To further capitalize off the PS3’s success, Sony released slim models that were smaller and lighter versions of the PS3 console. While each slim model had a new design and minor software changes, they lacked the backward compatibility to play PlayStation 2 games.

The PlayStation 4

Sony developed the PlayStation 4 (PS4) as the successor of the PlayStation 3 in 2013 which marked their introduction to the eighth generation console wars, competing against Nintendo’s Wii U and Switch consoles, and Microsoft’s X-Box 1.

What made the PS4 unique compared to its predecessor is the Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) built into the console. After the lukewarm debut of the PlayStation 3, Sony wanted to move away from the complex microprocessors for something simpler. 

Another great thing about the PS4 is its ability for online streaming, allowing gamers to play off-console games on other devices that support ‘Remote Play” with other gamers worldwide.

The PS4’s controller received upgrades and a redesign from its predecessor with improved analog sticks and buttons. Also, these controllers come with an integrated touchpad that gamers should enjoy.

Furthermore, the PS4 supports 4k resolution multimedia, allowing gamers to play music and watch videos in great quality.

Multimedia Capability

All of these upgrades paid off as the PS4 was critically acclaimed upon its release. What’s more, critics praised Sony for their acknowledgment of consumer needs that were lacking with the PlayStation 3’s marketing. 

To separate the PS4 from its competitors, Sony didn’t impose any digital rights management (DRM) so gamers can access copyrighted material. Also, Sony fully embraced independent game development for small developers to make games on the platform and for gamers to play as well.

These changes made the PS4 a global juggernaut. By 2019, the PS4 had become the second-best-selling gaming console, falling behind the PlayStation 2.

Additionally, the PS4’s slim version was released on September 7, 2016. Included with the PlayStation 4 Slim (PS4 Slim), Sony released the PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4 Pro). This version features a higher CPU and an upgraded GPU to better support the 4K resolution and performance in supported games. 

The PlayStation 5

Sony’s latest game console, the PlayStation 5 (PS5), was released in November 2020. As part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, the PS5 competes mostly against the Xbox Series X/S with both consoles releasing the same month.

The PS5’s hardware features include an AMD GPU that’s capable of displaying 4K resolution up to 120 frames per second, high-speed data streaming, realistic lighting from its ray tracing capabilities, and the Tempest Engine with its 3D audio effects. 

Other great features included with the PS5 are the DualSense controllers, which utilize haptic feedback. The PS5, like its predecessors, supports backward compatibility with PS4 video games, while allowing gamers to play PlayStation VR games with the PlayStation VR2 headset. 

The PlayStation Portable

Outside of PlayStation gaming systems, Sony created two handheld gaming devices. 

Sony’s first handheld gaming device, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), was released to American audiences in September of 2005 as part of the seventh generation of gaming consoles, competing against the Nintendo DS.

Along with being Sony’s first gaming device, the PSP incorporated a disk format that integrated various multimedia features allowing video and audio playback. 

During its ten-year lifespan, the PSP sold over 80 million units and received praise from critics and gamers alike, before it was succeeded by the PlayStation Vita in 2011.

PlayStation Vita

Sony released the PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) in America in February of 2012 as the successor of the PlayStation Portable. Released into the eighth generation of video game consoles, the PS Vita’s only competition was the Nintendo 3DS.

The PS Vita also can work with other gaming products. Similar to the Off-TV play for the Nintendo Wii U, the PS Vita can work Remote Play offered on the PlayStation 4.

By incorporating mobile gaming from phones and tablets into its big-budget design, Sony had a successful launch with the PS Vita.

A Sudden Sales Decline 

Yet, despite early success, Sony would run into problems with the PS Vita. For some reason, the devices and games experienced a sales decline. Still, the PS Vita wasn’t a total failure. Sony, with help from small Western independent developers and mid-level Japanese companies, was able to save the device.

However, saving the PS Vita created less diversity in its gaming library, with mostly Japanese Role-playing Games (JRPG) and indie games from Western developers.

As a result, the PS Vita received moderate sales in Japan and a small dedicated fanbase in the West. Although Sony hasn’t released any sales figures, the PS Vita has estimates of selling 15 to 16 million units worldwide.

