A lot of Sony's leadership didn't take the PS1 seriously at first with Nintendo and Sega dominating the console space: "They didn't want to be associated with it"
Dec. 3, 2024The PlayStation 1 was seen by some as a “fool’s errand”
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With three decades under its belt as one of the most iconic video game consoles to date, the PlayStation 1 is now a beloved source of nostalgia for many - but formerSonylead Shawn Layden says that not everyone in the company wanted to be associated with its debut console.
Speaking in a recent interview withEurogamer, Layden explains how ecstatic he felt upon first seeing the original PlayStation. “I remember having a presentation early on where they brought the PlayStation prototype to the chairman’s office, and we got to see what they were building. I remember back in mid ‘94 before the launch, standing up in a boardroom playing Ridge Racer and going, ‘Oh my god, this is going to be fucking amazing.'”
Even though Layden himself was impressed, however, many higher-ups at the time withinSonywere not - and it all has to do with other massive industry names already dominating in the gaming sphere, including the likes ofNintendoandSega. “But within Sony,” according to the former CEO, “I think a lot of the leadership at the time didn’t take it seriously. They thought: ‘Oh my god, Sega and Nintendo own this thing [the console industry].'”
Layden continues, describing what the skeptical leads thought: “‘You think Sony’s going to come in sideways and try to divvy that thing up into a three-piece pie?’ It was a ‘fool’s errand,’ I think some of them might have even called it at the time. But [then-Sony president Norio] Ohga-san was a believer. A lot of people thought we were taking a risk. It was a fight to get the Sony name onto the machine - they didn’t want to be associated with it.”
Love the OG PlayStation, too? Here are some of thebest PS1 gamesof all time.
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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms’ clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she’s not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she’s probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she’s spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you’ll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.
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