UPDATED 06:45 EST / DECEMBER 04 2014

Sony celebrates 20 years of PlayStation with retro themed PS4

PlayStation 20 yearWednesday marked the 20 year anniversary of the original release of the PlayStation game console in Japan, and to celebrate this milestone, Sony Computer Entertainment announced a limited edition PlayStation 4 using the color scheme of the original PlayStation.

The new PlayStation 4 model will only be released in a limited run of 12,300 consoles and will include retro themed versions of the console, the DualShock 4 Wireless Controller, and the PlayStation Camera, as well as a custom vertical stand.

The console features the original gray coloring of the first PlayStation, along with the four color scheme used by the controller buttons and the PS logo. The console and the controller also include a custom design etching of the circle, square, triangle, and X button shapes, as well as the number 2.

PlayStation 20 year etching

Because the release of the 20 anniversary edition will be so limited, each console will be numbered.

 

History

 

The original PlayStation belongs to the fifth-generation era of video games, which ran from the mid to late ’90s and included other consoles like the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn. This era saw the initial release of now classic game franchises like Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto.

The PlayStation pioneered several features that are now staples of modern console gaming, such as dual analogue control sticks, and while it was not the first console to use a CD drive, it was the first to popularize it.

With the waning power of Sega, whose last entry into the console market would be the beloved but ill-fated Dreamcast, Sony became the only serious competitor to Nintendo until the release of Microsoft’s Xbox nearly seven years later.

“The mid 90s were an exciting time for game developers,” SCE Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida wrote in a blog post announcing the 20 year anniversary PS4. “The original PlayStation was meant to embody that sense of adventure and discovery, that sense that anything was possible.”

Yoshida mentioned that many people were skeptical when Sony announced the PlayStation console. “Who could blame them?” Yoshida wrote. “Sony was (and is!) famous for engineering great electronics, audio equipment, and many other consumer devices. But game consoles?!”

The PlayStation 2, released in 2000, would go on to become the highest selling game console of all time, a title it still holds today.


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