The PlayStation shattered the status quo, only to become it
Sony debuted the PlayStation on Dec. 3, 1994, with the expressed intent of re-creating the extravagance of big-ticket entertainment in a living room. For gaming at the time, that meant arcade machines priced around a car’s down payment. But anyone who turned on their first PlayStation game – in my case it was “Ridge Racer” – saw PlayStation vanish the arcade business into obsolescence.
Within just a few years, three of the platform’s games defined the blockbuster video game experience: “Resident Evil,” “Final Fantasy VII” and “Metal Gear Solid.” Video games encompass various media (music, literature) and PlayStation helped the medium finally appropriate cinema to propel it into the future we live today. Halfway through the PlayStation 4’s run as the dominant console in the 2010s, Sony’s games would rival or exceed lights and magic in film, and eventually boast the same bursting, out-of-control budgets.
That technical wizardry – for gamers, a sort of 2007 iPhone moment every few years – came to define Sony’s remarkable 30-year run in video games.
Getting there wasn’t simple. In the late ’70s, Sony helped create the CD-ROM format, so naturally the firm leaned on its expansive storage space and cheaper production cost to widen the playing field for video game developers. Nintendo and Sony originally flirted with a plan to make a CD console, then called the Play Station. But Nintendo infamously scrapped the arrangement to work with Philips instead.
That chain of events embittered and emboldened Sony engineer Ken Kutaragi to turn the idea into Sony’s entry into the games market. Nintendo, meanwhile, stuck with the more restrictive game cartridge format.
While Sony’s top executives at the time scoffed at the games business they didn’t understand, Sony as a business was native to the arts and entertainment through film and music. It flexed its marketing muscles to create a culture around PlayStation that targeted the more discerning, mature gamer, whereas Nintendo was family friendly and the struggling Sega was for misfits. In 1995, before the PlayStation’s U.S. release, Sony executives even guided Michael Jackson through the show floor of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The late pop king played “Tekken,” one of the many arcade experiences PlayStation re-created at home.
One problem: Sony didn’t know how to make games. Nintendo and Sega had homegrown creative talent. Sony had to acquire its studios, the first of which was Liverpool, England-based Psygnosis. It was not only the first step in creating the multicompany collective now known as PlayStation Studios, it also propelled the globalization of the video game business outside of Japan and the United States.
Sony aggressively asked outside studios to pitch in. This led to an explosion of creativity during the first three generations of consoles as new ideas and game genres sprung up every year. Sony produced many innovative titles such as “PaRappa the Rapper” in 1996, which married East Village art sensibilities with Japanese game design to create one of the first rhythm action games. PlayStation 2 saw this trend continue, having space for oddball experiences like “Mister Mosquito,” where you play as a household mosquito terrorizing a suburban family.
Eventually, the PlayStation drew the biggest names in video games. Capcom published the first adult-rated PlayStation game, “Resident Evil,” which used voice acting and cinematic camera angles to establish the horror game genre. Betrayed by Nintendo’s decision to stay with cartridges, the creators of Final Fantasy pledged their next game to the PlayStation, which helped sell consoles. “Final Fantasy VII” arrived in 1997 and pushed the boundaries of games as a storytelling medium through its mix of real-time 3D models and prerendered computer graphics footage.
These three games and series would continue to define the modern video game, each new entry topping the last in graphics and production. “Final Fantasy X,” released only four years after “VII,” looked like a game made in a different century. Kojima’s work would inspire countless video game stories and how they’re told. Sony’s own studios would crystallize its design philosophies around the cinematic narrative adventure.
Today, Sony’s stable is led by Naughty Dog and Santa Monica Studio, creators of “The Last of Us” and “God of War” respectively. They use expensive motion capture and acting talent along with thousands of hours spent on special effects and graphics to create games that rival big-screen superhero flicks. These games are among the most critically acclaimed works of the medium, but the higher costs have cut into profit margins, extending development cycles from years to almost a decade.
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has publicly expressed concern about this exact issue, saying that ballooning budgets have created a frightening atmosphere for “risk-adverse” publishers. Sony fell victim to its own hubris this year and created one of the largest entertainment flops in recent memory: With a reported budget of at least $200 million and at least six years of development time, Sony’s “Concord” was on sale for less than two weeks before Sony recalled the game for dismal sales.
The “Concord” failure illustrates the precarious situation Sony PlayStation finds itself today. “Concord” was meant to be an expanding intellectual property that appeals to people of all ages and interests, something Sony lacks because of its 30-year persistence in catering toward the “adult” gamer. PlayStation is a victim of its own success, successfully maturing the games market only to plateau with an aging, narrowing audience.
Fortunately, the spirit of freewheeling creativity is now everywhere in the games industry. The PC space further lowered the barrier of entry and is now home to more experimental games. PlayStation used to feel like the platform where no matter who you are, there’s a unique game experience catered just for you. Today, it’s just like every other video game platform, especially since many of its once-exclusive games are now available on PC.
To its eternal credit, PlayStation’s mission was to shatter the status quo, only to become it. It shaped the games business as we know it today and matured the medium along with the audience. If PlayStation wants to repeat its groundbreaking 30-year run, it would take a different bag of magic tricks for a tough crowd that’s now seen it all.