Happy 15 Year Anniversary Sony PlayStation

Fifteen years ago today marks the release of the first Sony PlayStation in Japan. Hard to believe, considering how freaking old it makes me feel. The date was December 3, 1994 and I was a young man coming into my own as an eighth grader who was learning his place in the world. Gaming had always been a major part of my life, but until I received my Sony PlayStation in March 1996 as a birthday gift, I never knew what true gaming power was all about. The Sony PlayStation played host to some of my favorite games of all time.

I’d like to highlight some of the fondest memories I have with the PlayStation and how it bridged the gap between solid gameplay and surreal graphics combined in a single system. Note below the games that helped keep my gaming on the right track from being a snot-nosed punk to now running my own gaming site:

• Twisted Metal – This title was the ultimate multiplayer experience. I spent countless hours laying waste to all of my friends as Mr. Grimm in The Grim Reaper. I could seriously go for a game right now.
• Jet Moto – Quite possibly my favorite racing game of all time. The jumps were fairly hard to execute from what I remember, but never before had we seen graphics this intense while delivering a huge number of tracks and vehicles (at the time).
• Tomb Raider – Let’s just say that Lara Croft’s adventures were enough to keep any young man playing into the wee hours of the night. Despite the hundreds of sequels that have come out, the original Tomb Raider did for gaming what the modern day Uncharted 2 has done in terms of depth. Hard to compare the two, but they go hand in hand as two of the best adventure games ever.
• PaRappa the Rapper - Sweet lord, what an insane game! A rhythm-based game where one plays as a rapping dog who learns life lessons from an onion that is a master of karate, gets driving lessons from a moose and has to rap to get to the restroom, what’s not to love about any of that?

Despite the concerns of Sony entering the gaming industry, even after a failed CD-rom partnership with Nintendo, Sony has successfully become one of the most important names in gaming today. Big congratulations go out to these titans of the industry. It is good to see that despite adversity and a huge wall of competition in front of them – Nintendo and Sega – they have managed to carve their place in the history of video games, including having the highest selling game console of all time in the PS2. The Sony PlayStation having sold over 102 million units as of July 20, 2008 proves that this serious system was one that will remain near and dear to millions for decades to come.

Sony fans alike should check out this site documenting the 15 years of Sony memories. Very cool stuff!

Let’s all wish Sony the best and look forward to what’s to in store in the future. Do you have any games you fondly remember playing on the PlayStation? We’d love to hear your thoughts and compare game stories.

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