Dual Analog Controller

Not only does Sony deserve praise for their PlayStation consoles, but also for creating their own controllers as well. along with the PlayStation consoles, 

Like the PlayStation consoles, PlayStation controllers would receive upgrades that would be a game changer (no pun intended) in how we play video games.

Sony first released the Dual Analog Controller in Japan in 1997 with the Bushido Blade and Tobal 2 releases. 

The PlayStation Controller Design

The PlayStation controller had a basic button configuration in a style similar to the Nintendo’s Super NES controller, except with an additional second pair of shoulder buttons specifically for the middle fingers.

Furthermore, having two sets of buttons allowed two-way directional depth controls, which helped gamers to move around in the PlayStation’s 3D environments.

Included with the shoulder buttons, Sony created grip handles to compensate for the controller’s less stable grip, making the controller easy to use.

Geometric Shaped Action Pad

Moreover, the PlayStation controller would become known for using geometric shapes (a blue cross, a pink square, a red circle, and a green triangle) as its action buttons, instead of the traditional numbers and letters as previous game controllers. 

According to the designer of the PlayStation controller, Teiyu Goto, each geometric shape has meaning behind it. 

With American PlayStations, the cross and circle buttons represent a “cancel” and “conform” option respectively, the triangle button symbolizes a point of view, and the square button is the shape of a spreadsheet, commonly used to access menu options.

The Vibration Feedback Feature

Lastly, the PlayStation controller added the vibration feedback feature to make the gameplay more realistic. However, Sony would remove this cool feature from their controllers once it was distributed to American audiences. 

Why vibration feedback was taken away from these controllers isn’t clear. Rumors explaining why Sony took away the feature were because of high costs or poor manufacturing. 

Another rumor was that Nintendo had threatened legal action against Sony because the controller’s vibration feature copied Nintendo’s rumble pack, even though Nintendo had denied this rumor.

DualShock Controllers

Released in November 1997, DualShock controllers would eventually become the best-selling gamepad of all time. Alongside Duel Analog controllers, Sony had created DualShock controllers as second gaming accessories for their PlayStation console, to phase out Dual Anolog controllers.

The dual-vibration motors gave the DualShock controller its name. And what are dual-vibration motors? They’re the motors held within the handles; the left motor being more powerful and larger than the right motor. This design is to control the varying levels of vibrations within the PlayStation controller for an easier gaming experience.

Furthermore, PlayStation’s DualShock controller was considered an upgrade to the Nintendo 64’s Rumble pack. Powered by the PlayStation, DualShock controllers were better compared to the Nintendo Rumble Pak, which contained a motor that needed battery power to function.

DualShock Controllers VS Dual Analog Controllers

PlayStation Dual Analog and DualShock controllers have two analog sticks that provide vibration feedback to enhance the gaming experience. 

Upon looking closer, you’ll start noticing the subtle differences. For instance, the DualShock’s analog sticks are textured with rubber grips in contrast to the Dual Analog’s smooth plastic tips. Other differences between both PlayStation controllers are in their designs, such as the sizes and shapes of the handles and L2/R2 buttons.

Despite improving with the DualShock controller, Sony took away one feature that its predecessor had. Namely, the DualShock controller didn’t possess the analog compatibility mode that Dual Analog controllers made popular.

The DualShock 2 Analog Controller 

The DualShock 2 analog controller was released alongside the PlayStation 2 and Shares similar designs to its predecessor, with different screw positionings and with one less screw as minor changes.

Another design change that the DualShock 2 analog controller has is its color. Instead of sharing its predecessor’s grey color, the DualShock 2 analog controller, cable, and connector are black. 

In addition to these design changes, Sony colored the DualShock 2’s logo blue and placed it at the top of the controller, while hardening the analog sticks. 

The Sixaxis

Amid the PS3’s launch, Sony was in a brutal legal battle with Immersion to appeal a 2004 lawsuit decision involving Immersion’s patent infringement claims. 

This legal battle was fought over Sony’s use of haptic feedback technology in earlier PlayStation controllers. 

As a result of the legal battle with Immersion, Sony would remove the vibration capabilities from their PS3 controller design.

So instead of the DualShock 3, Sony released the Sixaxis controller with the PS3 console in 2006, which would be the PS3’s official controller until 2008.

How “Sixaxis” Got Its Name

Sony gave its newly designed controller the name, Sixaxis, because of its main feature. The Sixaxis controller could sense the translational acceleration and rotational orientation alongside three-dimensional axes. So why was this main feature controversial? Because of the circumstances surrounding its announcement. 

Eight months before Sony announced the Sixaxis controller, Nintendo had already revealed their own motion-sensing features in their new game console controller, the Wii Remote. 

This motion–sensing technology was given the term Sixaxis as a contraction of “six axis.” Its witty name refers to the controller’s ability to sense all motions across three dimensions, or referred to as “the six degrees of freedom.”

The DualShock 3 Wireless Controllers

After settling the patent infringement lawsuit with Immersion in March 2007, Sony released the DualShock 3 wireless controllers.

Included with the DualShock 3 controller, Sony brought back the desired haptic feedback feature found in earlier PlayStation controllers.

To further add to the DualShock 3’s capabilities, its motion-sensing and vibration functions improved to work well together without hindering each other. 

DualShock 4 Controller Design Features

Sony released the DualShock 4 controller as the PS4’s main controller, which included several features to stand out from the DualShock 3. 

One new feature added to the DualShock 4 is its two-point capacitive touchpad built on the front of the controller with clickable buttons, allowing the touchpad to show multiple buttons.

On its surface, the DualShock 4 shares the same normal controller buttons as its predecessors with its directional, action (cross, square, circle, triangle), shoulder (L2/R2), and analog stick (L3/R3) buttons. 

The New Options and Share Button

However, you may notice the brand-new buttons on the gamepad. For starters, the DualShock controller replaces its START and SELECT buttons with an OPTIONS button.

Furthermore, gamers can upload videos and screenshots to showcase their gaming experiences with a simple click by using the DualShock 4 controller’s new SHARE button. 

Add-Ons and Other Cool Features

The DualShock 4 also creates history with the mono speaker, which works similarly to the Wii Remote’s version, making the DualShock 4 the second controller to have this feature.

Compared to its predecessor, the DualShock 4 supports motion detection and includes a rechargeable battery that can be charged even if the PS4 isn’t powered on. On the front of the controller, you’ll find a light bar with three LEDs attached that determine what color the light glows.

Developed for the PlayStation VR, the light bar can have different purposes, such as color-coding characters in the game, identifying players, or providing feedback by changing patterns or colors to react to gameplay.

DualSense PlayStation Controllers

Sony first announced the DualSense PlayStation controller on April 7th, 2020 as the PS5’s main controller. The DualSense controller was similar to the DualShock 4 except with a more evolved design and added capabilities that were discussed among players and game designers. 

The first thing you’ll notice about the DualSense controllers is their colorless action buttons, which didn’t exist in previous PlayStation controllers on their console gaming systems. 

Overall, the DualSense controller’s primary color scheme is a white background with black facing. Compared to the DualShock 4, the DualSense controller is bigger and rounder, mostly due to its simple design.

The Glasstron

Believe or not, Sony’s interest in virtual reality technology stemmed all the way back to the 1990s, which led to the release of the Glasstron, in 1997.

The Glasstron featured two earphones and liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens for audio and video playback respectively.  

One game that had adopted the Glasstron into their gameplay was the MechWarrior 2, a vehicle simulation, released in 1995. With the Glasstron, users could see the game’s visuals by seeing the battlefield from the cockpit’s perspective.

PlayStation VR

Released in 2016, the PlayStation VR (PS VR) is a virtual reality headset, intended for the PS4 while having backward compatibility with the PS5.

What’s cool about the PS VR is that players wearing the headset can have a different gameplay experience than players without the headset.

Likewise, players can see images on the television and the headset at the same time, which can either mirror each other or display different images for both cooperative and competitive gameplay.

PlayStation VR 2

Marketed alongside the PS5, Sony created the PlayStation VR 2 (PS VR2) after six years of development. The PS VR2 has a smaller weight than its predecessor and the headband has various design improvements for better comfortability.

Another improvement from the PS VR, the TS VR2 tracks movements and, even controllers, with the headset’s four front cameras. Furthermore, the PS VR2 has a “see-through view” feature allowing its users to view their actual surroundings while wearing the headset.

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